Luke 12:56

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 Luke 12:56. _THIS TIME?_] Can ye not discover from the writings of the prophets, and from the events which now take place, that this is the time of the Messiah, and that I am the very person foretold by them?...

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

YE HYPOCRITES,.... A word often used of the Scribes and Pharisees, and which suggests, that there were such in company, to whom Christ more especially directs his discourse; and this may be the rather thought, since much the like things are said by him to the Pharisees, with the Sadducees, in Matthew 16:1 and the same appellation is given them there, as here: YE CAN DISCERN THE FACE OF THE SKY, AND OF THE EARTH; from the appearance of the sky, they could tell how it would be with the earth, and the inhabitants of it, whether they should have dry or wet weather, heat or cold: BUT HOW IS IT THAT YE DO NOT DISCERN THIS TIME? that this is the time of the Messiah's coming, and that it is the accepted time, and day of salvation, if ye receive him, and believe in him; and a time of vengeance, if ye reject him: this might have been discerned by the prophecies o

LUKE 12:56 pw/j ouvk oi;date dokima,zein {B} Although it is possible that copyists inserted oi;date in conformity with the preceding clause, it is more probable that they omitted the word in order to heighten Jesus’ condemnation (“Why do you not know how to interpret…?” implies a lack of knowledge; “Why do you not interpret…?” implies an unwillingness to use one’s knowledge)....

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)...