Scripture Reading: Luke 12:13-21

Then one from the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. But he said to him, Man, who made me a judge or an arbiter over you? And he said to them, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.

Then he spoke a parable to them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops? And so he said, I will do this. I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

But God said to him, Fool, this night your soul will be required of you. Then whose will those things be which you have provided? So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Opening Prayer

Let’s seek the Lord’s blessing on this, this word.

Gracious God in heaven, we do rejoice and give thanks that we once again have this opportunity to come before you and to look at your word. And we pray that your spirit would be leading, guiding us in our time. And that as your word goes forth in the power of the spirit, we do pray that it would find within each of our hearts that rich, fertile soil that brings about great and abundant fruit for your glory. We pray for your blessing upon your word. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Sermon Introduction: Finding Satisfaction in the Lord

As we considered a little bit this morning, we are to find our satisfaction and contentment in the Lord and in the good gifts that come to us from his most gracious hands. And certainly if we would take time to count our blessings, we would quickly realize that the Lord truly provides all that we really need.

Of course, this contrasts with the world, which is never satisfied with anything, as covetousness and greed tend to be the rule of thumb.

Of course, we know such things aren’t just a problem out there in the world. They can also be an issue in the church and even in our own lives. We see this, for example, especially in the false prosperity gospel, which is built around the corruptions of greed and covetousness. But even for the everyday Christian, Greed and covetousness can be a great temptation.

In our passage this afternoon, Jesus addresses the dangers of this greed in the parable of the rich fool.

Context: Jesus’ Prior Warnings

Jesus has been warning the people just before this. He was warning the people about the hypocrisy of the religious leaders and calling his followers to not be afraid of their faith, even if holding to their faith meant persecution and even death.

The Interruption

Well, then suddenly, as Jesus is teaching these things, a man interrupts him in verse 13. Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.

Now, this interruption seems very out of place, as it has really nothing to do with Jesus, what he has been talking about. He’s not mentioned anything about inheritances or anything about conflicts with brothers or anything. And so this man has his own agenda.

For whatever reason, he felt as though his brother wasn’t dealing fairly with him. And so Jesus responds to him with two responses.

Jesus’ First Response: Not a Judge of Earthly Matters

First, Jesus tells the man that he isn’t the judge of such matters. Typically, and perhaps this is why the man cried out to Jesus in this regard, because people would go to the rabbis or the teachers or to others to settle various disputes. But Jesus responds to this man, saying, Man, who made me a judge or arbiter over you?

Now, of course, the interesting thing about this is that one day we know Jesus will sit as judge of all the earth and he will rule over all things with his perfect justice. But he hasn’t yet ascended to that position. He hasn’t yet ascended to the right hand of God, the Father in heaven. And so he’ll be appointed as a judge at some point, but just not now.

But following his teaching, where he emphasized the condition of man’s immortal soul over the fate of man’s mortal body, Jesus seeks to show this man that he hasn’t come for such earthly matters as this. Jesus had come to proclaim the gospel, to heal the sick and to comfort those who mourn, to save the lost, and to forgive the sins of sinners.

The man had clearly misunderstood who Jesus was. He didn’t understand that Jesus had the words for eternal life.

Jesus’ Second Response: Warning Against Covetousness

The second response Jesus makes to this man, though, goes a bit deeper. We know that Jesus is the discerner of hearts. We know that he is, on a variety of occasions, he sees right through the exteriors of those he’s talking to. He’s able to peer right into their hearts, even as he’s able to peer into our hearts, even at this moment.

And so what Jesus says in verse 15, it’s not just for this man in the crowd, it’s not just for his brother, but it’s for all people, even we ourselves. He says, take heed and beware of covetousness.

Note how Jesus emphasizes the importance of the warning. He doesn’t only just say, take heed. but also beware of covetousness.

Not only know it’s out there ready to ensnare, but also at the same time be prepared to vigorously defend your heart against every form of covetousness and greed.

