Luke 12:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

NIV: For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.

NASB: For all these things are what the nations of the world eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things.

CSB: For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

NLT: These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs.

KJV: For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

NKJV: For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.

Jesus is explaining that God knows His children need things like food and clothing. "Nations" refer to Gentiles—non-Jewish people—and is often used as a biblical metaphor for those who don't have a relationship with God. Jesus' followers should not act like godless unbelievers who frantically search for food and clothing so they can survive.

Among the reasons for the propagation of false gods was the need for food. From the time before Abraham, cultures created deities to which they could sacrifice to win favorable conditions for a good harvest, such as rain or fertility. The Greeks had Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, and her daughter Persephone, the goddess of vegetation. Hermes was the Greek god of husbandry. The Romans had Ceres, the Egyptians had Osiris, and the Philistines had Dagon (Judges 16:23). All the nations sought food and the wool and flax they needed for clothing, but only one God knows His children need such things. Neither pagan gods nor anxiety will fill our needs.

Jesus has spoken on this before. He pointed out that if earthly fathers know to give good gifts to their children, how much more does God the Father know how to bless His children—specifically, by giving them the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:11–13)?

Part of life is taking reasonable steps to eat, take shelter, and be clothed. Yet we should not expend all our energy trying to acquire earthly needs; we have more important things to do (Luke 12:23). We should seek God and His kingdom. In the parable of the rich fool, a man accumulated several years' worth of harvest and died that night. He wasted his efforts on something he could not keep at the cost of something he could not afford to lose. Jesus explains, "So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:21). By seeking God's kingdom, not our own, we will receive an eternal reward. In addition, God will provide what we need according to His purposes (Luke 12:31–33).

Luke 12:22–34 records Jesus telling His disciples to lay down anxiety and trust God for physical needs. He has already told them to reject fame, fear of death, and reliance on riches (Luke 12:1–21). Later, He will tell them they may have to leave family, as well (Luke 12:49–53). Instead, they need to focus on the task that Jesus will give them (Luke 12:35–48), to build the church after His ascension. Matthew 6:25–34 covers the same teaching, although perhaps at a different time and place.

Jesus teaches the disciples about proper priorities. This includes recognizing that God knows all things, even secrets. Believers should honor God more than they fear death, or than they worry about things like food and clothes. Christians are to remain ready for Christ's return, even as faith separates those who believe from those who do not. These ideas revolve around the central theme of verse 34: that a person's heart reflects what they value most.

Luke 12:1—13:9 compares the world with the kingdom of God. Jesus has condemned the hypocrisy of the Pharisees (Luke 11:14–54). He now instructs His disciples to reject the fame and security that Pharisees crave, and hold lightly to their lives, wealth, security, and even family. He then warns the crowd to be wise about their relationships with other people and with God. The next two units each include a miracle and teaching on God's kingdom and salvation (Luke 13:10—15:32). Then the final section in the "travelogue" repeats that three-unit pattern (Luke 16:1—19:27) before Jesus arrives in Jerusalem.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.