Repetition of accusations and reinforcing of instructions

(One Perfect Life Chapters 108-112) In this portion of the Gospel we find repeated the accusations of the Pharisees against Jesus – He casts out demons by Beelzebub (Luke 11:15). Jesus affirms that all He does is performed by the “finger of God” and is a sign that God’s Kingdom is present among them (Luke 11:16-23) He also reminds the Pharisees that their repeated blaspheming against the Holy Spirit (attributing the works of God to satan) would not be forgiven (Luke 12:10).

Jesus also again warns His followers about demanding a sign from Him. He again states that the ultimate sign that He is the Messiah will come through His resurrection. He refers to this as the sign of Jonah – who was restored after being in the belly of a great fish for 3 days (Luke 11:29-32).

Jesus calls for them to shine forth the truth of the Gospel like a lamp giving light (Luke 11:33-36). Their eye is to be clear – single in its focus. They are to focus on the Kingdom and not the distractions of this world. By doing this they will be effective servants and lay up treasures in heaven.

His followers are expected to not be afraid of those that oppose them. He warns them not to fear those that can kill the body. They must instead be faithful to the one that controls both our temporary, physical lives and our eternal destination (Luke 12:4-12). They must be faithful in their profession of faith and unwavering in their service to God.

Jesus pronounces six woes on the Pharisees. Woes are denunciations and expressions of grief. Jesus is denouncing them for their empty religious practices and grieves for the judgment they will experience for their behavior (Luke 11:37-54). Jesus criticizes there rigid adherence to the written and oral laws. Their motivations is to be seen by men and not to please their Father. They are compared with unmarked graves that people unknowingly walk over. Walking over a grave made people ceremonially unclean. Likewise people that were obedient to the dictates of the Pharisees did not realize they were not truly honoring God.

Jesus tells the Pharisees they promote false practices which load unnecessary burdens on the people. At the same time they reject and have in the past even killed the true messengers/prophets from God. The worse accusation is that they mislead not only themselves but others as well.

After warning against false religious practices Jesus turns to warning the people about the false god of wealth (Luke 12:13-34). Jesus summarizes His teaching by reminding them, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We are called to service and to be watching for our Master’s return (Luke 12:35-48). We are not to be distracted by our critics nor the distractions of this world. He calls on us to be vigilant for Him and His Kingdom. There is no balancing of our spiritual and temporal lives. There is only a 100% commitment to our Savior that gives our life meaning.