Luke 12:32-40
Do Not Be Afraid Little Flock!
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Ever since Adam and Eve rebelled against their loving Creator thereby bringing sin into every aspect of this world, fear has been a part of mankind’s existence. Adam himself testifies to this truth, doesn’t he. Do you remember what Adam confessed when God came down to the garden and asked, “Where are you?” Adam responded, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid” (Genesis 3:10). In our Old Testament lesson for today (Genesis 15:1-6) we heard God say to Abram, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1). What was Abram afraid of? He was afraid that since he and Sarah were still childless, God was not going to fulfill the promise He had made to them. Elijah was afraid that he was the last remaining believer and now his life was being threatened by King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. (See 1 Kings 18-19) When the virgin Mary was “greatly troubled” by the sudden appearance of the angel Gabriel, he said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:29-30). What caused Peter to deny even knowing who Jesus was? (Matthew 26:69-75) What was the first emotion that swept over the women when they saw the angel sitting on the stone outside of Jesus’ tomb? (Matthew 27:1-10) Why did Jesus’ disciples lock themselves in a room on that first Easter Sunday? (John 20:19)
Since we are no different from Adam or Eve or Abram or Elijah or Mary or Peter or any Jesus’ disciples, we too struggle with all different kinds of fears in our lives. Because we all struggle with fear, I’d like us to use this text as an opportunity to listen as our Savior says to us: Do Not Be Afraid Little Flock!
As we noted last week a crowd of thousands of people had gathered to listen to Jesus of Nazareth teach. While Jesus originally addressed His teachings to the crowd in general, in Luke 12:22 Luke tells us that Jesus also addressed some of His teachings specifically to His disciples. The fact that Jesus distinguished between the large crowd of people and His disciples is made very clear when we hear our Lord say in the opening words of our text, “Do not be afraid, little flock.” These words were addressed specifically to Jesus’ disciples— which, of course, means that these words are addressed to you and to me!
The fact that Jesus describes His disciples as a “little flock” reminds us of two truths. First, it reminds us that we are Jesus’ “flock.” We are the “sheep” who recognize and follow the voice of our “Good Shepherd.” (See John 10) The second truth reminds us that we are a “little flock.” Compared to the billions upon billions of people who have ever or who will ever live on the face of this earth, we who believe that Jesus is the Son of God and this world’s only Savior from sin are relatively small in number.
It is to His “sheep,” it is to us that Jesus says, “Do not be afraid, little flock.” Why don’t we need to be afraid? Because as Jesus assures us, “Your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom”! Let those beautiful comforting words sink in, my friends! Our heavenly Father, the God of unlimited power, the God who owns absolutely everything, the God who “calls each star by name” (See Psalm 147:4; Isaiah 40:26) is “pleased” to give to us His glorious heavenly kingdom! Why? Why did the heavenly Father “choose” to give His Kingdom and all of its vast riches to us? Because we belong to Him! (Pointing to the cross) We have been “redeemed,” we have been “bought back” from the power of sin, death and the devil through the holy precious blood and the innocent suffering and death of God’s only begotten Son! The Father’s eternal unbounded love for His Son now envelopes us who believe and trust in Jesus as our Savior! Since we are the “Good Shepherd’s” “little flock” — purely by grace through faith!— the heavenly Father is “pleased to give (us) His Kingdom!”
How does this astonishing truth take away our fear? Think about it, my friends. One of the fears that many people have today— including many Christians— centers on the economy. Inflation is at a forty year high. Putting food on your family’s table is much more expensive now than it was just a short time ago. While the price of gas has receded from its record-breaking highs, it is still far more expensive than it was just one year ago. Interest rates on loans are going up while the stock market is going down. The price of the average home and the cost of rent is— well, you know what it is like.
