A.T. Robertson Commentary Luke 12:22

"And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for [your] life, what ye shall eat; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on." — Luke 12:22 (ASV)

Unto his disciples (προς τους μαθητας αυτου). So Jesus turns from the crowd to the disciples (verses 22-40, when Peter interrupts the discourse). From here to the end of the chapter Luke gives material that appears in Matthew, but not in one connection as here. In Matthew part of it is in the charge to the Twelve on their tour in Galilee, part in the eschatological discourse on the Mount of Olives. None of it is in Mark. Hence Q or the Logia seems to be the source of it. The question recurs again whether Jesus repeated on other occasions what is given here or whether Luke has here put together separate discourses as Matthew is held by many to have done in the Sermon on the Mount. We have no way of deciding these points. We can only say again that Jesus would naturally repeat his favourite sayings like other popular preachers and teachers. So Lu 12:22-31 corresponds to Mt 6:25-33, which see for detailed discussion. The parable of the rich fool was spoken to the crowd, but this exhortation to freedom from care (22-31) is to the disciples. So the language in Lu 12:22 is precisely that in Mt 6:25. See there for μη μεριμνατε (stop being anxious) and the deliberative subjunctive retained in the indirect question (φαγητε, ενδυσησθε). So verse 23 here is the same in Mt 6:25 except that there it is a question with ουχ expecting the affirmative answer, whereas here it is given as a reason (γαρ, for) for the preceding command.