A long time ago I did a Bible Study on the Kings of Judah. This was the southern kingdom, the one ruled by the descendants of King David. Whereas the Kings of Israel, the northern kingdom, went from bad to worse, most of the ones in Judah stayed close to God. That is, until the end. We talked about that end last time, from the book of the prophet Jeremiah. The end of Israel was expected; they reaped what they sowed. But what happened to Judah? When did they cross the line of no return?

Part of the truth of the saying, ‘you reap what you sow’, is that if you have indeed sown the seed, it WILL germinate sooner or later. It is not a question of IF, it is a question of WHEN. God gave the Prophet Jeremiah the unenviable mission of proclaiming to the Kingdom of Judah that their time had run out; their WHEN had finally come. Was that verdict irrevocable?

Chapter 12 of Luke’s gospel repeats many of the words and themes from the Sermon on the Mount. But, at the beginning of His ministry, the Sermon taught me how I am called to live as a child of God. Now, later on in the ministry, as the end draws near, when I have heard Him more than once say, “count the cost”, the same words acquire a different meaning. I have to face the question, why have I been called to live as a child of God?

Have you ever had your train of thought interrupted? In Luke chapter 12, Jesus is trying to explain how important it is to be ready for the coming of the Messiah. To Him it is a matter of life or death, eternal life or eternal death. And as he is building up his argument, step by step, someone in the audience raises his hand and starts talking about money.

If you had asked one of the Scribes of the Pharisees what it would take for the long-awaited Messiah to come, chances are the answer would have been: “For all of you to shape up and live righteous lives.” That is one way several scriptures about the Messiah were interpreted: The sins of Israel were the obstacle that kept holding back His arrival. It explains the zeal of the Pharisees for obeying every little law and even explains why they were so harsh with the sinners all around them. But Jesus, addressing the same subject of the coming of the Messiah, starts his discourse by pointing out the error of the Pharisees.

Chapter 12 of Luke’s gospel is about getting prepared for the arrival of the Messiah. Jesus started the conversation by addressing the first obstacle that gets in our way, namely, the leaven of hypocrisy: Claiming with my lips to love God but living and believing the opposite in my heart. The next obstacle he is going to address is fear. Are these two obstacles connected? Yes. The Pharisees are the proof.