"Parable of the Rich Fool"
Luke 12:13-21
A sermon for 8/7/22 - Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
Pastor John Bright
Luke 12 “13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 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.”
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 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. 19 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.” ’ 20 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?’
21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Pause right there. Those words I just read; they were “Breathed by God”! God wants you to hear His Word right now! So, what is your response? Do you want to transformed by that Word or do you want to be informed about the words? You have to choose.
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“Native tribes used to catch monkeys by hollowing out a coconut and filling it with rice or other delicacies, then leaving it tethered to a tree for a monkey to find. A monkey would reach in and grab the desired delicacy and be trapped because the hole had been deliberately made just big enough for a flexible hand to enter but not for a closed fist to leave. In short order, the monkey went from getting his dinner to being someone else’s dinner.”
“Clearly it was not the coconut that was the trapping the monkey. Rather the true trap was in the monkey’s own mind, the monkey’s greed, the monkey’s attachment to his physical possessions, the monkey’s unwillingness to “Let Go.”
https://nscblog.com/uncategorized/the-monkeys-fist-an-ancient-parable-for-modern-times/
How many of us find ourselves – like the monkey or the rich fool – holding on tightly to our possessions? I have warned you before – don’t be concerned with having things but never let the things have you!
The Set-up, v. 13-15
Luke 12 “13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 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.”
As usual, when dealing with these parables in Luke’s Gospel I need to express my thanks to Harry N. Wendt. His book, The Parables Jesus (1997), opened up a whole new way of seeing what Jesus was teaching by looking at it from the point of view of the folks in that day.
The man who approaches Jesus is not asking for help. He is making a demand because he has already determined what is the right outcome. Behind all this is what the man is NOT saying – “Since you are a rabbi, tell my brother he is wrong!” So, we shouldn’t be surprised when there is a sternness in the reply of Jesus.
Let me ask you a question – do our prayers ever sound like this man who comes to Jesus? Have we already determined what is right and who is wrong? Have you ever prayed for God to change the other person so the conflict will end?
When Thomas played sports, sometimes they asked “the pastor” to pray before a game. I prayed for safety. I prayed for them to have fun. I even prayed for the coaches to have peace and calm. I never prayed for our team to win. If I see evil – no problem praying for the victory of God’s Holy Angels. I never pray against a person – Ephesians 6 “10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. “
Check your prayers! God will lead you to pray for His will in every part of your life!
The Parable, v. 16-20
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 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. 19 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.” ’ 20 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?’”
There is no background on how this man became wealthy. There is no inherent condemnation of the rich in this parable. I have known wealthy church members who were the most generous folks I ever met. They were always looking at new ways to help others and build up the folks that worked for them. On the flip-side, I have known folks who had little and were exceedingly greedy and selfish. These folks resented anyone who had more and tried to help.
Which one of those do we have here? We have a wealthy man who is declaring “It’s all about me!”
We read where he speaks of “my crops”, “my barns”, “my goods”, “my soul”. This man finds himself in the position of being blessed by God with more than enough and he never ponders who he can feed or who he can help.
“The Church Father, Ambrose of Milan (339-397AD), pointed out that ample storage was already available – in the mouths of the poor and needy!” (pg. 26) Paul put it this way in Ephesians 4:28 “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”
Not knowing about Middle Eastern culture, we often miss what is not in these parables. When something is missing it jumps out at the one listening – this man is talking to himself and not to the community. The men of a community would “sit at the gate” to discuss and advise. That’s where Lot is when the Angels enter Sodom (Genesis 19:1). In the Book of Ruth, we find Boaz going to the gate to meet with the relative of Naomi and he then invited ten men to sit with them (4:1-2). Everywhere I have lived, there is a place where the men gather to “solve all the problems of the world.” 😊 If one of those guys went out and did something without talking to the group about it – that guy would hear about it over and over and over!
The man in the parable does not consult with others in the village. The man in the parable does not celebrate with others in the village. The man in the parable does not share with others in the village. These are all elements that make a person part of the community. When we get to Chapter 15 and look at the three parables there – a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son – every time it ends with a celebration in the community. That’s what the church should look like – a celebration for those being saved!
Finally, he addresses his soul with a phrase we know well – “eat, drink, and be merry.” Question – why in the world would he think the soul or the spirit needs material goods? The spirit does not need these things. Our spirits need God! Our spirits need the fellowship of the Holy Spirit that dwells in every Believer.
Everyone who was listening to Jesus that day would have been telling themselves – “That foolish man is going to get what’s coming to him since he is unable to see that all his goods, even his soul, is on loan from God!” (pg. 25) God’s words to this man are also God’s words to you and me – “Everything you have is a loan from God – even your life is not your own.”
You may have heard the old saying, “You will never see the car carrying a casket to the graveside pulling U-Haul trailer.” This man was so proud of the barns he had built and the abundance of the crops he had raised but when he is dead, they will mean nothing to him.
