LUKE 16:1-13

Luke 16:1-13

Expository preaching is teaching through the Bible, verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book. It’s what we do here – not exclusively, but primarily. But, one of the criticisms often leveled against such expository teaching is that it doesn’t take into consideration the current needs of the people. That is, the pastor should seek to know his congregation and choose texts and preach messages that meet the people where they currently are. One of my favorite all-time preachers was Charles Spurgeon, a Baptist pastor in the 19th Century – and he leveled this charge against preaching verse by verse in his book, Lectures to My Students. We can’t all be perfect. Just kidding – he was fantastic. I have an actual page from one of his handwritten sermons hanging in my office – that’s how much I love and respect this man.

But, I have found an amazing result as I have taught verse by verse through the years: that all of God’s Word is relevant to people where they are. Rather than me trying to determine what of God’s Word is most important for the moment, I have found God’s Word meets the needs of every moment in amazing ways. I just let God’s Word speak, which is infinitely smarter than I am, anyway. Such is the case today.

You see, if I taught topically – that is, I decided each week what to teach, I doubt I would ever pick this text. And you say, no kidding – some of your messages have been hard to hear – yeah, and they’ve been hard to preach. But I do it, because I believe all God’s Word is valuable for us. So, you should know that we come to a most difficult passage today. All seem to agree it is the most challenging of some 40 parables Jesus taught during His ministry. Not challenging in application, although it is that, but challenging in interpretation, of even understanding it. People read it – you probably have – and scratch their heads. I’ve never taught this text in 40 years of ministry – although it has intrigued and confused me. I approached it with some trepidation this week – I for one couldn’t wait to see what it means, and what in the world I would say about it.

Listen, because it is so difficult, there have been numerous interpretations, or reinterpretations of the parable in ways that seek to defend Jesus – to soften or even change what He said. You know, there must be some cultural or historical understanding that we just miss – so, expositors have tried to fix Jesus. I understand the temptation. So, let’s read the text, and then one of you can take my place and teach it. Luke 16:1-13.

Do you see the challenge? Besides being confusing, it seems Jesus is commending, even praising, this unrighteous manager for his shrewd, yet underhanded actions. What do we do with this? Can I suggest, once again, that an interpretation of this parable is exactly what we need – that is, it meets our needs exactly where we are for this moment. And so, let’s dig into it with this clever outline:
I. The Parable (1-8a)
II. The Interpretation (8b)
III. The Application (9-13)
At least that part’s straightforward. Now, we’ve just finished Luke 15 in which Jesus is both taking the Pharisees and their attitudes toward sinners to task, as well as highlighting the Father’s pursuit of sinners and His joy when they respond to the gospel – when they repent, believe and are born again. There’s a celebration in heaven. He’s juxtaposing God and the Pharisees.

But now, notice verse 1 of chapter 16 – “Now He was also saying to the disciples…” This seems to tie together what we saw in chapter 15 with what we’ll see in chapter 16. They are somehow connected. Further, drop down to verse 14, “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.” Of course they were. But notice, while He’s speaking to the disciples – teaching them – He knows the Pharisees are still listening. He knows they love money – they are motivated by money – so He takes them to task yet again.

You see, He took them to task in their attitude toward sinners in chapter 15, and now their attitude toward money in chapter 16. So, whatever this parable teaches, it includes the proper handling of money, resources, and material possessions. That’s what the word wealth is in this text – mammon, which speaks of all we possess. You know, Jesus had a lot to say about money, treasure, wealth – and how it reveals our hearts. It is said that a full third of Jesus parables were about money, and there are over 2000 verses in the Bible that address money and possessions. For example, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In fact, it seems this whole chapter deals with rich people – this rich man in the first parable, and the rich man and Lazarus at the end of the chapter. The first story deals with how the manager mishandled the rich man’s money, and the second story deals with how the rich man mishandled his own wealth. And so, here we are, living in one of the most prosperous nations – dare I say one of the most prosperous churches – of all time. So maybe this message of Jesus to His disciples of handling wealth properly is appropriate for us today, after all. Even if it’s hard to understand, we’re going to learn some principles of stewardship. You see, here’s the truth: we too are stewards and will give an account of how we have handled our Master’s resources. Again, we will learn some very important principles of stewardship in the application of this parable, our third point.

