Chapter 16 Luke 16
The Parable of the Shrewd Manager (vv. 1-13)
1 Jesus said to his disciples, a “There was once a rich man who had a servant who managed his property. The rich man was told that the manager b was wasting his master’s money, 2 so he called him in and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in a complete account of your handling of my property, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 3 The servant said to himself, ‘My master is going to dismiss me from my job. What shall I do? c I am not strong enough to dig ditches, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 Now I know what I will do! d Then when my job is gone, I shall have friends who will welcome me in their homes.’ 5 So he called in all the people who were in debt to his master. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 ‘One hundred barrels of olive oil,’ he answered. ‘Here is your account,’ the manager told him; ‘sit down and write fifty.’ e 7 Then he asked another one, ‘And you – how much do you owe?’ ‘A thousand bushels f of wheat,’ he answered. ‘Here is your account,’ the manager told him; ‘write eight hundred.’ 8 As a result the master of this dishonest manager praised him for doing such a shrewd thing; because the people of this world are much more shrewd in handling their affairs than the people who belong to the light.” g
9 And Jesus went on to say, “And so I tell you: make friends for yourselves with worldly wealth, h so that when it gives out, you will be welcomed in the eternal home. i 10 Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones; whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest in large ones. 11 If, then, you have not been faithful in handling worldly wealth, j how can you be trusted with true wealth? k 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what belongs to you?
13 “No servant can be the slave of two masters; he will hate one and love the other; he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” l
Interesting Stuff:
a There could have been more than just the Twelve (see 6:17; 10:1).
b In the Roman context, this was either a slave or a freedman who had access to his master’s wealth and handled all the business affairs of his master. Such managers or stewards enjoyed a certain social status.
c For him, loss of position as manager would mean loss of his social status, with the result that the only options he could think of at first were manual labour and begging.
d The manager had no scruples or misgivings about using his position for his own benefit, even if it meant cheating his master. Knowing that he would lose his job, the manager planned for his future by lowering the debts owed to his master in order to make the debtors obligated to him.
e Interpreters disagree as to whether what he did in itself was dishonest. They are not sure whether he was giving away what really belonged to his master or just cancelling the interest payments that his master did not have the right to charge. One interpretation is that the manager reduced the amount of what was owed and thus the master would be losing part of what he lent out. Another interpretation is that originally the manager might have overcharged the debtors to get around the Law that prohibited taking interest from fellow Jews. So to reduce the debts, the manager might have returned the figures to the original amounts and therefore did not cost his master any loss. This would satisfy his master and at the same time gain favour from the debtors. But in any event, the point is the same in that the manager was shrewd enough to use the means at his disposal to plan for his future well-being.
f The amount represented is uncertain (about the yield of 100 acres) but it was definitely a large amount of wheat that was involved. Since the debts involved were large, it would be assumed that the debtors were themselves quite wealthy. By reducing their debts so generously, the manager had done them a significant favour. Thus within the unwritten social rules of that time, the debtors now had to reciprocate the favour he had done for them and welcome him into their homes.
g This refers to God’s people.
h, j This comes from an Aramaic expression ‘mammon’ which means money or wealth in general.
i God’s people should be wise to make use of what God has given them to help those in need. These friends would in the future show their gratitude when they welcome those who have helped them into heaven. In this way, worldly wealth may be used wisely to gain eternal benefits.
k True riches refer to all that is eternal which God will entrust to us.
l This is translated from the same word ‘mammon’ (see above note) in vv. 9 and 11, which can be taken to mean worldly riches as well.
Questions:
- Relate the parable of the shrewd manager (vv. 1-8).
