But when they bring you before the synagogues and rulers and the authorities, be not careful how or what ye shall answer, or what ye shall say;
Jesus tells His disciples what is coming for them: courts, officials, formal charges. What He does not give them is a script — and the reason why is the heart of the verse.
The chapter looks ahead to the days after Jesus leaves the earth.
Luke 12 puts the disciples into this place of testimony by the power of the Holy Spirit. The world is against them, and the Lord has gone. It is the word and the Holy Spirit, instead of the Messiah on the earth. They were not to fear opposition, and not to trust in themselves. They were to fear God and trust His help. The Holy Spirit would teach them what to say.
"Synagogues" here does not mean a quiet place of worship. One writer gives the plain fact behind the word:
The synagogues served as courts of law.
The verse names rulers and authorities too. The believer is on trial, not just under criticism.
William Kelly reads the Lord's words as a lesson in where the disciple's confidence must rest:
The Holy Spirit does not only put a solemn seal on the testimony. He is also a positive power for the person giving it... The giving of the Spirit would not set aside the evil in the world. As we know, that evil grows worse and worse. So when they come before the powers of the world, the Lord says, "do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say." This shows us the spirit of absolute dependence upon God.
The command only works if the heart is already free. C. H. Mackintosh names what disqualifies a witness:
The only proper ground of testimony for Christ is total freedom from human influence and a settled, unqualified confidence in God. To the extent that I am influenced by men, or in debt to them, I am disqualified from being a servant of Christ. Only a living faith in God can free me from human influence. When God fills the heart, there is no room for the creature.
The disciple on trial is not left to his own resources:
Suppose believers were arrested to face the Jewish council or magistrates. They were told not to decide in advance how to answer the charges against them, or what to say. The same Spirit of God who energised Christ would energise them and guide them in their words. For the grace of God is greater than the strongest opposition of hatred.
Commentators differ here. Some warn that the verse is often stretched into an excuse for unprepared preaching:
It is no mark of spirituality to give no thought to how or what we will speak. Nor do we believe it is a correct use of Scripture to expect the Lord to fulfil that promise, which was given in a far different setting... Here He is assuring His disciples that He will never desert them when they are brought before kings and rulers for His name's sake.
Others read it as a wider promise, covering the believer's speech in every setting:
The Holy Spirit gives the believer divine competence in every possible situation. What could we wish more? The care of God, the reward of Christ, and the sustaining energy of the Holy Spirit belong to every child of God. They are to supply our souls while our Lord is away. If persecution comes, you will be sustained.
One writer sees the same principle at work in three men who faced a furious king:
The three Jewish men know the battle is the Lord's, so they stay perfectly calm in front of the furious king. In ordinary matters of state, touching the business of the king, they would no doubt be very careful. But this is the business of God, and therefore mere human care is as useless as it is unnecessary.
- The Cause — the disciples witness for a Master who has gone; the word and the Spirit take His place on earth.
- The Court — synagogues, rulers and authorities are law courts; this verse is about trial, not embarrassment.
- The Gift — the Spirit seals the testimony and gives living power; the disciple's part is absolute dependence.
- The Freedom — a heart in debt to men cannot witness; only living faith in God leaves no room for the creature.
- The Result — grace is greater than the strongest hatred; in God's business, human anxiety is useless and unnecessary.
for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the hour itself what should be said.
Luke 12 sends the disciples into a world that has rejected their Master. Verse 12 closes a run of encouragements: the Spirit Himself will give them their words at the hour they need them.
The Messiah is no longer on earth, so the witness now falls to His followers.
Luke 12 puts the disciples into this place of testimony by the power of the Holy Spirit. The world is opposed to them, and the Lord has gone. It is the word and the Holy Spirit, instead of the Messiah on the earth. They were not to fear opposition, and not to trust in themselves. They were to fear God and trust His help. The Holy Spirit would teach them what to say.
Verse 10 warns that speaking against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable. Verse 12 turns that same truth into comfort for the ones doing the speaking.
Men might slight the Son of man, and yet there was forgiveness. But if they blasphemed the One who would speak through the disciples, that could not be pardoned. Further (v. 11, 12), the Holy Spirit would speak by them, whatever the power, church or state, that put them on trial.
The promise shapes an attitude as well: complete dependence on God.
But the Holy Spirit does not merely act in putting so solemn a seal on the testimony; He is also a positive power for the one engaged in the testimony... Here we see the spirit of absolute dependence upon God. "The Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." This completes the first part of the chapter. It shows us the power of the testimony, the danger of those who reject it, and the encouragement of those who are giving it.
The Lord sets what His friends already have against what they face.
In verse 12 He promises them the special teaching of the Holy Spirit in their moments of emergency. They would have no need to prepare an elaborate defence when put on trial before the authorities. The hatred and opposition of men was to lie on them as a liability. But what marvellous assets are these — the friendship of Christ, the care of God, the teaching of the Holy Spirit.
The promise was not theory. One man's trial shows it at work.
And if, like Stephen, they stood quite alone before a crowd of enraged opponents, the Holy Spirit would teach them how to answer, as we see He taught him (Acts 6:10). What a wonderful and blessed thing it is to be a true disciple and confessor of Christ!
Commentators differ on how far this stretches. Some read it as covering the believer's ordinary speech day by day.
That is, in plain language, every child of God is seen as someone through whom God speaks by His own blessed Spirit. He speaks in such a way that the world knows it is God who has spoken. This consideration makes Christianity a very serious thing.
Others tie the guarantee of pure truth to inspiration. Ordinary speech today has no such protection.
All we speak ought to be by the Spirit, since God can only use what is of the Holy Spirit. But when it is by inspiration, which is nothing but by the Holy Spirit, then God takes care that only the truth comes out. But when I speak, God does not always guard my words so that no error mixes in.
The verse is often lifted out of its setting to argue that a preacher need not prepare. Commentators reject that reading.
How can the Holy Spirit bring any word from the Bible back to our minds if we have not first stored it there? ... Some Christians take verses of Scripture out of context, Luke 12:12 for instance. These believers think this verse means you do not have to prepare yourself to minister the Word of God. I am convinced that the spiritual believer keeps up daily Bible study. The Holy Spirit prepares him as he stores his mind with the Word of God.
The setting is a trial, not a pulpit. Even there, the promise rests on a life already lived in the truth.
They need not think out in advance any line of defence, or any detailed statement of what they hold. Suppose they have been living in the enjoyment of these things and bearing faithful witness. Then they may be sure the Lord will not desert them in their time of need.
- Setting — The world rejected Christ. His followers now stand as witnesses, carrying the word and the Spirit.
- Seal — The Spirit who speaks in them is the One whose blasphemy is never forgiven. Their words carry His authority.
- Supply — He is also power in the witness himself. That calls for full dependence on God, not self-confidence.
- Support — Against the world's hatred stand three assets: the friendship of Christ, the care of God, the teaching of the Spirit.
- Safeguard — The promise meets emergencies, not laziness. The Spirit uses the Word we have already stored up.