Well, let’s get to the story, and this is indeed a challenging parable to interpret. But if we keep that context in mind – you know, context that comes from verse-by-verse study – I think we can arrive at a proper understanding. We must do some work, so here we go. There was a rich man – again, verse 19 starts another story with the same words, “Now there was a rich man.” Jesus seems to be zeroing in on rich people in this chapter, and how we handle wealth. There was a rich man who had a manager. This manager was a steward of all the rich man’s wealth – his holdings, which we will find seem to be vast agricultural wealth. The manager was very likely a freeman or perhaps a slave that had been specially trained for this role.

We shouldn’t think of slaves as comparable to American slaves in the antebellum South. Slaves then could be trained, educated to hold high positions in the master’s household. In fact, the term for manager in this story is tied to the word household. This was manager of the master’s house. It’s possible the rich man didn’t even live there, which provided the opportunity for the manager to mismanage his responsibilities. Misappropriate funds. Embezzle. That’s what the verse goes on to tell us, “this manager was reported to him (the rich man) as squandering his possessions.” Apparently, there was an insider, a whistleblower, who told on this unfaithful manager. It’s interesting to note the word squandering was used in chapter 15 of the prodigal son who went to a distant country and squandered his inheritance. Same word – it’s not a positive report. In fact, the word report is diaballo, which speaks of a hostile report.

So, verse 2, the rich man called the manager in to give an account, “What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.” In other words, the report that came to the rich man was so convincing that he fired the manager. He wasn’t looking for a defense or justification of his actions – rather an accounting so he would know how much had been lost. You’re fired.

So, verse 3, the manager said to himself…we’re given an inside view of the manager’s private thoughts. “What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me?” Notice, even within himself, in his private thoughts, he doesn’t offer an explanation or an excuse – he knows he’s guilty. What shall I do? I’m not strong enough to dig. I’ve been a white-collar worker – I don’t have what it takes, the physical stamina, to be a laborer – a blue-collar worker. Actually, to dig at this time was considered one of the most difficult and menial of tasks. I can’t do that. And I’m too ashamed to beg. It’s too humbling, given my former role as a manager to a rich man. He’s between a rock and a hard place – what shall I do?

Verse 4, “I know what I shall do.” It’s an exclamation – we would call it a eureka moment. I got it, I know what I shall do so that when I am removed from the management, people will welcome me into their homes. He’s trying to figure out a plan so that he doesn’t have to dig, he doesn’t have to beg. In some way, how someone will take him in so he doesn’t become a homeless beggar sleeping on a park bench.

Verse 5, he hatches the plan. He summoned each of his master’s debtors. You see, at this point, his loss of employment is unknown to most. He’s been given time to gather the records and give an account to the master. So, he called in those in the record books who owed a debt to the rich man. Now, these could be tenant farmers – that is, those who rent land from the rich man, and owe him rent via their crops. But they owe a lot of money, so it’s more likely these are independent people who find themselves seriously indebted to the wealthy man. So, the soon-to-be unemployed manager calls them in to cook the books.

He asked the first debtor, how much do you owe my master? Now wait, he’s got the books – he knows how much they owe – he’s making sure they know. I owe him a hundred measures of oil. That would be olive oil, and a hundred measures or baths was a lot. It would equate to 875 gallons of oil – produced from about 150 olive trees – worth about a thousand denarii, or more than three years wages. So the manager says, take your bill, sit down quickly and write fifty measures. He cut the bill in half. What right did he have to do that? He was ingratiating himself to the debtor at the expense of the rich man.

He calls in the next debtor. How much do you owe? He said, a hundred measures of wheat. And the swindling manager said, take your bill and write down eighty. A measure of wheat was a cor, so a hundred measures would equal about a eleven hundred bushels – the yield of about 100 acres of grain. Depending on the math, about ten years’ worth of income. It was a significant amount. Notice the difference is the two reductions – one was cut in half, the other was cut by 20%, likely because of the relative savings each would receive. But, notice how the manager had them take their own bills and reduce them – this would make them complicit in the charade should things go south.

Why was he doing this? Clearly, it was for his own good – securing his future. These were significant reductions, so that when he was released, they would owe him – he would have a place to go. He could couch surf for years. He had it made. But again, what right did he have to make these changes? Now listen, this is where some commentators suggest different interpretations to help assuage or ease the challenge in the parable. To make it not so bad. For example, some suggest the manager was eliminating the interest on the debts, since that was prohibited by the Mosaic Law – that is, to charge usuary on a loan to a fellow Israelite. And so, the manager was simply obeying the Law to benefit the debtor, and making the master look generous and law-abiding in the long run. And so, the master would say, wow, that was something. So, he wasn’t swindling – he was correcting the master’s greed. And so the master would have to say, well, I lost some bucks, but I can’t say anything about it.

