Luke 12:23 (LSB)

Passage

For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

Nearby Context

Luke 12:21 So is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:22 And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.

Luke 12:23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!

Luke 12:25 And which of you by worrying can add a single cubit to his life span?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "life", "than", "food", "body", and "clothing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "life" and "than", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "And He said to His disciples For..." into verse 24's "Consider the ravens for they neither sow...", so "life" and "than" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "life" and "than" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.