The parable of the prosperous farmer who tried to plan his life without taking into account God's will for it seems — compared with the story of the Good Samaritan — more like an imaginative story than an account of actual events. Like the Samaritan story, it was offered in response to a question from a man who approached Jesus to ask something of him. Luke 12:13–21 has the account. The request this time was, “Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied that he was not a judge between people. And he warned, “beware of covetousness … a man's life doesn't consist in abundance of things and possessions.”

Then he told the story of the farmer who had such a good harvest he had to build bigger barns to make room for storing it. He told himself he had enough goods “laid up for many years” so it was time to eat, drink, and be merry. “But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.” And Jesus concluded, “so is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

As Psalms 14:1 and 53:1 say, “The fool has said in his heart, There is no God.” Jesus is saying that anyone who doesn't realize his accountability to God is a fool.