THE PARABLE OF THE RICH FOOL

Lesson 9

Luke 12:16–21

“Beware of Covetousness”

As our Lord walked the roads of Palestine He spoke such words of wisdom as had never before been heard in this world. Luke tells us of some of His teaching in the first part of this chapter. Many of these words remind one of the words spoken in the Sermon on the Mount. How the people must have rejoiced in hearing such teaching! But, there is always at least one in every audience who has not heard a word of what had been taught. One individual interrupted Jesus’ exalted teaching by asking Him to talk to his brother so that he would divide the inheritance with him!

Jesus was received as a rabbi (or teacher) by this huge crowd which is following Him. Sometimes, especially under the Roman rule, the Rabbis were asked even to function in matters such as the dividing of inheritances. But, that was not His purpose in coming. He did not avoid speaking about financial matters as they impinged on a person‘s relation to God or his fellow man. But, He had not come to deal with purely financial matters. He warns against covetousness. In this way this episode becomes the occasion for the speaking of this particular parable. It is a very simple parable. There are not a lot of items in it that prompt us to ask, “What does He mean by that?” It is also a parable which teaches a truth of great significance in the life of virtually everybody. Covetousness always lurks around the corner. How many believe that a man‘s life consists of the abundance of things possessed! Both the poor and those who have much are susceptible to it.

Sin’s Misplaced Priorities

The whole Bible proceeds on the assumption that man is related to two different worlds. With his body he belongs to this world and with his soul he belongs to the spiritual world. Had the fall not occurred, there would have been perfect harmony between the relationships to both worlds. However, this harmony is destroyed by the entrance of sin. Which is now the one emphasized to the detriment of the other? To ask the question is to answer it. Of course the physical will be stressed far more than the spiritual. In the first place because many do not even believe there is a spiritual world to which they are related. Secondly, the physical and the material is in front of us all the time. Physical hunger clamors for immediate satisfaction; spiritual hunger need not even be acknowledged in the estimation of many people. By means of a simple parable Jesus will now reveal the proper relation of the individual to both worlds.

A Problem of Abundance

He speaks of the ground of a certain rich man which brought forth an abundant harvest. Notice, the grain is still in the field, but everyone can see that the ground is going to produce an enormous crop. He is already rich and this particular harvest is going to add dramatically to his riches. The goodness of God in sending such an abundant harvest brings problems. What are you going to do with all His blessings? There is no place to put it all! He must, therefore, make plans to store the abundance of that which his God is giving him. In itself this is no sin. Joseph was called on to seek sufficient place for all the crops of Egypt in his time. Is that a sin? No, Joseph‘s action was considered to reveal his wisdom. The abundance of the crops which God gives may not be neglected! It should be received with thanks and cared for properly.

As this rich man is contemplating what to do with the enormous crops which he is about to harvest, he begins to “reason” with himself. He has to plan and think ahead. The blessings of God can be so “expensive!” Something has to be done. All that we hear from him is “me” and “mine.” Here is not recognition whatsoever of the fact that a man is only a steward of the things which God has given him. He called them “my fruits,” all “my grain” and “my goods.” God has given this abundant crop but he assumes that it is all his, and that he can do with it whatever he wishes. Instead of realizing his stewardship, he considers himself to be the sole owner.

A Neglected Stewardship

The purpose of this parable was to warn the people against covetousness. Here we have, therefore, a clear example of covetousness. Yet, it is a covetousness of a peculiar type. It is true, the farmer wants more and more and that more will never be enough. However, he is not going to be a slave of his goods as many misers are, but he plans to reign as king over his goods. He has come to the conclusion that his present barns are not able to hold the tremendous amount of his new harvest. What then should he do? He will tear down the barns which have served him and build bigger ones so that he will be able to hold it. What is wrong with this? Nothing. He must make some arrangements to store all the blessings his God has bestowed on him. He is right: it will take bigger barns.

