Word of Salvation – Vol.12 No.13 – April 1966
The Parable Of The Rich Fool
Sermon by Rev. W. Wiersma on Luke 12:13-21
Scripture Reading: Luke 12:8-34
Psalter Hymnal: 236:1,4,5; 392:1,4; 254:1,3 428; 466
Beloved Brothers and Sisters, Boys and Girls,
There are many questions in our day by day life which leave us guessing for an answer. Most of these questions are about health and its opposite, sickness and about prosperity and poverty.
How often we hear people asking, ‘WHY’. Why sickness, why death at an early age for that particular person. It does not seem fair!
“And why should that unbeliever have more success than I?” We like to think that if God really loves and cares about us He should see to it that we have comfortable and pleasant lives here on this earth of ours.
And so when all is well we take it for granted. When something goes wrong we start asking questions. We start wondering whether God really loves us, whether God is fair. And this problem can become so big that we start doubting the promises of God. We doubt whether God’s Word is true. We doubt whether it is worthwhile to continue believing.
It is true, is it not brothers and sisters, that our earthly comforts mean very much to us? Sometimes so much so that we feel so sorry for ourselves that we forget to count our blessings.
You know, in the New Testament the apostles always make an effort to let the Christians know what blessings they have received in Jesus Christ. I said: they always make an effort. Really, it was no effort to them. It came spontaneously, even though they faced tremendous hardships and difficulties. This thankfulness and praise of theirs was possible because they did not stare themselves blind at their physical hardships. They were so busy seeking first the Kingdom of God that they trusted that God would provide them with all things that they would need. They made it a habit to think first of God’s love and grace to them and in the light of that, to see their physical circumstances. They had learnt this way of thinking from their Master, Jesus Christ.
This is what we too may learn from the Lord Jesus today.
The Parable of the Rich Fool:
- Jesus’ Mission
- Jesus’ Warning against Greediness.
- True Riches.
1. Jesus’ Mission.
Jesus spent a lot of His time teaching His disciples and the people. Many came to listen to Him. They would crowd round Him trying to catch every word. It was on one of these occasions, when Jesus was teaching His hearers about the most important things in life, that someone pushed his way through the crowd and interrupted Jesus. This man had a problem and he thought that Jesus was the one who could solve it for Him.
This man thought that Jesus, being a public teacher, was someone with authority. And so he said to Him “Master, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. This man had a financial difficulty and felt that Jesus could help him.
In a way this should not surprise us, since, in those days, the scribes and other public teachers often settled legal disputes. What exactly the problem was; whether his brother had kept the lot or whether he had kept more than his rightful share, we are not told.
The man never received the chance to tell the whole story because Jesus was not interested in it. Though this man may not have realised it he was tempting Jesus to go outside His terrain. He was asking Jesus to do something that had nothing to do with His mission.
Therefore, instead of giving him an answer the Lord Jesus asked this man a question: Man, who appointed me to be a judge and divider over you?
The Saviour was surprised. Here was a man who was trying to give Him orders. This man tried to tell Jesus what to do. He wanted Jesus to see to it that all his problems would cease to exist.
But Jesus does not take orders from any man. He will not be compelled by any selfish human being.
No, the Lord Jesus never let Himself be commanded by men.
He took His orders from God. Jesus mission was to do the will of His heavenly Father. Our Lord did not want to get mixed up in arguments about property. God’s Son did not come to this world to be a judge. He came to be the Truth, the Way and the Life. That was His Mission. He came down to teach man about God. He came to teach us how we may be saved from sin and thus have peace with our Almighty and Holy Creator. He came to seek and save those who are lost.
There is one little detail which we should not overlook. The man who came to Jesus was not in need. This man was not starving. He did not come to Jesus to ask some bread or water in order to remain alive. No, this man asked Jesus to provide him with as much as his brother. And that is what Jesus refused to do.
Our Saviour did promise that God will provide everything necessary for those who seek His Kingdom and its righteousness. But He never promised that the believers would receive everything that they might selfishly wish for. That is why Jesus refused to grant this man his request.
And the Lord will refuse us too if we come to Him with such materialistic and selfish questions. And is not this the trouble with many of our prayers? Instead of concentrating on spiritual things; instead of asking Jesus the way to eternal life; instead of praying for the courage to give ourselves into His care completely; instead of thanking Him for giving Himself to die for our sins, for giving us the power to become children of God; instead of all these, we pray mainly for health and wealth. For worldly comforts and an easy life.
But brothers and sisters, boys and girls: The Lord Jesus did not come to give us nice houses, cars, radios and T.V.’s. He came to give us peace with God; He came to give us the ability to love; to love God and our neighbour. This is the way to true happiness and joy. This is what will give us contentment. And this is what the Lord will give us if we come to Him and ask Him for it.
