From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part three of a series. Read part two.

This is the first point of Jesus' great evangelistic parable.

In this third segment of our series, we will begin to more closely examine the evangelistic parable that the Lord Jesus put before the  multitude in Luke 12:54-59:

Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the West, immediately you say, 'a shower is coming'; and so it is. And when you see the South wind blow, you say, 'there will be hot weather'; and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it that you do not discern this time?

Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite. (Luke 12:54-59)

In the last segment we saw that Jesus sets out four vital points about the Gospel in this parable. The first is that Jesus, while acknowledging that His audience is made up of intelligent people, makes it plain that even these intelligent people have thus far not understood the Gospel. You can discern the weather, He says, but "you do not discern this time." You can discern the changing states of the weather - but you cannot discern the true identity of the One who speaks to you at this moment.

How can this be? Jesus puts that question to the multitude, but they have no answer. How is it that the vast mass of humanity rejects the Lord Jesus Christ, and will not believe the Gospel? We have the key to the answer in the original language of verse 56. It reads, literally, "you do not know how to discern." Jesus' words assert the fact that sinful man is unable to discern who Jesus Christ truly is, or the truth of the Gospel, on his own.

The Word of God declares this in many other places. These are but a few:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

But even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age [i.e., Satan] has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

He who believes in Him [Jesus the Son of God] is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. (John 3:18-20)

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (2 Corinthians 1:18-25)

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools... (Romans 1:18-22)

The condition of sinful man, whose mind is in bondage to sin and Satan, is hopeless unless God intervenes. And Jesus' second point in this parable actually deepens that hopelessness: He next describes the adversarial nature of the Last Judgment for the unbeliever, and He identifies Himself as the great adversary of every unsaved sinner. We shall see this in more detail as we continue.

Next: The Adversary of Every Unbeliever

sas0050

Copyright 1998-2025

TeachingtheWord Ministriesmmmmmwww.teachingtheword.org

All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced in its entirety only,
for non-commercial purposes, provided that this copyright notice is included.

We also suggest that you include a direct hyperlink to this article
for the convenience of your readers.