The passage
      v22-23. Jesus now develops the truth that "life is more than food, and the body more than cloths." "Life's essentials must not be life's mission or determine life's attitude", E. Ellis. Possessions, this world's things, need not be limited to the abundance of worldly clutter - consumer items. Even daily necessities are possessions. The goal of life is something more than just striving to secure our earthly existence; such a preoccupation should not be the focus of our emotional energy.
      v24-26. Jesus supports his point with a practical observation from life. Nature tends to provide for its own and since we are the apex of God's creation (it is designed for us), then it will tend to provide for us as well. His point is that nature generally works. He is not saying it will provide if we have faith rather than diligence. He is just saying it provides, it works, and often works irrespective of us. So why be preoccupied?
      v27-28. We can be totally preoccupied with our creativity and still not exceed the beauties of nature. Yet, if God creates the profound beauty of a flower that fades in a moment, "how much more" will he clothe his children in a beauty that is eternal!
      v29-30. Given that there is more to life than eating and drinking, it is foolish to make our daily provision the focus of our life. Only "the pagan world runs after such things."
      v31. Jesus now defines the proper focus of our life. "Seek first the kingdom of God." Jesus doesn't actually tell us how and where to seek. This he has done already on a number of occasions. "Repent and believe" is how we seek. Where we seek is from Jesus - "ask and it will be given, seek and you find, knock and the door will be opened to you." We enter the kingdom when we ask, seek and knock - when we come to Jesus, believe in Jesus. This is the higher goal of life, and it is this we should be preoccupied with. As for the stuff of life, it usually falls into place of its own accord; most of us muddle through.
      v32-34. When the kingdom is our focus, the ceaseless chasing after material security and the material props that affirm an illusionary immortality, fades in importance. We are able to put them aside, their power broken. This is because we have gained a treasure in heaven which provides an eternal security. Our "heart" being there, the things of this world grow increasingly dim.

Worldly mammon
      Being a Christian and liking beautiful things, is always a problem. In my case I like quite a few beautiful things. I love vintage cars, wind up gramophones, stamps and old houses. There are a number of frustrations liking such things. My tastes outstrip my capacity to finance their acquisition. I am in the wrong profession to finance accumulation. The other frustration is that of balancing the desire to possess, with the desire to follow Christ.
      My Portuguese stamp collection has gone through numerous selling and buying sprees. In puritanical moods, often overcome by guilt, I would sell off slabs of the collection. Then I would often go the other way and buy up big. These days I seem to buy a piece here and a piece there. Getting every possible Angolan rarity is no longer that important, although I wonder if this is more a sign of age than spiritual maturity!
      The trick with rightly handling this world's things is to understand clearly what Jesus is saying to us in passages like the present one. A superficial reading of this passage would turn us into a monk. "Sell your possessions and give to the poor"; these are fairly hard words. Of course, we don't do it and so end up guilty, osculating between self and service.
      It is most unlikely that, in this passage, Jesus is giving us rule to follow, a law to keep. Sometimes Jesus gives us hard and impossible rules which serve to remind us that we are rebels, unable to undertake even the simplest righteous act, and therefore in need of a righteousness that is not our own; a God-given righteousness. However, in this passage, it is likely that Jesus is setting before us the true source of life's meaning, namely, the kingdom, even Christ himself. To know Christ is to possess life eternal. Once we possess life in Christ, "worldly mammon" takes its proper place such that we can even be generous, "give to the poor", rather than be constantly preoccupied with our own survival.
      Of course, we well know that survival can be difficult for some believers. We have no promise here of daily provision, rather just the promise of divine resources for the journey to glory. Irrespective of life's daily struggle or the accumulation of clutter, our heart must be with our eternal hope and not our earthly habitat.

v23
      gar "-" - for. This conjunction indicates that Jesus is now giving a reason why we should not be preoccupied with our physical security. The reason is, there is more to life than the everyday stuff of living.
      pleion adj. comp. "more" - much, many. This adjective functions as a substantive here.

v24
      katonohsate (katonoew) imp. "consider" - take not of, notice
      touV korakaV "the ravens" - crows. As unclean birds the point is, God feeds even unclean ravens.
      kai "yet [God feeds them]" - and. The conjunction here is concessive, ie. it introduces a concession, "and yet", "although".
      posw (oV h on) "how much [more]" - how much more [are you worth than birds]. An interrogative substantive pronoun of quantity with the dative of advantage/interest. The lesson is not that we take no precautions for our security, given that God will feed us with much more than he feeds the ravens. What we have here is a "how much more" lesson. Given that God cares even for the ravens, "how much more" profound are his benefits toward us, benefits which transcends mere food. Our task is to find out what these benefits are, pursue them and enjoy them. Note that Francis type interpretations are not helpful, even though Francis was a wonderful example of simple living.

