누가복음 12

The leaven of the Pharisees

¹Meanwhile the crowd had grown to many thousands, so packed that people were stepping on one another. Jesus began to speak, first of all to his disciples: “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees. I mean their hypocrisy.^{a 2}Everything that is covered up now will be uncovered, and every secret will come out. ³So anything you said in the dark will be heard in broad daylight. Anything you spoke into someone’s ear in a back room will be announced from the tops of the houses.

The one to fear

⁴My friends, I tell you this: do not be afraid of people who can kill the body but then can do nothing further. ⁵I will point out the one you should fear. Fear the one who, after the killing is done, has the right to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, he is the one to fear. ⁶You can buy five sparrows for two pennies, can you not? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. ⁷Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So do not be afraid. You matter more than a great many sparrows.

⁸I tell you, if anyone openly stands with me in front of others, the Son of Man will stand with that person in front of God’s angels. ⁹But whoever denies knowing me in front of others will be denied in front of God’s angels. ¹⁰Anyone who says something against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But anyone who speaks evil against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.^{b 11}People will bring you before synagogues, rulers and officials. When they do, do not worry over how to answer the charges or what words to use. ¹²When the moment comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you need to say.”

A rich man and his barns

¹³Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to share our father’s property with me.” ¹⁴Jesus answered, “Friend, who made me your judge, or put me in charge of dividing your property?” ¹⁵Then he said to them, “Take care! Keep yourselves from every kind of greed. Even when someone has more than enough, life does not come from the things a person owns.” ¹⁶Then he told them a parable: “There was a rich man whose land gave a huge harvest. ¹⁷He kept turning it over in his mind: ‘What am I to do? I have no place where I can store my harvest.’ ¹⁸Then he said, ‘Here is my plan. I will pull down my barns and put up larger ones, and I will gather all my grain and my goods into them. ¹⁹Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things put away for years to come. Rest now. Eat, drink, and have a good time.”’ ²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being asked back from you. And the things you have made ready, whose will they be then?’ ²¹That is how it is for anyone who piles up wealth for themselves but is not rich in God’s sight.”

Life is more than food

²²Then Jesus said to his disciples, “That is why I tell you: stop worrying about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will put on it. ²³Life is worth more than food, and the body is worth more than clothing. ²⁴Think about the ravens. They do not plant or harvest. They have no storehouse and no barn. Yet God feeds them. And you are worth far more than birds! ²⁵Which of you can make your life one hour longer by worrying?^{c 26}If you cannot manage even something so small, why worry about all the rest? ²⁷Look at how the lilies grow. They do not work hard or spin thread. But I tell you, Solomon himself, in all his glory, never wore anything as fine as one of them.^{d 28}If God dresses the wild grass this way, grass that is in the field today and fuel for the oven tomorrow, he will do far more for you. How little faith you have! ²⁹So do not be always looking for what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not be on edge about it. ³⁰These are the things that the nations of the world chase after, but your Father knows that you need them. ³¹Instead, set your hearts on his kingdom, and you will receive these things besides.^e

³²Do not be afraid, my little flock. Your Father has gladly chosen to give you the kingdom. ³³Sell what you own and give the money to people in need. Get yourselves money bags that never wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never run out. No thief can get near it there, and no moth can spoil it. ³⁴Your heart will be wherever your treasure is.

Servants waiting for their master

³⁵Stay ready for work, with your belt tied and your lamp lit. ³⁶Be like people who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding feast, ready to open the door the moment he arrives and knocks. ³⁷Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake and watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will tie on an apron, seat them at the table, and come and wait on them himself. ³⁸He may come in the middle of the night or even later, but if he finds them ready, those servants are blessed.

³⁹You can be sure of this: if the owner of a house knew the hour when the thief was on his way, he would not let anyone dig through the walls of his house.^{f 40}Be ready yourselves, then. The Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think he will.”

⁴¹Peter asked, “Lord, is this parable meant for us, or are you telling it to everyone?” ⁴²The Lord answered, “Who, then, is the manager who can be trusted and who acts wisely? His master will put him in charge of the other workers in the household, to give them their share of food when it is due. ⁴³Blessed is that servant if his master finds him doing just that when he comes home. ⁴⁴I tell you truly, he will put him in charge of everything he owns. ⁴⁵But that servant may think, ‘My master will be a long while yet.’ He may start beating the menservants and the serving girls, and eating and drinking until he is drunk. ⁴⁶Then his master will arrive on a day the servant does not expect, at an hour he has not guessed. He will cut him to pieces and put him with the unfaithful.^{g 47}A servant who knew his master’s wishes but made no preparations and did not carry them out will receive a heavy beating. ⁴⁸But a servant who did not know, though he did what deserved a beating, will get a lighter one. Much will be asked of everyone who has been given much. And when much has been put in someone’s care, even more will be asked of that person.

Fire on the earth

⁴⁹I came to set fire to the earth, and how I long for it to be blazing already!^{h 50}But first I must go through a baptism, and I am under great strain until it is over! ⁵¹Do you suppose that I came to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I came to bring division. ⁵²From now on, a family of five will be split, three against two and two against three. ⁵³Father will turn against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, a woman against her son’s wife and the wife against her husband’s mother.”

Reading the time

⁵⁴Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud coming up in the west, you say straight away, ‘There will be rain,’ and so there is. ⁵⁵And when the south wind is blowing, you say, ‘A scorching day is coming,’ and so it turns out. ⁵⁶You hypocrites! You can read the face of the earth and the sky. How is it, then, that you cannot read what this moment means? ⁵⁷Why can you not decide for yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸When someone is taking you to court before the magistrate, do your best to settle with them while you are still on the way. If you do not, your accuser may drag you before the judge. The judge may hand you over to the officer, and the officer may throw you into prison. ⁵⁹I tell you, there will be no way out for you until the very last penny is paid.”