Luke 12 Bible study: Rich toward God

"Meanwhile, when a multitude of many thousands had gathered together, so much so that they trampled on each other" (12:1), Luke says, "he began to tell his disciples first of all" (12:1): "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy" (12:1) (tap hypocrisy). He goes on, "But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known" (12:2). Then he calls them "my friends": "I tell you, my friends, don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do" (12:4) (tap afraid). Here is what almost everyone misses: in 12:4-7 the Greek verb behind afraid and fear comes five times, three of them in one verse: "But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him who after he has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him." (12:5). Then the sparrows, "Not one of them is forgotten by God" (12:6), and "Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows" (12:7). Jesus says it once more in this chapter: "Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom" (12:32) (tap flock, good pleasure). Favor's Matthew 10 makes the same-verb point for Matthew's words (Matthew 10:28), in "Don’t be afraid", and these notes don't repeat it there. They don't say who "him" is in 12:5 beyond Jesus's words, and don't explain "Gehenna" (12:5).

Numbers 32:23→leads toLuke 12:2

Moses warns, "be sure your sin will find you out" (32:23). Jesus told his disciples, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known" (Luke 12:1-2). Luke doesn't cite Numbers 32, so this is a reading. Some hear in Jesus' words what Moses warns of, if "find you out" means the sin will come to light: nothing stays hidden before God, as Hebrews says, "There is no creature that is hidden from his sight" (Hebrews 4:13). Others note that the settings differ: Moses names one broken promise, not going over armed (32:20-23), while Jesus is warning against hypocrisy and goes on to "don’t be afraid of those who kill the body" (Luke 12:4), so they read the two as sharing a theme without one pointing to the other.

ψυχήpsychesay psoo-KHAY

Strong's gives its English as "heart (+ -ily), life, mind, soul" and more. The rich man speaks to it, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years" (12:19), and God says, "tonight your soul is required of you" (12:20). Two verses later the WEB gives the same word as life: "don’t be anxious for your life" (12:22), and "Life is more than food" (12:23). The life of "a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses" (12:15) is another word. Luke's Greek has this word 15 times (counted in RP2018, the Byzantine text the WEB translates), five of them in 12:19-23. Favor's Matthew 10 and Mark 8 study it in other sayings.