Luke 12:22–31

One suggestion is that this is a study of discipleship under four headings. In the first section, Luke 12:1-3, the thought stressed is "no covering"... The next section, Luke 12:4-12, gives us the thought of no "cowardice"... The third is Luke 12:13-21, and here we have the suggestion of no "covetousness"... The last section is Luke 12:22-34, and here we have the thought of no "care."

To the crowd He says, as a principle of life: "Keep yourselves from all covetousness," for your life is not in this. But out of the same subject He draws this guide for His disciples: "Do not be anxious about what is necessary." He adds many reasons why they should not be, for God knows they need food and clothing, and will therefore provide for those who trust Him... In His teaching our Lord commonly speaks to the crowd about the principles of good and evil, life and death, and speaks to His disciples about the same subjects on principles that flow from their state of grace and faith.

He tells His disciples to take no thought — that is, to have no anxiety — about their life, what they will eat, or about their body, what they will put on.

Notice, "take NO thought." This needs no interpretation or softening. People may say it means "anxious thought," but there is nothing about "anxious" in the passage... And this covers everything a person can really need — food and clothing. In both, the ravens and the lilies are set before us as an example: the ravens are fed and the lilies are clothed, and neither takes a thought. If the Lord Jesus meant "anxious thought," He would have said so.

Our blessed Lord, in His tenderness and sympathy toward us, takes notice of these needs of ours. He does so because He knows how often the worry that grows out of them comes between our souls and Himself, and stops us enjoying the Father's love at all. In the parable of the sower He names the cares of this world as one of the things that choke the seed of the Word, so that the fruit never ripens. So He provides an antidote for this evil too.

The other word was a warning for men, but for the disciples a new path was opening... That is: do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, or what you will put on. This was a great step forward in the teaching given to souls — a guard against anxiety, and it rests on faith in God. The Lord gives them an example from the birds around them. "Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them." God's care stooped to watch over even an unclean bird like a raven.

The Lord then shows the disciples where their true riches should lie. Faith is meant to free them from anxiety and greed. Their riches are not food and clothing. He who fed the ravens that take no care would not fail His children, who were worth far more to Him than the birds. Anxious care like that is plain evidence of poverty toward God. Why are you so busy providing? It is a confession that you are not satisfied with what you have.

He says as a principle of life to the crowd: "Keep yourselves from all covetousness," for your life is not in this. But from thinking through this subject He draws out this guide for His disciples: "Do not be anxious about what is necessary." He adds many reasons why they should not be. God recognises the need of food and clothing, and will therefore provide for those who trust Him. Our Lord often speaks to the crowd about the principles of good and evil, life and death. He then speaks to His disciples about the same subjects, on principles that flow from their state of grace and faith.

I used to think this contained merely an argument from greater to lesser — that if God had given the greater He would surely give the lesser. But there is more. To you, believers, the soul or life must be more than merely food. Food is not what your life should be taken up with caring about. And the body is worth more than clothing, as if clothing were the only thing it should make you think about, when in fact the body was to put on and be the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. This, however, was not yet revealed... Well then! if they are so, your thoughts should run in another channel, rising above such a view of the soul and body.

Faith is meant to deliver from anxiety and lust. True riches are not food and clothing. He who fed the ravens, which have no anxious care, would not fail His children, who were far more to Him than the birds. Such anxiety, on the contrary, is the plain evidence of poverty toward God. Why are you so busy providing? It is the confession that you are not satisfied with what you have got.

How often did the Lord draw lessons from things in nature! And well He might, for the God of creation is the God of revelation. So His ways in nature may have a voice for us His creatures. He cares for the ravens. They depend on Him for everything, though they store up nothing for the future. They have no storehouse or barn, but their food comes daily.

Here you get a class, I believe much larger than the company the rich man was in. In this world there are a great many more oppressed by poverty than by riches. How am I going to make ends meet? is often in the heart if not spoken by the lips. Care, like a disease, eats out the very life of many a dear child of God. Is that your present condition? Then the Lord's words, "Do not be anxious," and "Your Father knows," may well comfort your heart.

The great practical principles that are to mark His own are then unfolded. They are not to think about tomorrow, but to trust in God. "Your Father knows that you need them" is a lovely word indeed. If they sought God's kingdom, everything else would be added. Precious instruction for our anxious hearts. So the Lord disposes of three terrible foxes that spoil the grapes in God's vineyard: fear, covetousness, and care. He meets the fear of man with the fear of God, covetousness with being rich toward God, and care with the care of God.

