Luke 12:13–34 - Beware - Be On Your Guard!
- Chad Werkhoven
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Beware: even your God given instincts can wreck you.
Gospels: Week 7 - The cost of discipleship
Luke 12:13–34 (NASB95)
13 Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
14 But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. 17 And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: 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 many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” ’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’
21 “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
22 And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25 And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? 26 If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!
29 “And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.
34 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Heidelberg Catechism
Q&A 110
Q. What does God forbid in the eighth commandment?
A. He forbids not only outright theft and robbery, punishable by law...
--
In addition he forbids all greed
and pointless squandering of his gifts.
Summary
On one hand, it's hard to imagine, but then on the other, it's not at all surprising. Imagine you had the opportunity to stand in a crowd and hear Jesus speak personally. And then even more, you got the chance to ask Jesus a question. What would you ask Him?
The anonymous someone in the crowd got such an opportunity, but rather than take the opportunity to ask Jesus do dig deeper into a theological profundity, he provided a dark insight into the ugly corruption of our souls. He ordered Jesus to tell my brother to divide the inheritance. This was the most pressing issue for this man as he stood before the Son of God sent to redeem the world.
Jesus immediately made clear He had no interest - or, ironically, no authority - to arbitrate such a matter. But He doesn't miss the moment to insert an extended teaching moment on the vapidness of amassing material wealth. Jesus explains that no matter how much abundance you may have, your life does not consist of your possessions.
But Jesus doesn't stop there. Because greed is such a deeply embedded vice in all of our hearts, such a short answer will not suffice. Starting with a parable about a self confident man who thought he'd amassed enough goods for many years to come, yet had his soul demanded of him that very night and then piling up no less than eleven proverbs concerning the danger of wealth as He unpacks His warning to Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed.
Dig Deeper
We don't have the space to dig deeper into all of Jesus' warnings, so we'll have to content ourselves with just one here today. After finishing the parable by indicating that after the man's sudden death, others will own all that he'd prepared, Jesus said
“So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Notice here that Jesus doesn't condemn storing up treasure. In fact, He goes on to encourage us to seek and to ultimately gain treasure in heaven. Nor does Jesus condemn material wealth, either in today's passage or elsewhere. He says, in fact, that your Father knows you need these things.
What Jesus is condemning is, of course, the deep seated greed for more and more stuff - the myopic type of ambition that the rich man had to tear down his barns and build larger ones to store his grain and goods. In this man's case his greed led to a God-less self dependence. For so many others greed only results in worry about your life.
The drive that you have to seek and build up treasure isn't in itself sinful. It's actually part of God's image shining through, reflecting His mandate that you be fruitful and multiply, and to fill the earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:28). It's what you're seeking and the location of your treasure that concerns Jesus.
After all, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will seek His kingdom;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Comments