Seek the Kingdom… Make a Purse?

Seek the Kingdom… make a purse?

“make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven” (Luke 12:33 NASB)

The grammatical use of the appositional construction can help clarify the meaning of the text.

 “An appositional construction involves two adjacent substantives that refer to the same person or thing and have the same syntactical relation to the rest of the clause. The first accusative substantive can belong to any accusative category, and the second is merely a clarification of who or what is mentioned. Thus, the appositive ‘piggy-backs’ on the first accusative’s use, as it were.” (Wallace 199-200)

The apposition in this text clarifies that the disciples are to make a purse to hold heavenly treasure.  However, “The significance of the metaphor is not clarified: what is treasure in heaven?” (Marshal 532).   

“There is an implied contrast with earthly treasuries, which are perishable and hence a cause for anxiety”  (Marshall 531). This idea is supported by the context of the parable that Jesus taught in 12:12-21, and the anxiety the disciples may have experienced when they left possessions to follow Jesus (12:22). Anxiety does not come from God, but rather reflects the fear of uncertainty of one’s security or outcome and can cause a tension that can limit one’s desire to and/or limit what they give to the poor.

The pronoun ἑαυτοῖς translated as “yourselves” is a dative reflexive masculine plural. The dative case can function as an indirect object and is often translated with ”to” or “for,” which would help us translate this passage “make for yourselves purses”.

The pronoun is reflexive and its function is to “highlight the participation of the subject in the verbal action” (Wallace 350), the subject in this text are the disciples, who are implied in the verb and can be traced back to vs. 22. Thus the reflexive places an added emphasis on the disciples’ participation in the action of making themselves a purse.  

So what are the disciples supposed to participate in? The context reveals the painful answer;  to sell their possessions and give the proceeds to the poor! (Lk 12:33a) There is an implied heavenly exchange where the disciples will receive heavenly treasure in response to their obedience, and the purse they make will be the receptacle for that treasure!  

As we seek the Kingdom of God, a change in the source of our security and provision begin to take place.

I wonder if the metaphor of making a purse illustrates the need for the disciples to prepare their hearts  to seek  first His Kingdom. If the purse represents the receptacle for heavenly treasure, than the heart can be thought of as the receptacle for spiritual blessing. The passage is complex as it contains multiple metaphors (purse, treasure, and heart). It is at times like these that an understanding of the biblical context is so important, lest we subconsciously replace it with our personal context to fill in the blanks. Whether the purse represents the heart or serves to bring our attention to it, we come to the same conclusion, that our heart plays a major role in our relationship to our temperal treasure and eternal peace (Lk 12:34), which I would venture to say, centers on our faith in God. It also is the place where our anxieties and fears come from. Our anxieties can have a major influence in our giving. When seek for his kingdom, Jesus can enter in and replace our anxiety with an eternal security that will free us up to give without measure, and with a joy that is uninhibited by fear!

 I believe this passage is all about the heart, and how it can be bound or freed by the way we hold onto our earthly treasure. It is about the process of finding and living in the Kingdom of God. Let’s not get caught up in our possessions, either in its abundance, or lack thereof, lest we lose the point. It’s really not about the stuff, but rather what gets in the way of one’s relationship with God and His kingdom that muddies the heart! If we can align our heart and our treasure to the Kingdom, all else, (obedience, provision, service, and even our stuff etc…) should fall into place.

This is much easier to read (and write) than to live out. When we prepare our hearts for Kingdom living, we enter a spiritual battle that rages like a storm trying to re-shackle us with old and new anxieties, which can create a fear that robs us of our joy in giving, and the presence of God in the relational sense.  The Kingdom we have access to now, exists in the context of our sanctification, which involves an intense struggle as part of the process to make us holy! It is to be expected and prepared for.

 Next time you feel anxious or fearful, seek the kingdom, and sell whatever it is that keeps your heart from allowing God to be Lord of your life. That is how you “make a purse” and prepare your heart to be filled with treasure!