So the Lord disposes of three terrible foxes that spoil the grapes in God's vineyard: fear, covetousness, and care. He answers the fear of man by the fear of God; covetousness, by being rich toward God; and care, by the care of God.

Luke 12:24 — "God feeds them": compare Psalm 147:9. For Luke's katanoēsate, "consider," Matthew has katamathete, "take a lesson."

The Lord gives them an example from the birds around them. God's care stooped down to watch over even an unclean bird like a raven.

The ravens cry — the young and helpless ones — and God feeds them. These feeders on dead flesh may seem worse than useless to man, but God takes care of them. They are completely helpless, with nothing but their cry to attract attention. God does not turn a deaf ear even to the croak of a raven.

Even the ravens, unclean birds, not built to work and store up for the future, are still fed by God. They have no worry about providing for what is ahead, but find supply as the need arises. It is God who provides for them. It is a pointed object lesson for us. We too should have no anxiety, but simple, genuine faith in Him who cares for us with perfect love.

I notice it is "God," not "Your Father," as the characteristic style here. This is a further argument… As to food, "Consider the ravens" — for God's actual providing care and your own weakness. As to clothing, "Consider the lilies."

He nourishes each passing creature; He gives the fading flower its beauty. How much more did He care for His children? … They are called to believe in His sustaining goodness. He never fails in His love; they ought not to fail in resting and counting on it day by day. … He who embraces the least objects of His care will act worthily of His love to those nearest to Him.

The Lord encourages full faith rather than anxious worry. He cannot fail, though needs press heavily. The question is simply this: Is the grace of God enough for the child of God? We can depend on Him to supply His saints with every need of life… Of course we should work to support ourselves and our families, but worrying is not working.

Then the Lord turns to His disciples, and His appeal rises higher. The other was a warning for men, but for the disciples there was a new path opening… That is: do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, or what you will put on. This was a great step forward in the teaching given to souls — a guard against anxiety that rests on faith in God.

A person may not be greedy enough to pile up great riches for himself, and yet may still be a victim of worry and anxiety. This too is really opposition to the grace of God. Even a believer often gives in to it, for the Lord was speaking to His disciples in verse 22… We should certainly work to support ourselves and our families (2 Thess. 3:10), but worrying is not working.

The question exposes with force how helpless anxiety is to add the familiar unit of measure to our stature. Yet many modern writers prefer length of life to "stature"… In any case the general sense is clear to the simplest reader.

No one can change anything by his own strength or worry, whether his stature, as in Luke 19:3, or his age, as in John 9:21 and Hebrews 11:11 (where the original uses the same expression). And it would do him no good anyway.

But we have more than this: the utter powerlessness of man, in what most nearly concerns him, is brought out with matchless beauty and truth. "Which of you, by being anxious, can add to his stature one cubit? If therefore you cannot do even what is least, why are you anxious about the rest?" What concerns the body is least.

But there is another reason we are urged to be free from care: that care is completely worthless… We gain nothing by our care. By giving in to it we only make ourselves unfit for seeking the kingdom of God. Our unbelief puts up a barrier in the way of His acting for us… If we take our affairs into our own hands, it is clear that we do not want God.

The human helplessness that we feel has its own instruction. All our anxiety cannot add a cubit to our stature. And how much else there is like this, where we depend completely on the will of another! Why not leave everything to Him? We already have to leave so much to Him, and He clothes the dying lilies of the field with a glory greater than Solomon's. The weakness of a man's faith is the only really sorrowful weakness, after all.

The lord of the servants gave each one a number of talents that matched his ability. None of us have made ourselves… Whatever we are, gifted or not, our part is to use what God has entrusted to us, and to be faithful and devoted. We are not to wish we were someone else, or to do someone else's work.

Nor does the Lord spare them the humbling proof of how little man's anxiety achieves. "Which of you by anxiety can add to his stature one cubit?" It was a very small thing, though some would count it a very great addition. Yet even for this, how powerless man is! Why then be anxious about a garment?