When all the harvest has been gathered in he plans to enjoy the great riches wherewith his God has satisfied him. He is then going to say to himself, “Take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” He is planning to retire and live the good life. He now has enough for many years. Why work all the time to add to the enormous amount he already possesses? These goods which He has received, he does not look upon as ends, but as means to ends. He now has enough wealth to enjoy himself in whatever way he decides. His treasure is here on earth and so is his heart. He may well have worked hard all his life “to get ahead.” He has now arrived. It is time to enjoy yourself. Nor does he have to be afraid that his funds are going to run out before he has enjoyed himself; he has ample wealth for years to come. The future looks bright. He will be able to do as he pleases.

This soliloquy forms the last words which have been recorded of this rich man. He does not have time to carry out his plans. He does not even have the time to break down the old barns and build new ones. He had neglected God. He did not acknowledge Him as the Giver of his bountiful harvest and he had also neglected to take God into consideration for the future. All his goods are his, and he is going to do as he pleases with them! Now, although his fields are waving with a wonderful crop, he cannot harvest it nor enjoy the proceeds of it. God comes to him and tells him what a fool he bas been. Surely, everyone knows that he is not going to stay on this earth forever! Let each one then acknowledge the God who holds life and times in His powerful hand. Instead of enjoying the fru its of his labors and of his lands for years to come, he is not even going to see the next day! How suddenly can this life come to an end! All the things which he has prepared whose shall they be? This is a sobering question. God speaks quite differently than his own soul . . . and God’s speech will come to pass! He who thinks only of the present and the things riches can bring him, will come to this end.

Our Lord makes a very telling statement at the end of this parable. He says, “So is he that layeth up treasures for himself, and is not rich toward God.” This takes in a large percentage of the people that have ever lived on this earth. They seek to get ahead here (and there is nothing in itself wrong with that), but they have lost sight of their responsibility toward God. They are not rich in Him. Many Scriptures warn concerning the misuse of material wealth. (Recall I Timothy 6, for example.) When will men learn? Riches are indeed blessings of God. But, the quality of life is not determined by a man’s earthly possessions! Agur prayed in Proverbs 30, “Give me neither poverty nor riches.” They are often stumbling blocks. Someone has figured out that 16% of all the recorded words of Jesus deal with money matters.

“Rich Toward God”

 One who is rich toward God has his treasure in a place where moth and rust do not consume and where thieves do not break through and steal. One who is rich toward God is one who lives very close to Him and asks what He would have him do. One who is rich toward God is no longer dependent on the earthly goods but has aimed much higher. One who is rich toward God will not be devastated when his God comes to him and takes away his life.

One does not have to be very rich by the standards of this world to be warned by the words of our Lord in this parable. There are many who are not rich in the eyes of this world and yet have a materialistic outlook. Perhaps these are to be pitied even more than the very rich. Theirs is a problem which virtually everyone faces. The poorest man in earthly goods can be rich toward God and the richest man on earth can be very poor in his relation to his God.

When this rich fool’s soul is required of him the question still remains: whose shall (these things) be? Solomon questioned whether or not it was a good thing to acquire a great deal of riches, because who knows whether the one who lives after us is a wise man or a fool? Now that this rich man has enough for many years to come and does not receive the time to use it, the question is: Who will now have the enjoyment of all these goods? Perhaps someone will now have to be called in to make the one share the inheritance with the other.

This parable is brief and to the point. It does not raise difficult questions. Yet, it conveys a teaching which everyone must take to heart. Psalm 49 and the parable of the rich fool ought to make clear to everyone that the trusting in riches leads to the greatest poverty!

Questions for Discussion:

1. Why is material wealth dangerous?

2. When, if ever, may a person say to himself: “I’m going to take it easy and enjoy the goods I have accumulated?”

3. What is it to be rich toward God? Does that mean, or include, being ready to die? Is anybody ever ready to die?

4. Jesus called this rich man foolish. Does that term do justice to the way he conducted himself?

5. What should be done with our earthly goods? Should every person have a will? If so, why?

   

THE PARABLE OF THE UNPROFITABLE SERVANT

Lesson 10

Luke 17:7–10

Some of the parables of our Lord lend themselves to clear interpretation and leave few questions. Others, such as this one, raise many questions in the mind of the one studying this passage.

