Parable of the Rich Fool. Luke 12:13-21

Transcription

1 1 Parable of the Rich Fool Luke 12:13-21

2 2 Text: Luke 12:13-21, Parable of the Rich Fool Warning Against Covetousness 13. And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. 14. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? 15. 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. 16. And he spake a parable unto them saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17. And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18. 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. 19. 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. 20. 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? 21. So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. Commentary: Luke 12:13, And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.

3 3 I. A man in the multitude said to Jesus, Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me. A. Under Jewish law the older brother would have inherited twothirds (2/3) of the family estate and the younger brother onethird (1/3). B. The older brother would have served as executor of the estate. C. Evidently the older brother had not given the younger brother his third or the younger brother wanted more than the one-third (1/3) to which he was entitled. D. It is not certain whether this man was seeking a redress of a grievance or a revision of ancient Jewish laws of primogeniture. E. Evidently the man must have thought he had a just cause. Otherwise he would likely not have brought the matter to Jesus. F. Conflicts among siblings are as old as Cain and Abel. II. Jesus prime mission was to seek and save the lost. A. Jesus shyed away from extraneous involvement in tangential matters. 1. Woman taken in adultery. John 8:3-11, And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he

4 4 heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. 2. Tribute money. Matthew 22:17-21, Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is is lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar s. Then saith he unto them, render therefore unto Caesar, the things which are Caesar s; and unto God the things that are God s. Luke 12:14, 15, 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. I. Jesus said he had not been made a human judge in such matters. II. However, Jesus did tell this man and all others to give diligence to keep themselves from all covetousness.

5 5 A. Jesus saw the problem in this case as covetousness. B. Greed, selfishness is a cancer that is eating the heart out of mankind. 1. Ephesians 4:19, My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, 2. Colossians 3:5, Morfity therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: III. The essence of a man s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things he possesses. IV. With this man s request in mind Jesus at this time related a parable to illustrate what he had just said. Luke 12:16-21, 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. I. An increase in goods did not satisfy this man. The more he had the more he wanted

6 6 II. The self-centeredness of this man is clearly evident. In six (6) verses he used the first person singular pronouns I and my eleven (11) times. He, as if speaking to himself, used the second person singular pronouns thou and thine three (3) additional times. III. This man did not have sufficient barns in which to store the increase, but Ambrose rightly said that he did have the needy, the widows, and the mouths of the orphans and widows in which to store his harvest. IV. The rich fool said, Take thine ease. God said, This night is thy soul required of you. V. This man was not the owner of the things entrusted to him. He was only the steward to whom God had temporarily entrusted them. VI. That night this man died. He no longer had to worry about his money. Someone else would be happy to spend all he had worked to get! VII. The uncertainty of life is an obvious reality. VIII. The conclusion of the parable is, So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. A. Our priorities need to be right. B. Te person who is poor toward God, regardless of how much of this world s goods he may have, is not only indeed poor but he is a genuine fool as well! C. This life is short and uncertain! Eternity is forever! A wise man lays up treasure for the long haul.

7 7 Parable of the Rich Fool Questions 1. One of the said to,, speak to my, that he divide the with me. 2. What was the problem with these brothers, legally and otherwise? 3. Jesus asked,, who made me a or a over you? 4. Jesus advised,, and of ; for a man s consisteth not in the of the things he. 5. Jesus came to and to the! This is our prime job as well. 6. When have we become judges over matters which are not any of our business? 7. Of what does a man s life consist?

8 Why did Jesus call the rich man of Luke 12:16-21 a fool? 9. Jesus said, This night your soul shall be required of you. Do you think of your death very often? Describe your thoughts. 10. Is it a sin to buy up treasure for ourselves?... to plan for retirement?