The Rich Fool

What this episode covers

About this series: We start a 6 week series looking at some of the parables of Jesus. Jesus used many parables as he went from town to town teaching to the crowds. He used them for various reasons: as a teaching aid, to fulfil prophecy and as way to reveal spiritual truth about the Kingdom of God to those who were serious about hearing it. Isn’t this what we so need as the crowds and busyness of life return? Truth about God and His never-ending Kingdom. Truly understanding what His Kingdom is like and how we can embrace and live it out in these days. About this talk: ‘You haven’t met the real Jesus if your reactions are not extreme.' By which is meant that if we're hearing Jesus rightly, he'll provoke revulsion or worship. Someone who says the things Jesus says can't simply be domesticated. And to our modern, wealth-and-possessions-obsessed culture, this week's parable strikes a blow at our whole value-system. What our society regards as successful, Jesus actually calls foolish. Someone makes a possession-focussed demand of Jesus, to which he warns, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions," and then proceeds to tell a short story about a man who appeared very successful, but was, in God's estimation, a fool.

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