Luke 12:15-21

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Luke 12:20

God said something different to the man than he had said to himself. This contrast shows the error of the rich man’s thinking. In the Old Testament a fool is essentially someone who disbelieves or disregards God (e.g., Psalms 14:1; cf. Luke 11:40). That is precisely what this man had done regarding the meaning of life. He had thought that he would be comfortable for many years to come (Luke 12:19), but God demanded his life that very night (cf. James 4:13-16). This loss of life contrasts with... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Luke 12:21

Jesus drew the application. A person who only enriches himself and does not lay up treasure in heaven is a fool (cf. Matthew 6:19; 1 Timothy 6:6-10; James 1:10). "For himself" contrasts with "toward God." This translation preserves the form of the contrast in the Greek text. The point of the contrast is the difference between riches on earth and riches in heaven (cf. Matthew 6:19-21)."The man in the story was called a fool for confusing time with eternity, his body for his soul, and what was... read more

John Darby

Darby's Synopsis of the New Testament - Luke 12:19

12:19 soul, (a-7) Soul, (a-8) 'Life' and 'soul' are the same in Greek, but not in ver. 15. read more

John Darby

Darby's Synopsis of the New Testament - Luke 12:20

12:20 required (b-13) Lit. 'they shall require.' see Note, ch. 6.38. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 12:1-59

The Leaven of the Pharisees. The Rich Fool1-12. Jesus warns His followers against Pharisaic hypocrisy, and exhorts them to be courageous in face of opposition. This speech is not unsuitable to the context in St. Luke, but the whole of the sayings are found also in St. Matthew’s Gospel, generally in a more natural connexion (mostly in the charge to the Twelve, Luke 10:5-42). Perhaps St. Luke here groups together savings spoken at different times.1. When there were] RV ’when the many thousands of... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 12:15

(15) Take heed, and beware of covetousness.—The better MSS. give, “of all (i.e., every form of) -covetousness.” Our Lord’s words show that He had read the secret of the man’s heart. Greed was there, with all its subtle temptations, leading the man to think that “life” was not worth living unless he had a superfluity of goods. The general truth is illustrated by a parable, obviously selected by St. Luke, as specially enforcing the truth which he held to be of primary importance. (See... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 12:17

(17) And he thought within himself.—The parable, like that of the Good Samaritan, is more than a similitude, and reads like an actual history. There is an almost dramatic vividness in the rich man’s soliloquy. It was the very “superfluity” of the man’s goods that became a new cause of anxiety. In such a case half was more than the whole. So far as life depended on property, it would have been better had the property been less. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 12:18

(18) I will pull down my barns.—The Greek noun (apothekè, whence our “apothecary,”) has a somewhat wider meaning, and includes storehouses or warehouses of all kinds.All my fruits.—Here, too, the Greek word is somewhat wider. Literally, produce—i.e., crops of every kind. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 12:19

(19) Eat, drink, and be merry.—The words remind us of St. Paul’s “Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die” (1 Corinthians 15:32), and may possibly have suggested them. There is, however, a suggestive difference in the context. Extremes meet, and the life of self-indulgence may spring either from an undue expectation of a lengthened life, or from unduly dwelling on the fact of its shortness, without taking into account the judgment that comes after it. The latter, as in the “carpe diem” of... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 12:20

(20) But God said unto him.—The bold anthropomorphic language seems intended to suggest the thought not only that death came suddenly, but that the man felt that it came from God as the chastisement of his folly.Thy soul shall be required.—Literally, they require thy soul of thee. The idiom, as in Luke 12:48, and Luke 14:35, is impersonal, and does not require us to supply any definite nominative. We may compare “that when ye fail, they may receive you . . .” (Luke 16:9) as a possibly analogous... read more

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Luke 12:20

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Luke 12:21

Darby's Synopsis of the New Testament - Luke 12:19

Darby's Synopsis of the New Testament - Luke 12:20

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 12:1-59

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 12:15

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 12:17

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 12:18

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 12:19

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 12:20

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