- Jesus’ Warning against Greediness.
After making it clear that He does not take His orders from men, the Lord Jesus turns to the crowd and warns them, “Beware, be careful that you do not always desire more, because when a man has abundance of wealth, he is in danger of making his possessions the most important thing in life.
In the first place the Saviour is telling us to watch out for the dangers of greed. Look out for those signs of selfishness. Look out for those wishes for more and more. You may think that if you have more money, a better house, a bigger car that you will then be happier.
But guard yourself against this kind of thinking. Fight against this desire for more and more. Do not be greedy. For when a man is rich in money and worldly possessions, can he say that he lives because he is rich? Is he any more alive than the one who does not have so much? Has he bought his life with his money?
No! Man cannot buy his life.
Money is not everything. It cannot be everything. In fact, without God’s blessing money is useless.
If God did not bless the food we have bought it would be useless. If God does not keep us alive, no money in all the world will help us.
The fact that a man is alive is not due to his possessions, but is due to the grace and power of God.
So, do not think that if you should have more and more you will live more, you will enjoy life more.
Brothers and sisters, do not think that the rich are happier than those who are not so well off. Read your papers and you will see why. Who get divorced? Who get caught in sex scandals? Here is the great reason why we should guard ourselves against greed. The desire for more and more leads people to forget God. In their greed they are so concerned about themselves that they do not consider God.
That is the warning of the parable of the rich fool.
You know, humanly speaking there was nothing wrong with the man of the parable. He was respectable. Jesus does not say anything nasty about him. We do not read that this man got his riches by oppressing the poor. No, we are told that this man’s farm had been blessed by God. His grounds had yielded a very good crop. In fact they had produced so much that he was unable to store it all in the barns that he had. Being rich he decided that he would build new and bigger barns. So big that they could hold all his crops and his possessions.
Was it not natural that this man should say to himself: :”Man you have all that you want. You have enough there to last you for years. Take it easy, stop worrying, retire, eat drink and be merry.” It is understandable that this man thought he was set. He did not have a care in the world.
But now Jesus shows how mistaken this man was.
“But God said to him, You fool, tonight they shall come for your life, and who will get all the things you have stored up for yourself?”
That is pretty straightforward language is it not? God calls those who think earthly riches are everything, fools. Fools, people who cannot make proper judgments. Silly people! People who pay a fortune for things that are not worth twopence. Fools, who are so busy playing with toys that they forget about the real things.
Yes, God calls those people fools who forget about Him. Who are so concerned about their happiness here, but do not care about their happiness in the future.
The rich man had talked about ‘many years’ but God said, ‘tonight’. Man may have many plans for years ahead but God may call at any moment. That is what the rich man had never thought of. He had not given a thought to God. He had been so busy collecting his riches that he did not have time to think of God and what would happen when he would die.
Do you see now why Jesus warns us against greediness? Do you understand that in the long run we will be much happier if we are not always chasing after more money, more goods?
Our Lord warns us: Do not be fools, don’t say you haven’t got time for God. Don’t think that your house, your car your good job are most important. What is most important in life is not stored in earthly barns.
- True Riches.
That rich man of the parable spent his life collecting his riches. Every day was spent in the hunt for more and more. He looked forward to the day he would sit back and enjoy it all, when he would have some time for other things. But he never gave himself that time. He collected till the last day. His greed gave him no rest. He never enjoyed his riches. For on the day that he said, “From now on I will take it easy”, he died and had to leave all his wealth behind.
‘So is everyone who hoards up treasures for himself and is not rich in God.’
This man had talked about my barns, my corn, my goods, my soul, my ease, my eating, my drinking and my being merry. He believed it was all his own work:. his cunning, his sweat, his worries and his cares. He gave all the credit to himself. Not once do we hear a note of thanks to God.
This man was not rich in God. He did not see himself as living in God’s care. He expected nothing from God. He only had eyes for the things he could see and touch. Is this, brothers and sisters boys and girls, the way we live? Are we hoarding up treasures for ourselves? Are we forgetting about God? You know, the Lord warns us that unless we are rich in God we will be left with nothing.
That is the answer to the man who asked Jesus to tell his brother, to divide the inheritance with him.
What Jesus is saying, is, “Don’t come to me with requests for a bit of money and earthly riches. But come to me with your request for true riches, the riches you have in God.”
Spend your time in searching for those riches.
Which riches?
Those of faith…! What has more value than the trust and assurance that God is our heavenly Father? What is worth more than that we are children of God? What gives a greater thrill than to know that we may have eternal life? What causes greater gratitude than the promise that our sins are forgiven for the sake of Jesus Christ?
These are the things that can give lasting enjoyment.
How vast the benefits divine which we in Christ possess!
Amen.