Any fears we might have when it comes to the economy are quelled when we hear Jesus say to us, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” The security that we have knowing that our heavenly Father was “pleased” to give us all the riches of His heavenly Kingdom is what enables us to properly understand these words of our Savior, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moths destroy. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
These words are a sharp contrast to the “Rich Fool” that we studied in last Sunday’s sermon text. (Luke 12:16-21) Since we know what our heavenly Father has stored up waiting for us in heaven, our heart is willing to give up some of our own possessions in order to help someone who is in need. This attitude of being willing to give up something the good Lord has given to us so that we can help someone else is one way to put into practice our Lord’s encouragement to “Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out.”
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” Those words also go a long way in helping us to understand Jesus’s words, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Let’s think this through. If your “treasure” is focused on gathering together worldly possessions and then using them for your own leisure and your own pleasure— like the “Rich Fool”— then your desires, your plans and your actions will be focused on gathering those earthly riches. If your “treasure” is power or fame or glory then your heart will be focused on ways to achieve those goals. In the same way, if deep down in your heart you know that your greatest “treasure” is waiting for you in heaven, then you will look for ways to use your time, your talents and your earthly treasure to promote and support heavenly things— like sharing the message of the cross of Jesus Christ with others (Pointing to the cross), like supporting the work of God’s Kingdom here on this earth.
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” Are there any other fears that are taken away by those astonishing words? Yes, there are! In my experience one fear that is common among many people— both young and old alike— is the fear of not having a purpose to their life. “Why am I here?” or, “Why am I still here?” are questions that I hear on a regular basis. The fear of not having a purpose in our life is taken away when Jesus highlights the greatest purpose we could ever possibly have— the purpose our God has given to each and every member of His “little flock”! Look at what Jesus says to you and to me in verses 35-38 of our text, “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he come and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.”
Jesus used a picture that was extremely familiar to the people of His day and age. It is the picture of a groom going to his wedding banquet. After the banquet was over he would then bring his bride home with him. While the master was gone the servants would excitedly prepare for the arrival of their master and his bride. No matter what time they arrived home the servants wanted to make sure they were ready to greet them! Jesus, however, goes on to add a startling announcement to this common practice, doesn’t He! He says that when the master returns he will invite his servants to “recline at the table” and then he, the master, will serve them!
As “sheep” in Jesus’ “little flock” we have a glorious and important purpose in our lives, my friends. Our purpose is found in the words, “be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning” What does this mean? It means that we are to see ourselves as “servants” of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. It means that our purpose in this world is to serve as His witnesses— to share with others who Jesus is and what He has done for them! It means that we are to let the light of our faith shine brightly in the actions of our lives so that others “may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). It means that we are to be ambassadors for Christ here on this earth. It means that we are to be His eyes and His ears and His hands so that when we come across someone who needs help— we help them in the best way we can. It means that our purpose in life is to be His servants (Pointing to the cross), servants who are “dressed ready for service” each and every day. That’s the wonderful purpose that Jesus gives to our lives!
How long are we to be “dressed ready for service”? As long as it takes. Until our King returns to this earth— no matter when He returns. Jesus emphasizes that truth when He says in the closing verses of our text, “But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
When it comes to Jesus’ return to this earth there are two things we know for sure. We know that He is coming back, and we know that His return will be unexpected. Therefore we need to make sure that we are always “ready” for His return! We never let down our guard against our enemies. We are actively focused on not only participating in God’s Kingdom work but actively supporting God’s Kingdom work. We consciously strive to keep our heart, our mind and our life focused on our Savior’s return. Then we will be “blessed.” Then we will be “happy.” Then we will have the joy of knowing that when our time of service here on this earth is over, our Lord, our Master, our King will invite us to sit down and enjoy the wedding feast of the Lamb where He will serve us with the very best of the best! (See Isaiah 55)
Because we all still have that old sinful nature lurking inside of us, there will be times when we are overwhelmed by fear. My prayer is that whenever that happens we will listen to our Savior as He says to us, “Do not be afraid, little flock.” “Do not be afraid for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” “Do not be afraid” because your King has given to you a glorious purpose in life. “Do not be afraid” because He (Pointing to the cross) has promised to come back— for you!
To God be the glory!
Amen