2. Why did the master praise him for his action (v. 8)?
3. What was the point of Jesus’ parable (vv. 9-12)?
4. Why did Jesus say that we cannot serve both God and money (v. 13)?
Summary of Section:
- Jesus told the following parable about a shrewd servant to his disciples:
i) There was once a rich man who had a servant who managed his property.. The rich man was told that his servant was wasting his money and so he called him in. He told the servant to give him a complete accounting of his property because he was being fired from being his manager.
ii) The servant asked himself what he was going to do now that he was going to be fired from his job. He was not strong enough to dig ditches, and he was too ashamed to beg.
iii) He decided that he would act in a way that would enable him to have friends who would welcome him into their homes when he became jobless.
iv) So he called in all the people who were in debt to his master and asked them how much they owed.
v) The first said 100 barrels of olive oil. The servant asked him to write down 50 in his account instead.
vi) The second said 1000 bushels of wheat. The servant asked him to write down 800 in his account. - The master praised him for doing such a shrewd thing because he was acting like the people of this world who were more shrewd in handling their affairs than the people who belong to the light.
- Jesus went on to tell his disciples to make friends for themselves with worldly wealth so that when the wealth was gone, they would be welcomed in the eternal home.
- He said that whoever was faithful in small matters would be faithful in large ones and whoever was dishonest in small matters would be dishonest in large ones.
- He added that if they had not been faithful in handling worldly wealth, then they could not be trusted with true wealth. And if they had not been faithful with what belonged to someone else, then they would not be given what belonged to them.
6. Jesus ended by saying that no servant can be the slave of two masters. He would hate one and love the other and he would be loyal to one and despise the other. They cannot serve both God and money.
Nuggets of Wisdom
- Although the master commended the manager for his shrewdness, the narrator of the parable, Jesus, identified the manager as dishonest (v. 8a). Thus the manager was not praised for his dishonesty but for his shrewdness in the handling of business affairs.
- Jesus’ interpretation of the parable was that the people of the world understand how the world works and use it to their benefit. However, the people belonging to God do not understand the ways of the Kingdom and therefore do not put them into practice.
- In the Greek and Roman world, friendship and money matters were inseparable. The exchange of money created, maintained or bonded together various forms of friendships –‘superior’, ‘equal’ or ‘lesser’ friends. In this parable, the manager used his master’s wealth to gain friends who would repay him.
- When Jesus told his followers to use money to ‘make friends’, he meant most likely in the sense of giving to those in need or in the cancelling of debts. Based on his earlier teachings of giving without expecting any returns, Jesus must be encouraging those with wealth to give to those in need, without wanting anything in return. So instead of being a ’superior’ friend or benefactor, they would become friends who are ‘equal’. These friends would be the people who would welcome them into God’s heavenly Kingdom.
- If we handle badly the earthly wealth that we have now in our preparation for our eternal future, we show that we are unfit to handle the true heavenly riches which would be given to us as our permanent possession. Jesus’ point is that we need to learn to use our wealth now in ways that reflect our life as people of the Kingdom of light.
- In Jewish tradition, wealth is not evil in itself. However, Jesus was saying that one cannot remain neutral in one’s relationship with wealth. Both masters, God and money, demand such opposite forms of service that one cannot serve both.
Jesus Refers to the Law and the Prophets (vv. 14-18)
14 When the Pharisees heard all this, they made fun of Jesus, because they loved money. 15 Jesus said to them, “You are the ones who make yourselves look right in other people’s sight, but God knows your hearts. For the things that are considered of great value by man are worth nothing in God’s sight.
16 “The Law of Moses m and the writings of the prophets n were in effect up to the time of John the Baptist; o since then the Good News about the Kingdom of God is being told, and everyone forces his way in. p 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest detail q of the Law to de done away with.
18 “Any man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery; r and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Interesting Stuff:
m These refer strictly to the five books from Genesis to Deuteronomy.
n The combined expression of ‘the Law and the prophets’ stands for the whole Old Testament.
o The ministry of John the Baptist which prepared the way for the coming of Jesus the Messiah, was the dividing line between God’s old covenant and the new. Jesus’ ministry was the beginning of the new covenant era or period whereas the OT defined the era of the old covenant.
p There are different interpretations of this but it probably refers to the fierce zealousness with which people were responding to the gospel. Multitudes of people were flocking to hear Jesus and to receive his message.
q The reference is to the ‘dot’ that is a small mark on some of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of Jesus’ statement is that the Law will be fulfilled right down to the minutest detail. Jesus was assuring his hearers that he did not come to do away with the Law but to fulfil it to the tiniest detail. It was the way the Pharisees and teachers of the Law interpreted the Law that drew his criticism.
r Jesus was affirming the continuing authority of the Law in that adultery was still adultery and still unlawful and sinful..