v25
      thcun "a single hour" - a cubit = 46cm. Possibly of adding length to the body, but unlikely. So, used of a short span of time, an hour.
      thn hJlikian "life" - span of life, age / stature. A preoccupation with things like food and clothing can't add an hour to our life. Obviously, we need to be preoccupied with gaining eternal life.

v26
      ei + ind. "since ...... - if" A first-class conditional sentence stating the given. If we can't do the "little", then we can't do the least. If a preoccupation with food achieves little, why be preoccupied with all the other stuff of existence, much of which is beyond our control?

v27
      ou kopia/ oude nhqei "they do not labor or spin" - it does not labor or spin. The phrase refers to human industry and helps make the point that we can be totally preoccupied with design and production and still not exceed the wonders of nature.
      periebaleto (periballw) aor. mid. "was dressed" - clothed himself. Probably best translated as a past event. Even Solomon's beauty can't surpass the natural beauty of one flower

v28
      ei "if" - Another first-class conditional sentence. God does clothe the fields with grass, insignificant as it is, so he will clothe his children.
      ballomenon (ballw) pres. pas. part. "is thrown [into the fire]" - being thrown. Illustrating the insignificance of the grass which is gathered and bundled for kitchen fuel.
      posw/ mallon "how much more" - how much more. An interrogative substantive pronoun of quantity with the dative of advantage/interest. The verb "will he clothe" is understood and so there are other possibilities, eg. "will he beautify", "will he care for." God will not just clothe his children as he clothes the fields, rather it is again a "how much more" picture. Jesus probably has in mind an eternal spiritual divine clothing, which is why we shouldn't be preoccupied with what we actually wear now.
      okigopistoi (oV) "little faith" - Matthew uses this word a number of times, but Luke uses it only here. Many commentators suggest that this is a rebuke against those disciples who are anxious for their daily needs and should know to trust God for them. The trouble is, Jesus has never promised to supply our daily needs, therefore, a faith in God's daily provision is misplaced, given that he never promised such provision. Faith is a reliance on the revealed will of God. God has promised an eternal home in glory to those who hold onto Jesus. A reliance on this truth, the "how much more" God has planned for us, quickly dispels any preoccupation with the fading images of this shadow land. Those of little faith are those who believe that life consists in the "abundance of possessions."

v29
      zhteite (zhtew) imp. "do [not] set your heart on" - do [not] seek. "Do not be intent on / be preoccupied with." In this verse Jesus repeats his exhortation.
      metewrizesqe (metewrizomai) pres. imp. "do [not] worry about it" - The word is a hapax legomenon, ie. a once only use in the Bible. It means to be "lifted up", "puffed up", so here the sense of "get worked up over", or, as previously noted, "be completely preoccupied with."

v30
      gar "for" - This conjunction serves to introduce a clause explaining why the disciples should not be preoccupied with the world. It is the preoccupation of secular society.
      ta eqnh tou kosmou "the pagan world" - nations of the world. Secular society
      epizhtousin (epizhtew) act. "runs after" - continues to strive after
      tauta gar tanta "all such things" - all these things. The pronoun here functions as a substantive, ie. as a noun. The clause may read "for these things all the nations of the world strive after", if "all" is taken with "nations. "These things" must surely refer to "what you will eat and drink", ie. all that maintains security.
      oiden (oida) perf. "[and your Father] knows [that you need them]" - has known. This verb means "to have a necessary need of." The clause is similar to Matthew except that Luke drops "heavenly" and "all".
      toutwn "them" - these things. Substantive. The "them" presumably refers to the same "these things" at the beginning of the sentence, namely "what you will eat and drink."

