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Matthew Henry

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 12:18

And he said, this will I do ,.... This was the resolution he came to, and which he took up, without consulting God, or asking leave of him: I will pull down my barns, and build greater ; which was not a very wise one; for he might have let his present barns have stood, and have added new ones to them: and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods ; he ascribes the increase of his substance to himself, and reckons them his own acquisitions, and entirely owing to his diligence and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 12:18

I will pull down, etc. - The rich are full of designs concerning this life, but in general take no thought about eternity till the time that their goods and their lives are both taken away. 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 12:17-18

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

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Luke 12:18

I will pull down my barns - The word “barns” here, properly means, “granaries,” or places exclusively designed to put wheat, barley, etc. They were commonly made, by the ancients, “underground,” where grain could be kept a long time more safe from thieves and from vermin. If it be asked why he did not let the old ones remain and build new ones, it may be answered that it would be easier to “enlarge” those already excavated in the earth than to dig new ones. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Luke 12:16-20

Luke 12:16-20. To illustrate his admonition, and give it the greater weight, our Lord here delivers an important parable. The ground of a rich man brought forth plentifully This man, it appears, became rich, not by unjust gains, but by the produce of his own land, the most innocent method possible of making or increasing an estate. Nor did his covetousness consist in heaping up wealth without end, even by a method so innocent as that of agriculture: no; the extraordinary fruitfulness of one... read more

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