Passing and Future Riches (Lk 12:13–21) from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

J. C. Ryle wasn’t always Bishop Ryle. In 1841 he was 25 years old, an accomplished scholar–athlete, and a rising star in the British political world. He also was the heir to an immense fortune; his father having inherited the equivalent of 32 million dollars in today’s terms. With that wealth, Ryle’s father owned two banks, seemingly only continuing to position the younger Ryle toward future “success.” However, one of the banks was poorly run, marked by bad investments and shady lending practices. As these things often go, eventually this loose morality caught up to J. C.’s father. Bad debts, the ensuing panic, and a run on both branches led both to fall literally overnight. J. C. Ryle would write later of the swing of this disastrous day: “We got up one summer’s morning, with all the world before us as usual, and went to bed that same evening completely and entirely ruined.”[1]

Limited liability had not yet been applied to the banking industry in England. So the properties J. C. Ryle was heir to––prized at north of 40 million dollars in today’s terms––had to be sold off to pay the bank’s creditors. To sum up, as he slept, Ryle’s career in politics ended. Many of his relationships eroded just as quickly. Bankruptcy was a criminal offense, and therefore, his father was now considered a crook. The circles he ran in no longer were an option. His career halted, his social life seemingly stalled, and his day–to–day lifestyle ceased.

And yet he lived.

Jesus says in our passage today, One’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15). Hugh Latimer had a sermon where he read that verse––verse 15––three times and then said, “And what if I should say nothing else?”[2] In most of our sermons, we’ll come up with a thesis statement that attempts to encapsulate the entirety of the passage. It’s the sermon in a sentence. This week we’ll use the language Jesus came up with. In light of, one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions, Jesus will give a command, a parable to illustrate that truth, and a conclusion.

The timing of this passage is not lost on me. This weekend, the ads could not be louder.

1. In Light of, “One’s Life Does Not Consist in the Abundance of His Possessions,” a Command

Verse 13: Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

This is the same crowd as last week’s text. Jesus had been teaching this crowd things like, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy (12:1), do not fear those who kill the body, . . . fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell (12:4–5), and everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God (12:8). It makes tons of sense that immediately after finishing that discourse on those topics, someone would ask Jesus about a personal financial matter between him and his brother.

One of my favorite things is standing at the door at the close of our services and hearing questions about the passage we just studied or an insight into the topic I hadn’t considered. It happens almost every time I preach. I study all week; and then one of you says something I hadn’t come close to thinking about. That’s one of the beauties of a congregation that studies the word together. But we’ve all experienced those times when someone we’re trying to teach comes up to us afterward and says something betraying the fact they haven’t heard a thing we’ve said.

That’s what happens here, it seems. Sometimes we can’t hear the word because we’re overwhelmed by, or distracted by, other issues. This brother has something on the forefront of his mind. And it’s something that captures our affections in powerful ways. There are families––I know them––who chose not to dine together last Thursday––or even be in the same house––because of a 25 year–old dispute over an inherit[...]