Luke 12:56

Since the Lord was speaking about preaching and called it fire and a sword, it is very likely that the listeners, not understanding the meaning of His words, were troubled. Therefore He says: just as you recognize changes in the weather by certain signs, so …

And because from these sensible things man is led by the hand to the understanding of those things which they were neglecting to consider, therefore he adds: Hypocrites, you know how to judge the face of the sky and the earth; but how is it …

Christ's Charge to His Apostles. 1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:91%@v1-2

Ye hypocrites,....

This time? - Can ye not discover from the writings of the prophets, and from the events which now take place, that this is the time of the Messiah, and that I am the very person foretold by them?

The first thing which this passage teaches us—is the duty of noticing the signs of the times. The Jews in our Lord's days neglected this duty. They shut their eyes against events of the most significant character—which were occurring in their own day. They refused to see that prophecies were being fulfilled around them—which were bound up with the coming of Messiah, and that the Messiah Himself must be in the midst of them. The ministry of John the Baptist had excited attention from one end of the land to the other.

THESE words were addressed by our Savior to the common people who had gathered around Him. He appealed to their common sense. They were able to foretell the weather from the signs which they saw in the heavens and if they could do this, the signs of His coming were even more clear and manifest, so that if they would but use their eyes they might see that He was the Messiah. That they did not do so was an instance of hypocrisy of heart—they did not see the Savior because they would not.

The first thing which this passage teaches us—is the duty of noticing the signs of the times. The Jews in our Lord's days neglected this duty. They shut their eyes against events of the most significant character—which were occurring in their own day. They refused to see that prophecies were being fulfilled around them—which were bound up with the coming of Messiah, and that the Messiah Himself must be in the midst of them. The ministry of John the Baptist had excited attention from one end of the land to the other. The miracles of Christ were great, undeniable, and well-known. But still the eyes of the Jews were blinded. They still obstinately refused to believe that Jesus was the Christ. And hence they drew from our Lord the question, "Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you do not know how to interpret this present time?" It befits the servants of God, in every age, to observe the public events of their own day, and to compare them with the predictions of unfulfilled prophecy. There is nothing commendable in an ignorant indifference to contemporary history. The true Christian should rather watch the career of governments and nations with a jealous watchfulness—and hail with gladness the slightest indication of the day of the Lord being at hand. The Christian who cannot see the hand of God in history, and does not believe in the gradual movement of all kingdoms towards the final subjection of all things to Christ—is as blind as the Jew! Let us remember the words of our Lord in the passage before us—and not err after the manner of the Jews. Let us not be blind, and deaf, and insensible to all that God is doing, both in the Church and in the world. May we all have an ear to hear—and a heart to understand! May we not sleep as many do, but watch and discern our time!

THESE words were addressed by our Savior to the common people who had gathered around Him. He appealed to their common sense. They were able to foretell the weather from the signs which they saw in the heavens and if they could do this, the signs of His coming were even more clear and manifest, so that if they would but use their eyes they might see that He was the Messiah. That they did not do so was an instance of hypocrisy of heart—they did not see the Savior because they would not. Our Savior's coming had been very clearly foretold by the Prophets. The people were generally acquainted with the Prophetic writings and there had been, consequently, a general expectation of the coming of the Messiah at the time. Above all, the scepter had departed from Judah and they knew by this sure signal that the set time for the coming of Shiloh had arrived. Beyond this, our Savior's Character and miracles attested His Messiahship, for He worked among the people such works as no other man had ever done and taught them with a Divine authority which they could not resist. Did not the blind see? Did not the deaf hear? Did not the lame walk? Were not lepers cleansed and the dead raised? And was not the Gospel preached to the poor? What other tokens could they ask? Were not these the ensigns which their great Prophet, Isaiah, had left on record for their guidance? As certainly as a cloud in the western sky predicted rain and a wind from the south was the sign of heat, so assuredly there were infallible tokens, visible to all who chose to see them, that the Messiah had come! He charges them to use their common sense and not submit themselves to be hoodwinked by their leaders.