“Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?”
My Notes
What Does Luke 12:24 Mean?
"Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?" Jesus points to ravens — the most common, least prestigious birds in Palestine — as evidence of God's provision. Ravens don't farm. Don't harvest. Don't store. Don't plan. And God feeds them. The argument is from the lesser to the greater: if God provides for birds that contribute nothing to their own provision, how much more will he provide for you — his image-bearer, his child, the creature he made in his own likeness?
Jesus chooses ravens specifically — not songbirds or doves. Ravens were ritually unclean (Leviticus 11:15). If God feeds the unclean birds that nobody admires, he'll certainly feed you.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does God's provision for ravens (unclean, unimpressive) teach about his provision for you?
- 2.Where is your anxiety about provision insulting the Provider's track record?
- 3.What's the difference between the raven's active foraging (not lazy) and anxious hoarding (not trusting)?
- 4.What would 'considering the ravens' practically change about your financial anxiety today?
Devotional
Consider the ravens. Not admire them. Not envy them. Consider them — observe them as evidence of a theology you're failing to apply to your own life.
Ravens don't sow. Don't reap. Don't store. Don't plan. They have no storehouse. No barn. No retirement account. No emergency fund. Nothing between them and starvation except one thing: God feeds them. Every day. Without fail. They wake up with no provision. And provision shows up. Because God is in the feeding business.
How much more are ye better than the fowls? The argument is brutally logical: you are more valuable to God than a raven. You're made in his image. You're his child. You carry his likeness. If God handles the catering for creatures that have none of those qualifications — if he feeds birds that are ritually unclean and domestically useless — then his provision for you is even more certain.
The choice of ravens is deliberate. Jesus doesn't say: consider the eagles (majestic). Or: consider the doves (sacred). He says: consider the ravens. The scavengers. The unclean birds. The ones nobody admires and nobody cares about. God feeds THOSE. The least impressive members of the bird kingdom still eat every day because God provides.
The anxiety Jesus addresses (v. 22: "Take no thought for your life") isn't about laziness. Ravens aren't lazy — they're active, foraging, constantly searching. But they're not anxious. They don't store. They don't worry about tomorrow's food while eating today's. They trust the system: God feeds birds. Today. Tomorrow. The day after. The system hasn't failed in the history of the world.
Your anxiety about provision insults the Provider. Not because anxiety is sinful (Jesus understands human fear). But because the God who feeds ravens — unclean, unimpressive, unworthy ravens — has not abandoned you. You are better than the fowls. And the fowls eat every day.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Consider the ravens,.... According to the Jews (k) there are three sorts of ravens, the black raven, the raven of the…
Our Lord Jesus is here inculcating some needful useful lessons upon his disciples, which he had before taught them, and…
the ravens More specific, and therefore more poetic, than "the fowls" in St Matthew. Perhaps there is a reference to Job…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture