The Parable of a Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21)

For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.

What would they say? The Israelites would say: Deut. 8:17

Deuteronomy 8:17 KJV 1900

And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

They forgot what the LORD has done for them; they forgot the blessing the LORD has poured in their lives.

Similar story here in Luke 12.

Let us look at the text.

Luke 12:13–21 KJV 1900

And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

The Setting Luke 12:13

Luke 12:13 KJV 1900

And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.

This verse is the setting for what Jesus is about to teach to the people.

One man abruptly asked Jesus to do something.

He addressed Jesus as “Master.” Meaning, he is giving Jesus some respect; he probably was listening to Jesus for a while, and/or came to know that Jesus was a great teacher!

The Issue: Inheritance Luke 12:13

Luke 12:13 KJV 1900

And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.

What does it mean by inheritance?

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains (57.140 κληρονομία, ας)

57.140 κληρονομίαb, ας f: (derivative of κληρονομέωb ‘to inherit,’ 57.138) that which is received from a deceased person—‘inheritance.’ διδάσκαλε, εἰπὲ τῷ ἀδελφῷ μου μερίσασθαι μετ’ ἐμοῦ τὴν κληρονομίαν ‘teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the inheritance’ Lk 12:13. In Lk 12:13 it may also be possible to render κληρονομία as ‘the property our father left us’ or ‘the property which our father said should be given to us.’

The Response: Master’s Response - Luke 12:14

Luke 12:14 KJV 1900

And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?

Jesus address that person. In fact, He says that this is not my business; you have courts to deal with these types of issues. HOWEVER, Jesus uses this occasion to talk about greediness.

Do the audience of His time need to hear that? Of course, and that was why Jesus was speaking of this parable.

The Warning: Beware! Luke 12:15

Luke 12:15 KJV 1900

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Jesus gave two commands - Take heed! And beware! But specifically about the greediness. Jesus then sums up life is not defined with what you have!

The Parable

Luke 12:16 KJV 1900

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

Let us note several points here:

He spoke a parable - a story that requires the listeners to take action.

A certain man - not sure who it was, but used for making a point.

brought forth plentiful. He either planned the crops, or he was simply blessed to receive that plentiful crops. (I take the second view).

The Foolish Reasoning Luke 12:17-19

Luke 12:17–19 KJV 1900

And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

The Man’s Success - 16-17.

He had very good crops, but he forgot where he got those from. I do not believe that this rich man planted the crop and worked so hard to earn the fruits of it in that plentiful way. If he earned it by working hard, he wouldn’t tell his soul to be lazy.

In fact, God’s intension while creating man was never that man should be lazy, but to work.

The Man’s Selfishness vv 18-19

Luke 12:18–19 KJV 1900

And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

Notice how many personal pronouns are listed in this section; at least eleven times either “I” or “my” appeared.

He never helped others or nothing is said of him helping others. Not a single verse on this man reaching out to help poor people.

He’s got no interest in God or spiritual things. He forgot that all that he has was in fact giving by God; he took advantage of what God gave and was not thankful to God.

He forgot that God owns his soul.

He is the one who gained the entire world, but he lost his soul - took nothing with him. Mark 8:36

Mark 8:36 KJV 1900

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Then we see the final results.

The Final Results vv 20-21

Point: Self-Reliance on materialism makes on foolish.

And it brings forth death v. 20 - Note that God calls him “fool.” We cannot take material processions when we die; nor can we mail them to God before we die.

Look at 1 Tim. 6:7

1 Timothy 6:7 KJV 1900

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

God called him fool. This also indicates that he has no desire or regard for God. A fool says in his heart that there is no God.

Psalm 14:1 KJV 1900

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, There is none that doeth good.

Proverbs 28:26 KJV 1900

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: But whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

Do we not see that this is the case with this rich person? The rich fool?

No regard for God at all. Therefore, God called him - fool.

Why? Because it was God who gives all things.

Point: Jesus explains the end of such greedy people, and calls his audience to stay away from self-reliance to rely up on God, and to become rich toward God.

Luke 12:21 KJV 1900

So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Barret comments:

Luke 1. The Foolhardy Pursuit of Wealth

The parable casts a spotlight on the values of our everyday life from the vantage point of eternity. From there, covetousness looks foolish. Those who invest only in themselves, their security, and their comfort and pleasure have made a bad investment in the end. They are spiritually and morally bankrupt. The paraphrase in The Message captures the idea beautifully, “That’s what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God” (12:21). The parable assumes that everyone must give a final accounting before God for how they have made use of God’s bounty.

Questions: Are you becoming rich toward God?

Is your life filled with greed?

Are you loosing your heart for God and gaining interest in material things?

Are you spending more time on things that will destroy you; things that will kill you; things that will separate you from God for eternity?

Do not be like the fool who forgot that God is the one who gave all things he has in his life.

Psalm 24:1 KJV 1900

The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein.

Man thinks he planted the seed and he knows how the crop grows. But in fact, he doesn’t. Jesus says in Mark 4:26-29 that the seed grows “all by itself.” This means that God is behind this growth.