Luke
12:13–21 What
we will study tonight in The Greedy Rich Fool… 01. The Selfish Brother (Luke 12:13-14); 02. Beware of Covetousness (Luke 12:15-20);
and 03. Be Rich Toward God (Luke 12:21).
We studied last time in Luke 12:1-12 | Hypocrisy and Fear that Jesus
warned the disciples about the spiritual sin of hypocrisy of the Pharisees and
that everything they say and do will be brought to the light. Now in Luke 12:13-21,
Jesus warns against the material sin of greed. At first glance the spiritual
sin of hypocrisy and the material sin of greed seem to be divergent sins. But false religion is the love of error;
materialism is the love of wealth. The false teachers are consistently after
money “who
suppose that godliness is a means of gain.”
(1 Timothy 6:5; cf. Micah 3:5; 1 Timothy 6:10; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 2 Peter 2:14)[1]
The attitude that one has towards money
reveals a lot about where a person is at spiritually. Jesus said in Luke
12:34 “For where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also.”
Money of course is morally neutral, but those who are
corrupt will use it for corruption, while those who are disciples of Jesus will
use it for righteousness. The Bible
does not forbid the possession of money; in fact, it teaches that “God gives the power to get
wealth” (Deuteronomy
8:18), and “who gives us
richly all things to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6:17). That blessing
made many godly men in Scripture, such as Job (Job 1:3), Abraham (Genesis 13:2),
Isaac (Genesis
26:13), Jacob (Genesis 30:43), Boaz (Ruth 2:1), Solomon (1 Kings 10:23),
and Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57) extremely wealthy. God promised
His people that their obedience to Him would result in necessary material, as
well as abundant spiritual blessings (Deuteronomy 15:4-6; Deuteronomy 26:15; Deuteronomy 28:11).[2]
God’s Word does command us not to love
money, because as Paul wrote that “the love of
money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from
the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10) Paul then told Timothy to “Command those who are rich in
this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the
living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6:17). It
is futile and foolish to have a love for money, for Solomon counseled us to “not overwork to be rich;
Because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is
not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an
eagle toward heaven.” (Proverbs 23:4–5) and that “He who loves silver will not
be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is
vanity.” (Ecclesiastes
5:10)[3]
01. The Selfish Brother (Luke 12:13-14)
Luke
12:13 By calling Jesus Teacher
(G1320 διδάσκαλος),
this man recognized that Jesus was a rabbi, and at this time it was common for
a rabbi to serve as an arbitrator for disagreements such as this. When the man says, “tell my brother”, it
seems to infer that his brother was there in the crowd with him, and he wants
Jesus to divide the
inheritance with me. The
way that this statement was made seems to imply that the man was not asking
Jesus to hear his case, but instead to just rule in his favor. We are not told the specifics of this
case, nor do we know if the brother was in agreement to have Jesus arbitrate
the case but we do know from the Old Testament what the laws of inheritance
state. In Deuteronomy 21:15-17,
we are told that the firstborn son is to receive a double portion of all the inheritance, even if
the firstborn son is the offspring of a wife that is unloved. Here we see the words of Jesus from Luke 6:45 ringing true. Jesus said that “A good man out of
the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the
evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the
heart his mouth speaks.”
Luke
12:14 Here
Jesus rebukes the man, for Jesus did not come to resolve worldly disputes. In John’s Gospel
account we see that Jesus was given the authority to judge on spiritual matters
while on earth (John
5:22; John 5:27). The language here reminds us of Exodus 2:14,[4]
where the Hebrew slave said to Moses, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend
to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this
thing is known!” Jesus told Pilate “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John
18:36), and here we see Jesus refusing to be put in the
position as a judge or an
arbitrator in this family disagreement. While He was on earth, Jesus
“came
to bring men to God, not to bring property to men” [5] This man was selfish,
wanting to have a popular religious figure to weigh in on his petty, worldly
dispute.
02. Beware of Covetousness (Luke 12:15-20)
Luke
12:15 “to them”
This warning is in reference to the crowd of people that are around
him (Luke 12:1), not just to the man. Notice
here that Jesus never answers this man’s request? Instead Jesus uses the
request as an opportunity to teach about covetousness, which is in violation of
the 10th Commandment (Exodus 20:17).
