Luke 12:14

By asking this question, Jesus forced the man to consider who Jesus was. This was the fundamental issue for this man. He had appealed to Jesus as a judge, as the Jews often appealed to rabbis to settle such disputes. [Note: Morris, p. 212.] Jesus asked if he realized what He was doing. Really God had appointed Jesus as this man’s judge as well as everyone else’s judge. Hopefully the man faced the question of Jesus’ authority over him and became a believer, but this was not Luke’s concern in recording this incident.

By answering as He did, Jesus was also refusing to pass judgment on the situation the man had presented to Him. He was competent to deal with it, but He refused to do so because He wanted to deal with another issue, namely, the man’s materialism.

"He [Jesus] came to bring men to God, not to bring property to men." [Note: Ibid.]