No one can change anything by his own strength or worry, whether it is his stature, as in Luke 19:3, or his age, as in John 9:21 and Hebrews 11:11. The original uses the same expression in each place. And it would not be of any profit either.

But we have more than this. Here the utter powerlessness of man, in what most nearly concerns him, comes out with matchless beauty and truth. "Which of you, by being anxious, can add to his stature one cubit? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?" What concerns the body is least.

The Lord asked whether we can add a cubit (18 inches) to our physical height by worrying. If our anxious thoughts cannot change even the small matters, what is the sense of anxiety about anything? Worry only distresses us, and often others too. It can change nothing. Why not then be calm and at peace in trusting the Lord? He has certainly always proven faithful.

But there is another reason to be free from care: the utter worthlessness of that care. "Which of you, by being anxious, can add to his stature one cubit? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?" We gain nothing by our care. By giving in to it we only unfit ourselves for seeking the kingdom of God, and by our unbelief we place a barrier in the way of His acting for us... If we take our affairs into our own hands, it is clear that we do not want God. So we are left under the weight of our own troubled thoughts. In the end we take refuge in some human help, and make shipwreck of faith.

The human helplessness that we feel has its own instruction. All one's anxiety cannot add a cubit to the stature. And how much there is like this, where we depend completely on the will of another! Why not, then, leave all things to Him? We have to leave so much to Him already, and He clothes the perishing lilies of the field with a glory greater than Solomon's. The weakness of a man's faith is the only really sorrowful weakness, after all.

On one side there was God's caring provision for the least of His creatures. On the other side, let them remember how utterly weak their anxieties were. Let them seek the kingdom of God, and all the rest would be added.

"I am in want," you say; well, the Father knows. There is not a single thing that can affect one of His people that does not affect the heart of God. A sentence which I read many years ago, and which has never left me, is this: "Whatever might be a care to you produces a care for you in the heart of God."

Then He gives a still more striking example from the flowers of the field. "Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin." God's care of the plant world, no less than the animal world, gives striking and familiar proofs that cannot be denied. The ravens might seem to do something; but as to the lilies, what can they do?… The one, therefore, the ravens, rebuked their care for their food, and the lilies their care for their clothing.

Here He points not to birds but to the flowers. So He does not speak of sowing or reaping or storing, but of toiling and spinning. God cares for the birds without the one, and for the lilies without the other. Were not His children far more to their heavenly Father than either?… This does not mean that sowing or reaping, toiling or spinning is never a duty. It may well be a duty, if they had to provide for themselves and their household, and could earn their supplies more easily by such work.

What a rebuke from the plants of the field, as our Lord explains it! Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these lilies. The closer you look at them, even with the most powerful instruments, the more completely they outshine the splendour of Israel's richest king. Yet that lavish beauty of form and colour was only a carpet spread for the feet of the poorest Israelite on one day, and on another was fuel for an oven… He uses the double fact to judge nature's anxiety about earthly things… He uses it to banish doubts and distress and unworthy desires, and to settle the heart in confidence of His Father's present, perfect, and loving care.

As to clothing, the Lord used the example of the lilies, created without the ability to work, yet clothed in beauty such as even Solomon with all his wealth was not able to match. Since God so lavishly gives such beauty to grass, though it exists so briefly, how much more can He be depended on to clothe those whom He has given His Son to redeem!

He never meant the disciples to make the birds of the sky or the lilies of the field the objects of their care, though not a few may misuse His words. Nor, in calling their attention to them, did He mean that they should treat them with scorn. They show His interest in all the works of God's hand and the creatures of His will. His aim is that the disciples should rise up to the Father above them all. He holds up the unmatched goodness of God toward what is so little in His eyes, so that they may be sure of the thoughtful and constant love He bears to His own.

Link this verse with the Song of Songs. Hear what the Bridegroom says of the earthly bride: "As the lily among thorns"… "so is my love among the daughters." There we have the teaching about the thorn — how it came in, and what its end will be. We were all thorns once. We can take these words for ourselves, and say that His grace has transformed us into the lily; arrayed in Christ, the believing soul has that fragrance and beauty before Him. God is the One who does this; it is not the result of their scheming and toil.

We are such foolish, unbelieving creatures, carrying a load of anxious care, which God has never laid upon us... The Lord will now turn attention to things of nature — the ravens, and the lilies of the field. He had spoken of food and of clothing, and the ravens and the lilies could teach people about such needs... How often the Lord drew His lessons from natural things, and from the workings of nature! And well He might, for the God of creation is the God of revelation.

