| Luke 12 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Fragment ofUncial 0191, 6th century bilingual Greek-Coptic manuscript of the Gospels with text of Luke 11:51–12:5 | |
| Book | Gospel of Luke |
| Category | Gospel |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 3 |
Luke 12 is the 12thchapter of theGospel of Luke in theNew Testament of theChristianBible. It records a number of teachings andparables told byJesusChrist when "an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together", but addressed "first of all" to hisdisciples.[1][2] The book containing this chapter isanonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed thatLuke the Evangelist composed thisGospel as well as theActs of the Apostles.[3]
The original text was written inKoine Greek. Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
This chapter is divided into 59 verses.
Scottish ministerWilliam Robertson Nicoll calls this passage (verses 1–12) an "exhortation to fearless utterance".[4]Henry Alford suggests that this discourse consists "for the most part of sayings repeated from other occasions".[5]
Nicoll suggests that this is "the largest crowd mentioned anywhere in the Gospels"[4] but Jesus speaks "first of all" to hisdisciples,[1] only turning to the multitude in verses 14–21, in response to a question from someone in the crowd, and again in verses 54–59.Peter asks (at verse 41) whether theparable of the faithful servant is addressed solely to the disciples or to the wider multitude (παντας,pantas: 'everyone').[6]
TheJerusalem Bible notes that an alternative reading would connect the word "first" with the succeeding statement:First of all, be on your guard ... (Greek:πρωτον προσεχετε εαυτοις,proton prosechete eautois).[7] Protestant commentatorHeinrich Meyer likewise argues that "πρῶτον,before all, is to be taken with προσέχετε"; it does not belong to what precedes".[8] TheMatthew Bible (1537) and Ruth Magnusson Davis' New Matthew Bible translation (2016) pick up this reading:
This verse matchesLuke 8:17:
Eric Franklin suggests that, in particular, it is Pharisaic hypocrisy which will be revealed,[13] while David Robert Palmer translates the initial words of this verse, οὐδὲν δέ,ouden de, as "But there is nothing ...", arguing that "the particle δέ is meant to make a contrast here, between hypocrisy, in verse 1, and the disclosure of verse 2".[14]
InMatthew's wording, Jesus speaks in the darkness and exhorts his disciples subsequently to reveal what he has said (Matthew 10:27). Luke's version has the disciples speaking in the darkness. Nicoll compares these versions:
In the one representation thewhispering stage has its place in the history of thekingdom; in the latter it is conceived as illegitimate and futile. What you whisper will become known to all, therefore whisper not but speak from the housetop.[4]
Among thecanonical gospels of theNew Testament, thisparable of Jesus appears only in Luke's Gospel. The parable reflects the foolishness of attaching too much importance to wealth. It is introduced by a member of the crowd listening to Jesus, who tries to enlist Jesus' help in a family financial dispute:[16]
J. B. Lightfoot, Kuinoel (de:Christian Gottlieb Kühnöl), and others note and emphasise that he was "certainly no attendant of Jesus".[8] Meyer observes that he was "a Jew on whom the endowments and authority of Jesus produced such an impression that he thought he might be able to make use of Him in the matter of hisinheritance", but considers that "whether he was a younger brother who grudged to the first-born hisdouble share of the inheritance ... must be left in doubt".[8][18]
An abbreviated version of the parable appears in thenon-canonicalGospel of Thomas (Saying 63)[19] with a longer version similar to Luke's inPapyrus Oxyrhynchus 5575.
The parable has been depicted by artists such asRembrandt (illustrated),Jan Luyken,James Tissot, andDavid Teniers the Younger.
Similarly inMatthew 6:33, with a slightly longer text:Seek yefirst the kingdom of God,and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.[22]
This is one of several occasions in Luke's gospel where Jesus encouragesalmsgiving.
A series of exhortations to watchfulness and Luke's version of theparable of the faithful servant are contained in verses 35–48. The "master" (ὁ κύριος) is portrayed as being "away at a wedding", but "the main thought here only is that he is away at a feast, and will return".[5]
F. W. Farrar, in theCambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, makes reference to an ‘unwritten saying’ of Christ,He who is near me is near the fire, which is recorded byIgnatius,Origen and Didymus.[26]
The final verses of the chapter (verses 57–59) make use of an illustration based on a pecuniary claim[8] heard before the magistrates' bench (Greek:ἄρχοντα,archonta, aLukan word also appearing four times in the Acts of the Apostles):[27]
| Preceded by Luke 11 | Chapters of the Bible Gospel of Luke | Succeeded by Luke 13 |