Teaching about Money and Possessions: 12:22 Then Jesus said to his disciples. The following material consists of teachings addressed to believers. The non-Christian must first of all repent and believe. Therefore. “Therefore” calls attention to the rationale for the following command: “Do not worry about your life” because of what happened to the rich man in the preceding parable; i.e., “because it is folly to concentrate one’s life on the accumulation of possessions.” Do not worry about your life. “Life” is literally soul, but here it refers to the whole human being, including his or her eating capacity. Or about your body. “Body” refers to the human being as one who needs clothing. Note the synonymous parallelism in 12:22c, d and in the following verse. 12:23 The first reason given for the exhortation in 12:22 is that there is more to life than eating. As Jesus stated in 4:4, “Man does not live on bread alone.” 12:24 Consider. Compare 6:41; 12:27; 20:23. Ravens. The Matthean parallel (Matt 6:26) has “birds of the air.” Luke’s ravens, who do not exhibit the rich man’s folly and greed (Luke 12:18), bring God’s care even more to mind because of Ps 147:9 and Job 38:41. In contrast to humans, “they do not sow and reap.” How much more. This introduces an a fortiori argument (see comments on 11:11) and the second reason for the exhortation of 12:22: the believing community is precious in God’s sight, and “he will take care of you.” 12:25 Who of you? Compare 11:5. A single hour? Literally a cubit. As a measure of length, the cubit was about eighteen inches. The next expression, “life” or “span of life” (RSV), can have either a physical or temporal meaning. In 2:52 and 19:3 it refers to stature, but here it refers to length of life, for adding a cubit to one’s height would be more than a “little thing” (12:26). “Cubit” must therefore refer not to a measure of length but to a measure of time. This verse asks whether believers can extend the length of their lives in any way by worrying. The assumed answer is, of course, no. This then is the third reason for the exhortation of 12:22. Due to human impotence, worry is pointless. 12:26 Worry cannot prolong life even in the slightest way. It cannot contribute anything positive to one’s life. (The negative effect that worry and anxiety have upon the quality, health, and length of life is becoming more and more recognized.) Whereas the following verses teach that the believer need not worry, these teach that worry is futile. 12:27 Lilies. Although the exact flower designated by the Greek term is uncertain, the meaning is clear. Labor or spin. Jesus’ audience may have recognized an Aramaic pun/play between the words “labor” (hamal) and “spin” (hazal), but Luke’s readers would not have understood it because the pun did not carry over to their Greek text. Solomon in all his splendor. Compare 1 Kgs 10 and 2 Chr 9. There is extensive parallelism between Luke 12:27–28 and 12:24: “Consider the ravens”—“Consider the lilies”; “They do not sow or reap”—“They do not labor or spin”; “Yet God feeds them”—“God clothes the grass”; “How much more valuable you are than birds!”—“How much more will he clothe you.” 12:28 Grass … which is here today. Grass frequently is used in the OT as a symbol for the transitory nature of life.108 Thrown into the fire. “Fire” is better translated “oven.” Wood was relatively scarce in Israel, and grass was used for fuel to bake bread. How much more. Jesus’ downgrading of the lilies to “grass” increases the strength of his a fortiori argument. O you of little faith! The expression “little faith” is found not only in the parallel in Matt 6:30 but also in Matt 8:26; 14:31; 16:8. 12:29 Do not set your heart on. Literally Do not seek. Matthew 6:31 reads, “Do not worry.” “Seek” is used here to balance the “seek” in Luke 12:31, so that we have, “Do not seek …” (12:29) but instead “Seek …” (12:31). Do not worry. Compare 12:22, 25–26. This is a synonym for the Greek word used in the three earlier references. 12:30 For the pagan world. “Pagan world” is literally nations, i.e., the unbelieving Gentiles who do not know God (cf. 1 Thess 4:5). All such things. “All” can go with “nations” (RSV) or “these things” (NIV) but is best understood as modifying “things.”109 Your Father. This address indicates that this teaching is for believers (see comments on 11:2). Believers who pray daily to their Father for food (11:3) need to be reassured that the Father will care for them even better than earthly fathers do (11:11–13). The word “your” is emphatic. 