Upside-Down Christmas: Luke 12

Luke 12

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Jesus starts off chapter 12 with an upside down kind of pronouncement. He says, “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.” (Luke 12:2-3)

Now, that’s a little confusing on the face of it; but when you read the rest of the chapter things start to make sense.

By the way, this is day number twelve in our Advent series called “Upside Down Christmas,” and what we’re doing is looking at the way that Jesus turns things on their heads throughout his life and ministry, and even his death and resurrection. And we’re doing all that by walking through the Gospel of Luke together—one chapter at a time. And I hope you’ll read the whole chapter because there’s way more in there than we can cover. If you keep up, you’ll have read the whole gospel by the end of December.

In any case, in chapter 12, we see Jesus talking about all the hidden things coming to light. And what you realize is that, as the chapter progresses, Jesus is really applying this to the life of those inside his church. That is, he wants his followers to know that they will be held accountable not just for the things that they say and do in public, but also for the things they say and do that no one really sees.

And that’s so important because a lot of Christians are worried about the reputation of the church or about the reputation of Christians. Many churches have tried to cover up scandalous behavior among their leaders or members in an effort to protect the reputation of Jesus (though, really they’re protecting their own reputation). But Jesus is saying all of that will come to light, and there will be a final accounting.

And then there’s those who refuse to acknowledge Christ before men, who deny Christ because of persecution or pain—they too will face Christ’s judgement. It’s almost as though their unwillingness to suffer for the sake of the name of Christ negates Christ’s public suffering in their behalf. Like he’s saying, if you’re not willing to suffer publicly for me, how can my public suffering be applied to you? And in the end, the denial of Christ before men will result in the denial of men before the angels.

And I guess the summarizing feature of all of this is hypocrisy. That’s really what Jesus is talking about. He is saying that people who try to live one way on the outside, who present themselves to the world in one way, but who secretly are another way—they aren’t going to be able to keep up the charade all the way through. It may benefit them for a time, but in the end all will be revealed.

Heavenly Father, you already know all things about us; nothing is hidden from your sight. You know the secret sins of our hearts, our true dispositions, our wicked and perverse thoughts. You know the true motivations of our hearts even when we don’t! Forgive us, Lord. Have mercy on your servants and teach us to repent of our hypocrisy by revealing it to us and by walking us toward open and honest living. For your name’s sake. Amen.

Family Devotion:

Read Luke 12:2-3 together

Jesus reminds us that God isn't like a human who can be tricked. He sees our hearts and actions, good or bad.

Why do your think people hide things? What's the difference between hiding from friends and hiding from God?

Jesus also tells us that the sin we try to hide will eventually come out, bigger and louder than we ever wanted it to be. If you do something wrong, hiding it doesn't work. It's better to confess (say sorry) to God and others

How can we be brave and tell the truth?