Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 12:56
[Ye] hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?
56. Ye hypocrites ] The insincerity consisted in the fact that though the signs of the Kingdom were equally plain they would not see them, and pretended not to see them. The Prophets had long ago pointed them out. Among them were, miracles (Isa 35:4-6); the political condition (Gen 49:10); the preaching of the Baptist (Matthew 3).
discern ] Rather, test or prove.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 56. This time?] Can ye not discover from the writings of the prophets, and from the events which now take place, that this is the time of the Messiah, and that I am the very person foretold by them?
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
56. how . . . not discern,&c.unable to perceive what a critical period that was for theJewish Church.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Ye hypocrites,…. A word often used of the Scribes and Pharisees, and which suggests, that there were such in company, to whom Christ more especially directs his discourse; and this may be the rather thought, since much the like things are said by him to the Pharisees, with the Sadducees, in Mt 16:1 and the same appellation is given them there, as here:
ye can discern the face of the sky, and of the earth; from the appearance of the sky, they could tell how it would be with the earth, and the inhabitants of it, whether they should have dry or wet weather, heat or cold:
but how is it that ye do not discern this time? that this is the time of the Messiah’s coming, and that it is the accepted time, and day of salvation, if ye receive him, and believe in him; and a time of vengeance, if ye reject him: this might have been discerned by the prophecies of the Old Testament, which fix the characters of the Messiah, and the time of his coming; and describe the manners of the men of that generation, in which he should come: and point out both their happiness and their ruin; as also by the doctrines they heard Christ preach, and especially by the miracles which were wrought by him, it might have been known he was come.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
To interpret this time ( ). To test as spiritual chemists. No wonder that Jesus here calls them “hypocrites” because of their blindness when looking at and hearing him. So it is today with those who are willfully blind to the steps of God among men. This ignorance of the signs of the times is colossal.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “Ye hypocrites,” (hupocritai) “You hypocrites,” 1Co 1:19-27; Mat 16:1-3 indicates that these particular words were addressed to certain Pharisees and Sadducees who came questioning Him with ulterior motives.
2) “Ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth;” (to prosopon tes ges kai tou ouranou oidate dokimazein) “You all definitively perceive how to discern the face appearance of the natural earth, and the lower heaven,” the clouds and wind of the air, as in 1Ki 18:44-46.
3) “But how is it that ye do not discern this time?” (ton kairon de touton pos ou dokimazete) “Then just how (is it that) you all do not discern this time?” or season of fulfilled prophecy, of my coming, right before your face? Especially since you all claim to be authorities on the Law, Prophets, and the Psalms. They had demanded of Him “a sign” from heaven, but had not accepted the prophetic signs fulfilled, by both Him and John the Baptist, before their eyes already, Mat 1:18-25; Mat 3:1-8; Joh 1:30-34.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(56) How is it that ye do not discern this time?What had been said before to Pharisees and Sadducees (Mat. 16:3) is here repeated with a wider application. It was true of the people, as of their teachers, that they did not discern the true import of the time, the season, the crisis in which they found themselves. It was the time of their visitation (see Note on Luk. 19:44), and yet they knew it not.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
VIII. Necessity of understanding and recognizing the crisis, Luk 12:56-57. See note on Mat 16:1-15.
56. Ye hypocrites (See Luk 12:1.) It cannot be doubted that many of the scribes and Pharisees, whose leaven is hypocrisy, were present and allowed to appropriate this epithet.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“You hypocrites, you know how to interpret the face of the earth and the heaven, but how is it that you do not know how to interpret this time?”
But Jesus considers that if they can take the trouble to note the signs of changing weather, they might also have taken the time to note the signs occurring through His ministry which are fulfilments of Old Testament prophecy (Luk 4:18-19; Luk 7:21-23), and thus have recognised that the last days were there. They were all ‘experts’ on the weather. Why were they not equally experts in interpreting the Scriptures? The very words are a strong indication to them to wake up and recognise that this was the Lord’s acceptable time (Luk 4:19).
