Luke 12.13–21
A sermon preached at Geraldton Anglican Cathedral 17 July 2022
I have never been comfortable preaching about giving. It seems a little like begging for your own supper. Now I am uncomfortable about leaving having not touched on the subject; Jesus spoke of it so often. I once calculated that nearly twenty-five percent of his teaching touched on the subject of rich and poor and possessions. And yet, he never told people they should give to him or his team, or, I might say, to the church. This is a remarkable thing.
Last week I mentioned three reasons people avoid Christianity: they don’t know what it is, they think it isn’t true, or they don’t want it to be true. In addition to these, many people stay clear of Jesus because they think he taught that people should give away all their possessions. They look at Christians and see that most of them don’t, and conclude that they are hypocrites. They don’t want to be a hypocrite, so they keep clear of us. For this reason alone it matters to explore Jesus’ teaching. For there is a great amount of misunderstanding amongst Christians and others.
Today I have chosen to explore Luke 12.13–21: Jesus’ words to the man who asked him to get involved in a financial dispute.
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Luke 12.13
Shortly after we returned from Africa I ran into a chap I had known as a student and learned that he was now a lawyer. He told me he worked entirely for one person, who had inherited a very large amount of money. Most of his time was spent fighting off the claims of other family members. The problem before us is common. It is sad how money sets people against one another, especially when it comes to an inheritance—even brothers and sisters.
The man who asked for his help had suffered a genuine injustice, and thought if Jesus, with his moral authority, would speak to his brother, the thing could be sorted out. But Jesus refused to get involved. Instead he replied with a warning against greed.
It seems unfair—telling someone who is suffering a real injustice not to be greedy, or using his situation as a lead into a sermon on greed, but as we will see there is a lot to what he says.
Jesus said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them—to the crowd, that is—“Take care, and be on your guard against all greed …”
Luke 12.14–15
I have corrected the ESV’s translation here. Jesus does not speak of “covetousness,” but “greed”. This is important if we are to follow his thinking. Covetousness is envy, jealousy, wanting something that belongs to someone else. The man who sought his help was seeking what was his—or should have been; covetousness doesn’t come into it. The word Jesus uses—pleonexia—simply means the desire for more. Pleon– is “more,” exia is “desire.” Pleonexia is the ordinary word for greed. The billionaire businessman who was asked how much he needed said, “Just a little more; always a little more.” Whether the man who addressed Jesus was greedy, we are not told, but Jesus uses the occasion to warn against it.
Take care, be on your guard, against greed of every kind.
Luke 12.15
The thing to notice here is this double warning: “watch out, be on your guard” It is the strongest warning formula to be found anywhere in Jesus’ teaching; he often warns of dangers of one kind or another, but not with this degree of intensity. Clearly he is passionate on this issue. If we look carefully at what he says we will see why.
Take care, and be on your guard against all greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
This is the ESV again, and it struggles with it, as do most Bible translations. It fails to uncover Jesus’ logic. Let me try a painfully literal translation.
Watch and guard yourself from all greed. Because not in abounding to someone is his life in his possessions.
You can see why translators scratch their heads here, and give it their best shot. It is not immediately clear what Jesus means. I think he is providing an extreme example: “even when it abounds to someone”—like the man in the following parable: someone who is not in need, has surplus, has everything he needs and more to spare. Even in this case, Jesus says, his life does not come from his possessions. If this is so, how much truer will it be of the person who is battling to earn a living and pay their mortgage. The underlying assumption is that the more you have, the more life you will have. If life comes from possessions, the person who has it all will abound in it.
We can follow Jesus so far, though it raises the question why he issues such a strong warning. The answer lies in the meaning of “life.”
There are three words in Greek that are commonly translated as life. The first is bios, from which we get biology. It is not common in the New Testament; when it does occur it means your living, or livelihood. It is not the word Jesus uses here. The second word is psyche, from which we get psychology. It is sometimes translated as “soul,” but its usual meaning in the New Testament is “life” in the sense of life and death. To lose your psyche means to die: “What shall it profit a person the gain the whole world and lose his life.” The word here is psyche. This word is common in the New Testament, but it is not the word Jesus uses in his warning. The third word is zoe, as in zoology; you may know someone called Zoe. Zoe is quality of life, and this word too is common in the New Testament, especially on the lips of Jesus, who often combines it with “eternal.” Eternal life doesn’t mean life that goes on and on forever. It does, of course, but that is not the main idea. Eternal life is aeonal life—the life of the aeon. The aeon is the age-to-come. Aeonal life is the lifestyle of the kingdom of God. When Jesus says he has come that we may have life—”life in all its fullness” (John 10)—he means that his mission is to bring us into a new quality of life, that begins when we become his disciples, is not annihilated by death, and goes on forever. “Whoever hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5) Here again Jesus is speaking of the quality of life of the coming new world, which begins for us when we enter into friendship with him as our King. Zoe is the word Jesus uses in his warning against greed. This helps us see why greed is such a problem. The person who thinks he will have quality of life if he can only just get hold of this next thing he is dreaming about—that person is not going to be interested in Jesus’ offer of life.