Still others suggest the manager was simply canceling his own commission – I’ll let you keep my part – of course, if I scratch your back, I’m sure you’ll scratch mine if and when I need it. The main problem with both those interpretations is the text doesn’t say that – in fact, the next verse says the master called him an unrighteous manager. Of course, some suggest he was called unrighteous for his previous squandering of his master’s possessions, but now is called shrewd for his handling of these business deals. The word shrewd means crafty or wise or creative. It’s not necessarily evil or wrong – he was just being creative – that is, as related to his own future – his own soon-coming need. He was looking out for himself. Don’t miss that – this wasn’t in the best interest of the rich man – but it sure took care of his future. Keep that in mind – that’s what he was doing, securing his future.

But, what are we to do with the rich man praising this unrighteous manager for his under the table shrewdness, especially since he likely just lost a lot of money? Why would Jesus say that in the parable? Further, think about this: does this rich man refer to the Father or Jesus Himself? While that is often the case, it isn’t always. In fact, the rich man in the later story of this chapter is the wicked one who ends up in a place of torment. The point is, we don’t have to see the master, the rich man, as a type of God. In fact, I don’t think he is, at all. I think he’s been a productive owner to gain wealth. He’s simply become rich through sound business practices. And, he hired a manager to handle his wealth.

You see, in the second part of verse 8, Jesus interprets the parable. This is still challenging, but stick with me. Jesus says, referring to the manager, for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind [that is, other sons of this age] than the sons of light are. What does that mean? Simply this: the unrighteous manager was shrewd in his business dealings with other sons of this world – more so than the sons of light. It speaks of how clever people of the world are when they act in their own self-interest. And perhaps the people of God should consider their own eternal best interest as well.

So, the point? Jesus is calling us, the sons of light to also be shrewd – creative, wise in our dealings with others – whether sons of this world or more likely, sons of light. To be clear, Jesus is not calling for us to be unrighteous – He is calling us to be wise in our dealings with others – to invest wisely with the prospect of future gain. Use your money, your wealth for spiritual gain. To take care of our future. What is our future? Eternal dwellings.

You see, Jesus begins making application for us in verses 9-13, and there are three, and they are amazing:

1. First, use your resources faithfully toward others to gain for the future (9). Don’t miss it – Jesus actually holds out the promise of reward if we are faithful and invest in the right places with the right priorities.
2. Second, your faithfulness in little things will translate to faithfulness in big things (10-12). Meaning, character is your character, regardless of your relative wealth.
3. And third, you cannot serve two masters – God and money – so serve God (13). Make sure you are serving God with your wealth, your mammon, your possessions, your money.

Look at each of those as we seek to untangle this challenging parable and make good and godly applications. Verse 9 is interesting. Jesus says, And I say to you – this was a way for Him to highlight, to add weight to what He is saying; He’s told the parable, now He says, listen up, I’m talking to you, “make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness so that when it fails, they will receive you into eternal dwellings. Wait, what?

Follow His thinking. Even this unrighteous manager was shrewd in his dealings. Believers, you also be shrewd, wise in your dealings with others, because how you handle resources matters. The others here are likely referring to other sons of the light, so that when the time comes, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings, that is, into heaven. From that, we derive this principle – be good stewards of God’s resources, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, so that you will be rewarded. Those in whom you have invested will welcome you in the life to come. Your financial resources are not to be selfishly hoarded but generously provided for others. Therein is eternal gain. There are several aspects here we need to unravel.

First, make friends for yourselves with others by using your wealth, your money, wisely. In other words, be godly with your money and make eternal investments. By the way, notice a couple things about this wealth you have. First, Jesus calls it the wealth of unrighteousness. That’s simply putting a proper value on the things we value too much. Yes, money itself is neither good nor bad – but, we’re told all over the Scripture how to handle it – not in evil, selfish ways, solely for personal gain, but in good and generous ways. Make sure your wealth is used for righteousness, and not for selfish unrighteousness selfish gain, as it typically is. You see, that’s the lure of wealth – to gain more for yourself. Don’t do it. Don’t be tempted by the American way of life. All over Scripture, we are commanded to make sure we use God’s stuff – money and wealth – for His purposes. After, that’s why He increases our abundance that it might increase the harvest of our righteousness – not our bank accounts.

This is the problem with the health, wealth, and prosperity movement. They want to make wealth for themselves – to be used selfishly for personal gain. They’re even unashamed in their pursuit of personal, selfish wealth. They even teach that’s what God wants for you. Listen, to use it that way is to make it unrighteous. Be generous with it – use it for God and His purposes, because there is coming a day of accounting. Be wise, be shrewd. Be smarter than sons of this world, unbelievers, who live only for themselves. Rather, make friends with others by being generous so they will welcome you into eternal dwellings. Again, you are laying up treasures in heaven.

