Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 12:4-12 "THE WEAPONS OF THE ENEMY"
Day 161 – Luke 12
Text: Luke 12:4-12
THE WEAPONS OF THE ENEMY
Jesus taught His Disciples well. He could not just teach them the basics of faith in Him. He had to teach them that there were those who were “enemies of the faith”. These would stop at nothing to oppose their confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah and Saviour.
The Disciples must know the weapons their enemies would use:-
1. They would use the weapon of fear.
2. They would utilize whatever resources they had in their control to fight the Disciples of Jesus.
a) They would make use of the local synagogues
b) They would make use of the magistrates
c) They would go to the highest authorities
3. They would kill if they had to.
“AND ANYONE WHO SPEAKS A WORD AGAINST THE SON OF MAN, IT WILL BE FORGIVEN HIM…” Luke 12:10
One of the things that the enemies had begun to do was to make personal attacks against Jesus. They began to suggest to people that Jesus was probably in league with the devil (Luke 11:15). The series of attacks that had begun when Jesus first began His public ministry had not abated with the passing of time. It got worse and worse.
1. They accused Jesus of speaking blasphemy when He pronounced forgiveness of sin to a paralytic. (Luke 5:21).
2. They accused Jesus of indiscretion and sin when He ate and drank with “tax-collectors and sinners”. (Luke 5:30).
3. They also accused Jesus of lack of piety when He did not seem to fast as often as the Disciples of John and the Pharisees. (Luke 5:33).
4. The enemies opposed Jesus in His interpretation and practice of the Sabbath. (Luke 6:2).
5. The latest attack was that of speaking against Jesus, and accusing Him of the worst possible sin – being in league with Beelzebub, the prince of demons (Luke 11:15).
How did Jesus personally cope with these attacks? How gracious Jesus was to those who spoke against Him. He would not bear grudges. He would forgive them, even if they spoke harsh and untrue words against Him. What an amazing attitude!
“BUT TO HIM WHO BLASPHEMES AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT, IT WILL NOT BE FORGIVEN.” Luke 12:10
Sin is always more deadly than we imagine. Jesus now taught that there was such a thing as the “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”. This sin is so grievous that there is no forgiveness at all.
What is this sin that Jesus spoke about? This is an important subject that we would do well to give all of our attention to study.
1. The context of Luke 11 and 12 must be carefully borne in mind as we ponder this serious statement of the Lord Jesus Christ.
a) The attacks against Jesus had become more and more vitriolic. The words hurled against Him had become more and more vicious.
b) There is a difference between the expression of doubts, and accusations. Doubts are normal and valid. Wild accusations are not! The latter stem from wickedness of the heart.
c) Jesus was obviously warning the Pharisees and Scribes that they were bordering on the point of blaspheming the Holy Spirit if they persevered in their wild attacks against Him.
2. The Spirit of God is far more involved than we imagine.
a) When Jesus began His ministry, He proclaimed that He was ministering in the Power of the Spirit of God. (Luke 4:18)
b) The miracles that Jesus performed must strongly suggest that there was an obvious higher power operating in His life. It stands to reason that the good that He did, the grace that exuded from His Being would cause people to recognize that the Spirit of God was indeed upon Jesus!
c) The Jews were not unfamiliar with the concept of God’s Spirit coming upon special servants of God. The Old Testament Scriptures made numerous references to the Spirit of God filling the lives of God’s servants. Their lives and their ministries demonstrated the fact that they are filled with the Spirit of God.
3. What then is unforgivable?
a) The deliberate twisting of truth.
b) The confusion of the Spirit of God with Beelzebub. This confusion was a deliberate act on the part of the Pharisees and Scribes. They were merely seeking to cast doubts on the Person and the Ministry of Jesus. They had not reckoned with the fact that their deliberate act of sabotage was not just a sin against Jesus, but it was an unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit.
“THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL TEACH YOU…” Luke 12:12
The Holy Spirit worked mightily in the life of Jesus. The Master then promised His Disciples that the same Holy Spirit would work in their hearts. The Disciples must be prepared to be hauled up before magistrates and other authorities because of their faith in Jesus.
At those unnerving trials, the Disciples must be prepared to be bombarded by all kinds of accusations. What would those questions be? How would they answer those questions? Jesus promised His Disciples that the Holy Spirit would not let them down! They must learn to trust the Spirit of God to help them answer their persecutors. The Spirit of God would grant them the necessary courage, wisdom and words to answer those who were out to condemn them for their faith in Christ. They would first try and discredit them at the trials. But the Spirit of God would help them prevail against their enemies! What a wonderful promise to comfort and encourage the heart.