Lesson 40 The Things That Really Matter Luke 12:13- 31

Parable of the Rich Man, 12:13-21.

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Luke 12:13–21.

It seems as the guy in the crowd in verse 13 had not been listening, or he had not come to listen, but rather to just ask his question. Paying no attention to the serious discourse Jesus has delivered, He shouts out to Jesus.Right out of the blue he says, “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Well bub, who in the world are you? To complement the crass invasion of subjects, Jesus responds in kind to his rudeness. The Son of God says, “Man!” No kind formalities here! He might have said in our language of today, “Look dude, who made me your lawyer or judge?” Then the Savior takes the time to carefully put the guy in his place.

Jesus starts out with the subject of covetousness. This comes immediately after Mr. Wonderful’s selfish question. We learn what was behind that inheritance question, right from the start of Jesus’s reply. In other words, be careful what you ask! Now it is possible this was a completely logical question, but we learn from the Lord’s response that it was not. Jesus gave another caution after saying to be on guard for covetousness, with the added thought “ life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” At this point, Jesus starts to tell the parable of a rich fool. How humiliating it must have been for that guy in being the subject of a famous parable. Ouch!

So, here goes. The man wanted Jesus to solve his worldly problems, but not save him from greediness and covetousness. Jesus could have solved it by dividing things up on the spot, instead he uses the story to give the man an important life lesson. Did he learn his lesson? We do know that a certain rich man made sure that Jesus had a burial tomb. We are not told if it was the same man but it would be easy to make a connection like that. Or, he could have walked away, never to be heard from again. The subject matter tells us the the man in the story was extremely successful and he had crops that far exceeded his harvest estimates.

Being a leader and business man, he works the situation and tears down barns to build larger ones to store crops. Mostly the barns would be for grain storage and the harvesting and farming equipment. No harm here with that. A mans gotta do what a mans gotta do! The Savior reveals, it is not a storage problem so much as it is a heart problem. The man in the story’s self talk reveals what is going on. It is the old “eat, drink, and be merry” sort of attitude, coupled with I’ve got plenty of stuff! What me worry?

The Lord’s reply is this kind of thinking is foolishness. More directly, as God speaks,“You are a fool!” The Lord adds that this is the evening his soul is going to be required of him. In other words, he is dying tonight. At this point in the process, what good is all of the stuff? Who is going to own it after you die? The parable ends with the truth: If you lay up treasure for yourself and are not rich toward God, it will not be enough to get you into heaven. It is a life that is seriously lacking. Take care and be on your guard!

Being Clothed by Faith 12:22-

English Standard Version (Chapter 12)

22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”

We usually attribute this teaching with the sermon on the mount. It is not the sermon on the mound as baseball was not yet in anybodies thoughts. The teaching is in line with the rebuke of the rich fool. It shows us that God takes care of his family. We are in a heavenly supply chain. We do not have to worry about a strike by the auto workers, the Pacific longshoremen, or an airplane manufacturer(even though each are a current aspect of life on earth.) Though those strikes may harm the economy, they are not in God’s economy.

Jesus teaches us to not worry about food, or clothes. Life is more than food or clothes. Life is more than just temporary supplies. If we would just consider the ravens, we would see that God has more than enough for all of us. This is of course not the Baltimore Ravens. Did not the Lord just talk to us about the sparrows also? We are of far more importance than dirty birds! We are His people, His church. He will take care of our needs. God feeds the birds, day by day. What more do we need?

Next up is the question, “ who has the ability add not even years, but actual hours to ones life? Well, the answer is no one. No diet is so inadequate, no menu is so obtuse as to think it can add years to your life. Worrying about it even makes the thought even more ridiculous.Vs. 25.

Jesus then says, have you considered the lilies, they are very special and not even the splendor of Solomon could compare to God has done for a lily. Then, think about the grass, alive one moment and dead the next. How much more can He clothe you, “O ye of little faith!” Do not even concern yourself with eating and drinking. Don’t ever be worried about it! Your Father in heaven knows you need all of this stuff. Instead, seek his kingdom, and all these things will be added unto you.

The tragedy is not that there is not anyone to pick up the pieces. The tragedy is that there would be no evidence of his not having done anything that pointed to his godly stewardship of this life. If things do not seem to measure up for you in this life, it is time to turn control over to Jesus and let Him do the adding up and the taking away. With God we all measure up just fine. That is even though all have sinned and come short. Seek His kingdom and let Jesus do the math. It will surely add up.