Luke 12:29

Luke 12:29, in plain English

Jesus says: don't obsess over what you'll eat or drink, and don't let your mind be tossed around with worry. Stop the mental storm. God has this.

Why it's here

The word Jesus uses for worry here pictures being tossed around like a boat in a storm. That's what anxiety does -- it tosses you back and forth between fear and hope with no peace.

Who's speaking

Jesus gives a calm, clear command to stop the internal storm of worry about material needs.

Where it sits in the story

After all the illustrations, Jesus gets direct: stop it. Stop the anxious striving. Stop the mental tossing. Rest in the truth that your Father knows what you need.

The scholarly reading

Jesus prohibits zēteite (seeking/striving) after food and drink, and mē meteōrizesthe -- a rare word meaning 'do not be in anxious suspense' or 'do not be tossed about' like a ship in a storm. Anxiety is portrayed as spiritual seasickness.

Language and setting

Meteōrizesthe appears only here in the New Testament. Its root suggests being suspended between hope and fear, unable to find solid ground. Jesus commands an end to this internal turbulence.

Voice

Jesus gives a direct command against anxious striving for material necessities.

Significance

Jesus moves from illustration to imperative. After proving God's care through ravens and lilies, He commands His followers to stop the anxious scramble for provision.

27Consider how the lilies grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.

28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith!

29And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it.

30For the Gentiles of the world strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

31But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added unto you.

Read all of Luke 12 — Sparrows, barns, and a thief in the night — Jesus teaches his followers to stop hoarding and start trusting. Worry is the opposite of faith.