Luke
12:15 “Take
heed and beware of covetousness,” (ἀπο πασης πλεονεξιας [apo pasēs pleonexias])
which literally means From every kind of
greedy desire for more.[6]
Jesus was warning His hearers to recognize and be on guard against every kind
of greed.[7] Solomon once said that “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;
Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10) Paul writes that covetousness is a form of idolatry (Ephesians 5:5;
Colossians
3:5) because it makes the focus of
one’s life on accumulating more wealth and possessions and not on God Himself. Paul
wrote that “the
love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” and that it
causes “some have
strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with
many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10) In Luke 8:14, Jesus warns that those who hear the
Word of God can have it choked out of them because of the cares of this world, riches, and
pleasures of life. God’s Word gives us many
examples where greed has been the cause of the downfall for many. The greed of
Achan brought death to him, his family and the children of Israel when “When I saw among the spoils
of Jericho a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of
silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took
them...” and hid them underneath his tent. (Joshua 7:21) The love
of money prompted Balaam to try to curse the children of Israel, even though
God had warned him not to (Numbers 22-24), and the end result was his
death (Numbers
31:8). Judas loved to steal money from the treasury (John 12:6)
and his love for money caused him to betray the Son of God (Luke 22:3-6; Luke 22:47-48) and
suffer eternally in Hell (Matthew 26:24; Acts 1:25). Ananias and
Sapphira’s greed caused them to try to lie to the Holy Spirit and because of
that they were killed instantly (Acts 5:1-10)
In Job 31:24–25, Job
claimed that he was innocent of the love of money. In Psalm
62:10, David wrote “If riches increase, Do not set your heart on them.”
In Psalm 119:36–37, David
asked YHWH to “Incline
my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking
at worthless things, And revive me in Your way.” The son of
David, Solomon wrote in Proverbs 23:4–5 “Do not
overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches
certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward
heaven.”
Luke
12:15 “for
one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
The
Greek verb for “abundance” here is
(G4052 περισσεύω) perisseuō, which means
to exist in abundance as of wealth.[8] “In the abounding to one out of the things belonging to him.”[9]
The abundance of wealth does not mean
that God has blessed you, or that you will have real life. The
Greek verb for “life” here is not
(G979) βίος bios which means your existence, biological life, but instead
it is (G2222) ζωή zōē, dzo-ay´ which means having worthwhile and committed life, and is often used in the
Bible for eternal life (Matthew 7:14; Matthew 18:8-9; Matthew 19:16-17; Matthew 19:29; Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:45; Mark 10:17; Mark 10:30; Luke 10:25; Luke 18:18; Luke 18:30; John 1:4; John 3:15-16; John 3:36; John 4:14; John 4:36; John 5:24; John 5:26; John 5:29; John 5:39-40; John 6:27; John 6:33; John 6:35; John 6:40; John 6:47-48; John 6:51; John 6:53-54; John 6:63; John 6:68; John 8:12; John 10:10; John 10:28; John 11:25; John 12:25; John 12:50; John 14:6; John 17:2-3; John 20:31; Acts 3:15; Acts 5:20; Acts 11:18; Acts 13:46; Acts 13:48; Acts 17:25; Romans 2:7; Romans 5:10; Romans 5:17-18;
Romans 5:21;
Romans 6:4;
Romans
6:22-23; Romans 8:2; Romans 8:6; Romans 8:10; 2 Corinthians
2:16; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:4; Galatians 6:8; Ephesians 4:18;
Philippians
2:16; Philippians 4:3; Colossians 3:3-4; 1 Timothy 1:16; 1 Timothy 4:8;
1 Timothy
6:12; 1 Timothy 6:19; 2 Timothy 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:10; Titus 1:2;
Titus 3:7;
Hebrews 7:3;
Hebrews 7:16;
James 1:12;
1 John 1:1-2;
1 John 2:25;
1 John
3:14-15; 1 John 5:11-13; 1 John 5:20; Jude 21;
Revelation 2:7;
Revelation 2:10;
Revelation 3:5;
Revelation
13:8; Revelation 17:8; Revelation 20:12; Revelation 20:15; Revelation 21:6;
Revelation 21:27;
Revelation 22:1-2;
Revelation 22:14;
Revelation 22:17;
Revelation 22:19).
True life is not made up by having a lot of money and possessions (Proverbs
15:16; Ecclesiastes 4:6–8; 1
Timothy 6:6–10) because life is short (James 1:10). Paul writing to young pastor Timothy at
the church of Ephesus “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought
nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing
out. And having food and clothing, with
these we shall be content.” (1 Timothy 6:6–8)
Luke
12:16 To
explain what He had just said, Jesus gives a parable to everyone there
listening, and Jesus mentions that this man is already rich.
“yielded
plentifully” here in the Greek is a medical word (G2164 εὐφορησεν euphorēsen from εὐφορέω
euphoréō) that means
to bear well and to be fertile, and
this is the only time that it is used in the New Testament.[10]
Luke
12:17 “And he
thought within himself, saying,” (διελογιζετο ἐν αὑτῳ [dielogizeto en hautōi]). Imperfect
middle, picturing his continued thoughts over his situation.[11]
Luke
12:17-19 “What
shall I do since I have no room to store my crops? So he said, ‘I will do this:
I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my
crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid
up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.””
