Luke 12:15

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Luke 12:13-21

We have in these verses, I. The application that was made to Christ, very unseasonably, by one of his hearers, desiring him to interpose between him and his brother in a matter that concerned the estate of the family (Luke 12:13): ?Master, speak to my brother; speak as a prophet, speak as a king, speak with authority; he is one that will have regard to what thou sayest; speak to him, that he divide the inheritance with me.? Now, 1. Some think that his brother did him wrong, and that he... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Luke 12:13-34

12:13-34 One of the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." He said to him, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" He said to them, "Watch and guard yourself against the spirit which is always wanting more; for even if a man has an abundance his life does not come from his possessions." He spoke a parable to them. "The land," he said, "of a rich man bore good crops. He kept thinking what he would do. 'What will I do,' he said,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Luke 12:15

And he said unto them ,.... Either to the two brethren, or to his disciples, as the Syriac and Persic versions read, or to the whole company: take heed, and beware of covetousness ; of all covetousness, as read the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, and some copies; that is, of all sorts of covetousness, and every degree of it, which of all vices is to be avoided and guarded against, being the root of all evil; and as the Persic version renders it, is worse than all... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 12:15

Beware of covetousness - Or rather, Beware of all inordinate desires. I add πασης , all, on the authority of ABDKLM-Q, twenty-three others, both the Syriac, all the Persic, all the Arabic, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, all the Itala, and several of the primitive fathers. Inordinate desires. Πλεονεξιας , from πλειον , more, and εχειν , to have; the desire to have more and more, let a person possess whatever he may. Such a disposition of mind is never satisfied; for, as soon... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 12:15

Verse 15 15.Take heed and beware of covetousness. Christ first guards his followers against covetousness, and next, in order to cure their minds entirely of this disease, he declares, that our life consisteth not in abundance. These words point out the inward fountain and source, from which flows the mad eagerness for gain. It is because the general belief is, that a man is happy in proportion as he possesses much, and that the happiness of life is produced by riches. Hence arise those... 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

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