Jesus knows that greed is a great stumbling block for humanity. Again, he knows that the heart of man is given to a coveting, what he doesn’t have.

In fact, when you look back in scripture, this was coveting and greed is what led to the first sin, along with pride and other things as well. The serpent had deceived Eve into thinking that God was withholding something better from her, and she became greedy for what she didn’t have. And of course, ever since, greed and its counterparts, envy and covetousness have plagued all of mankind.

So greed is literally a thirst for more. And when you think about it, who hasn’t been tempted in some way with the desire to want something bigger, to want something better, to want something greater, to want something that’s newer, something in more abundance than what you already have been given. And so it’s a very common temptation. No one is excused.

Greed in all its forms, though, is a sin that plagues everyone. The 10th commandment is, you shall not covet. And the Westminster Larger Catechism question and answer 148 says this about this commandment.

The sin’s forbidden in the 10th commandment. Our discontentment with our own estate, envying and grieving at the good of our neighbor, together with all inordinate motions and affections to anything that is his.

And so at the root of greed and covetousness we see is a discontented heart, not being satisfied with what you have. And then of course added to this is the comparison to your neighbor and what he has, thinking that he has something better and more desirable what you’ve been given.

And so the temptation to be discontent with what you have and the desire to kind of keep up with your neighbors again is quite common. And so we often think that the car, the clothes, the house, the family, the job, the income, the land, the equipment, the game console, or anything that our neighbor has is better than what we have. And so we not only long to have what they have, but we may even desire to have something better, to one-up them, so to speak. So that they now will be envious of us.

And so as you can see then, this could lead to a vicious cycle of greed. One continuously being covetous of the other.

Well, this is what we’re called to guard against. And so before we start complaining about the greed of others, though, we should be first inquiring of ourselves.

Am I greedy? Am I envious of others? Am I unhappy with what I have? Am I content with all that God has given me and blessed me with?

But as Jesus tells us in another place, that we should certainly deal with the log in our own eye before we take the speck as someone else’s eye.

Exposing Faulty Thinking Behind Greed

And so Jesus goes on then to expose the faulty thinking behind greed. And that faulty thinking is that life consists of the abundance of possessions.

In the second part of verse 15, Jesus challenges, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.

See, the problem with greed is that it puts a value of life in the wrong place. Wealth, money, or riches isn’t what makes the man or the woman.

But this is exactly how we often define people, right? We put people in classes. You have the upper class, the middle class, and the lower class. And then you make judgments based upon those classifications.

But the truth is, We don’t receive value and worth from being in a certain class because of what we have or what we don’t have. Our value and worth comes not from what we possess, but comes from the fact that we’re created in the image of God and whether we have a right relationship with him.

And so Jesus is saying here that it isn’t he who has the most toys wins, because even if you had everything you could ever want or need, You still wouldn’t be able to have any more or any less of the one thing that can’t be bought or sold, and that is your life.

Having much stuff can’t prolong your life. It doesn’t even make you happy, so why would you use it as a standard to measure the value of your life?

And so this man is really missing the boat. If he thinks a portion of the inheritance that was from his parents will significantly improve his life, he’s misguided.

Yes, it certainly may improve his life in the here and now, but we’ve already seen that Jesus’ chief concern is the condition of the soul and where people will spend eternity, not with how comfortable they are in this life.

The Parable of the Rich Fool

So Jesus illustrates this important truth with the parable of the rich fool in verses 16 through 20.

And so the parable is simply that a man was a rich man whose land was very fertile. And so it was so fertile that it produced a crop much larger than he expected. And he was unprepared.

What a great problem to have really. He says, what shall I do since I have no room to store my crops?

And so with such a great abundance, he had nowhere to put it all. And so he came up with a plan. He’s going to tear down his old barns and build even bigger ones, so have plenty of room to store all his crops and his goods.

But his conversation with himself isn’t over, as he adds in verse 19. And then I will say to my soul, soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.

You see, with such abundance, he figures that he’s going to be able to retire early and live a life of ease because his soul, that is his life, will be sustained by the many goods that he’s accumulated and stored up in these new large barns.