Notice, so that when it fails – and it will. Money has a shelf life – and it will most assuredly fail when you die and leave it all behind. You won’t take anything with you – naked you came into this life, and naked you will leave it. So, make sure to send it ahead. There is some discussion about those who receive you into eternal dwellings. It could be those sons and daughters of light – those brother and sisters to whom you’ve been generous. They will welcome you.

Others suggest it is God Himself who receives you, welcomes you into His eternal dwelling. To be clear, it’s not that you buy your way into heaven. No, it is simply that you prove yourself to be sons and daughters of the living God by the way you spend His resources. It’s all His anyway. Do you not know that the covetous, the greedy will not inherit the kingdom of God, that is, eternal life. But the generous, as proof of the reality of faith, will. He will receive you, He will welcome you into His kingdom.

Second, how you handle the little things will translate into how you handle the big things in life, verses 10-12. How does this fit the context? Well, the manager was unrighteous in the little things, and proved to continue to be, while shrewd, unrighteous in the bigger things. So, Jesus applies the principle – he who is faithful in the very little things proves his character. Character evidences itself no matter the circumstances – big or small. How you are when given little will be how you are if you receive much. Remember the widow and her two mites? Yeah, that story. In fact, it could be said, faithfulness with little builds character, and prepares you for more. How many times have you heard, or even thought, I’ll give more, I’ll be more generous when I can. Right now, I have little, so I can’t. Yes, you can. “If only I had a million dollars.” Your generosity with little proves you can faithfully handle more. Now, I’m not suggesting you give to get, but how you handle little demonstrates how you will handle much.

So also, if you are unrighteous in the little things, you will also be unrighteous in the big things. Jesus is simply saying, your character will come out. Faithful or unfaithful, righteous or unrighteous. So, verse 11, if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth – because wealth – itself not good or bad – but if it tempts you to be unrighteous – then it is unrighteous to you. And if you prove unfaithful, who will entrust true riches to you? Don’t miss it: you’ve proven untrustworthy. You’ve proven your character, that it is not righteous. The implication seems to be that you will not be rewarded in heaven, perhaps even by heaven, because you demonstrate you do not know righteousness. Who will entrust true riches to you in the future if you have not been faithful, proving the reality of your faith, in the present.

These are hard words. Again, it’s not that you earn your way to heaven, but you demonstrate you have received the righteousness of Christ which is changing you, or you demonstrate you have not. You are still dead in your sins, and you prove it by your selfish life. You see, verse 12, if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s – stop right there. Everything we have, everything we are, is another’s. And if we have not been faithful in all that has been graciously and divinely given, then who will give you more – that which is your own? That’s a little confusing, but it seems to be saying, your stewardship now will result in receiving or not receiving reward in the future. The point is, don’t live for the moment – live for the future. Make eternal investments.

It’s very confusing, but meditate on it – try to grasp the principles. Our life is a stewardship, and we should prepare with that entrusted to us, for the future. Be smarter than the sons of this world – prove you are children of light.

Which brings us to the third application, verse 13, which really sums all He has been saying. It’s a principle we’ve all heard before. He said it way back at the beginning of His ministry in the Sermon on the Mount. It seems to be a resounding, recurring theme, but one we need to hear again and again. No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. And Jesus drives it home: you cannot serve God and wealth. Listen, you can’t give God one day and live the rest, with all its resources, for yourself.

Now ntice, He doesn’t say you cannot serve God and be wealthy. No, wealth is not the issue. He is saying you cannot be devoted to both. You cannot love both. There is only room for one master in your life – one you love, one to whom you will be devoted. Love one, be devoted to one, and you will hate, you will despise the other. What a significant challenge this is for followers of Jesus in a prosperous country. In a prosperous church. We think we can have our cake and eat it too. And we can’t. God wants it all. You cannot have a divided love and a divided loyalty.

We saw this earlier when Jesus said, he who would be My follower must hate his family – his mother, father, his brother, sister, his son, daughter. He was speaking in relative terms. Our love for Christ must be so central, so great, so consuming, that all other loves pale in comparison. And one of the biggest challenges we as American Christians have is the call of money, the American dollar, the lure of wealth. It is the controlling factor in most lives. And as we have seen repeatedly in this gospel – Jesus will be everything, or He will be nothing. You cannot serve both.