Fear not, little flock, &c.— "Since the will of God is your everlasting happiness, he will surely bestow on you the necessaries of the present life." This part of the charge may be considered as parallel to the directions given to the twelve, Matthew 10:9. Provide neither gold, &c. That is, "make no provision for your journey, but rely wholly on the providence of God." Only our Lord added a precept peculiarly calculated for those times, in which the profession of the gospel exposed men to the loss of all their goods; Luke 12:33-34. Sell that ye have, &c. "By bestowing that wealth in charities, send it before you into heaven, where it shall be secured from all accidents, and be a source of eternal joy to you; and if your treasure be thus laid up in heaven, your heart will be there; consequently, your dispositions, actions, and hopes will all be heavenly." This counsel was designed principally for the apostles, who, being chosen from among all the disciples to go out into the world, and convert mankind, could have no fixed possessions, consistently with the duties of their function; neither had they any occasion for them, being the peculiar charge of Providence. Besides, that the first preachers of the gospel should be poor, was altogether necessary, because, if it had been otherwise, the world might have suspected that the tie which united them in the great undertaking of converting the world, was of a secular and selfish nature. See on Matthew 19:21. And indeed, in all ages of the Christian church, the most useful ministers of the gospel have been poor in respect to this world. However, though this direction was given to the apostles in particular the disciples in general seem to have followed it after the day of Pentecost, when they sold their possessions, and put the price of them into a common stock, wherewith they supported their brethren; for it can hardly be doubted, that their behaviour in this matter proceeded from the regard which they paid to the present admonitionofourLord,joinedwiththeircharitabledispositions,andtheirexpectation of better possessions in the Messiah's kingdom of glory. Nevertheless, from what St. Peter said to Ananias, Acts 5:4 we learn, that this precept did not absolutely oblige them, being in the literal sense calculated, as we have already observed, for the apostles. Dr. Doddridge upon the word ευδοχησεν, Luke 12:32 remarks, that it generally signifies a pleasurable acquiescence. And, agreeably to this, it is pleasing to observe how God is represented in scripture, as enjoying his own presence as it were with a peculiar relish, in the view of those glories which he has prepared for his faithful saints.
Related Commentaries of Luke 12:32
Luke 12:32-34
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.