The Salvation-by-Doing Error

It seems to me that we are to take account of the fact that Jesus had been warning His disciples against the teachings of the Scribes and Pharisees and had warned them about the “leaven” of these leaders. They were the ones who expected by their own good works to merit eternal life. On virtually every page of the gospel accounts Jesus warns His hearers about them and teaches the very opposite of that which was taught by the Jewish leaders. So in this parable. He will show them the total inadequacy of good works. The Jewish leaders were covetous; they were proud; they were men-pleasers; they were hypocrites! Salvation was for them and the common people were left without comfort. That was the religious condition in Israel when the Lord appeared in the flesh.

Find the Point of Comparison

He now speaks this parable in which He does not take a picture out of nature, but, rather, out of ordinary human life as it was then lived. The question has often been raised whether or not our Lord is here condoning slavery. That is not the point of the parable! He simply takes life as it is and draws the necessary conclusions from it. This makes it allimportant to find out what the point of comparison is in each parable. Paul also referred to slavery again and again. This doe~ not mean that he favored it, but he taught the people of his day how to cope with the existing situation. One would even be able to use a concentration camp as an example and not favor the kind of punishment doled out there! If men had followed the teaching of Scripture carefully slavery would have disappeared in the first century. (See my explanation of Ephesians 6:5–9).

The Illustration

The situation pictured in this particular parable is that of a master who has but one servant or slave. Some in that period had many slaves and the work would then be divided among them. However, if one owns but one slave, this one must take care of all the work which has to be done. This master does not have the luxury of sending some slaves to do the field work while others are in the house taking care of all the household needs. This is an important item to remember to come to the proper interpretation of this parable. Seemingly the master is exacting an enormous load of work of this one individual. He is, but there is no other way.

This slave is sent to the fields in the morning to do the work which has to be done. Be this tilling the soil or caring for the animals, this is his work for the day. The slave does this work! No criticism is leveled against him for not having done his work properly. When he returns from the fields in the evening he is tired and would gladly eat and rest. Not so, however. His day’s work is not finished. When he comes to the house he must make ready the big meal of the day and then serve it properly to his master! When he is through with this work in the house he may sit down to eat and later may take his tired body to bed. This is a day in the life of a slave!

The Lord then asks the question: Does he thank the servant because he did the things which were commanded? The answer is: “Of course not!” He does not send him out in the morning to work and then thank him in the evening when he has done the work which was commanded him! The master is not indebted to him for the work which was done! The Lord asks rhetorical questions throughout this parable. It was evident to everyone who heard this parable at that time that this master had dealt with his slave in the proper way. Although the episode may seem harsh to us, we must learn to understand what the relationship between God and man is .. This slave is not paid. He may not demand wages. By doing so he would make his master his debtor and the roles would be turned upside down. His duty is to be obedient to the orders which are given him and to be thankful that he may be in this master’s employ! One who works for wages may claim his earnings at the proper time. A slave has nothing to claim. He is a “doulos” a slave, who is the possession of his master. This is the illustration which our Lord uses to bring home to the people of His day the true relationship between God and man (the sinner).

But, if Jesus has painted a picture which indeed removes every shred of pride from the individual, He goes even farther. When this slave has done all the things commanded htm he must still say that he is “an unprofitable servant!” In other words, he has not made his master richer, but, rather, poorer! This master would really have been better off if he did not have this slave in his employ! That is the conclusion to which you will have to come, says Jesus. By our good works we do not earn but are unprofitable. The Scribes and Pharisees thought that the Lord ought to be very happy that they were working for Him. They were a jewel m His workforce. Not so, says Jesus. If it were only a mistaken notion it might not be so serious, but they stake their future on it. Christ says: “repent,” and they say: “of what?” “We can earn it all by ourselves.”

