Conversation Points for Luke 12:13-21

Study Format:
1. Read passage aloud. What did you notice in the reading? What words or phrase caught your attention?
2. Read passage aloud a second time. What questions would you ask the text?
3. Read passage aloud a third time. What do you hear God calling you to do or be in response to this text?

Interesting Ideas to Consider:
• The overarching theme of this section is how to be ready for the coming judgment. The prior section dealt with confessing Jesus, now we hear how people who confess Jesus put their trust not in material goods, but in God.
• The laws of inheritance stipulate that the goods are to be divided between the sons, with the oldest receiving a double portion (Deut 21:17). Jesus refused to arbitrate inheritance discussions, even though Moses had handled such requests (Exod 2:14; Num 27:1-11).
• Regardless of the law, Jesus rejected the request to arbitrate, sensing that the problem was not the inheritance itself that was the problem, but the greed that drove the request.
• Wealth in the Old Testament is often used as a sign of blessing, but there are also many cautions about the appropriate use of wealth. Likewise, the Gospels caution about the dangers of wealth and God’s challenges to the rich. Receiving wealth may be a blessing, but such blessings are to be paid back by supporting the whole community. Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream demonstrates this.
• The repetition of the possessive pronoun (my, my, my), emphasizes the man’s self-centeredness and greed.
• The last word in the man’s speech, “be merry,” is euphraino in the Greek. God’s speech starts with “fool,” in Greek, aphron, an alliteration of “be merry” to emphasize the reversal. Similarly, “this night” is in contrast to the man’s “many years.”
• The verb in v. 20, “demand,” is in a third person future plural, with the subject unstated. Often God has been read as the subject, but the subject could also be the possessions themselves demand the man’s life.

Works Sourced:
Culpepper, R. Alan. “The Gospel of Luke.” The New Interpreter’s Bible Volume IX. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995.

Bonus Thought: Read the next section, Luke 12:22-34. How does this section change or confirm your thoughts about this parable?