It is well known that the success of a farmer is based off of conditions and
elements beyond their control, for they can only control so much. So when they
are successful, they should be thankful to God for His blessings. But instead
of being thankful, this man began to think to himself that he needed bigger and
better barns so that his life can be at ease because he had a huge harvest. As he grew richer, he grew more covetous,[12] allowing his greedy heart
to dictate what he did. Another
sad point here is that he didn’t consult anyone about his decision to build
bigger and better. He didn’t consult God by praying, or seek advice from
others. And by only consulting with
himself, he never considered about giving some of his wealth to God or to the
poor, for his thoughts were only on how he could use his resources for his own
profit.
Look again at what the rich man
says in Luke 12:17-19: His selfishness
displayed here with the pronouns “I” (six) and “my” (five) brings to mind the selfishness of another
rich selfish man, Nabal whose name means fool. In 1 Samuel 25:2-42, we are told
that David had his men protect Nabal’s flocks, but then when it came time to
pay up, Nabal mocked David and refused to pay up (1 Samuel 25:11). Solomon has some wise words
for those who think like this greedy rich man, “Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do
not know what a day may bring forth.” (Proverbs 27:1)
Luke
12:20 God’s
response to this man’s plans was to call him a “Fool!” because that night all his wealth and
possessions could not save him. This man’s life ended suddenly just as Nabal’s
did in 1 Samuel
25:36–38. Another man in the Bible who failed to realize how quickly
life can end was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans in (Daniel 5:1–30).
Luke
12:20 “Fool!”
(ἀφρων aphrōn).
Fool, for lack of sense,[13] pertaining to lack of prudence or good judgment, foolish, ignorant.[14] This man is called a fool by a God because he is
rich in the world, but not rich towards God (cf.
1 Timothy
6:6–10). He failed to remember
that his bountiful harvest came from the graciousness of God, Many of us forget
that even our lives are a gift from God and at any time we can die.
Luke
12:20 “then
whose will those things be which you have provided?” All his worldly
wealth and possessions will go to someone else, because he cannot take them
with him. Solomon writes about the bitterness of working hard, gaining wealth,
and then having to leave it to someone else (Proverbs 11:4; Ecclesiastes 2:18-20; cf. Psalm 39:6). Paul in
1 Timothy 6:7.
James writes that to leave God out of your plans is foolishness (James 4:13-16).
Our days are limited, and only God knows the number of our days (Cf. Psalm 39:4-6;
Psalm 90:10;
Psalm
103:13-16), so therefore we ought to make sure we seek Him first (Matthew 6:33)
03. Be Rich Toward
God (Luke 12:21)
Luke
12:21 “himself”
This man’s intent was to hoard his wealth for himself, and not using it for the
Kingdom of God. His improper uses of his possessions stems from the fact that
he does not love God and his neighbor as himself (Leviticus 19:18;
Luke 10:25–37).
Luke 12:21 “not rich toward God.” Not being rich towards God is foolish, for true
wealth is found in God (Matthew 6:19-21). To
be rich toward God is to believe that
God is the giver of all things, including life and salvation. To show that one believes is to share with others
the gifts God gives...Behind it is the Gospel of grace: forgiveness is bestowed
as God’s free gift in Jesus Christ. Yet a time of accountability will come when
God will ask whether His free gift of forgiveness was appropriated through
faith or was abused by the arrogant assumption that God’s gifts were personal
possessions earned by one’s own efforts and therefore at one’s disposal to hoard
or waste foolishly.[15] Jesus throughout the Bible never condemns being
rich, or getting richer. In fact, some of the great men of faith that we can
read about were rich men, but what set them apart from this greedy rich fool in
the parable is that their wealth did not hinder but instead helped their
journey to the city of God (Revelation 21:23). This greedy rich fool allowed his wealth and the
desire for more to consume his heart to the point where it became his priority
and not as a tool to enlarge the Kingdom of God.
[1] MacArthur, John F. (2013-03-26). Luke 11-17 MacArthur
New Testament Commentary (Macarthur New Testament Commentary Series) (Kindle
Locations 2253-2259). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.
[2] MacArthur, John F. (2013-03-26). Luke 11-17 MacArthur
New Testament Commentary (Macarthur New Testament Commentary Series) (Kindle
Locations 2209-2218). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.
[3] MacArthur, John F. (2013-03-26). Luke 11-17 MacArthur
New Testament Commentary (Macarthur New Testament Commentary Series) (Kindle
Locations 2209-2218). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.
[4] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 12:14). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[5] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to St. Luke, Tyndale
New Testament Commentaries [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975], 212
[6] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 12:15). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[7] MacArthur, John F. (2013-03-26). Luke 11-17 MacArthur
New Testament Commentary (Macarthur New Testament Commentary Series) (Kindle
Locations 2280-2288). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.
[8] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr.
(1996). Vine’s Complete Expository
Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Vol. 2, p. 6). Nashville, TN: T.
Nelson.
[9] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 12:15). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[10] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 12:16). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[11] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 12:17). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[12] Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). St. Luke (Vol. 1, pp. 333–335). London;
New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.
[13] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 12:20). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[14] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 159). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[15] Just, A. A., Jr. (1997). Luke 9:51–24:53 (pp. 505–507). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing
House.
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