NOTES for Luk 12:1-34
1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. |
2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. |
3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. |
4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. |
5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. |
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? |
7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. |
8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: |
9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. |
10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. |
11 And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: |
12 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say. |
13 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. |
14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? |
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. |
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: |
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? |
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. |
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. |
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? |
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. |
22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. |
23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. |
24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? |
25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? |
26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? |
27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. |
28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? |
29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. |
30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. |
31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. |
32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. |
33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. |
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. |
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Speaking to the disciples about the Kingdom, Jesus describes it above all as a new life opened to those who seek it. But it can be found only in the case of absolute openness on one's own part. To live the life of the Kingdom, one must renounce one's own life. Not one's life-space as such, not that flow of life which the Bible calls the soul, but the attempt to appropriate this space and this flow for oneself, to regard it as one's inalienable property, belonging to oneself by right.
In the Kingdom everything is different. There life is shared. One life for all. It is not owned; it is given for use. And the measure of this use is limited by nothing except the spiritual potential of the person himself. As much of the life of the Kingdom as he can contain, that much he will receive. But it does not become anyone's own in the sense in which we are accustomed to use that word with reference to property relations in our world.
The life of the Kingdom is yours insofar as you can live by this life. And therefore Jesus advises surrendering oneself to the flow of the life of the Kingdom. Enter it like a river. And move together with it. Without trying, as people say today, to fix anything in place. Without trying to evaluate one's own states, achievements, or failures. Without clinging to anything that attracts and holds a person in this world. And certainly without trying to fit the life of the Kingdom into religious frameworks: the new life cannot be kneaded on either Pharisaic or Sadducean leaven. The Kingdom does not fit into any human frameworks, but it does fit into the human heart. If, of course, it becomes the person's chief treasure. For where the treasure is, there is the heart.
Readings for 16 March 2026
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