12:1 An innumerable multitude of people had gathered together. Compassion attracts compassion. Good begets good and by Jesus devoting His every minute to humanity, He created an everlasting foundation of compassion... flowing through Him to us, through us to others. Jesus taught to many people, His disciples (who would go out and teach) and also the multitude who learned directly from Jesus -- He had to divide His time to accomplish each.
In this verse, He's instructing the disciples (metaphorically) to stay away from that which is proffered by the Pharisees. What we can take away from the lesson is this: beware of the hypocrisy in the world. Even in the religious/spiritual realm of the world, the field is loaded with hypocrites. Be careful not to listen to people or leaders who say one thing and do another. Be vigilant so that you can identify arrogance -- any religious institution with a hierarchical system is not of God. God has no partiality. Romans 2:11.
Leavened bread is bread that has been "added to." Many corrupt teachers and people in the world will take a truth and "add to" it thereby corrupting the original state. Nobody can fool you if you remain perceptive and think for yourself -- always back up what people tell you with fact and include your own feelings into your analysis of something or someone.
12:2 Jesus instructs us not to be hypocrites ourselves because there is nothing we can do that is secret from God. Whatever we try to "hide" will be uncovered by Him. We cannot fool our omniscient God -- and most of us would not want to. God is forgiving and understanding and He works with us through every fault and mistake. But be authentic -- be who you really are and if you don't know who you, create yourself. Everything we say and do creates who we are -- we truly get to decide what kind of person we will be.
12:3 This verse sounds like a warning but it's also a blessed: God can see all of the good that you do, no matter how small it feels to you. Whatever you did when you thought nobody would see or know is seen and known by God.
12:4 When you develop your faith and trust in God, you realize that to be with Him is to have life eternally. Our earthly bodies house our spirits and our spirits are indestructible when we are with God. God does not want you to fear death; He does not want you to fear any enemy which threatens death. Children of God cannot die... they might leave Earth, but they return to God. 2 Corinthians 5:8.
12:5 Realize who Jesus is referring to... He's not speaking to the humble, the kind, the compassionate, He's speaking to the evil, greedy, violent hypocrites of the world. He is explaining that the true death is not when we leave Earth, it's when God extinguishes their soul in His dimension.
I've said it before and I'll say it again thousands of times -- there is no such thing as "hell." Hell was a reference people used as a symbol of a waste-dump. God is a compassion God, He knows that His compassionate children could never rest in an eternity when people are in pain eternally. God eliminates them -- they are not even worthy of existence or remembrance. Psalms 69:28.
12:6 Jesus is explaining that even the small animals of the world, little birds, are loved and cared for by God. Every single animal is accounted for by God... it's beautiful that He's such an involved creator. If God accounts even for the small animals, Jesus wants us to realize just how much He cares for us.
12:7 Every hair on your head is numbered! That's how much God knows you and loves you. Down to the detail He understands you. It's a blessing to be loved so deeply and flawlessly. Your relationship with God is entirely unique and everlasting. Trust Him with your life, it means so much to Him.
12:8 If you love the message Jesus teaches, Jesus can see the type of compassionate heart you have and therefore will establish you with God.
12:9 Do not confuse this message: to deny Jesus would be to deny what He taught. There are many religions in the world and not all of them acknowledge Jesus the person/prophet however, there are many religions and spirituals which teach what He taught: compassion, humility, honesty, kindness and by doing so, they do not deny Jesus... they work with Him in their own way.
A person who denies Jesus is a person who rejects and works the opposite of everything He stands for. This person would be evil, violent, selfish, greedy, vengeful...
12:10 Jesus came as a teacher of the word -- to deny Him as a teaching can be forgiven by God (there are so many external factors on earth influencing and corrupting people -- He is understanding) but if a person shall visibly, tangible, physically deny God when there are no factors inhibiting their understanding, that person has rejected all that He has to offer and therefore is rejected by God.
12:11-12 In life, you will face circumstances and adversaries who deny you, your faith, your ideology of life. Jesus wants you to know that on whatever level --grand or small-- God is going to be with you. This verse also references the end times specifically, a subject we addressed in Mark 13 and Matthew 24 and so for a deeper study, refer to those chapters in the archive!
With God, you can make waves in the world -- and by that, I mean that you can have a great impact. When your message is essential, something the world is in desperate need of, God is going to guide you in communicating it effectively and eloquently to the world.
12:13 In the following verses, we will receive some social advice from Jesus. This man approaches Jesus and wants Jesus to settle a family matter regarding inheritance. Identify the problem with this before we even continue: Jesus is not concerned with monetary issues.
12:14 Jesus explains that He is not a lawyer... His mission is much more important and instructive than to be concerned with family feuds over money. The family feuding could benefit from Jesus if they would only listen: be fair, be honest, be compassionate. This man disregards Jesus' teaching.
12:15 Be careful not to be greedy. The quality of your life is not determined by possessions -- although many people in the world today believe that it is. This man is so consumed by getting his share of money... he interrupts Jesus's message to get it. Clearly he was not even listening.
