Luke 12:54

And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. AND HE SAID ALSO TO THE PEOPLE - rather, 'to the multitudes' [ tois (G3588) ochlois (G3793)]: it is a word of special warning to the thoughtless crowd, before dismissing them. WHEN YE SEE A CLOUD RISE OUT OF THE WEST, STRAIGHTWAY YE SAY, THERE COMETH A SHOWER; AND SO IT IS. AND WHEN YE SEE THE SOUTH WIND BLOW, YE SAY, THERE WILL BE HEAT ... HYPOCRITES, YE CAN DISCERN THE FACE OF THE SKY AND OF THE EARTH; BUT HOW IS IT THAT YE DO NOT DISCERN THIS TIME? See the note at Mark 8:11. They were wise in their forecastings as to the things of time, but applie...

54-59 Christ would have the people to be as wise in the concerns of their souls as they are in outward affairs. Let them hasten to obtain peace with God before it is too late. If any man has found that God has set himself against him concerning his sins, let him apply to him as God in Christ reconciling the world to himself. While we are alive, we are in the way, and now is our time....

Verse 54. _A CLOUD RISE_] See on Matthew 16:2; Matthew 16:3....

See the notes at Matthew 16:2. SOUTH WIND - To the south and southwest of Judea were situated Arabia, Egypt, and Ethiopia, all warm or hot regions, and consequently the air that came from those quarters was greatly heated. HOW IS IT THAT YE DO NOT DISCERN THIS TIME! - You see a cloud rise, and predict a shower; a south wind, and expect heat. These are regular events. So you see my miracles; you hear my preaching; you have the predictions of me in the prophets; why do you not, in like manner, infer that “this is the time” when the Messiah should appear?...

EXPOSITION LUKE 12:1 _The Lord_,_ after leaving the Pharisee_'_s house_,_ speaks at great length to a numerous crowd waiting for him_,_ addressing his words principally to his own disciples. _The foregoing scene (Luke 11:1.), when the Master addressed his bitter reproaches to the learned and cultivated of the great Pharisee party, took place in a private house belonging to an apparently wealthy member of this, the dominant class. The name of the large village or provincial town where all this happened is unknown. The crowd who had been listening to the great Teacher before he accepted the Pharisee's invitation still lingered around the house. Many from the adjoining villages, hearing that Jesus was in this place and was publicly teaching, had

AND HE SAID ALSO TO THE PEOPLE,.... For what Christ had before said, were chiefly, if not solely, directed to his disciples; but now he turned himself to the innumerable multitude that were about him, and particularly addressed himself to the Scribes and Pharisees that were among them: WHEN YE SEE A CLOUD RISE OUT OF THE WEST; the watery vapours being attracted by the heat of the sun, out of the Mediterranean Sea, which lies west of the land of Judea, and formed into a cloud, and drove by the wind: STRAIGHTWAY YE SAY THERE COMES A SHOWER; as soon as it is seen, it is presently concluded and affirmed, that a very heavy shower will soon fall, it having been frequently observed so to do, when this has been the case: AND SO IT IS; for the most part, there commonly follows a large shower on such an appearance, and they were seldom mistaken in their conclusions....

CHAPTER 12 _ 1. Warning Against Hypocrisy. (Luke 12:1)_ 2. Encouragements. (Luke 12:4) 3. Warning Against Covetousness. (Luke 12:15) 4. Warning Against Anxiety. (Luke 12:22) 5. The Disciples Comfort and Hope. (Luke 12:32) 6. The Parable of the Steward. (Luke 12:41) 7. The Purpose of God and the Resulting Division. (Luke 12:49) 8. Concerning signs.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES. For parallels see below. Jesus is oppressed with the thought of the future till it is accomplished. LUKE 12:49 F. Lk. only. Fire is what Jesus has come to cast on the earth (_cf._ Luke 3:16 f.); here it probably means division (Luke 12:51; Mt. sword). Would that the discord had set in it would mean that the Kingdom was nigh. But something else has to precede the Kingdom, perhaps also the discord, viz., His death, here referred to as a baptism, _i.e._ a new consecration (_cf._ Mark 10:38). The passage should be compared with the more formal predictions of the Passion, which may have been edited after the event

THE CREED OF COURAGE AND OF TRUST (Luke 12:1-12)...

ALSO TO THE PEOPLE. to the crowds also; not "in-consequent". See the Structure "L", p. 1471). OUT OF. from. Greek. _apo._ App-104. SHOWER. Occurs only here. IT IS. it happens....