‘Hypocrites.’ They make a great play of being ‘the people of God’, but inwardly they are more interested in the weather. Their profession is simply on the whole an act, for they do not live it out.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Luk 12:56. Ye hypocrite, &c. “Since ye can form a judgment of the weather which shall happen, by the signs appearing in the earth and sky, what is the reason that you do not discover this time by its signs?” Our Lord meant the time of the Messiah’s appearing on earth, to accomplish the salvation of the world, according to the ancient prophesies. See Mar 8:11. Mat 16:1.-and also the time of his coming to destroy the Jewish nation, which he had described under the similitude of one who comes secretly and unexpectedly to rob a house, Luk 12:39-40.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
56. ] . perhaps referring to other signs of rain or heat from the appearance of the hills, &c.
. . ] The signs of this time were very plain; the sceptre had departed from Judah; the general expectation of the coming of the Messiah is testified even by profane authors; the prophets had all spoken of Him, and the greatest of them, the Baptist, had announced His arrival.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Luk 12:56 . seems too strong a term to apply to the people, and more appropriate to a Pharisaic or professional audience (Mat 16:3 ). Raphel, after Erasmus Schmidt, translates harioli , weather prophets, citing a passage from Lucian in support of this sense. This is certainly one meaning of the word ( vide Passow), but, as Hahn remarks, the usage of the N.T. does not support it here.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
hypocrites. See note on Luk 11:44.
can = know [how to]. Greek. oida. App-132.
face = appearance.
sky = the heaven. Singular. See notes on Mat 6:9, Mat 6:10.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
56.] . -perhaps referring to other signs of rain or heat from the appearance of the hills, &c.
. .] The signs of this time were very plain;-the sceptre had departed from Judah;-the general expectation of the coming of the Messiah is testified even by profane authors;-the prophets had all spoken of Him, and the greatest of them, the Baptist, had announced His arrival.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Luk 12:56. , ye hypocrites) A hypocrite is a term used to characterize him whosoever aims at a portion of good, or the appearance of what is good, and yet neglects the greater good. It is applied also, for instance, to an interpreter of dreams, ; but in this passage the Lord without doubt employed the usual Hebrew word, which means an evil-disposed hypocrite: for such signs of the times are adduced, as any even of the common people, without any physical science, might have appreciated.- , of the earth) Luk 12:54.- , of the heaven) Luk 12:55.-) the time of the Messiah. See Luk 12:49-50.- , how is it that ye do not) Spiritual proving [, ye know how to prove or discern, etc.] ought to be much more easy to man than the proving of things in the world of nature. [Yet notwithstanding, from the multitude of things which are the subjects of investigation in the latter, the former (the proving of spiritual things) is declined even by those who are placed in the highest and most favourable positions.-V. g.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
ye can: 1Ch 12:32, Mat 11:25, Mat 16:3, Mat 24:32, Mat 24:33
that: Luk 19:42-44, Dan 9:24-26, Hag 2:7, Mal 3:1, Mal 4:2, Act 3:24-26, Gal 4:4
Reciprocal: Ecc 8:5 – a wise Mat 6:2 – as Mat 7:5 – Thou hypocrite Mat 16:11 – General Luk 12:1 – which Joh 14:9 – how
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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The signs of the times were as clearly portrayed in the Scriptures as were the weather signs, yet they pretended there was nothing on record to indicate the work and purposes of Jesus.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The people could predict future weather from present signs, but they could not see that the events associated with Jesus’ ministry indicated the arrival of Messiah (cf. Mat 16:2-3). The present time was one of change and crisis. By calling His hearers hypocrites Jesus was saying that He recognized that their professed inability to recognize Messiah’s appearance was unreal. It was not that they could not see that He was the Messiah, but they did not want to see it in spite of the evidence.
"They understood the winds of earth, but not the winds of God; they could discern the sky, but not the heavens." [Note: Morris, p. 220.]