luke 12

Read Luke 12 at Bible Gateway.

Luk 12 outline:

Luk 12:1-12, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees (hypocrisy) / remaining true to God to the end
Luk 12:13-15, Beware of covetousness
Luk 12:16-21, The parable of the rich fool
Luk 12:22-34, Do not worry about your life, but seek first the kingdom of God
Luk 12:35-48, Watch therefore / the faithful servant and the foolish servant
Luk 12:49-53, Jesus did not come to bring peace upon the earth, but division
Luk 12:54-56, Do not be a hypocrite only able to discern the weather, but discern the signs of the times
Luk 12:57-59, Judge what is right and make peace with your adversary

Luk 12:13-34 chiastic structure:

1a) Luk 12:13-20, Beware of covetousness (treasuring possessions);

1b) Luk 12:21, So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God;

1c) Luk 12:22a, Do not worry about your life;

1d.1) Luk 12:22b, What you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on;
1d.2) Luk 12:23, Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing;

1e) Luk 12:24, Consider the ravens; God feeds them + you are of more value than they;

central axis) Luk 12:25-26, “And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?”

2e) Luk 12:27-28 Consider the lilies; God clothes them + how much more will He clothe you;

2d.1) Luk 12:29, Do not seek what you should eat or drink, nor have an anxious mind;
2d.2) Luk 12:30-31, The world seeks things, but you seek the kingdom of God;

1a) Luk 12:30a, For all these things;
1b) Luk 12:30b, The nations of the world seek after;
central axis) Luk 12:30c, And your Father knows that you need these things;
2b) Luk 12:31a, Seek the kingdom of God;
2a) Luk 12:31b, And all these things shall be added to you;

2c) Luk 12:32, Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom;

2b) Luk 12:33, Provide for yourselves treasure in heaven that fails not;

2a) Luk 12:34, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The central axis is interesting. Jesus is making the case that it is foolish for the children of God to worry about the material things needed to live. The way He makes it is by saying, Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? A cubit was about 18 inches. Now if someone were to suddenly grow an additional height of 18 inches, we would consider that a miracle. To our human way of thinking, that is a hard thing to accomplish, and no one ever worries about accomplishing it. It is too fantastic to contemplate.

But then Jesus says, If you are not able to do the least, why worry about the rest? The rest being, what a person shall eat or drink or put on. These are the things we constantly worry about, and treasure, the material things that are needful for our bodies to exist comfortably and in health.

But it is the least thing for God to do something that for us too hard to even contemplate: adding height to a person’s stature. So much much more easy will it be for Him to do that which we can contemplate: provide for our material needs!

Really, when we worry, as the C pair reveals, the thing we fear is out of place. When we fear God and seek His kingdom first, we have no need to fear for material needs. But if we worry about material needs, it just means we have bought a lie from the enemy, that God is not able to provide for us. Rather, if it is His good pleasure to give us the kingdom, how much more the material needs of the body? We serve a wonderful Father! ♥