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What the Bible says about Parable of the Rich Fool
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Matthew 24:36

Even though we look forward to Jesus Christ's return with tremendous anticipation, we do not know when it will be. We also do not know the date of our own deaths, at which time our preparation ends. How much time do we, as individuals, have to prepare? Stephen was martyred by an angry mob shortly after the death of Christ and the founding of the New Testament church (Acts 7:57-60). While his age is never mentioned—perhaps he was called in his advanced years—he plainly had not lived many years in the truth, like the rest of the church at that time, before his time of preparation ended.

On the negative side, Ananias and Sapphira—who also would not have known the truth for long—had their time of preparation cut short by a foolish sin (Acts 5:1-11). Regardless of how near or far Christ's return is on the horizon, our lives could end at any point. Who is to say whether we have twenty more years—or one? The prophetic parables of Matthew 24 and 25 instruct us that "the end"—whether of this age or of this life—is entirely beyond our knowledge, so the wise will be setting their hands to the priorities of life while there is time.

In the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:16-21), Jesus describes a man caught up in the affairs of this life, enjoying the fruit of his labors, and telling himself to "take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry" (verse 19). God's response? "Fool! This night your soul [life] will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?" This man was entirely focused on the present, without any thought of preparation for the next life—or how long he had to live the present one.

Similarly, God says through the prophet Haggai, "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?" (Haggai 1:4) Having a house—even a very nice house—is not the problem. God's rebuke comes in response to misplaced priorities. The peoples' focus was on their own comfort, while they neglected God's Temple. This question is distinctly relevant to us now, for, in the New Testament, God's Temple can represent either the entire body of Christ (Ephesians 2:21) or the individual Christian (I Corinthians 3:16-17). If we apply this admonition to today, it implies that the spiritual condition of the church as a whole, as well as our individual spiritual state, are higher priorities than our material situation. The "cares, riches, and pleasures of life" are what choke out the truth of God (Luke 8:11, 14).

While we may have a general understanding of the future through the prophecies, the timing is a substantial variable that we cannot know until it is upon us. Even more uncertain is how long we each have to live. But by turning our focus to our spiritual condition—for we are the Temple of God's Spirit—and to strengthening the Body of Christ wherever possible, our priorities can be in alignment with God's. Whether or not we live to witness the return of Jesus Christ is inconsequential in the sense that we will be prepared either way.

David C. Grabbe
Our End Time

Luke 6:24

The consolation of the rich is the temporary pleasure they get from acquiring material wealth. This is the only consolation they receive, and it is temporary in every way. How far short of the real prize, eternal life, have they come? There is no comparison. In the Parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus teaches:

"And I [the rich man] 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, "You 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. (Luke 12:19-21)

Martin G. Collins
Barnabas: Son of Encouragement and Consolation

Related Topics: Eternal Life | Parable of the Rich Fool


 

Luke 12:13-31

In Luke 12:13-21, a listener in the crowd surrounding Jesus asks Him to instruct his brother to divide the inheritance due to him equitably. Jesus declines, saying that life should not be based on having many possessions. He uses this occasion to teach His disciples that a godly life is more important than material things. To explain this, He tells a parable about a rich man who builds larger and larger barns to store all his crops and goods.

Since he had everything he could possibly want or need, the rich man's focus was on living an easy life. God's response is that the man was foolish because, when he died later that night, his goods would do nothing for him. Someone else would inherit and enjoy them. A person whose life is caught up in what he owns is not rich toward God. The Parable of the Rich Fool illustrates Jesus' teaching to guard against every kind of covetousness.

Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Rich Fool

Luke 12:13-14

The man in dispute with his brother thought he was being cheated. Perceiving that Jesus had influence with the people, he tried to get Him to side with him. Jesus' parable indicates that he probably did not have a just claim on the inheritance but was covetous. Had his claim been just, the laws of the land would have resolved it without Jesus' interference. Among Israelites, the firstborn received two shares—twice as much as any other child (Deuteronomy 21:16-17).

Jesus makes it clear that He had no responsibility to settle controversies of this type. He had not come to mediate secular disputes but to preach the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God, offering salvation to those who are willing to repent and live righteously. The nature and constitution of His Kingdom is spiritual, that is, not of this world. Secular authorities should judge civil affairs. Jesus could undoubtedly have judged this case justly, but He would have been interfering with the proper office of the magistrate.

Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Rich Fool

Luke 12:15

One of the brothers, no doubt, was guilty of covetousness. Covetousness is an unlawful desire of the property of another; also a desire of gain or riches beyond what is necessary for our wants. It violates the tenth commandment and is expressly equated with idolatry (Exodus 20:17; Colossians 3:5; Ephesians 5:3-7). Jesus shows that we should not be anxious to accumulate wealth because, however much we may obtain, it will not prolong our lives. The man from the crowd was guilty of a desire for more than God in His providence and wisdom had allotted to him. His was a sinful desire of seeking more than his share (Hebrews 13:5).

Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Rich Fool

Luke 12:16-17

Human nature tends to value the wrong things in life—to eat, drink, and be merry—things without eternal worth. Because of this temptation, people's main anxiety concerns accumulating this world's luxuries. The rich man may even have been embarrassed by his inability to store his hoarded wealth, but he never considered using his riches for the benefit of others. Irishman Jonathan Swift observed, "Nothing is so hard for those who abound in riches as to conceive how others can be in want." A generous person, however, sees the needs of others first (Proverbs 11:25-26; 22:9). We should sow goodness and generosity so we will reap the same (Galatians 6:7-10).

Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Rich Fool

Luke 12:18-20

This sudden cutting short of the rich man's career expresses, not only the folly of assuming one knows what the future holds, but also of staking one's whole life on what may disappear at any moment. God calls this man a fool because he reasoned that his life of secure and abundant earthly enjoyment was the pinnacle of human success and happiness. A fool is a person without good sense or mental sanity, one who lacks a commonsense perception of the reality of physical and spiritual things (Luke 11:39-41; Jeremiah 17:11). The true reality is that everything depends on what God wills, not what man plans (James 4:13-17).

Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Rich Fool

Luke 12:21

This phrase "not rich toward God" summarizes human folly and the error of thinking one does not need God. A person who "is not rich toward God" lives to accumulate and enjoy wealth only to die with nothing permanent or eternal to show for his efforts. Godly living—and all that God esteems to be true riches—is eternal. To think of life only in terms of physical things is both foolish and fatal because life is not comprised and enhanced even by abundant material possessions but by spiritual and eternal things (James 2:5). If we place God first rather than the accumulation of wealth, then we will use whatever He allows us to have, no matter how little or how much, to glorify Him (I Corinthians 10:31).

Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Rich Fool


 




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