Luke 12:56

56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you know how to interpret the present time?

Luke 12:56 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 12:56

Ye hypocrites
A word often used of the Scribes and Pharisees, and which suggests, that there were such in company, to whom Christ more especially directs his discourse; and this may be the rather thought, since much the like things are said by him to the Pharisees, with the Sadducees, in ( Matthew 16:1-3 ) and the same appellation is given them there, as here:

ye can discern the face of the sky, and of the earth;
from the appearance of the sky, they could tell how it would be with the earth, and the inhabitants of it, whether they should have dry or wet weather, heat or cold:

but how is it that ye do not discern this time?
that this is the time of the Messiah's coming, and that it is the accepted time, and day of salvation, if ye receive him, and believe in him; and a time of vengeance, if ye reject him: this might have been discerned by the prophecies of the Old Testament, which fix the characters of the Messiah, and the time of his coming; and describe the manners of the men of that generation, in which he should come: and point out both their happiness and their ruin; as also by the doctrines they heard Christ preach, and especially by the miracles which were wrought by him, it might have been known he was come.

Luke 12:56 In-Context

54 Then Jesus said to the crowds, “As soon as you see a cloud rising in the west, you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and that is what happens.

55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It will be hot,’ and it is.

56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you know how to interpret the present time?

57 And why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?

58 Make every effort to reconcile with your adversary while you are on your way to the magistrate. Otherwise, he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and the officer may throw you into prison.