”I tell you,
whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also
acknowledge before the angels of God”
(Luke 12:8).
Previously we witnessed Jesus revealing the true
nature of a class of people who considered themselves very close to being
perfect. The Pharisees thought that they were faultless. How do we know that?
One of them made the claim and we have that on record. He has been, “…circumcised on the eighth day, of the
people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to
the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic
righteousness, faultless” (Philippians 3:5, 6).
They managed to fool people, but they couldn’t fool
Jesus – He revealed their true nature.
One sentence could describe the idea of today’s
Scripture (Luke 12:1-12): How to follow Jesus in a world of fierce opposition.
Verses (Luke 11:53, 54) signal a change in people’s
attitudes towards Jesus. A considerable divide was taking place:
The crowds, in great number – attracted by His
teaching, healings and miracles;
The religious leaders – openly and aggressively
“besieging Him with questions”;
This development made following Jesus a risky and
dangerous exercise.
Therefore, Jesus speaks to His disciples. They don’t
know the future…they dream about the future. The future they dreamed off was
quite different from reality. God knows reality.
“Beware…” Being aware means being informed
about the “dangers ahead”. Awareness comes with the expectation that those
warned will take heed and steer away from danger.
For us, the message is: live open and sincere lives, fearing God, honoring Jesus as Lord and relying on the Holy Spirit. That way we will “be acknowledged” before the angels of God.