Jump Start # 69

Lk 12:4-5 “But I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!” 

   Luke begins this chapter with: “under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to his disciples first of all, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.’” That scene is just hard to imagine. If we were describing a college football game or a concert we could identify with such a massive crowd. But they came to hear and see Jesus. Amazing! Thousands…stepping on one another. I wish I could have witnessed that.

  Jesus used this opportunity to warn the disciples about the Pharisees. The influence, or leaven of the Pharisees was poisoned waters. The disciples had to know the truth. It is in this setting that Jesus uses the words from our verse today.

  Our passage is a contrast. It involves two people, one is identified, the other is rather generic. The passage also is a contrast to what the two people can do. Finally, there is a contrast in how the disciples should react to these two people. The two people: one can only kill the body (that is the generic person). Many people could do that. The Lord may have in mind persecutors. But evil and corrupt men do this all the time. They murder and they take. The other person is more specific (the One who can kill and cast into Hell). This is God. God has that power and that authority. Jesus is not speaking of Satan. Satan does not have the authority to cast into Hell. That comes about after the judgment. It is the right of God to do those things.

  Fear God is what Jesus is saying. Some places in our Bible, fearing God means respect, such as Solomon’s conclusion in Ecc 12:13. Other times it means what it says, “fear.” In Hebrews we are told, “For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:29). Earlier in Hebrews it says, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (10:31). Long ago preachers preached, “Hell, fire and brimstone” type of sermons. Today, God is seen more like a Mr. Roger’s kind of person, rather sweet, nice, and a bit out of touch. Hell is real. Hell never ends. Casting into Hell is serious. It ought to scare us. It ought to make us drop to our knees and apologize to God. It ought to shake us up to obedience.  This is a big deal.

  It’s hard not to fear those who can kill the body. That alone is serious. That is scary. But life doesn’t end at death. They can do no more is what Jesus said. They are limited to the pain that they can cause. But God is different. We need to pay closer attention to God than man.

  Jesus began this section with the words, “My friends.” He used that expression often. He was a friend. He treated all like friends. He helped like a friend would help. He was there as a friend would be. What a friend we have in Jesus is a great song and a comfort to know. Our friend has warned us. He tells us these things because He cares. He is our friend. We need to know. God is God, don’t ever forget that. He is not like us. He is above us in every way. When talking to God, we need to be reverent and respectful. We need to watch out for blaming God, questioning God or casually saying His name, such as, ‘O my…’.  God is God. We need to worship Him the way He wants to be worshipped. We need to do things His way, and not our way. It is not about us, but about God. Why? Because He is God.  Don’t let His love toward you, nor your love toward Him change His position. He is God. Remembering that will help you in many ways.

 Roger