Luke 12:13-34 - Jesus: Our Treasure

Today's passage will be Luke 12:13-34.

Before we get to the text, remember that in Luke, tension is mounting between the religious leaders and Jesus as He teaches about God's kingdom in a way different from their expectations. Jesus has just shown the disciples that they should expect persecution, but when it comes, God sees them, cares for them, and will provide them with the Spirit when they make their defense.

It’s in this context that a man calls out from the crowd: “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Instead of settling the dispute, Jesus uses this as an opportunity to teach His disciples, and us, about the true nature of the kingdom of God, and how they should view material possessions and wealth in relation to God and eternity.

You see, many in Jesus’ day believed the kingdom of God would mean earthly prosperity and freedom from Rome. They treasured comfort now, expecting God’s kingdom to provide it. But Jesus shows that being “rich toward God” is far greater than being rich in this world.

The consequences of trying to be rich in this world weren’t just a problem for them…we too often treasure earthly comfort over Christ and His kingdom. We might think that God’s blessing is determined by how much happiness and stuff we have in this life. And so, we worry about our finances, about our future, whether we will have enough. And we even hold back on generosity because of this.

But what if instead of seeking earthly treasure, we store massive treasure in heaven which we will enjoy forever? Or instead of living in anxiety, worrying about our futures, we live as carefree children of God, trusting our Father to provide? Or if we were able to freely and joyful give, knowing our true inheritance is secure?

Can you see the incredible freedom and joy this type of kingdom living brings? This is the opportunity before us today. Let’s listen carefully to Luke 12:13-34.

Luke 12:13–34 ESV

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 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.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 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. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

What we see in this passage is that…

We must treasure Christ above all

Picture in your mind an incredibly wealthy person, standing in front of their massive warehouse. In it…uncountable wealth. The question is, if this was you, what is the wealth in it, and what should be in it?

Our passage shows us first, in verses 13–21, what must be in it: riches toward God. The man in verse 13 asks Jesus to settle a legal dispute for Him regarding the distribution of his inheritance. He was treating Jesus like an ordinary Rabbi who settle matters of Jewish law (like inheritance). Jesus confronts this man's covetous request, telling Him a parable of a rich fool whose life exemplifies living for himself and his possessions. Yet, he will suddenly lose his massive wealth, for he will die unexpectantly. Like the man standing in front of his massive warehouse, any physical stuff will soon be someone else's. Jesus’ point? God requires us to be rich toward Him. Our treasure must not be earthly goods but Christ Himself.

This isn’t a new warning. The OT wisdom writers often reminded Israel that wealth slips through our fingers, for we ’…must leave it to the man who will come after…’ us (Eccl. 2:18). Jesus takes this wisdom and presses it home to the heart: the measure of life is not how much you store but whether you are rich toward God.

Second, in verses 22–31, we see how this requirement presses further: we must seek God’s kingdom above all. In these verses Jesus gives an explicit command to His disciples that they are "not to be anxious" about food, clothing, and life itself. Jesus makes an argument from lesser to greater, using ravens and lilies. Ravens, unclean animals in the Jewish ceremonial law, are fed by God without working for it. Lilies, beautiful flowers, are clothed by God in more splendor then the wealthiest person that ever lived, without working for it.  If God does this for such small and temporary things, won't He care for His children whom He loves greatly? Can you fell the weight of this language? “Your Father knows you need them.” To live anxiously is to live as though you don’t have a Father, denying your sonship. God requires His children to rest in His care and to seek His kingdom first—that is, to live with and in Christ, the King.

Third, in verses 32–34, Jesus shows us His ultimate requirement: our heart must be fixed on the imperishable treasure. Here, Jesus tells the disciples to do what the early church did in Acts 2, sell their possessions and give them to the needy, which transfers our earthly goods and store them in a heavenly warehouse that will never fail. In other words, God requires a life of self-sacrificial love: loving Him with all our being and our neighbor as ourselves, the heart of the moral law of God. Our hearts must be set not on comfort or possessions but on Christ, who is our eternal treasure.

To put it plainly: God requires that we live for, seek, and treasure Christ above all. Anything less is falling short of His law. This is what His children do, and this is what all who would inherit His kingdom and dwell with Him forever must do.

