Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 12:33

"Sell that which ye have, and give alms; make for yourselves purses which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief draweth near, neither moth destroyeth." — Luke 12:33 (ASV)

Sell that you have.—In its generalised form, the precept is peculiar to Luke, but it has its parallel in the command given to the young ruler (See Note on Matthew 19:21). It was clearly one of the precepts which his own characteristic tendencies led him to record (see Introduction), and which found its fulfilment in the overflowing love that showed itself in the first days of the Church of the Apostles (Acts 2:45). Subsequent experience may have modified the duty of literal obedience, but the principle implied in it, that it is wise to be unattached to earthly possessions, possessing them as though we possessed not (1 Corinthians 7:30), is one which has not lost its force.

Provide yourselves bags...—The Greek word for bags (elsewhere “purse,”Luke 22:35) may be noticed as peculiar to Luke. Of the three words used in the New Testament for “purse” or “bag,” it was the most classical.

Where no thief approaches.—(See Note on Matthew 6:20). The form is in some respects briefer here, but the treasure that fails not is a touch peculiar to Luke. The adjective he uses is a rare one, and not found elsewhere in the New Testament; but one from the same root, in Wisdom 7:14 and Wisdom 8:18, describes wisdom as a treasure that never fails.