Luke 12:16

16 And he gave them this illustration: "There was a man whose land was very productive.

Luke 12:16 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 12:16

And he spake a parable unto them, saying
He supposed the following case, and made use of it by way of illustration of what he had said:

the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully;
who notwithstanding his riches, was but a fool, as the sequel shows; rich men are not always wise in things natural and civil; and very few of them are spiritually wise, or wise in spiritual things, in things which relate to the welfare of their souls; but however, this man was very prosperous in his worldly affairs, as a man of a small share of common sense may be, and wicked men often are: the word translated "ground", signifies a "region", or "country", which expresses the more, the riches of this man, that he had not a common and ordinary farm, but a whole country as it were; at least a very large part of one, and all this fruitful.

Luke 12:16 In-Context

14 But Yeshua answered him, "My friend, who appointed me judge or arbitrator over you?"

15 Then to the people he said, "Be careful to guard against all forms of greed, because even if someone is rich, his life does not consist in what he owns."

16 And he gave them this illustration: "There was a man whose land was very productive.

17 He debated with himself, `What should I do? I haven't enough room for all my crops.'

18 Then he said, `This is what I will do: I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and I'll store all my wheat and other goods there.