Questions:
- Why did the Pharisees make fun of Jesus (v. 14)?
2. How did Jesus respond to them (v. 15)?
3. What did Jesus say about the Law and the writings of the prophets (vv. 16-17)?
4. What one aspect of the Law did Jesus use to emphasise his point about the Law (v. 18)?
Summary of Section:
- When the Pharisees heard all this, they made fun of Jesus because they loved money.
- Jesus told them that they made themselves look right in people’s eyes but God knew their hearts for what was considered of great value to people was worth nothing in God’s sight.
- He added that the Law and the Prophets were in effect until the coming of John the Baptist. Since that time, the Good News about the Kingdom of God was being preached and everyone was forcing his way in.
- Jesus said that it was easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest detail of the Law to be done away with.
- He added that any man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Nuggets of Wisdom
- Although Jesus had been addressing his disciples in the last section, the Pharisees were never really out of the picture. They had been in the background listening to Jesus teaching his followers and now Jesus turned to them again.
- In mocking Jesus, the Pharisees were dissociating themselves from him completely, to eliminate any possibility that others would regard him as someone with authority from God. They did this because they were ‘lovers of money’, people who neglect the poor for the sake of their status in society. They were false teachers who rejected God’s purpose for themselves. Thus Jesus rebuked them for their hypocrisy, seeking after things that are of value only to man but not to God.
- Jesus then justified his teaching and practices by insisting that beginning with John, a new era had been introduced. It was the coming of the Kingdom of God where God’s Good News was preached especially to the poor and the outcasts. One of its effects was that everyone was urged to enter it.
- Jesus assured his hearers that his coming did not mean that the Law and the prophets were to be rejected as belonging to an old era but that they must be understood in light of the revelation of God’s purposes in his ministry. He insisted on the enduring validity of the Law by saying that not even the smallest detail of the Law would be done away with.
- By referring to the Law on adultery and divorce, Jesus showed his submission to the ongoing authority of the Law. His interpretation of it was more stringent than those of the contemporary rabbis who had taken a more liberal approach to this issue. Jesus was trying to show that it is thus not enough to affirm the abiding significance of the Scriptures; they must also be interpreted correctly in relation to the values of God’s Kingdom.
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (vv.19-31)
19 “There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes s and lived in great luxury every day. t 20 There was also a poor man named Lazarus, u covered with sores, who used to be brought to the rich man’s door, 21 hoping to eat the bits of food that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham v at the feast in heaven. The rich man died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, w where he was in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side. 24 So he called out, ‘Father Abraham! Take pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and cool off my tongue, because I am in great pain in this fire!’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Remember, my son, that in your lifetime you were given all the good things, while Lazarus got all the bad things. But now he is enjoying himself here, while you are in pain. 26 Besides all that, there is a deep pit x lying between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, nor can anyone cross over to us from where you are.’ 27 The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father’s house, 28 where I have five brothers. Let him go and warn them so that they, at least, will not come to this place of pain.’ 29 Abraham said, ‘Your brothers have Moses and the prophets y to warn them; your brothers should listen to what they say.’ 30 The rich man answered, ‘That is not enough, father Abraham! But if someone were to rise from death and go to them, then they would turn from their sins.’ 31 But Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone were to rise from death.’ ”
Interesting Stuff:
s Other translations have ‘purple and fine linen’. Clothing coloured purple were a great luxury. White garments (indicates wearer as one of the socially elite) underneath a purple robe was the sign of extreme wealth.
t Some translations have ‘feasted sumptuously’, implying that the man had huge banquet-style feasts every day. He was thus portrayed as one who was extremely wealthy.
u This is the only parable in which Jesus gives a name to one of the characters.
v Some translations have ‘Abraham’s bosom’. The Talmud, the commentary on the Mishnah (refer to ‘Traditions of the Elders’, p.