v31
      plhn "but" - nevertheless, instead. The conjunction functions here as an adversive. Secular society chases after this world's things to maintain security, "but" believers should seek after the kingdom, for our security is found in eternal things.
      zhteite (zhtew) pres. imp. "seek" - continue to pursue/seek [his kingdom]. The present tense gives the sense of ongoing habit. The meaning is vague: seek it out, seek to enter, seek to align with, seek to work for... If we include v32 in our assessment then "seek the gift of the kingdom", "seek to possess", or even possibly, "seek to possess the blessings of the kingdom", may be better options. So, "seek eternal life."
      thn basileian (a) "the kingdom" - the realm of God's gracious care.
      tauta "these things" - Again obviously referring to the "what you will eat or drink."
      prosteqhsetai (prostiqhmi) fut. "will be given to you as well" - will be given to you. God will supply remnant Israel (Jesus and those who stand with Jesus) with the wherewithal for the journey to the promised land. See below for an extended comment.

v32
      mh fobou (fobew) imp. "do not be afraid" - fear, worry. Fear brought on by the vulnerable nature of the "little flock."
      to mikron poimnion "little flock" - Imaging the remnant, a small group of people.
      oJti "for" - Because the Father has willed to shower us with kingdom blessings, there is no need to fear.
      eudokhsen (eudokew) aor. "has been pleased" - was well pleased. Here the sense is "resolved". The Father has determined to give us the kingdom.
      dounai (didwmi) aor. inf. "to give" - The kingdom is given as a gift rather than worked for.

v33
      pwlhsate (pwlew) imp. "sell" - Dispose of property, or provide services in exchange for money or other valuable considerations*.
      ta uJparconta (uJparcw) pres. part. "possessions" - possess. Used as a substantive, literally "that which is at one's disposal."
      dote (didwmi) imp. "give [to the poor]" - give [alms (acts of mercy)]. The aorist tense expresses decisive action, while the wording of the sentence itself is, unlike Matthew, non-figurative. This exhortation to alms-giving exceeds the norm in that the giving is not just out of our abundance, but is the abundance/capital itself. It is highly unlikely that Jesus expects a literal compliance and it is not helpful when commentators, who are most often themselves owners of property, suggest that he does, cf. W. Pilgrim, "Good News to the Poor: Wealth and Poverty in Luke-Acts". What we have here is another example of Jesus setting before us ideals to aim at. The kingdom age has dawned and God's remnant people are even now pressing along the way to a promised glory. Given the eternal provision that awaits us, and the promised wherewithal for the journey, we have no reason to be overly protective of our capital. We are free to use our resources for the kingdom. This then is the ideal, an ideal actually live out in the Jerusalem church by some members and possibly a cause for their later poverty. Yet, as Peter reminded Ananias and Sapphira, the ideal is not a law, not even an expectation, but a distant goal to aim at. We are to press toward it, as best we can, without making our own lives and the lives of our family, a total misery.
      poihsate (poiew) aor. imp. "provide [purses for yourselves]" - make/do [yourselves money-bags / treasure-sacks]. The imagery is of making a treasure-bag that is subject to deterioration and theft, as compared to a permanent treasure-box in heaven which is not subject to deterioration and theft, ie. creating something that is permanent as compared to something that is impermanent. The problem with this imperative is that it is often linked with the giving of alms, when it is more likely linked to the gift of the kingdom, v32. We provide for ourselves an eternal treasure when we accept the gift of the kingdom. As a consequence, it is illogical to be overly focused on earthly treasure when we possess an eternal one.
      mh palaioumena (palaiow) pres. pas. part. "that will not wear out" - not becoming old, wearing out, decaying.
      qhsauron (oV) "a treasure [in heaven that will not be exhausted]" - an [inexhaustible] treasure-box [in heaven]. Any secure receptacle, but obviously here a "treasure-box" is best. What actually is the treasure? Possibly God's good pleasure, "well done thou good and faithful servant"? The notion of heavenly reward for deeds done on earth is fraught with danger, particularly if we hold that it is by grace that everything is ours. The treasure is God's eternal blessings, freely given. As an aside, the issue of reward for faithful service is best handled as the rewarding of greater responsibilities. Our pressing toward kingdom ideals shapes us for kingdom rule. Our creative use of earthly resources (time, talent and tinkle!) has little eternal value when used for our own security; it is without permanence. When creatively used for an eternal end, the results are permanent. The end product may be the growth of our love, faith, knowledge ..., a growth that prepares us for our reign with Christ. Then there is the growth of those who benefit from the creative use of our resources for kingdom ends, again a permanent reward, although in this case the reward is theirs.
      eggizei (eggizw) "[where no thief] comes near" - The thief can't get near to steal it.

v34
      oJpou gar "for where" - Introducing an explanatory sentence. Nolland has captured the sense of this sentence with "follow the trail of the use of money and it will lead you to the heart."

Extended comment