We need to be urgently reconciled to Jesus, because the time is short!

Luke 12:54-59

54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?

57 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

In the previous passage (12:49-53), Jesus said some striking and confronting words about how he has come to bring division, even amongst families. You might have felt the strain of that idea. Is it worth following Jesus if it will mean bringing division among my family?

In this passage, Jesus says, yes, it is worth it – if we understand the time that we are in.

He uses an illustration about meteorology, for all those weather forecasters out there! Because of our knowledge of how weather works, we can often look into the distance and see what kind of weather might be coming our way. I grew up in Hobart, and the weather there comes in from the west, over Mount Wellington – all we had to do was look up to the mountain, and if there was a raincloud up on the mountain (which was often) we’d know that we would be getting that weather in about half an hour’s time. Even now that we have the convenience of accurate weather forecasts, we can still predict what is coming just by looking at the conditions around us.

Jesus is using this illustration to make a point. If we can tell what weather is coming from looking at the sky, then we should be able to understand the present time we are in by interpreting the signs.

This doesn’t mean we should be superstitious and look everywhere for signs. The sign is the Son of Man, Jesus. He was standing right in front of those he was speaking to in Luke 12 – and most people weren’t responding to him. And Jesus goes on to tell them in verses 57-59 that they need to work it out now, because the time is running out.

This illustration about going with your adversary to the magistrate is a stark warning to us. In the original context of the passage, Jesus is warning about the judgment that is about to fall on Jerusalem when he replaces the temple and its leadership. But the religious leaders didn’t heed this warning – and this is a warning for us! We need to be reconciled with Jesus urgently, because we are all walking toward God’s judgement throne. Each one of us will be judged – but if we are reconciled with Jesus, then God will look on Jesus’ righteousness instead of our own sinfulness! And so, we all need to understand the time we are in. We need to see the urgency and be reconciled with Jesus.

How do we do this? Well, we aren’t reconciled to Jesus by ‘doing more stuff’ – by going to church, going to growth groups, by just ‘ticking boxes’ in our Christian lives. Jesus tells us how to be reconciled to him in the next verses, 13:1-5: the only response that Jesus wants from us is repentance, that is, doing a U-turn from our old way of life, and living for Jesus. And when we turn to Jesus in repentance, rather than being our adversary, he becomes our gracious redeemer and friend, and our Father welcomes us back with open arms (Luke 15:20). What a wonderful privilege and joy!

Head: Do you understand the urgency of being reconciled with Jesus before he returns in judgement? How does this affect your thinking about evangelism?

Heart: How does the illustration about walking to the magistrate make you feel? Reflect on the goodness of Jesus in offering us reconciliation and taking upon himself the debt that we owed.

Hands: Who do you know who hasn’t yet been reconciled to Jesus? How could you be sharing your faith in Jesus with that person this week? Make a commitment to bring that person before God in prayer every day this week.

Prayer: Father God, I thank you that you have been patient in delaying the coming of your son Jesus so that more people could be reconciled to you. Please help me to repent of living life my own way, and to instead seek to live my life wholly for you. Thank you that you so freely offer reconciliation to you for those who repent and trust in your son Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen.

A song to listen to: Gracious Redeemer

Nick Woodward – Living Church Creek Road