In other words, he’s doing what Jesus just condemned, making his possessions the sum and substance of his life.

But there’s one important thing that this man hasn’t considered. Something, or rather someone, he has completely left out of the equation. And that is God.

Jesus continues the story in verse 20 that in the middle of the night, God says to the man, Fool, this night your soul will be required of you. Then whose will those things be which you have provided?

See, when the bank calls and says the payment is due, well, you know what? The payment is due. And certainly when God says your number is up, your number is up.

Death is going to come no matter what your plans and your purpose is. The man dies, and all that he has stored up for himself will now be given to others. Such goes his life of ease.

Lessons from the Parable: Characteristics of the Rich Fool

Now, there are several important lessons that we learn from the man in this parable and his character, especially how really not to be.

And first is we see that this man was presumptuous. That is, he made his plans without any thought or regard to God. He lived his life as if he was the captain of his own ship.

We call this practical atheism, living your life without any regard to God. The one who would create, he wants to create his own destiny. He simply assumed that his life would last for many years, but God had a very different plan.

And of course, we know that people do the very same thing today, whether in relation to accumulating wealth or even connection with just life in general. They live their lives as if there wasn’t a God who has called all his creatures to abide by his law.

But these must be warned and cautioned. Even though they give no thought to God and how they live their lives, they need to be told that one day they will have to appear before this God and they will have to give an account to Him.

And so this is what Jesus warns, points out here, that this man is being presumptuous.

Secondly, we see that this man was very selfish. See, he was going to have great excess. And his current barns couldn’t fit it all. He was going to build these bigger, newer barns and just put it all in there.

Well, never once are we told that he thinks about others. Never once did he consider that perhaps there was a family member, maybe a friend, maybe a neighbor who was in need of provision. No, it was all about this man.

And this is demonstrated really in the parable itself, in the text, as in the Greek, the first person singular pronoun is used 12 times. There’s eight I’s and four my’s. And so that’s the emphasis. He’s all about I, I, I, me, me, me. My, my, my.

He showed no kindness or charity toward others. All that he amassed, his entire empire of grain and goods, was all for himself.

And thirdly, we note that he was ungrateful for what he’d been given to him. He was expecting an abundant crop because his land yielded plentifully, even more than he could have imagined.

Well, obviously we can see that God had greatly blessed this man by giving him land that was rich and fertile. But never once does he give thanks to God, or even offer some of his abundant harvest as a thank offering in the temple.

Now we should note here that there’s nothing wrong with having rich fertile land, or having abundant crops, or even having a large new barn. But if we don’t acknowledge that the things that we have have come to us from the gracious hands of the Heavenly Father, that they’re the gifts that he gives to us and rains down from heaven to us upon us, then we’re ungrateful and we’re actually sinning against God because we don’t acknowledge him for the good gifts that he’s given to us.

And so the man is ungrateful.

Fourthly, we see that this man was extremely self-indulgent, and this goes along with his selfishness. He wanted a life of ease and comfort. He wanted his life to be filled with food, drink, and every pleasure that money could buy.

Again, he’s not worried about what was going on with other people and their needs. He wanted to waste it all on himself.

And so the basic lesson we learn from this parable is simply this. Don’t be this way. Don’t be like this man. Don’t be presumptuous about your life. Don’t be selfish. Don’t be ungrateful. And don’t be self-indulgent.

And certainly don’t be greedy for more than what you have.

The Foolishness of Greed

But Jesus has a more pointed word of instruction for this man and those like him. And that’s this. He is foolish.

Verse 20, God said to him, a fool, this night your soul will be required of you. Then whose will those things be which you have provided?

The man is a fool. He’s built all this wealth and accumulated so much in excess so that he can have a life of ease. But the irony is, is that he’ll never enjoy his retirement. Not even one day of it.

Because life consists of much more than wealth and possessions, and God has now required his life.

Jesus now points the lesson back to the man in the crowd, and his brother, and to the crowd, and ultimately to us.

