What does Luke 12:33 mean?
This provides an extravagant, counter-intuitive correction to a jealous brother. A crowd surrounds Jesus and His disciples (Luke 12:1). While He is trying to teach His disciples, a man from the crowd calls out, telling Jesus to force his brother to divide the inheritance. The man may want what is legally his brother's. Jesus refuses, as settling family squabbles is not His mission. Instead, He tells a parable. A rich farmer harvests a bumper crop and builds larger barns to store it all. Just as he settles into several years of leisure, God takes his life (Luke 12:13–21).Both the man in the crowd and the rich farmer value possessions to build their kingdom on the earth. Jesus explains that His followers need different priorities. They shouldn't even worry about whether they can get the bare minimum to survive—food and clothing. Such worry shows a lack of faith in the God who provides and a disoriented understanding of what is valuable. God knows what they need and can provide it—and He will provide whatever fits His plan for them (Luke 12:22–30).
What the disciples should seek is to be "rich toward God" (Luke 12:21), to seek His eternal kingdom—the kingdom God wants them to have (Luke 12:31–32). Earthly kingdoms are nothing. In fact, the disciples may as well sell everything they own and give to the poor—something that didn't seem to cross the mind of the rich farmer. If they seek God's kingdom, they will receive a far greater treasure in eternity, one that cannot be lost by theft or destruction or even death. Such a treasure will reveal that their desires and priorities are in the right place (Luke 12:34).