13 And a certain one said to him, out of the multitude, 'Teacher, say to my brother to divide with me the inheritance.' 14 And he said to him, 'Man, who set me a judge or a divider over you?' 15 And he said unto them, 'Observe, and beware of the covetousness, because not in the abundance of one's goods is his life.' 16 And he spake a simile unto them, saying, 'Of a certain rich man the field brought forth well; 17 and he was reasoning within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where I shall gather together my fruits? 18 and he said, This I will do, I will take down my storehouses, and greater ones I will build, and I will gather together there all my products and my good things, 19 and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast many good things laid up for many years, be resting, eat, drink, be merry. 20 'And God said to him, Unthinking one! this night thy soul they shall require from thee, and what things thou didst prepare—to whom shall they be? 21 so 'is' he who is treasuring up to himself, and is not rich toward God.'
22 And he said unto his disciples, 'Because of this, to you I say, Be not anxious for your life, what ye may eat; nor for the body, what ye may put on; 23 the life is more than the nourishment, and the body than the clothing. 24 'Consider the ravens, that they sow not, nor reap, to which there is no barn nor storehouse, and God doth nourish them; how much better are ye than the fowls? 25 and who of you, being anxious, is able to add to his age one cubit? 26 If, then, ye are not able for the least—why for the rest are ye anxious? 27 'Consider the lilies, how do they grow? they labour not, nor do they spin, and I say to you, not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these; 28 and if the herbage in the field, that to-day is, and to-morrow into an oven is cast, God doth so clothe, how much more you—ye of little faith? 29 'And ye—seek not what ye may eat, or what ye may drink, and be not in suspense, 30 for all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your Father hath known that ye have need of these things; 31 but, seek ye the reign of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
32 'Fear not, little flock, because your Father did delight to give you the reign; 33 sell your goods, and give alms, make to yourselves bags that become not old, a treasure unfailing in the heavens, where thief doth not come near, nor moth destroy; 34 for where your treasure is, there also your heart will be.
35 'Let your loins be girded, and the lamps burning, 36 and ye like to men waiting for their lord, when he shall return out of the wedding feasts, that he having come and knocked, immediately they may open to him. 37 'Happy those servants, whom the lord, having come, shall find watching; verily I say to you, that he will gird himself, and will cause them to recline (at meat), and having come near, will minister to them; 38 and if he may come in the second watch, and in the third watch he may come, and may find 'it' so, happy are those servants. 39 'And this know, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief doth come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through; 40 and ye, then, become ye ready, because at the hour ye think not, the Son of Man doth come.'
41 And Peter said to him, 'Sir, unto us this simile dost thou speak, or also unto all?' 42 And the Lord said, 'Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the lord shall set over his household, to give in season the wheat measure? 43 Happy that servant, whom his lord, having come, shall find doing so; 44 truly I say to you, that over all his goods he will set him. 45 'And if that servant may say in his heart, My lord doth delay to come, and may begin to beat the men-servants and the maid-servants, to eat also, and to drink, and to be drunken; 46 the lord of that servant will come in a day in which he doth not look for 'him', and in an hour that he doth not know, and will cut him off, and his portion with the unfaithful he will appoint. 47 'And that servant, who having known his lord's will, and not having prepared, nor having gone according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes, 48 and he who, not having known, and having done things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few; and to every one to whom much was given, much shall be required from him; and to whom they did commit much, more abundantly they will ask of him.
49 'Fire I came to cast to the earth, and what will I if already it was kindled? 50 but I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I pressed till it may be completed! 51 'Think ye that peace I came to give in the earth? no, I say to you, but rather division; 52 for there shall be henceforth five in one house divided—three against two, and two against three; 53 a father shall be divided against a son, and a son against a father, a mother against a daughter, and a daughter against a mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Luke 12:13-53
Commentary on Luke 12:13-21
(Read Luke 12:13-21)
Christ's kingdom is spiritual, and not of this world. Christianity does not meddle with politics; it obliges all to do justly, but wordly dominion is not founded in grace. It does not encourage expectations of worldly advantages by religion. The rewards of Christ's disciples are of another nature. Covetousness is a sin we need constantly to be warned against; for happiness and comfort do not depend on the wealth of this world. The things of the world will not satisfy the desires of a soul. Here is a parable, which shows the folly of carnal worldling while they live, and their misery when they die. The character drawn is exactly that of a prudent, worldly man, who has no grateful regard to the providence of God, nor any right thought of the uncertainty of human affairs, the worth of his soul, or the importance of eternity. How many, even among professed Christians, point out similar characters as models for imitation, and proper persons to form connexions with! We mistake if we think that thoughts are hid, and thoughts are free. When he saw a great crop upon his ground, instead of thanking God for it, or rejoicing to be able to do more good, he afflicts himself. What shall I do now? The poorest beggar in the country could not have said a more anxious word. The more men have, the more perplexity they have with it. It was folly for him to think of making no other use of his plenty, than to indulge the flesh and gratify the sensual appetites, without any thought of doing good to others. Carnal worldlings are fools; and the day is coming when God will call them by their own name, and they will call themselves so. The death of such persons is miserable in itself, and terrible to them. Thy soul shall be required. He is loth to part with it; but God shall require it, shall require an account of it, require it as a guilty soul to be punished without delay. It is the folly of most men, to mind and pursue that which is for the body and for time only, more than that for the soul and eternity.
Commentary on Luke 12:22-40
(Read Luke 12:22-40)
Christ largely insisted upon this caution not to give way to disquieting, perplexing cares, Matthew 6:25-34. The arguments here used are for our encouragement to cast our care upon God, which is the right way to get ease. As in our stature, so in our state, it is our wisdom to take it as it is. An eager, anxious pursuit of the things of this world, even necessary things, ill becomes the disciples of Christ. Fears must not prevail; when we frighten ourselves with thoughts of evil to come, and put ourselves upon needless cares how to avoid it. If we value the beauty of holiness, we shall not crave the luxuries of life. Let us then examine whether we belong to this little flock. Christ is our Master, and we are his servants; not only working servants, but waiting servants. We must be as men that wait for their lord, that sit up while he stays out late, to be ready to receive him. In this Christ alluded to his own ascension to heaven, his coming to call his people to him by death, and his return to judge the world. We are uncertain as to the time of his coming to us, we should therefore be always ready. If men thus take care of their houses, let us be thus wise for our souls. Be ye therefore ready also; as ready as the good man of the house would be, if he knew at what hour the thief would come.
Commentary on Luke 12:41-53
(Read Luke 12:41-53)
All are to take to themselves what Christ says in his word, and to inquire concerning it. No one is left so ignorant as not to know many things to be wrong which he does, and many things to be right which he neglects; therefore all are without excuse in their sin. The bringing in the gospel dispensation would occasion desolations. Not that this would be the tendency of Christ's religion, which is pure, peaceable, and loving; but the effect of its being contrary to men's pride and lusts. There was to be a wide publication of the gospel. But before that took place, Christ had a baptism to be baptized with, far different from that of water and the Holy Spirit. He must endure sufferings and death. It agreed not with his plan to preach the gospel more widely, till this baptism was completed. We should be zealous in making known the truth, for though divisions will be stirred up, and a man's own household may be his foes, yet sinners will be converted, and God will be glorified.