12:16 Jesus begins a parable: the farm of a rich made was very successful.
12:17-18 Instead of being content with his success, he desires more... and more... and more. Such is the cycle of money... it never satisfies people, they always crave and desire to have more (often to the point of neglecting their values).
12:19 This man was selfish and his love of money made him deluded. The man believed that he had set himself up for life... even traded his soul for success. How does one trade their soul for success? They abandon their values in the quest to get it.
12:20 God says to the man: it was foolish of you to believe that you had bought all this success with your soul because now you have no soul, and in earthly death therefore, there is no life for you in heaven without it. All of the possessions the man gained on Earth no longer matter... they don't even belong to him anymore. He traded his soul for... nothing.
12:21 People who live life sitting on wealth and are not compassionate with it, are building up a pile of useless material and are ruining their relationship with God. This is important because our time on Earth is not the extent of our lives, it's only a small part! If we live and do well here, we will live and do well forever with God.
12:22 This should be the foundation of your faith and trust in God -- and I do not mean to imply that it's always simple. Giving your trust over requires deep faith. God does not want you to worry because He is promising to take care of you.
We are a generation of worriers! We worry about everything He says in this verse: what's going to happen to me? How will I eat? Am I too much this... or not enough that? What will I wear? Our anxieties are endless. There's so much competition in the world. God does not want us to waste our time or our energy on things that He will take care of.
I understand that in the early stages of faith, this lesson might seem beautiful but unrealistic -- however, in my person experience, I have felt and seen its truth. God truly does care and when our faith is developed and we strongly trust Him, He orchestrates our lives. His plan is truly better than anything we can imagine or dream of for ourselves because He sees everything and knows everything: He takes into consideration our past, present and future. We go through difficulty sometimes, everyone does, but He supplies us the courage to persevere and the wisdom to learn from mistakes. He plants beauty in our lives so carefully and attentively. We have to trust Him in order for Him to do so -- He waits for our faith.
12:23 God does not want us to be superficial. Life is so much more than food and clothes. It sounds simple but we do forget this truth a lot. Our desire often drives us when compassion should be in the driver seat.
12:24 God wants you to learn from nature. Not only the ravens, but also the trees and flowers and animals of the world are cared for. Nature heals and is resilient, because it's tended by God's hand. Jesus is explaining to God that YOU are even more loved by Him... He's going to tend to you to if you let Him.
12:25 He adds: and anyway, who has extended their life by constantly worrying? Stress actually ruins our health!
12:26 Do not get anxious and overworked about things out of your control.
12:27 I'm going to repeat this verse because I love it so much!
Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
It has been my personal experience that nature is healing. When I am away from it, my soul suffers in many diverse ways: My anxiety increases, my patience decreases. It's so soothing to hear the natural sounds of the wind in the tree leaves, the birds communicating with each other, the scurrying of tiny animals... there is so much life, active life in nature. And the life in nature is completely removed from the chaos of the world. More than all of that, nature is self-healing. It grows, reproduces, perseveres through storm, tucks itself away in winter weather.
There is so much lesson in nature -- everything you learn from the Bible can be taught to an observant, perceptive soul through time in nature. I truly believe that because I've experienced it.
Solomon is referenced in this verse: Solomon is a man from the Old Testament (Kings) who was a faithful child of God who requested from God not wealth but wisdom.
12:28 God replenishes that which He loves... and He loves you. Take comfort in the natural wildlife around you because it does not worry or plan or plot or deceive... it's so simply compassion -- giving and contributing to the world and fellow plants and animals. It's a global symbiotic relationship -- kind and compassionate. Constantly working and surviving together.
12:29 Relax. Jesus wants you to relax but also to realize that you do not have to worry and overwork yourselves constantly to survive. Develop your faith and relationship with God and everything will flourish within and around you.
12:30 Jesus and God are aware that the entire world over-stresses and pursues happiness and contentment... to the point of chaotic obsession and Jesus wants you to know that God is fully aware of your needs! He's fully aware and He wants to fill them.
12:31 Your focus and devotion should be to God. God will allow you and your life to flourish beautifully. With Him there are no bounds to the abundance He creates in your life. Wisdom. Patience. Love. Compassion. It's all yours when you align your path, when He becomes your destination. Focus on Him and He will take care of everything else.
12:32 God's affection for us is so prominent in this verse, He even uses a pet-name: Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Jesus does His best to let His faith flow through us: do not be afraid, you are loved so deeply by God... He loves you so much that it's His pleasure to protect you, to love you, to bring happiness to you life. Live your life in His arms.
12:33 Your treasure in Heaven is the love you gave, the compassion you worked with, the humility you embodied... these are the "money-bags" which deliver you to Life, to happiness, to love. You can never lose these things, they cannot be take from you... they do not deplete or decay like the possessions of the world.
12:34 What you value, what matters to you, is revealed by the character of your heart. If your treasure, if what matters to you is God, then there is where you will reside -- with Him.