No Merit

Met must realize that they will never be able to bring anything extra. They do only that which it was their duty to do. Men must realize that God has all the rights and they have all the duties. Men must also realize that with all the works they perform they do not begin to pay off on the enormous debt which they owe. Seeing they are not paying off on the debt, the debt becomes greater all the time. Its interest consumes them! Oh, it is true that the Bible also speaks of rewards. Hezekiah prayed that the Lord would remember all the good which he had done and . . . the Lord lengthened his life by another fifteen years. Nehemiah prays a similar prayer several times. Didn‘t these saints know any better? Jesus even speaks of the greatness of the reward which His people will receive when they finally stand before the bar of God’s justice. Is this contradictory? No, the good works are rewarded—but it is a reward of grace and not of merit! This slave may eat after his master has finished. He is rewarded and is to go to his bed with thankful heart that he has not been sent away!

The relationship which Jesus is revealing in this parable is the relationship of God to man. This is pictured in various ways in Scripture. It is often pictured as the relationship of a Father for His children. This is beautiful! However, this is not the only way in which this relationship can be depicted. Our Lord considered it necessary to picture it in the stark way of this parable too. And Paul rejoices in this relationship! He usually refers to himself as the “doulos,” the slave of Jesus Christ. It is, therefore, not a relationship which we should consider to be beneath us, it is a badge of honor to all those who have truly learned to know their Lord. The Heidelberg Catechism puts it so beautifully when it teaches that it is our only comfort in life and in death to belong to Him, our faithful Savior, with body and soul. It is our only comfort to be the possession, the slave of Jesus Christ.

By this parable our Lord has again made it abundantly clear that salvation is all of grace and that we do not add one iota to it. That is the message of Scripture! The devil knows that we do not, by nature, like this arrangement and he therefore pays “wages” says the Apostle. The wages of sin is death· but the free gift of God is eternal life! We live on grace alone and therefore all boasting is excluded. Man would love to have God in his debt. God owes no one anything and we owe Him all things, even life itself.

Our Unfulfilled Duties

There is yet one element of this parable which must not be overlooked. The slave in the parable received his orders in the morning and he carries them out. He is able to do the work assigned. Although it is a heavy burden, he is also able to do the work in the house at the close of day. We also have our orders, but we cannot carry them out. If it is necessary for this slave to say when he has completed all the things which were given him to do: I am an unprofitable servant; it is the more necessary for us to confess it. All work righteousness stands condemned in the Scriptures, and, perhaps nowhere more clearly than in this parable. The leaders of the Jews, no doubt, heard this parable too. This word of the master Preacher cut them to the quick! Who wants to be branded as this kind of sinner who cannot earn anything? Only when a person has come to some realization of the enormity of his unfulfilled duties (or sins) will he find this parable speaking his language! This is the exact situation.

For All the Lord’s Servants

Some believe that this parable was spoken only to the disciples. That is an error, however. All those who were still following the teacher of Nazareth were addressed, and this gospel message, for that it is, comes to all who have bowed before the word of God. The Pharisees and Scribes were not only deluding themselves; they were leading all the people astray! Christ must come to preach the true way of salvation, but He does this by first making known to the people of His day their most fundamental need. You don’t start with the way of salvation. You begin with the need of salvation how great your sin and misery is. Many bad mistakes have been made throughout the stages by using the wrong order. When we know our sin . . . then . . . and only then . . . will we flee to Him for salvation!

Questions for discussion:

1. This is not one of the best known parables. Do you think it ought to form the text for more sermons?

2. Why is it fruitless to ask the question on the basis of this parable what Jesus thought of slavery? Does the Bible condone slavery?

3. Why is it hard for men to live by grace? Why would they rather earn? Is pride a factor here?

4. Was an Augustine or Calvin still an unprofitable servant? Was Paul?

5. Does the proper interpretation of the Bible humiliate man? Does it humble him?