This, however, is not usually the way we think or live…

We treasure earthly comfort more than Christ

Now, let's return to our incredibly wealthy person standing near their massive warehouse filled with uncountable wealth and earthly possessions, smiling in self-admiration at how easy the rest of their life will be. But now, let’s zoom out a bit, what is right beside them, which they can’t see? A grave whose headstone has a name on it….theirs They will be in it later that day. And where will their possession be? Who knows…somebody else will have them.

And yet, this is us. We are consumed by anxiety and idolatry, seeking worth, satisfaction, and security in earthly comforts. We cling to what fades instead of to Christ, the imperishable treasure.

We see this in the man’s request in verse 13: “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” He wanted Jesus not as Lord but as a rabbi to secure his comfort. We see it in the rich fool’s inner dialogue in verses 17–19: “I will store up…I will say to my soul…”—a life centered on self and possessions. It’s the narrative our culture feeds us every day in commercials and ads: “If you have this, you’ll be happy. If you achieve this, then you’ll be fulfilled.” Jesus calls this “covetousness.” The original word carries the sense of a grasping greed that is never satisfied. And the word for “anxious” is to be “pulled apart,” consumed by cares rather than resting in God.

But Jesus exposes the real problem, which is not a minor flaw in us, but idolatry. This is a violation of the tenth commandment, do not covet, and deeper still, the sum of the whole law, to love God with all our being. Covetousness is worshiping the gifts instead of the Giver, trusting in possessions rather than God Himself. And don’t forget, Jesus said, “how much more will your Father care for you.” But we flip this upside down, and think, “If He hasn’t given me this thing, maybe He doesn’t care at all.” This isn’t just doubt; it’s unbelief, treating our Father as a miser.

This misplaced trust shows itself in different ways. For some, it is outright rebellion: rejecting God’s design to be rich toward Him and living for riches instead; coveting what others have, as if saying, “I should have whatever I want”; or living as though life will go on forever with no account to give.

For others, it is religious. Some use religion to get wealthy, presenting themselves as the ones who truly know God’s way, while refusing to offer Christ as the only Way. Some try to be “rich toward God” by piling up religious duties, but without living in communion with the King. Still others pursue the ethics of the kingdom as an end in themselves, moralism and legalism divorced from Christ, trying to live in their own power rather than in union with Him.

And so, as verses 22-29 show, our problem is that instead of trusting the Father’s care and treasuring Christ, we live anxious, self-reliant lives. We treasure the fading over the everlasting. We trust ourselves more than the God who loves us. We often view God as a "miser," leading us to a life that doesn’t live in His sovereign care.

But here is the wonder of God’s mercy and grace…though we have treated Christ as worthless instead of as the greatest treasure…

The cross shows us how deeply Jesus treasures us

Now, picture a different scene: the eternal Son, who owns everything, saw us clinging to borrowed possessions, smiling in self-admiration, blind to the grave and judgment right beside us. And what did He do? He left His riches, took on our poverty, entered our sorrow, and bore our idolatry on the cross so that we might share His inheritance forever. He did not count equality with God as something to be grasped, but made Himself a servant.

And remember, Jesus doesn’t tell this parable from heaven through a prophet. He’s on the earth. He has already set His face toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). Every step He takes from this scene is toward the cross, where He Himself will be stripped of everything, counted a fool, and placed in the grave, so that you might share in His eternal inheritance. He’s not just talking about treasure in heaven; He’s walking to secure it for you.

This is what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. The eternal Word took on flesh, lived the life we should have lived, and died the death we deserved. He paid for our rebellion so that we might become His eternal treasure, and so that we might treasure Him forever. And what do we gain? Not merely forgiveness but Christ Himself as our inheritance. The Father doesn’t just give us a kingdom; He gives us the King, His Son, as our imperishable treasure, and through His Son, Himself and the Spirit!

But we must remember that though Jesus refused to be an earthly arbiter of inheritances (v. 14), He is the ultimate Judge who determines our eternal inheritance. He is the true “Life” (v. 15), the food and drink who alone satisfies (v. 22). He is the true Wisdom who willingly died the fool’s death (v. 20) to make us wise.

The One who commanded us not to be anxious (vv. 22–31) perfectly trusted His Father’s provision, even in Gethsemane, sweating blood as He faced judgment for our sins. He bore our deepest anxieties, about life, death, and eternity, so that we might live free from fear. He is the imperishable treasure (v. 34), worth more than silver and much fine gold, sweeter than honey. He is the pearl of great price for whom we should gladly give all, because He is all in all.