12:35 This verse is instructing you to always be prepared, always be observant and ready. You want to be informed in this world... it's a complex place and we must do our best to know what's going on with our fellow humans. (In order to give them our compassion).
12:36 Be vigilant because you want to be able to recognize your true God when He comes. God will return to us, and we with Him. Now, be perceptive: why would God warn you to be careful to recognize Him? He warns you because someone, many even, will come pretending to be Him... pretending to be like Him... but will be hypocrites, entirely unlike Him. Know your God... recognize an impostor.
12:37 You are so blessed by God when He knows you... when you know Him. When you recognize Him because you read this letter He wrote to you... nobody will ever fool you or deceive you because He gave you all the knowledge you need to remain strong and informed. You will be with God when He returns because you never left Him. It will be a moment more beautiful, more amazing than words can express.
12:38 You cannot be fooled... no matter when God comes, you will always know when it is truly Him.
12:39 This verse addresses a prominent concern in the world: many people want to know where God is, why He isn't visible. Well, this verse explains why. By remaining in His spiritual form, only those who seek Him and love Him will be able to identify Him. Moreover, the people of the world were given freedom by God -- room to explore and do and create whatever they wanted to. God knew that people would always be on their best behavior around Him, they would never show or be their true selves... and God wants to know who we REALLY are when we feel like He's not real... or not watching.
When a child's parents are home... he or she might act innocent and kind but might be an entirely different person once they aren't watching. Or maybe they are innocent and kind even when they are alone... God wants to find out who we are.
12:40 Be ready... create and become the type of person you want to be because when Jesus and God return, you want to be fully established in compassion, humility and honesty. You don't want to be ashamed or scrambling because you blew your chance.
12:41 Peter asks this question: who is this message for? Jesus will answer. And the answer of course, is all people.
12:42 Be a faithful and wise child of God and receive your portion of all He has to give upon His return.
12:43 Blessed is the person who God finds faithful, compassionate, informed and prepared.
12:44 Nothing and no person will have control over you.
12:45-46 The person who is evil and brutal because they think they can get away with it will of course face God. All of the pain and suffering they brought to the world is accounted for.
12:47 Humans know better and we have to account for our actions. The "stripes" represent a metaphor, we face the consequences and the repercussions of our actions. People who knew better and still chose to be evil are in a lot of trouble!
12:48 Yet there are some people on the earth who are not given a good opportunity to learn: the might have bad parents or an ailment or illness... there are so many diverse lives in the world. God is understanding and forgiving.
But knowing comes with responsibility. God expects that we share the gifts He gives to us. When we know better, we also have to be better. Our lives must represent what God stands for and therefore we have to exemplify what He stands for.
To whom much is given, much is required -- this is true for every gift given. Every piece of wisdom must be appropriately shared, every wealth, every ability... if you are very blessed, spread your blessings to others so that they can also benefit from God's love.
12:49 Jesus came with a message He wished we already had in our hearts. Unfortunately, humans make a lot of mistakes and cause a lot of pain and God's message was not prominent in the world without Jesus coming to teach and align.
12:50 Jesus remains focused and passionate about this mission of leading people to God... He will never falter, never lose energy...
12:51 Jesus came to separate the good from the evil so that they evil could be eliminated. Once the evil is eliminated from the Earth, peace will be in heaven.
I love how passionate Jesus is about His message -- He did not come to say pretty things and placate people, He came to do business on God's behalf. He did not come to play around He came to identify the evil so that they can be removed. Peace comes after this important business.
12:52-53 This message of God will be received differently by each individual, someone who rejects it is going to separate from someone who loves it -- within families, within schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, regions, nations! It is made very clear who is who by how they act.
12:54-55 Jesus is reminding us -- we aren't dummies. We are capable of understanding the world because it benefits us to understand.
12:56 We should also use our ability to understand to learn to distinguish this important purpose on Earth.
12:57 Jesus is explaining that some people aren't even true to their selves. People get so caught up in their desires and their egos that they don't even know who they are. A person who doesn't know themselves has no business commenting on the character of other people.
These problems are so relevant to the world today that we have to realize that Jesus was speaking directly to us. We have so much bullying in the world and competition and judgement. Nobody knows themselves, are unhappy with themselves, and then tear down the people around them because of the discontent and frustration inside themselves.
12:58 Be fair and honest in your dealings with people. If possible, try to settle problems with the people involved, privately. If you can't, governmental and social systems exist to intervene but Jesus wants us to be the kind of people who are able to constructively deal with arguments and disagreements. Again, this is such a problem in the world today. Everything requires a contract because people don't remain fair and truthful without one. Disputes are rarely settled and arguments are extended through time and people.
People will not always be fair and honest with you but take comfort in the fact that God loves you and supports you for always being honest and fair.
12:59 God ensures that every act is matched with what it inspired. God is so happy to return to you all the love and compassion you gave to others. On the other end, an evil person cannot escape from their wrong-doing.