The grass, which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, is the lowliest thing, so to speak, that He has made in the plant world — something both common and short-lived. So the ravens rebuked their worry about food, and the lilies their worry about clothing.

People dug a hole in the ground and coated it with clay, which hardened in the heat of the fire. Any kind of grass soon dried in the sun, and they threw it into the oven to heat it... Scripture uses the heat of the oven as a picture of fast destruction.

Yet all that beauty of form and colour was only a carpet spread under the feet of the poorest Israelite one day, and fuel for an oven the next. This end of its glory was no offence to the Lord. He was above all jealous for His Father's honour in His work. He uses the double fact to judge our natural anxiety about the things of earth... to banish doubts and distress and unworthy desires, and to settle the heart in confidence in His Father's present, perfect, and loving care.

Speaking of the ravens, and of the lilies, the Lord spoke of God. God feeds. God clothes. He stands to them only as Creator. But speaking to the disciples, He spoke of God as their Father. They were not only creatures of God, but children of God. Now, if God cares for His creatures, living and non-living, will He not provide for those who are both His creatures and His children?

Sowing or reaping, toiling or spinning could well be a duty. It would be, if they had to provide for themselves and their household, and could earn their supplies more easily by such work than in any other way. Even in a world before sin, Jehovah put Adam, whom He had formed, into the garden of Eden to work it and guard it.

He recognised that they were not completely without faith, for they appealed to the Master for help. It was, however, only a very little faith... Faith must be weak if it can trust only once the cause of worry and alarm is gone.

What! We have been born of God. We now have redemption as well as everlasting life, and the Holy Spirit to take up our every need and difficulty. The Lord intercedes for us, and the Father blesses us — the Father who sent His only begotten Son to us and for us when we had nothing but sins. And do souls so favoured distress themselves about clothes, maybe even fine clothes, beyond what suits a Christian man, woman, or child?

"Be not in anxiety" (μετεωρίζεσθαι). The Vulgate has "be not lifted up." Weiss explains it as, "do not go to extremes in your demands."… The joint writers Darby-Smith here follow the English Protestant version: "to be unsettled in mind" (as meteors).

As to our necessary food and drink for even the immediate future, there is no reason to be in anxious suspense, though we may not see where the provision may come from. In fact, whether our need is met or not, the anxiety will be of no help, though worry is characteristic of the world.

Two classes here stand in striking contrast: "the nations of the world," and "the little flock." The things they pursue stand in just as striking a contrast. "These things" — food, clothing, earthly things — and "the kingdom of God." "The nations of the world" are the unconverted, those who do not know God. Their hopes and desires reach no further than the things of the world and of the present time. "The little flock" are those who can call God their Father, and He must be supreme with them.

Speaking of the ravens, and of the lilies, the Lord spoke of God. God feeds. God clothes. He is only in the relation of Creator to them. But speaking to the disciples, He spoke of God as their Father. They were not only creatures of God, but children of God. Now, if God cares for His creatures, living and non-living, will He not provide for those who stand to Him in the double relation of creatures and children?… The nations of the world went after these things. They had to fend for themselves, and lived as if everything depended on their own resources.

This is the universal snare, and the vast majority of Christians — yes, even Christians — have fallen into it. What we will eat and drink, and what we will wear, is the absorbing pursuit, the overwhelming and soul-destroying question. Meanwhile we neglect and ignore the BREAD OF GOD, the food that lasts. It is the weakness of our flesh, but it often becomes the sin of our souls. It drags us down in our living to the level of the nations of the world who do not know God, and makes us distrustful of His loving-kindness towards us.

If we did but live in the sense of that! "I am in want," you say; well, the Father knows. There is not a single thing that can affect one of His people that does not affect the heart of God. A sentence which I read many years ago, and which has never left me is this: "Whatever might be a care to you produces a care for you in the heart of God."

The instruction given before was mainly negative. It gave reasons to avoid the ways and aims of the nations, because they trusted their Father's care. Now the instruction turns positive: "But seek His kingdom; and these things shall be added to you."… They were to desire and pursue what God Himself was about to bring in, the thing that shows His power in contrast with man's weakness… If we seek His things, He does not forget ours.

