Luke 12:15-21

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 12:20

Verse 20 20.Fool, this night they will demand thy soul from thee. The word soul carries an allusion. Formerly, the rich man addressed his soul as the seat of all the affections: but now, he speaks of the life itself, or the vital spirit. The words, they will demand, ( ἀπαιτοῦσιν ) though in the plural number, are used indefinitely, and mean nothing more than that the life of the rich man, which he imagined to be in his own power, was at the disposal of another. I advert to this, because some... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 12:21

Verse 21 21.So is he that layeth up for himself. As the two clauses are evidently contrasted, the one must be taken into account for the exposition of the other. Let us ascertain, therefore, what is meant by being rich in God, or, “towards God” or, “with respect to God.” Those who are tolerably acquainted with the Scriptures know that the preposition εἰς not unfrequently takes the sense of ἐν. But whether it be understood in the one sense or in the other, is of little consequence; for the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:1-59

The Lord , after leaving the Pharisee ' s house , speaks at great length to a numerous crowd waiting for him , addressing his words principally to his own disciples. The foregoing scene ( Luke 11:1-54 .), when the Master addressed his bitter reproaches to the learned and cultivated of the great Pharisee party, took place in a private house belonging to an apparently wealthy member of this, the dominant class. The name of the large village or provincial town where all this... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:13-21

A warning against covetousness. Amid the important teaching of our Lord there comes an interlude by reason of a brother, who had been wronged out of his share of the inheritance, appealing for redress to Christ. He wanted our Lord to play the part of a small attorney and get conveyed to him some share. This our Lord deliberately declines to do, indicating that he has come into the world for higher work than worldly arbitration. This aspect of the subject has been well handled by Robertson... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:13-31

Worldliness. To the earnest teacher nothing can be more irritating than a half-attentive attitude or a remark which indicates preoccupation of mind with other and inferior things. Think of Christ, towards the close of a day of controversy with the Pharisees, and in the midst of solemn speech as to the duty of a true man, invited on a sudden to decide in a family quarrel, to settle a dispute about some money or some acres of soil. We know nothing about the person who appealed to him ( Luke... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:15

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. The older authorities read, "beware of every kind of covetousness." No vice is more terribly illustrated in the Old Testament story than this. Prominent illustrations of ruin overtaking the covetous man, even in this life, are Balaam, Achan, and Gehazi. Has not this ever been one of the besetting sins of the chosen race, then as now , now as... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:15

A man's life. What is the worth of a man's life? Clearly that does not depend merely on duration. For while to the insect the term of seventy years would seem a most noble expanse, on the other hand, compared with the age of a mountain or the duration of a star, it is an insignificant span. The truth is that the value of human life depends on what is done within its boundaries. Here quality is of the chief account. To the insensible stone all the ages are as nothing; to the dormant... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:16

The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. The unhappy subject of the Lord's story was a common figure in Palestine in an ordinarily prosperous time. We have the portrait of a landowner whose farms do not seem to have been acquired by any unjust means. This man, after years of successful industry, having acquired great wealth, wholly devotes himself to it and to its further increase. He does not give himself up to excess or profligacy, but simply, body and soul, becomes... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:17-18

And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater . "No place to bestow my fruits." Well answers St. Ambrose," Thou hast barns—the bosoms of the needy, the houses of the widows, the mouths of orphans and of infants." Some might argue, from the sequel of the story, that God looks with disfavour on riches as riches. St. Augustine replies to such a mistaken... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:19

And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. "What folly!" writes St. Basil. "Had thy soul been a sty, what else couldst thou have promised to it? Art thou so ignorant of what really belongs to the soul, that thou offerest to it the foods of the body? And givest thou to thy soul the things which the draught receives?" Many years. How little did that poor fool, so wise in all matters of earthly business, suspect the awful doom was so close to him! He... read more

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 12:20

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 12:21

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:1-59

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:13-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:13-31

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:15

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:15

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:17-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:19

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