Jesus has been emphasizing the folly of worry. He has been saying, “Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight.… Have no fear; you are of more value than any number of sparrows.”
One would think that in view of such words of encouragement the reaction of everyone would be, “How rich we are!”
Someone from the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.
The person who made this request could think of only one thing: the inheritance! He was convinced that he was being cheated.
But why did he urge Jesus to intervene in this dispute? The reason may have been that he took Jesus to be a rabbi, and, knowing that rabbis at times settled matters of this nature, therefore asked him to bring this quarrel to a conclusion favorable to himself, the younger brother.
Jesus answered, Man, who appointed me judge or arbitrator in your case?
Jesus refuses to comply with the request most likely for two reasons: (1) he did not what to interfere with the authorities who were supposed to take care of such matters; and (2) he didn’t come into the world to be a judge over Israel but a Savior of sinners.
Jesus knew that the real problem here was greed so he issues a warning to the entire multitude listening to Him speak: Then He said to them, Watch out! Be on your guard against greed of every description.
The Greek word for greed is very descriptive. Literally it means: the thirst for having more, always having more and more and still more.
It is as if a man in order to quench his thirst takes a drink of salt water, which happens to be the only water that is available. This makes him still more thirsty. So he drinks again and again, until his thirst kills him.
Jesus tells these people—and is telling us today—not to become enslaved to this demon of greed, and he adds: for a man’s life [the life that really matters] does not consist in the abundance of his possessions, his earthly goods.
In order to drive home this point Jesus told a parable: And He told them a parable, saying: The ground of a certain rich man produced bumper crops.
What was wrong with this farmer? It certainly was not he fact that he was successful. Nowhere does Scripture condemn success of riches under honorable conditions and hard work.
What was wrong becomes clear from the following verses: So he carried on a dialogue within himself, saying, What shall I do, for I have no space where I can store my crops? Then he said, This is what I’ll do: I will tear down my barns and I will build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and have a good time.
Note the following:
First of all, the rich man presumes that he will live on for many years. He doesn’t say “if God wills.” He fails to realize that his body is mortal and will not necessarily live on “for many years.”
Secondly, he does not seem to care about the needs of others. He is thoroughly selfish.
Thirdly, the rich man does not thank and glorifyGod. For all practical purposes this man is an atheist. In view of his abundant harvest we were justified in expecting him to cry out, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits! Who am I that thou hast brought me so far? What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits toward me?” But no, he says nothing of the kind.
What the rich man does say is, Take it easy; eat, drink, and have a good time.
The grim awakening follows: But God said to him, you fool! This very night your soul is being demanded of you, and the things you have prepared (for yourself), whose shall they be?
God calls this man “Fool,” and a fool he was indeed, for he seemed to think that he had no need of God whatever, that he himself was in control of his life, soul and body both, that he was “the master of his fate and the captain of his soul.”
Now God tells him that his soul will be required of him not after “many years” but “this very night.” God himself will demand it of him.
Note that the fool was wrong not only in thinking that he was in control of life’s ending. The rich man was also wrong in forgetting that he did not even know when it would be terminated. He should have reminded himself of the words of Psalm 39:4–6 (in part), “Lord, let me know how frail I am.… Surely every man is a mere breath.… He heaps up riches, and knows not who shall gather them.” Psalm 103:15-16; James 4:13-16
Jesus sums up the parable’s main lesson as follows: So it goes with one who hoards up riches for himself but is not rich in God’s sight. Jesus is speaking to the man who lives only for himself, “he hoards up riches for himself but is not rich towards God.” Matthew 6:19-21; Colossians 3:1-4; 1 Timothy 6:9-10; 1 John 2:15-17
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