When we are not given every detail of a parable (especially the ending) I often wonder what happened. If this man’s family and friends are like him, they will probably fight and squabble over what he as left behind. I used to work as an on-call chaplain in a big hospital. We would be called to a room when the patient is near death and it was usually full of weeping family members. On multiple occasions, all of us would witness the precious moment when one of God’s saints is called home and after a brief silence the room erupted in arguments over who got the house or the car or the money. That was my cue to leave and say prayers for that family. It was sad!
There is no response from the foolish man in the parable – he is dead. This will be the same for each one of us. As I have told you before, it’s doubtful that anything you have right now will still be around in 200 years because most of what we see today did not exist 200 years ago. Your legacy and my legacy will not be the stuff we have, but rather what we did with every gift on loan from God.
Conclusion, v.21
“21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
With this closing statement, we get the full weight of the warning before the parable – “15 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.”
How can we be “rich toward God” and avoid the fate of the foolish man? Let’s look at what the Bible teaches us:
1 Peter 4:10 “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
Matthew 10 “7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.”
God will give us everything we need to serve Him and help others in this world. He has promised to meet out every need and warned us about wanting too many things. Can we be less like the monkey and the foolish man? There is more to the story I told you at the beginning of the sermon about how they caught the monkeys -
“In the days of piracy, when there was only wind power, sailors had to somehow get the ships together in times of distress. This is almost impossible on the high seas. Someone got the idea to throw a rope to the other ship to pull them together. This didn’t work. Then it was decided to tie a rope around a cannonball and sling it to the other ship. The problem was that they needed a knot that would stay secure on a round object, so this “Monkey’s Fist” knot was devised. It is the only knot that will stay secure on a round object.”
“The knot became known as a “Monkey’s Fist” because, as with a monkey, it won’t let loose of an object. Since this knot has long leads, it can be thrown to another ship and became known as a life line. It was used to rescue people when ships were in distress.”
https://nscblog.com/uncategorized/the-monkeys-fist-an-ancient-parable-for-modern-times/
I believe there are many today who need to be thrown a lifeline – are we going to tight-fisted and let them struggle alone? They need us. Will we hold on tight or throw the line? Amen
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Teaching Sheet
"Parable of the Rich Fool"
Luke 12:13-21
8/7/22
“Native tribes used to catch monkeys by hollowing out a coconut and filling it with rice or other delicacies, then leaving it tethered to a tree for a monkey to find. A monkey would reach in and grab the desired delicacy and be trapped because the hole had been deliberately made just big enough for a flexible hand to enter but not for a closed fist to leave. In short order, the monkey went from getting his dinner to being someone else’s dinner.”
https://nscblog.com/uncategorized/the-monkeys-fist-an-ancient-parable-for-modern-times/
The Set-up, v. 13-15
The man who approaches Jesus is making a demand because he has already determined what is the right outcome. Do our prayers ever sound like this man who comes to Jesus? Have we already determined what is right and who is wrong? Have you ever prayed for God to change the other person so the conflict will end?
Ephesians 6:10-13 God will lead you to pray for His will in every part of your life!
The Parable, v. 16-20
Wealthy folks are not condemned in this parable! Here is the problem – saying “It’s all about me!” It’s all about “my crops”, “my barns”, “my goods”, “my soul”.
“The Church Father, Ambrose of Milan (339-397AD), pointed out that ample storage was already available – in the mouths of the poor and needy!” (Wendt, pg. 26) Paul put it this way in Ephesians 4:28 “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”
This man is talking to himself and not to the community. The men of a community would “sit at the gate” to discuss and advise. Genesis 19:1 & Ruth 4:1-2 The man in the parable does not consult with others in the village. The man in the parable does not celebrate with others in the village. The man in the parable does not share with others in the village. These are all elements that make a person part of the community.
This man has forgotten this - “Everything you have is a loan from God – even your life is not your own.” There is no response from the foolish man in the parable – he is dead. This will be the same for each one of us.
Conclusion, v.21
How can we be “rich toward God” and avoid the fate of the foolish man? 1 Peter 4:10 & Matthew 10:7-10
“Then it was decided to tie a rope around a cannonball and sling it to the other ship. The problem was that they needed a knot that would stay secure on a round object, so this “Monkey’s Fist” knot was devised. It is the only knot that will stay secure on a round object.”
“The knot became known as a “Monkey’s Fist” because, as with a monkey, it won’t let loose of an object. Since this knot has long leads, it can be thrown to another ship and became known as a life line. It was used to rescue people when ships were in distress.”
https://nscblog.com/uncategorized/the-monkeys-fist-an-ancient-parable-for-modern-times/
I believe there are many today who need to be thrown a lifeline – are we going to tight-fisted and let them struggle alone? They need us. Will we hold on tight or throw the line? Amen
