Luke 12:13-21

Please read the passage.

How do disciples of Jesus relate to wealth? Luke tells us of an incident in the life of Jesus and a parable Jesus told that might help us reflect on this.

Luke 12:13-15 share an incident in the life of Jesus.

This text recounts Jesus' response to an interruption injected by a nameless individual in a question-and-answer session which takes place in the midst of a raucous crowd of thousands (12:1). The question, in context, seems banal and hopelessly petty. Jesus has set his face toward Jerusalem. We as readers know what that means. He is on his way to the cross. Along the way, Jesus is talking about some tough matters related to discipleship. He has been talking about what it means to love God with all you are and your neighbor as yourself. Then, we read of the conflict between him and the scribes and Pharisees. He stresses that discipleship will mean fearless witness. At this point, a man interrupts Jesus with the words: "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me" (v.13). He seeks counsel about arbitrating a dispute over an estate.  That the anonymous person asks Jesus such a question indicates that the questioner recognized Jesus as a religious authority to whom one might properly address this question. Issues of inheritance are treated in such texts as Deuteronomy 21:15-17 and Numbers 27:1-11; 36:1-9 and therefore, if Jesus were perceived to be a scribe or religious scholar, it was a question he could legitimately answer. The man has a level of respect for Jesus. Taken in context, however, it does seem rather silly. He does not get it. Yet, it also shows how important money matters are to human beings. They can blind us to the things that really matter. For that reason, Jesus does address the issue. However, He does not address the legal issue, but the underlying coveting that caused the dispute.

Jesus' response is terse and to the point: "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" (v.14). The NRSV's use of "friend" is curious; the NIV and others use "man" or "sir," retaining the aloofness of the Greek Anqrwpe (anthrope) in Jesus' response. The phrasing of v. 14 is reminiscent of the retort to Moses in Ex 2:14, which may have become proverbial. We could also view it as a quip, in which Jesus rejects a role widely expected of a Judean religious teacher in that time.  In any case, Jesus clearly rejects the role of judge in such disputes. He has not come to settle matters of inheritances. He has far more important matters about which to judge.

With this in mind, Jesus then continues with a warning against greed, saying to "them," i.e., the crowd of people: "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions" (v.15). Jesus implies that greed and covetousness are difficult to see and to guard against. After all, Jesus says, fullness of life does not consist in fullness of possessions. This is a proverbial saying that lays out a warning, "for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Jesus does not leave the role of "Teacher" for that of "Judge" - the concerns of greed and jealousy are nothing compared to one's life.

Let me briefly tell a story (Luke 12:16-21). Previously, Jesus dealt with fullness of life. In this story, Jesus will deal with the quality of one’s soul.

A man experiences a miraculous success, adding to his already large accumulation of wealth. He decides to keep his abundance for himself. The rich fool has a monologue with his soul, permitting the audience to observe the man considering what his course of action will be with this abundant harvest. His decision is crucial. This bounty is not the result of the man's wrongdoing - he did not cheat anyone to achieve this gain. He is careful and conservative: He planted, and the soil, rain, sun and wind rewarded him with a lavish harvest. This simple statement, "The land of a rich man produced abundantly" (v. 16) leads to a mental monologue by the rich man. The decisive moment in this story is not the external response of the rich man. Rather, the decisive moment is his internal decision. He is an honest man, perhaps highly respected in his community. We have no hint that anyone thinks badly of him. Even his greed seems harmless. He is simply a man who loves possessions. These are the things for which he lived and which gave meaning to his life. The overriding concern is how to build bigger barns wherein to store his wealth: "What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?" (v.17). The rich man's quandary then is not just how he should deal with this enormous new harvest, but more significantly, how he should respond to this gracious blessing from God.  There is no exterior mode of reference for this rich man.  He directs all his musings, all his considerations, towards his own self.  It should have occurred to the rich fool that God would ask him for his soul. He had done a phenomenal job of looking out for himself, but he gave his soul poor instructions about how to find security and pleasure. The rich fool has forgotten about God. The rich fool also has forgotten about death. Anticipating his own happiness, he instructs his soul to "relax, eat, drink, and be merry" (12:19). Yet, he dies at the very moment of acquiring his financial security. I am not being harsh when I wonder to whom such things will belong now. The work that seemed so wise suddenly seems rather foolish. The super abundant harvest will go to others as God intended, not to the rich man.  Once we are dead, and we all must die, our earthly riches cannot follow us. Jesus, perhaps turning to the person who had interrupted him to complain about his missing share of the family inheritance, makes the point very clear: "So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God" (v.21). The contrast in the final verse is striking. There are those who store up goods "for themselves," and there are those who are "rich toward God." To be rich toward God demands appropriate use of possessions. There is, Jesus now tells us, a truly "safe" place to store up, and it is not in bigger barns, but in heaven. The rich fool chose to "store up" the wrong valuable in the wrong place.

Such a story is a reminder that our impending death needs to play a role in our decisions concerning what we will do with the things we possess. We too easily learn to cling to our jobs and the things they can buy. On the negative side, we cannot sum up our lives in our achievements, successes, and stuff. On the positive side, we need to cultivate richness toward God. The wisdom such a story offers is simple. Wealth does not buy happiness. We learn to share our wealth rather than hoard it. We serve God rather than wealth. Such wisdom is practical. The words are easy to write and say. Often, it takes a lifetime to learn it. Some people never learn it.

Luke closely connects it with a concern for possessions.  This framework turns the parable into an example story.  It is an example of the warning in v. 15 and is the first of four remarks that punctuate Luke’s point of view on possessions throughout the passage.  The point of the story is similar to the moral instruction of wisdom tradition: to live only for creature comforts is shallow and avarice is folly.  In no other parable of Jesus does God intrude in such an explicit way to pronounce judgment and impose a conclusion. 

In fact, maybe this entire scene is not as petty as it first appeared when the man raised his question regarding inheritance. Financial matters can raise questions regarding your soul. Are we ready for such questions?