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Luke 12:54–56
“You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” (v. 56).
Wisdom consists largely in being able to rightly understand how to act in given circumstances. Scripture tells us this in a variety of ways. For example, Proverbs 26:4–5 tells us both to “answer a fool according to his folly” and to “answer not a fool according to his folly.” The point is to be aware of who we are talking to so that we know whether he is worth responding to sincerely because he might listen or whether he is not prepared to hear us and so answering him in a manner more in line with his unreasonableness is better. Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 explains that there is a time for everything, implying that the wise person does something at the time fit for it.
Discerning the right time for a particular course of action can be difficult, but often the times are so easy to interpret that we know the right response almost immediately. In such cases, there can be no excuse for not properly responding or not properly understanding the significance of the times. Jesus makes this basic point in today’s passage.
Turning to the crowds, Jesus appeals to their knowledge of weather patterns and how it informs them of the proper course of action. In the Holy Land, a cloud rising in the west meant moisture from the Mediterranean Sea that would drift east and then give rain. A wind from the south would blow over the desert, bringing with it hot air, or “scorching heat.” The people well understand this, so they are prepared to respond properly to the weather patterns (Luke 12:54–56).
Yet the very same people cannot “interpret the present time” (Luke 12:56). Jesus refers to His own teaching and miracle-working, which the crowds should be able to interpret as a sign that the kingdom of God has come in Him and that He has come to save them from their sin. But Jesus knows that most people in the crowds have not made the connection. They might think that He is the Messiah, but they have a wrong conception of what the Messiah came to do, and they are not prepared to see Him die and rise again. If even His closest disciples had difficulty with this (see Matt. 16:21–23), how much more did the crowds, who had a more limited connection to His ministry?
Their failure to see the full connection between Jesus’ ministry and the kind of Messiah whom God provides is not a mere lack of knowledge, for Jesus calls them “hypocrites” (Luke 12:56). Instead, the problem is one of the will. The people have a basic grasp of what His ministry is telling them, but they do not want to accept it.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Many of the people of Jesus’ day could not discern the signs of the times, and they ended up denying or misunderstanding Jesus’ messianic office. Bible-believing Christians today may not have that same problem, but sometimes we have difficulty discerning those points at which we must speak most clearly and boldly to the culture. By God’s grace, let us never be afraid to speak His truth on any matter.
for further study
- Ecclesiastes 8:5
- Matthew 12:38–42
- Matthew 16:1–4
- John 12:36b–43
the bible in a year
- Job 16–18
- Acts 9:1–22