12:31 But seek his kingdom. Matthew 6:33 adds “and his righteousness,” which is a strong emphasis in his Gospel.110 The exhortation means to pursue those things involving the kingdom of God rather than material possessions. To “seek his kingdom” can be understood as: (1) desiring the consummation of the kingdom (Luke 11:2), which in turn may include the thought that believers can in some way advance the coming of the kingdom; (2) praying the Lord’s prayer; (3) seeking the blessings of the kingdom, i.e., treasure in heaven, rather than earthly possessions; (4) submitting to God’s rule. In the present context (12:21 and esp. 33) the third alternative makes the most sense. 12:32 Once again there is an exhortation followed by a word of assurance (see comments on 12:11). Do not be afraid. Although this is literally a command (the verb is an imperative), it functions as a reassuring word (cf. Josh 1:9). Two reasons are given. The first is found in the address “little flock” (cf. Matt 26:31), which identifies the believer as part of the true people of God (Mic 2:12). Even if sent out as lambs among wolves (Luke 10:3; cf. Acts 20:29), they need not fear, for God is with them. The second reason is that God has been pleased to give them (note the past tense, an inceptive aorist) his kingdom (cf. Luke 22:29–30), i.e., has made them part of his kingdom. 12:33 Sell your possessions. Compare 18:22. See Introduction 8 (7) for a discussion of how to understand this Lukan teaching. Give to the poor. Compare 3:11; 6:34–35, 38; 11:41; 14:12–14; 19:8; cf. also Tob 4:7–11; Sir 3:30; 29:12; 35:2; 1 Tim 6:17–19. Provide purses … that will not wear out. “Purses” is a metaphor for the contents contained in them. One should use one’s purse, i.e., money, to lay up treasure in heaven so that it will not be wasted. How one’s money can be lost is given in the next two examples and was also illustrated in the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:20). Treasure in heaven. Heavenly treasure is a reward on deposit with God (cf. 12:21; 18:22). That will not be exhausted. Such treasure will not be exhausted when at death or the parousia, naked and without possessions, one confronts the eternal God (cf. 16:9). Such treasure cannot be affected by the dangers that earthly treasures encounter. Where no thief comes near. The sense of the verb is “gets to it and takes it.” Luke lacks “where thieves break in” (Matt 6:19). Luke’s omission, if deliberate, may have been because his readers lived in a different kind of house from Jesus’ Palestinian audience, where a thief would “break in” (literally dig through the walls). Compare however, Luke 12:39. And no moth destroys. In ancient times one common form of wealth was clothing, which could be ruined by moths. 12:34 The concluding proverb teaches that if one’s treasure is invested in the kingdom, especially through helping the poor (12:33), one’s heart will be focused on God’s kingdom as well. On the other hand, if one concentrates on the accumulation of earthly wealth, one cannot focus attention upon God. These are mutually exclusive concerns. One cannot serve God and money (16:13), but one can serve God by the correct use of money. The Lukan Message Luke continued his teaching on possessions by including various teachings of Jesus concerning this subject.111 Although most of the material is traditional, the Lukan emphasis is nonetheless clear. Why Luke emphasized this topic cannot be known with certainty. A “mirror reading” of the material might suggest that Luke’s audience was particularly materialistic and that he was trying to change their orientation, but this is mere speculation. They might also have been practicing these principles already, and Luke might have been seeking to reinforce the practice (1:4) by reassuring them that this was in accordance with Jesus’ teachings. Yet despite lack of agreement on why, we do know what Luke was saying to his readers. The Lukan emphasis on stewardship has been shown earlier and need not be repeated here. See Introduction 8 (7). What is important in this passage is Luke’s unique contribution to the traditional material found in 12:32–33. These teachings on stewardship must be understood in light of the coming of the kingdom and in the sharing in its blessings. Because of the kingdom’s surpassing worth believers should practice such magnificent almsgiving as Luke proposed in 12:33 and recorded in Acts 2:44–47; 4:32–37; 5:1f. By so doing, the great reversal is even now taking place. The “poor” (Luke 6:20) have treasure in heaven, and the rich, like the fool in the parable (cf. 16:19–31), lose all: their possessions and their very lives (12:20; 9:24–25). Stein, R. H. (1992). Luke (Vol. 24, pp. 354–357). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 23:03:32 +0000
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