Sunday School Lessons: Chapter 12:1-32

Luke 12

12:1 In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

The Pharisees were doing everything they could to thwart Jesus, but the crowds of people continued to increase.

To whom was he talking?

What is the leaven of the Pharisees?

Why is he warning his disciples about this in the presence of the people?

Hypocrisy is always bad, but for people in leadership, like the disciples, it would be even worse, because it would bring shame upon the cause of Christ. He warns them not to try to hide sin because it is always revealed eventually.

4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.

Who has the authority to cast a person into hell? What is hell? What is left of a person after his body has been killed?

Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numberd. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Two pennies was equal to one hour’s pay. This seemed an almost insignificant amount, however, it helps to illustrate that God cares for even the smallest aspects of our lives as well as the big ones!

8 “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, 9 but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Is it a matter of words spoken or a matter of the heart? Why is it called the unpardonable sin? What makes the sin unpardonable? If you acknowledge Christ before men what can you expect from men? From God?

Vs. 11 “and WHEN they bring you before. . .” Jesus is letting them know that they WILL experience persecution; our study of Acts proves that he knew what he was talking about. But he is teaching his disciples that (vs 4 “my friends”) that God will never leave them or forsake them. He will give them what they need—even the right words to say!

This may seem like a scary passage, but there is good news in it, too. Jesus promises to acknowledge those who acknowledge him and he promises that the Holy Spirit will help them and even give them the words they need to say. Even though they will have trials and persecution, they will not be alone.

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”

In Israel, the elder brother always received a greater inheritance but this man was asking Jesus to go against the law by forcing the brother to divide the inheritance equally. He wasn’t really asking Jesus to decide the matter, he was asking Jesus to decide in his favor. Jesus will ultimately be our judge when he returns (John 5:22), but in his incarnation, he came to ‘give his life, a ransom for many.”

15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Here, Jesus is teaching about the sin of covetousness. What is covetousness? Why is covetousness a sin that we must be on guard against?

This parable is called the parable of the rich fool. He was a fool because he gathered worldly treasures but did not store up treasure in heaven. He doesn’t say that he is a bad man. He was probably a hard worker, a good provider, an honest business man. So why was he foolish? He was living for this world. He thought he could control his future. He wasn’t considering God at all.

This man thought to himself, but as always, Jesus is able to know everyone’s inner thoughts. This man spoke to his soul—not his life. What is the difference between your life and your soul? What was required of the man? His life or his soul?

It’s not wrong to take care of your family and save up. We are to be wise and to plan ahead. But we are not to be covetous, desiring more and more and more for ourselves.

22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

To whom is Jesus speaking now? Why is he warning them against being anxious? What is he teaching them in this passage? What should they be putting their energies into?

32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Jesus gives four reasons not to be anxious

1. Life is more important that worldly riches

2. God will take care of them

3. Worry accomplishes nothing

4. God knows what you need

*These lessons are written for use with elementary aged students. You can find lessons for previous chapters here . All scriptures are taken from the ESV.