Scripture Deep Dive: The Parable of the Rich Fool

In this blog post, we take a meaningful look at the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12—one of Scripture’s most sobering teachings on wealth, contentment, and eternal perspective. Inside, you’ll find helpful background on the book of Luke, several translations of the passage, and insights drawn from trusted commentaries. And when you’re ready to reflect personally, we’ve included a simple, guided format to help you slow down, engage the text, and allow God to speak to you through His Word.

Author: Though it does not identify its author, many scholars believe that Luke, the travel companion and co-worker with the Apostle Paul, is the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts.
Time: Between 60 and 80 CE
Purpose of Writing: To show how the story of Jesus fulfills the story of God and Israel and the whole world.

The Bible was first written in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, and every version we read today comes from those original languages. Comparing different translations of the same text can be very beneficial in understanding different details.

NIV
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
 
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
 
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
 
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
 
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
 
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

ESV
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

NLT
13 Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.”
 
14 Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” 15 Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”
 
16 Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
 
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’
 
21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

David Guzik
v.13 -  According to the law of the day, the elder brother received two-thirds of the inheritance and the younger brother received one-third. So we see the man come to Jesus already with a decided mindset, not an open one.

• … he asked Jesus to take sides with him against his brother.
• Obviously, Jesus’ previous words about the need for full commitment and God’s care for us didn’t penetrate this man’s heart. He felt he needed to fight for what was his.

v. 14 - Jesus wasn’t concerned with justice but knew that this man’s covetousness would do more harm than good.

• Jesus did not feel it was His responsibility to judge every matter and solve every problem. There were some disputes that He refused to become entangled in.
• He uses this man’s request as a lesson for the crowd.
• V. 15 We all are under attack from covetousness, and we must protect ourselves from it.

V.16 - The man in Jesus’ parable was blessed with fertile ground; we can assume that by adding hard work to the fertile ground, he was a financial success. He was so successful that he had trouble managing his resources.

V.18 – “I will do this”

• With a wealth of resources, the man in the parable had his life confidently planned. He would build to better manage his wealth, and then enjoy life to the fullest.

V.20 - In one night, all the man’s accomplishments and plans were ruined. He made business plans and life plans, but could not control the day of his death — and all his accomplishments and plans were instantly nothing.

• This man owed his life, his livelihood, and his wealth to God; but most of all he owed his soul to God, and it would be required of him.
• Eternity proved the man a fool, and his story showed that it isn’t only sin to give material things too high a place in your life — it is also stupid.

V.21 - he rich man in the parable thought it was all for him. He said, my crops, my barns, my goods, my soul. Everything was about him, and nothing was about God. It was proved in the end that nothing was his — even his own soul was subject to God. He didn’t have any crops, any barns, any goods, and his soul was dead.

• We may become rich toward God by sacrificial giving to those in need. Also, by trusting in Jesus for every necessary thing.
• Paul wrote: But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. (1 Timothy 6:9) Most of us are afraid of poverty; we should be afraid of wealth.

Read through the parable on your own. Use this guide to dig deeper into this scripture:

Be Still: As you read, write out the Bible verse or verses that stick out to you most.

Abide: What truth can you learn? Are there any principles or commands present? What is the overall theme of the text?

Adore: What does the text reveal about God and His character?

Apply: How does this Scripture apply to your life today? How does the truth of God’s Word change your daily perspective? How can you live differently in light of this truth?

Pray: Pray God’s Word back to Him. Turn these thoughts into prayer. Ask the Lord to show you how to meditate on and apply this Scripture to your life.

Cover photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

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All Commentaries and Notes pulled from Blue Letter Bible.