ix), mentions Abraham’s side or bosom as the home of the righteous. It is a place of blessedness to which the righteous dead go as they wait for the Day of Judgment. The idea is probably that Lazarus was having a blessed time, enjoying the close fellowship of Abraham, the great patriarch, at the heavenly feast.
w Two words are translated as ‘hell’ in the NT. One is ‘Hades’, the word used to translate ‘Sheol’ in the OT. Sheol is where the dead go to await the final judgment, and sometimes it is understood as the place of the wicked, those who died under God’s wrath. Another word that is translated ‘hell’ is the Greek word Gehenna, which symbolises the place of divine punishment. In the NT, Hades or Gehenna is never used of the destiny of the believer. In this parable, Hades stands in contrast to the place and state of Lazarus’ blessing (see also chap 12, note f).
x This was probably a picture to show that in the afterlife there is no passing from one state to the other.
y ‘Moses’ means the writings of Moses, and the combination with ‘the prophets’ points to the whole OT. There is the implication that the rich man’s suffering was not due to his riches but to his neglect of Scripture and its teachings. If a person’s mind is closed to the Scriptures, then no evidence, not even a resurrection of someone from the dead, would change him.
Questions:
- Describe the state of both the rich man and Lazarus before and after their deaths (vv. 19-25).
2. What did the rich man want Abraham to do (vv. 24-28)?
3. What was Abraham’s reply (vv. 29-31)?
4. What do you think Jesus was trying to point out in this parable?
Summary of Section:
Jesus continued with a parable about a rich man and Lazarus:
a. There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day.
b. There was also a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores and was brought to the rich man’s door, hoping to eat the bits of food that fell from the rich man’s table. Even dogs would come and lick Lazarus’ sores.
c. Lazarus died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the feast in heaven. The rich man died and went to Hades where he was in great pain.
d. He looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus at his side. He called out to Abraham to take pity on him and to send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and cool his tongue.
e. But Abraham told him that in his lifetime he had all the good things while Lazarus had the bad. The situation was now reversed and moreover, there was a deep pit lying between them which no one could cross over.
f. The rich man then begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his family to warn his five brothers so that they would not go to Hades like him.
g. Abraham answered that they had the Scriptures, the Law and the Prophets, to warn them and it was their responsibility to be obedient to what the Scriptures say.
h. The rich man told Abraham that it was not enough but if someone were to rise from death and go to them, they would turn from their sins.
Nuggets of Wisdom
- This parable is found only in the Gospel of Luke.
- Jesus described the rich man as outrageously wealthy. He was not only dressed in the most expensive clothes but daily he ate at huge banquet-style feasts. In contrast, Lazarus was described as someone of no worth at all to society. He was covered with sores, rendering him unclean, and dumped at the rich man’s door to beg for food.
- In death, the rich man was honoured with a burial, whereas no mention was made of Lazarus’ burial. This implied that even in death, Lazarus was in disgrace. In Jewish tradition, to be refused burial or to be left exposed for dogs to scavenge, was tantamount to bearing the curse of God. The poor man’s only claim to status was his being named in the story. The rich man, on the other hand, was not named.
- Following death, however, their conditions were reversed. Lazarus now received all the blessings and comfort previously unknown to him. The rich man, on the other hand, experienced torment and agony. He, however, instead of being humbled by his circumstances, still assumed Abraham as his father, and made two requests of Abraham, both of which were denied.
- First, Abraham told him that he was reaping the consequences of his own choices. He was where he was now because while he was alive, he chose to live his life in great extravagance an without any regard for the poor. Second, Abraham reminded him that Scripture was very clear as to how as children of Abraham they were to live out their lives on earth. As one who called Abraham ‘father’, he and his brothers should have obeyed Scripture.
- Jesus was thus addressing this parable to the Pharisees who had complained against his hospitality to the poor and the outcasts, and who had mocked his teaching about using money on behalf of the poor. This was his charge against them that in neglecting the poor, they had disregarded the will of God so clearly expressed in the Scriptures.
- Jesus’ warning was very clear that if they continued this way, they would, like the rich man, face God’s judgment on the last day.
Copyright © 2020, Pristine World Sdn Bhd.
All rights reserved.