Here the Lord urges two considerations which we do well to heed. One is to guard us against sharing the unbelief of those who do not even know God. How compromising to share the thoughts and feelings of the Gentiles! "For all the nations of the world seek after these things." The other is to assure the doubting heart. "And your Father knows that you need them."

The poor of this world are burdened and distressed on both counts in their daily and home life. But the noblest and the richest spend much time and thought on their food and their clothes. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life bring their own torments among the highest. And if, as things are, most Christians are too much like everyone else, that only confirms the wisdom and goodness of the Lord. He was willing to say so much in order to lift the motives of His own, and to shape their ways according to the mind of God.

Two classes stand here in striking contrast: "the nations of the world" and "the little flock." The things they pursue are just as opposite. "These things" — food, clothing, earthly things — and "the kingdom of God." "The nations of the world" are the unconverted, those who do not know God. Their hopes and desires reach no further than the things of the world and the present time. "The little flock" are those who can call God their Father, and He must be supreme with them; their faith and hope are in Him.

We do well to notice the change of language here, for it is instructive. Speaking of the ravens and the lilies, the Lord spoke of God. God feeds. God clothes. He is only in the relation of Creator to them. But speaking to the disciples, He spoke of God as their Father. They were not only creatures of God, but children of God. God cares for His creatures, living and lifeless. Will He not provide for those who stand to Him as both creatures and children? ... The nations of the world sought these things as people who had to fend for themselves. They lived as if they had only their own resources.

If only we lived in the sense of that! "I am in need," you say; well, the Father knows. There is not a single thing that can affect one of His people that does not affect the heart of God. Years ago I read a sentence that has never left me: "Whatever might be a care to you produces a care for you in the heart of God." And so it does. Do we not read in the letter of Peter, "casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you"? "Your Father knows that you need these things." He watches over us down to the smallest things that might trouble us.

More than this, if we seek first the kingdom of God (v.31), He will take care of all the details of our needs. To seek that kingdom is to take the place of honest subjection to His authority. When we are subject to His authority, we shall have the fullest confidence. Such confidence encourages the self-discipline that delights to obey Him. Certainly, if we do delight to obey Him, we shall not be lazy or forget our responsibility to work in subjection to Him. We shall trust Him instead of worrying.

We do well to notice the change of language here, for it is instructive. Speaking of the ravens and of the lilies, the Lord spoke of God. God feeds. God clothes. He is only in the relation of Creator to them. But speaking to the disciples, He spoke of God as their Father. They were not only creatures of God, but children of God. Now, God cares for His creatures, both the animals and the plants. Will He not provide for those who stand toward Him in the double relation of creatures and children? ... The disciples were to act differently. The reading here is, "Instead, seek His kingdom" — that is, the Father's kingdom — "and these things will be added to you." And that kingdom would be theirs, a free gift from Him.

"Seek His kingdom" — that of the Father. The seeking ("keep on seeking," a continuous present) is by prayer, and the response to it may lie in the words of verse 32.

As usual, Luke gives us the moral force of things. "The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking," as the apostle says, "but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:17). They were to desire and pursue what God Himself was about to bring in. It shows His power in contrast with man's weakness. And seeking in that way, all other things — everything needed for this life, all the things that man makes so important — would be added to them. God certainly takes care of His own. If we seek His things, He does not forget ours; He could not and would not overlook our need day by day.

We are to make the things of God our great object, and He assures us that He will attend to all our needs. But note this: we are not to seek "the kingdom of God" in order that "all these things may be added." That would be a fatal mistake. If I give myself to the Lord's work so that my everyday needs will be supplied, I shall very soon make shipwreck. But if, on the other hand, I make the Lord's work my highest object, my needs will be perfectly met.

"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32) is the next cheering statement. And if He has good pleasure in giving you the kingdom, do you think He would grudge you a loaf of bread? Look at the kingdom. It is all that goes with the glory of Christ, a scene where the Father's love is known and where everything will speak of Christ.

So fear, covetousness and care are three terrible foxes that spoil the grapes in God's harvest. Each is dealt with: the fear of man, by the fear of God; covetousness, by being rich toward God; and care, by the care of God. So the blessed Lord sets the heart free from earth. The heart can then enter what is heavenly and be taken up with Himself, while it waits for His return.