Where we fail to seek God’s kingdom (v. 31) because of our idolatry, Jesus perfectly fulfilled this demand. In His active obedience He lived for the kingdom, always doing God’s will; in His passive obedience He embraced the cross for the joy set before Him, us, His treasured possession. For our sake He became sin, though He knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). And now the Father declares over those who are united to Him, “In Christ, the true Son, you are my beloved son, my beloved daughter, in whom I am well pleased.”

Jesus embodied the opposite of the rich fool. Though He was truly rich, He became poor (2 Cor. 8:9). Though He was honored, He was cast out as worthless by men. Though He was clothed in eternal glory, He was stripped naked on the cross to bear our shame and give us His honor. He became poor to make us eternally rich in Him. His death breaks the power of our anxiety and idolatry, securing for us true comfort in His kingdom…Himself.

So let me ask you today: what is your treasure? If it is not Christ, one day, all you cling to will be stripped away. Your life could even be demanded tonight. Can you truly say you are rich toward God? If not, hear this good news: it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom…to give You Himself! Confess your idolatry and believe in the Lord Jesus, who was treated as trash for you, who was laid in the grave to rot, but instead rose again on the third day. All of this was so that you and I might be raised with Him and called a child of God, destined to inherit all things in Him. Do not delay…trust Him. He will save you if you turn to Him…and then you will have unfading treasure.

But His resurrection from the grave does more than just take away sins. He rose from the dead so that…

As those who are treasured, we treasure Christ above all

Now, instead of living in the old way of the flesh, we live in the new way of the Spirit. The Spirit, given through Christ’s resurrection, dwells in us. And so, we no longer stand admiring a warehouse of goods, smiling at the ease of life we think we’ve secured. Instead, we look up to heaven, setting our minds on things above, where Christ is seated. There is our true treasure, Christ Himself, the One who can never be taken away.

By the Spirit, our warehouse is filled not with things, but with Christ. We seek Him above all. We live as His faithful witnesses, using our time, talents, and treasures not to make our lives easy, but to bring others into the eternal life we already taste a bit of now.

How does this happen? The Spirit empowers us to abandon covetousness, self-seeking pleasure, and anxious striving. Instead, He teaches us to trust our Father’s provision, even in persecution. He satisfies us with Christ. And more: the Spirit assures us of our adoption. He cries within us, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15). That cry is the opposite of anxiety. It is a child at rest in the arms of their Father. He reminds us through the Lord’s Prayer that our Father gives daily bread, forgives sin, and delivers from evil. He assures us that God is no miser, but a perfect Giver (James 1:17), who has adopted us as His children and delights to call us His own. And if the Father has already given His Son, how much more will He provide what we need for life and godliness? That frees us to live joyfully, generously, fearlessly.

The Spirit points us to Jesus’ perfect life, how He trusted the Father even in the wilderness (Luke 4). He feeds us not with earthly bread that spoils but with the Word of God that endures. He reminds us weekly in the Lord’s Supper that Jesus is our true food and drink, given for us.

And so we live differently…

• When a neighbor remodels their home, buys that new luxurycar, or takes an extravagant vacation, we don’t need to envy. By the Spirit, we can rejoice with them, because our Father has given us everything we need in Christ.
• When others in their 50s retire early and spend their days golfing and traveling, we don’t panic or overwork. We rest, knowing God numbers our days. He has already given His Son for us, and He may bring us home sooner, which would be better.
• When we are tempted to eat, drink, and distract ourselves when life is hard, the Spirit teaches us to run to Christ instead, the Bread of Life and Living Water. He alone satisfies.

Can you see how this kind of Spirit-shaped life brings joy? Joy that frees us to give instead of hoard. Joy that allows us to store treasure in heaven instead of in warehouses on earth. Joy that flows out of us into generosity, love, and gospel witness.

So, I ask you, would you like to live this kind of carefree life? Not burdened by possessions. Not consumed by anxiety. Then run to Christ. Cast your sin and idolatry on Him, He will save you. Receive Him as your treasure, and you will discover true joy, true freedom, true life. Or, if you are already in Christ, reorient yourself, by the Spirit, to Him as your only treasure.

Brothers and sisters, come live in the joy and freedom of kingdom living. Seek first the kingdom of God, which is life in the King Himself, and all these things will be added to you. And as you do, you will enjoy your inheritance both now and forever, to the praise of Jesus, by the Spirit’s power, to the glory of the Father.