Lesson 41 Luke 12:32- 40 The Meaning of Treasure

No Fear: Luke 12:32- 34

King James Version (Chapter 12)

32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The title, “The Meaning of Treasure,” comes from verse 34 and the preceeding verses. Jesus says, that where ever your treasure is, your heart can be found there also. That is a piece of good and bad news, depending on the individual. He has just old those around Him that if you seek first the kingdom of God, He will take care of your material and physical needs (vs.31) Now Jesus lovingly commands and reassures them that the need not fear:Fear not! Small words, big impact. Then He speaks to them by the term, “Little Flock.” Fear not little flock. They have not heard this sort of term yet by the Savior as He gathers them in beside Him. They are told that they are His “Little Flock.”

The Flock 12:32

There is an unseen direct line drawn from “Little Flock” to “the Father’s Good Pleasure.” That is the direct line of the believer. though this generation did not have the complete Bible in their possession, Jesus was delivering some of the family talk they may have never heard. Jesus is telling the flock that they are getting everything thing they need in the kingdom. It is a message of faith. You cannot see it, but you will experience it because it is the Father’s special/good pleasure that they receive the very best of the kingdom.

Fear and worry seem to be a very constant in the headlines around the world. Closer home, as we have seen this past week in Florida, Hurricane Milton approaches with a death wish fury on an already storm tossed Gulf Coast. Officials are saying do not fear, but do not stay. For those who stay, nothing can be promised. They are prepared for the worst, the best way they can. The officials are preparing but have no control over their kingdom. The residents of the kingdom have no control over their own personal property. They are at the end of themselves, totally dependent on the coming storm. And, who knows what?

Jesus is saying, there is no fear in my kingdom, because my Father is putting you in charge and He is giving the kingdom to you. In the book of John, chapter 14, we find that Jesus has gone to great lengths to prepare a place in eternity for us, and He will go all the way to the cross to purchase the rights to this kingdom for you. The explanation for the nature of things you will need is simply put: 1. Sell everything you have, 2. Give alms(charitable gifts), 3. Make sure your money bags aren’t going to wear out, 4. Have treasure in the heavens. There’s no need to worry about loss, because where you heart is, there is your treasure. This is a kingdom that is heart strong!

English Standard Version (Chapter 12)

“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Jesus is telling us that His kingdom is a kingdom of expectancy. The first and last verse of this passage tell it all. “Be ready,... for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Jesus will come knocking at a day and an hour that you will not expect, unless you are vigilant. The Master is coming. He will be a gentleman and knock before He enters. You will be blessed when Jesus finds you ready for His return. It is not going to be an easy wait. It takes attention to your door to His kingdom. Doorkeepers are you at your posts of duty? When Jesus comes, He will be ready to spend some time with you. I like to think about the fact that Jesus will be dressed all by himself for His time with us(vs.37). If He comes when men are sleeping in the 2nd and 3rd watches, He notes that those who are awake and open the door, they will be truly blessed.

We know that the Master is coming in from a wedding feast. He is returning to a place that He is very familiar with. It is a place that He calls home. He would be expecting people to be awake and waiting when he gets home. The next thing that happens is that the Master dresses himself to be a servant, has the servants recline at the table and not himself. Then He does the unthinkable, he goes and serves the servants. He parties at the wedding feast, comes home at an unknown hour and then parties with the staff. You don’t think that stuff happens but it does in this story. Just as we don’t think all the time about a master who serves, we also don’t think about servants who get served. It is an interesting kingdom in this story. And it could come in to being at any time.

Now, in verse 39, we see that a thief is nearby and desiring to enter in also. This guy just pops up out of nowhere. I guess you could say he is a real nowhere man. He will be unannounced. He will come in without knocking and will unload your belongings into his truck. The thief is not a part of the story until the end of this paragraph. Yikes. Surprise! It will happen so fast that you had no idea what was going on. You would not have left if you had known you were going to be robbed. I hate it when that happens! I find it amusing that whenever I go to Facebook and start looking at people’s posts, I always get some form of advertising to let me know that there are cameras to help you be vigilant to take care of your property. That way, when the the thief comes, you can watch and see in HD video how much fun he is having, clearing out all of your stuff. After all, apparently Jesus said we didn’t need it it, so the thief just took the opportunity to relieve us of all of the unnecessary stuff.

Just as we ready ourselves for theft, we should ready and prepare for the blessings of the Kingdom and the return of Christ. I believe it is an interesting note to picture that these servants get to spend quality time with the Master. We speak of His return, Jesus our Master, as an imminent occurence. From our vantage point in eternity and after this passage and the whole Bible was written we can safely say some things about this return for us.It can happen at any time. There is nothing preventing Jesus from coming to gather us up for some eternal fellowship. He is not only preparing the place, the feast, and the wedding. It will be a time of great blessings untold. But it will come at a time when the thief is very busy. Perhaps even a time of great fear.

But Jesus says, “Fear not little flock.” The Apostle Paul gave us a little insight about that time in the book of I Thessalonians, the first chapter, verse 10:

King James Version (Chapter 1)

“10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”

I believe we will not know the nature of the wrath that is coming, but it is of such magnitude that the Lord Jesus is going to have to intervene. It is at this point, the servants and laborers in the house of God will now be served by the Master Himself. Hold onto your hats, you ain’t seen nothing yet.