Bible Study series: Luke 12:8-12. Persecution will happen when you profess Christ. But remember: “The Holy Spirit will teach you at that very time what must be said.”
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 12:8-12
8 I say to you, “Everyone who acknowledges me before people—the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. 9 He who denies me before people will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven him. But he who slanders the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and rulers and authorities, don’t worry how or what you will speak in self-defense or what you should say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very time what must be said.” (Luke 12:8-12)
Comments:
8:
“acknowledges”: this verb can mean “confess” in the sense of “agreeing and speaking” or “speaking agreement.” BDAG says it means, depending on the context: (1) “to commit oneself to do something, for someone, promise, assure”; (2) “to share a common view or be of common mind about a matter, agree”; (3) “to concede that something is factual or true, grant, admit, confess”; (4) “to acknowledge something, ordinarily in public, acknowledge, claim, profess, praise.” It seems the fourth definition fits best here. We must profess and acknowledge and praise Jesus in public. It is used twice in this verse, so do we dare say that Jesus would profess and praise us before the angels? Yes.
“angels”: We must picture God in the middle of these angels. We acknowledge Jesus in public, and he will acknowledge us in the public of his angles. An angel, both in Hebrew and Greek, is really a messenger. Angels are created beings, while Jesus was the one who created all things, including angels (John 1:1-4). Renewalists believe that angels appear to people in their dreams or in person. It is God’s ongoing ministry through them to us.
Here is a multi-part study of angels in the area of systematic theology, but first, here is a summary list of the basics:
Angels:
(a) Are messengers (in Hebrew mal’ak and in Greek angelos);
(b) Are created spirit beings;
(c) Have a beginning at their creation (not eternal);
(d) Have a beginning, but they are immortal (deathless).
(e) Have moral judgment;
(f) Have a certain measure of free will;
(g) Have high intelligence;
(h) Do not have physical bodies;
(i) But can manifest with immortal bodies before humans;
(j) They can show the emotion of joy.
Angels: Their Duties and Missions
Angels: Their Names and Ranks and Heavenly Existence
Angels: Their Origins, Abilities, and Nature
“Son of Man”: it both means the powerful, divine Son of Man (Dan. 7:13-14) and the human son of man—Ezekiel himself—in the book of Ezekiel (numerous references). Jesus was and still is in heaven both divine and human.
4. Titles of Jesus: The Son of Man
9:
The opposite is true. If we deny the Son of Man, he will deny us in heaven. Always, always remain true to God and the faith. You do not want to experience his public, heavenly denial.
I take this verse seriously. The warning is not empty. It is a potential denial that can become actual.
Remaining a Christian or Falling Away?
Possible Apostasy or Eternal Security?
However, the good news is that God will work with the disciple to prevent him going so far. In Luke 22:32, Jesus prayed for Peter so that his faith would not fail (permanently). Jesus restored him.
10:
“a word”: this comes from the noun logos. The definite article is not used, so “a word” is the probable translation. This can either be a single sword, or it can be an entire message (Matt. 12:32 also says logos). It can also be a logical presentation of the kind that the critics of Jesus spoke against Jesus in Luke 11:14-23. They had everything logically worked out (so it seemed) and used the (false) claim that Jesus was expelling demons by Beelzebub, the rule of demons. Therefore, in context, blasphemy against the Spirit is probably an entirely (and falsely) logical system and presented it to the people, in public.
“will be forgiven”: it is in the passive, so it could be the divine passive here, which is an understated way of saying God is at work forgiving.
“forgiven”: In sum, God lets go, dismisses, releases, sends away, cancels, pardons, and forgives our sins. His work is full and final. Don’t go backwards or dwell on it. Clearly the most significant definition in this context is the second one. It means to forgive.
Please read these verses for how forgiving God is:
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us. (Ps. 103:10-12)
And these great verses are from Micah:
18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea. (Mic. 7:18-19, ESV)
“Son of Man”: see v. 8 for more comments.
“slanders”: it comes from the verb blasphēmeō (pronounced blahs-fay-meh-oh), and we get our word blaspheme from it. BDAG says it means, depending on the context: “to speak in a disrespectful way that demeans, denigrates, maligns, … in relation to humans slander, revile, defame … in relation to transcendent or associated entities slander, defame, speak irreverently / impiously / disrespectfully of or about.” The Shorter Lexicon adds the obvious: “blaspheme.”
A few people are anxious about this blasphemy verse in their own lives. I address this topic in a separate article. It’s too complicated to cover here.
What Is the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?
If you’re anxious about blaspheming the Spirit, then this proves that you did not do this.
11-12:
“worried”: see v. 22 for more comments.
The best example of having the Spirit inspire a person who is brought before a religious court is found in the book of Acts. Here are the key verses:
8 Then Peter, being filled with the Holy Spirit, replied to them. “Rulers of the people and elders: 9 if today we answer for the good work done to this disabled man, by what means this man has been saved, 10 let it known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this one does this man stand before you healthy. 11 This Jesus is ‘the stone which was rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.’ [Ps. 118:22] 12 And salvation is not by anyone else, for neither is there another name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:8-12, my tentative translation).
Here are some of my posts on a more formal doctrine of the Spirit (systematic theology):
The Spirit’s Deity and Divine Attributes
The Spirit in the Life of Christ
The Spirit in the Church and Believers
Peter is standing before the most august council or court in Judaism in Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin. He was just then (re-)filled with the Spirit, and he proclaimed in v. 12 that Jesus was the only name under heaven by which all people are saved. Peter was bold. I admire him. That is why I can never deny that Jesus is the only way to salvation, even for Jews. I won’t leave Peter and John alone standing before the Sanhedrin. Peter spoke words that “must be said.”
GrowApp for Luke 12:8-12
A.. Have you ever almost denied the Lord for any reason like an unfulfilled desire? How did you stop short of denying him? Or maybe you did deny him for a while. How did you come back? Share your story.
RELATED
11. Eyewitness Testimony in Luke’s Gospel
3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND MORE
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.
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