In verse 21, so is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

That is, the same thing will happen to the one who is greedy and selfish. Whether it’s the CEO of a large corporation, or those who are demanding the rich pay everything, or false prosperity preachers, or the man who is demanding his share of the inheritance, or even those of us here today in our daily struggles with the sins of greed, envy, covetousness, and selfishness.

If we put all of our focus and energy on building a future in this life and neglect the condition of our souls, well, we’re fools.

Because this life can go at any moment, but eternity truly lasts forever. And once God says our time is up, that’s it.

All of our plans for the future will be erased. Everything that we’ve accumulated to enjoy in the future is going to be gone. It’s all going to be given to others.

For whether we end up in heaven or hell, we can’t take any of it with us. The things of this life will stay in this life.

But the matters of the heart and the soul are truly what endure forever and ever. This man in the parable had prepared everything for this life, and was very rich, but he wasn’t prepared for eternity, because he wasn’t rich toward God, as Jesus concludes here.

Application: Being Rich Toward God

Well, what does it mean to be rich toward God? It obviously means that you aren’t greedy, envious, or covetous of money, wealth, or possessions. That’s simple.

Second, being rich toward God also means that you’re content with whatever God chooses to give to you, whether you have a lot or very little. We’re content with what God has given to us.

Everything we have, we acknowledge, is a gift from God. He entrusted to our care. He blesses us with things, but they all come from Him. We should enjoy those things. We should be content. We should be thankful for all the good gifts the Father bestows upon us.

And third, being rich toward God means that you advocate for justice. We are to be mindful of the poor and needy and those around us. We should certainly condemn the greed and the envy and the covetousness of our society and culture whenever we see it.

But we do so not in order to make demands and steal from others in order to end poverty or to just simply get our fair share. No, we do so because God’s law forbids greed and forbids envy and coveting.

Fourth, being rich toward God means you should strive to be generous with whatever God has given you. Again, however great or however small.

We should be generous with our time, talent, and treasures because we remember how generous God has been to us through Jesus Christ.

Remember, Jesus left behind His glorious position in heaven and became flesh, humbling Himself, becoming even a bondservant, even enduring the painful and shameful death of the cross, so that we might have the riches of God’s abounding grace. We might have the riches of His forgiveness, and that we might enjoy the abundance of eternal life in Him.

If God has been so rich and generous toward us, well, we ought to do the same for His glory.

And this leads to the final way we become rich towards God. It is by becoming rich in faith as we rely daily upon the grace of God.

We’re not to put our trust in wealth and possessions, for these things will quickly pass away. We’re not to amass possessions and build a life of ease as an end in itself, because we know our life is much more than our stuff.

But we’re to put our faith, our hope, and our trust in the Lord, our God, and in Jesus Christ, his Son, who truly provides all that we need from his gracious hands.

Brothers and sisters, if we’d be greedy for anything, let’s be greedy for the grace of God, which He so freely gives and renews for us each and every day through His Spirit.

Let’s desire God’s grace, mercy, and goodness more and more in our lives to be rich toward God as we strive to fully depend upon Him, who alone can truly and fully satisfy all our needs, all to the praise of His glorious name alone.

Closing Prayer

Let’s pray.

Gracious God and Heavenly Father, we just rejoice and give thanks for this important reminder from your word, this warning against greed and covetousness, that we would truly be content with what you have given to us in our lives, whether it’s possessions and just whatever it is that you’ve given to us, whether it is great or little, and that we would strive to be rich toward you, that we’d strive to walk in faith, to be obedient according to your truth, to live as Jesus lived, to be truly Christ-like, and to live as witnesses in this world to the glorious gospel truth that Jesus Christ has come into the world to save sinners.

And we rejoice and give thanks for that wonderful truth, even as we now have this opportunity to reflect and remember that in a very special way at the Lord’s table. We pray, Lord, that you would impress these truths upon us and that your name would be lifted up and glorified in our hearts, in our lives, all to the praise of your glorious name.

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.