Luke 12:54-59 Times and Temperatures
Good morning! I am very happy to be back with you all this morning! Last week Karole-Ann and I traveled to South Eliot, Maine for the ordination of a dear friend of mine, Kent Davis, who was my youth pastor growing up and one of the founders of Camp MACC. It was such a blessing to celebrate the calling of a man who has had such a profound impact on my life and my walk with Jesus.
But it’s good to be back home with you our family!
Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter twelve, page 872 in the pew Bibles. This morning we are going to look at the last verses of Luke twelve, 54-59 which means we are closing out the first half of the 24 chapters of the Gospel of Luke. If you’re curious, we started this study two years ago at the end of January…
As we read these few verses this morning ignore any heading that is stuck in the middle of them, they are not two separate thoughts but rather two points of one sermon from Jesus. The headings are not part of the original text, they are not inspired by the Holy Spirit, merely added in much later by people trying to be helpful and they sometimes are, and sometimes they’re not.
Let’s read the text together and dive in.
54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
Let’s pray.
Now I know all you discerning and wise people can see right away how these two paragraphs are so closely linked…
Let’s take them one at a time and maybe we’ll get there together by the time we’re done.
Now, if you have been watching the news at all lately I’m sure that you have seen a map showing the relationship between Israel and Gaza. And while it’s tempting to immediately veer off into a signs of the times discussion around that I want to remind you a little bit about the geography that Jesus and His first hearers were very well acquainted with.
54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens.
So, in general terms, at the time of this discourse, Jesus was in Israel. If Jesus was standing in Israel and said, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens.” What is in the immediate west of Israel? The Mediterranean Sea.
And When Jesus said, 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. What is in the south of Israel? Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Desert.
These were common signs for predicting the weather, just as we know that if the wind comes out of the North it will be colder and if it blows out of the South it will be warmer.
But then Jesus says, “56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”
The issue that Jesus was addressing in the hearts of His hearers was the willingness to use wisdom to discern earthly things but not for spiritual things.
Unlike our culture today, children in those days grew up learning and memorizing Scripture. Jewish boys had to memorize the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. Life for most everybody revolved around the Synagogue and the Temple. Where people lived and built their houses was determined by where the Synagogue was in their village. Religion was not just an optional add on for a select few, it was the heartbeat of the culture.
And these folks who should have been able to discern the times according to their own knowledge of the Scriptures were not unable but unwilling to. That is why Jesus calls them hypocrites.
56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
The people Jesus was speaking to on that day should have been able to discern that it was the time of the Messiah, they should have known the day of their visitation but they were unwilling. They cannot see because they will not see. They were guilty of rejecting Messiah Jesus.
And that is why Jesus used the illustration from a court of law in verses 57-59.
As we look at this you can see that Jesus more than implied that they were guilty in this scenario.
57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
Now in this scenario the Magistrate, the Judge, is God, but don’t be fooled, the accuser is not the devil, it’s actually the holiness of God, God’s righteous requirement.
The people that Jesus was speaking to were all guilty of violating God’s Law, the Ten Commandments, and were on their way to meet the Magistrate whether they were aware of it or not. By rejecting Jesus as Messiah they were rejecting the only way to settle with their accuser on the way to court and by so doing they could expect a guilty verdict and to be thrown into prison until they paid the last penny of their debt.
Actually, the word translated penny is “lepta,” and it was a coin that was worth one eighth of one penny. So the implication here is that there is no grace after judgment only punishment. Sin creates a debt that cannot be repaid by anyone other than Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, and not even the smallest amount of the debt will be forgotten by the Holy Magistrate.
And Jesus’ emphasis of settling on the way means that the Day of Judgment was coming and their time was limited to admit their guilt and settle before that day came.
So since the last thing we need is just a running commentary on Luke’s Gospel we have to ask the question, “So what?” If the words of Jesus had that meaning then, the meaning must be the same now, so what does that mean for us?
What if those people that Jesus was speaking to that day were able or willing to interpret the signs of their own time, what would they do? Wouldn’t they be looking all the more intently for the coming of the Messiah according to the Scriptures and find that He is Jesus? And wouldn’t they put their faith in Him and tell all their friends and neighbors that Messiah had come and He was the carpenter’s Son from Nazareth? And wouldn’t they realize their own guilt before the holiness of God and settle with Him through faith in Jesus before they had to face judgment? Yes, I think they would.
So why wouldn’t we?
Those folks should have been looking for the first advent of Christ, just as we should be looking for His second advent. But as we look for the signs of His coming we should be all the more eager to tell others about Him and how He paid our debt and theirs before we face judgment.
I get asked a lot if I think that what is happening in the world today are signs of the end times, and I can tell you with confidence that all signs point to the increasing need for fervor in sharing the Good News that Jesus lived and died and rose again to save sinners just like me and you.
Whether Jesus comes in our lifetime or not, we are all on our way to our own appointment before the Judge and we all need to settle with our accuser on the way so as to avoid the penalty for our guilt.
RC Sproul wrote, “In offending a holy, infinite and eternal God, our sin itself is infinite and eternal. That is why we require a sacrifice that is of infinite worth, that is why the cross is our only hope, because on the cross Christ paid that debt. The only possible means of redemption for us is by grace.
Christ has paid that debt, and if you despise his payment, then all you have left is to pay it yourself. His payment, however, is perfect and gracious and will cover every last cent of your indebtedness. Everything that we owe can be settled out of court. Therefore, the judgment is a moment of triumph for Christ and for his people.”
Amen.