God made us for a purpose, and part of that purpose is to know him. It stands to reason we will never find total fulfilment apart from him. Life comes from friendship with God, and the person who thinks he or she will have life by means of their next acquisition, will not be looking in God’s direction.
This is why, in other places, Jesus calls the greedy person an idol-worshipper, and why greed is so dangerous. “Watch out, be on your guard against greed of every kind, because even when someone has everything they need and more, still, life does not come from possessions.”
I mentioned the wealthy businessman, who asked how much he needed, said, “Just a bit more.” That is the mentality of the wealthy, but it is also a problem for all of us. The multitudes of people who crowd our shopping malls: some are there to get what they need and leave, but many are escaping an empty life, thinking this thing or that purchase will make them happy. There may be a shot of satisfaction in taking it home and getting it out of its box, but the happiness doesn’t last, and they are soon be back in the shops. As a nation we are drowning in things. We fill our houses with stuff, until there is no more room and we have to throw it onto the verge—or we build a bigger house.
I remember my first job—buying my first tape recorder. It was quite expensive, and a quality reel-to-reel machine. You may not even know what I am talking about. I took it with me when I returned home, and thought everyone would be impressed. It was a great disappointment. I took it around and recorded everything, but the shine soon wore off, and I was dreaming of my first car.
Greed is tricky. It is natural to desire things and not necessarily wrong. Many things we need. Even to have something we don’t need may be fine. “God provides us richly with everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6): he is not a miserly God, who resents our having anything but the bare necessities—quite the opposite. So, the person who loves cars and wants to own quality is not necessarily being ungodly. But when the desire for more becomes our path to life, then it becomes our religion—our god—and I fear it has become the religion of many Australians.
But it is a temptation to all of us. We all know that feeling: “If only I can get one of those!” and, of course, there is some satisfaction in getting it, though it is usually short-lived. But what is the answer? Not struggling to not accumulate, but realizing where fullness of life is actually to be found—in finding God. As Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until we find our rest in you” – life in you. Finding life in God, enjoying him, discovering his purpose for our life—for he surely has one—living to fulfil that purpose, living for others, enjoying his gifts along the way, experiencing him meeting our needs, giving us enjoyment way beyond our needs, but not drowning in indulgence thinking things are the source of fulfilment—this is real life, the life of the kingdom of God.
The rich farmer in the parable has a bumper harvest. Nothing wrong with that; it is God’s gift. Some people have a warped idea that it is wrong to get anything for nothing. We are always getting things for nothing, even the rain, as we were reminded last year. Other people think it’s a sin to be wealthy. No, wealth again is God’s gift; it gives us great possibilities for doing good. Others feel guilty when they are enjoying themselves. Crazy! God made us for enjoyment and happiness. So, what was wrong with this farmer? He has a conversation with himself which gives him away.
‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 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. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid upfor many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’
Luke 12.19–19
He has no need of God because his money promises him all the life he thinks he needs. He thinks of nothing but his own pleasure. He sees his possessions as the guarantee of a good life. To think further afield than his own enjoyment doesn’t occur to him. The sufferings of the world are far away. His prosperity insulates him from it. The kingdom of God Jesus announces is irrelevant. The frightening thing is that the man Jesus describes is the average Australian. Who wants God when everything you want is here, and if you don’t have it now, you can have it in your dreams?
But God said to him,“Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
Luke 12.20
A more literal translation would be: “Fool, tonight they are calling up your life from you …” Jesus uses a commercial word. Life is a loan and tonight the bankers will foreclose. Of course, everyone knows that some time they must die, and we can take nothing with us, and others will enjoy what we have worked for. That is a reality often spoken of in the Bible, as here. But Jesus is speaking of something more. God calls this man a fool—that is a moral judgement. “The fool says in his heart there is no God.” (Psalm 14) He lives as though there is no God, but there is. And once again I feel Jesus speaks to us Australians. Our backs are turned on God, so our backs are turned on life. Look at the way the farmer talks to himself. He has no one else to talk to. A Christian talks to God: we are always telling him about our struggles and happiness. But modern man has no one to talk to, and nothing finally to look forward to.
I may be wrong, but I think in this parable the farmer’s sudden death is a picture of God’s judgement on a worthless life. When his patience runs out, he calls in the loan, and the man is found to be a bankrupt. He could have been rich towards God. What a tragedy! Jesus concludes:
So is everyone who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.
Luke 12.21
What happens to the farmer is a picture of what happens to everyone who ignores God, and especially the greedy.
Treasure is what you have over and above what you need. A man needs his tools. A woman needs her clothes. A child needs its books and sporting gear. We all need a home, food, car. Dare I say we need our superannuation, though what the man in the parable is doing sounds very like organizing a good superannuation policy. Nevertheless, superannuation was a wise move on the part of our government, to make sure everyone can live comfortably when they can no longer work, and lessen the burden on the state. But many of us have all this and more. We have treasure—which we can lay up, or build a bigger house, buy a boat, whatever. But is this what it means to be a disciple of Jesus? Is this anything to do with helping the needy or investing in the kingdom? Are we worshipping the god, Mammon and captives to greed?
Jesus has much more to say about a life liberated from greed, that is exciting. I hope you will continue to read his word and discover it for yourself.