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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Luke 12:13 - 12:15
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Warning against avarice:
v. 13. And one of the company said unto Him, Master, speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance with me.
v. 14. And He said unto him, Man, who made Me a judge or a divider over you?
v. 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.
While Jesus was addressing the multitude, there came an interruption. A man in the crowd asked Him to speak to his brother about dividing the inheritance with him, the brother apparently having found a way to evade the law, Deu_21:17. But Jesus, true to the principle that spiritual and temporal affairs should be kept strictly asunder, immediately shows that He was not in the least in sympathy with the man's object. He is neither a judge, to decide the case on its merits, nor is He an arbiter, to carry out any decision which He might be inclined to make. But the interruption gave Jesus occasion to draw a lesson for His entire audience and to warn them against covetousness. This is an insidious, a dangerous vice, coming upon a person with subtle wariness, and therefore to be guarded against with double care. And it is a foolish vice, for a man's life and happiness do not depend upon the great abundance of goods which he may call his own. A certain amount of food, clothing to protect against the inclemencies of the weather, and a roof against the elements, that is all that may be considered necessary for life. Whatever is beyond that entails additional care and responsibility, and will have to be accounted for most carefully on the day of the great reckoning.