LUKE 12:54–59
“Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?”
(Luke 12:56).
Jesus said to the crowd, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is” (Luke 12:54–55). Jesus told them that they were very good at interpreting their physical environment. When clouds begin to rise off the Mediterranean Sea, it does not take a genius to figure out that there will be an afternoon shower; and when the wind starts to blow from the southern desert, hot weather is sure to follow.
Jesus, however, went on to say that they miserably failed to interpret their spiritual environment. They were missing the signs every pious Jew should immediately recognize—that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. It was the time foretold, the center of history—and they were missing it. As a consequence, the temple was destroyed a few decades later.
Jesus told them, as He had so many times before, that they needed to be reconciled with God before it was too late. “As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison” (v. 58). In this parable, the judge is obviously God and the adversary is Jesus. The Lord tells them they need to settle with Him before they are dragged before God and judged.
Jesus was saying, “You are disputing about who I am and My teaching. You need to be reconciled with Me, because we are on our way to the court. If you do not get things straight, you will wind up before the Judge, who is My Father, and He will show no mercy.”
CORAM DEO
Psalms 70–72
Romans 4
WEEKEND
Psalms 73–77
Romans 5–6
Because you are reading Tabletalk, chances are you are already right with God. If you feel you are not, then waste no time in getting with a Christian friend or pastor to discuss the matter. If you are a believer, consider the urgency of spreading the Gospel to your unbelieving friends. No one knows when we might appear before the Judge, and then it will be too late.
For further study: Luke 16:19–31; 1 Thessalonians 5:1–24; tape #B57INT.60/61
WEEKEND