The Unjust Manager

Intro

This summer we have looked at some of the big parables such as the Good Samaritan and the Lost Sons

Tonight will be our final night in the parables and we will transition in September into a new series

But have no fear, we will come back to the parables

All in, there are about 70 parables in Jesus’ teaching

Next summer we will return for a Summer in the Parables and look at more of those 70 parables

A Tough Parable

A couple of weeks ago I said that parables were sometimes used to communicate a truth that some would understand, while others would not

Some of the parables are pretty straightforward

In the parable of the treasure hidden in a field, we have a guy who finds the treasure

We can then ask: who is the guy that finds the treasure and what is that treasure that he finds?

Or in the Good Samaritan, Jesus was answering the question, “And who is my neighbor?”

Again, pretty straightforward, if still tough for us to live out the full implications of the parable

But tonight we come to maybe the most difficult of Jesus’ parables

If parables were used to communicate a truth that some would understand and some would not, this definitely qualifies as one of those that many have struggled to understand

Me personally? This one really wrecked me in high school

I remember reading it one day my senior year of high school and it totally messing with me

Could Jesus really be condoning the unjust and clearly unethical actions taken by the central character of the story?

I raced out of school that day and went to a youth leader’s house and asked him for help because this was a tough one

And if you told me that you have never heard a sermon on the Unjust Manager or the Shrewd Steward (the two names often given to this parable), then I wouldn’t be surprised

I might actually be more surprised if you told you have heard a sermon on this passage

The range of potential meanings has been all over the place and it has been interpreted a variety of ways throughout history

Even more, commentators have disagreed on where the parable ends

Does it end at the end of verse 7, middle of 8, after verse 8, including verse 9, or including 10-13?

So what I am sharing tonight are my own conclusions as I’ve been studying this parable

Transition

One final thought before we read our passage from Luke 16

It’s what we refer to as the principle of selectivity

That is, the Bible doesn’t tell us everything it could tell us, not even about the life of Jesus

We don’t know what kind of cake he had for his 6th birthday or his favorite bedtime story his mom told him or even how long he had been walking on the water before he was spotted

But the principle of selectivity tells us that the biblical authors, inspired by the Holy Spirit, recorded exactly what God wanted them to record and everything that was recorded has a reason it was selected

So even as we come to a tougher parable, we can do so

Trusting that God’s word is true

And that there is a message for us today in this parable

With that, let’s turn to Luke 16:1-9

Scripture Reading: Luke 16:1-9

Luke 16:1–9 ESV

He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

Pray

Transition

Before we get into this story that Jesus told, let’s look at the connection with Luke 15 and the stories we spent the last few times looking at

Luke 16:1 “He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.”

Two observations

First, the word “squander” here, is the same word used in Luke 15 to describe the son who left squandering the wealth of his father

Second, notice especially the word “also”

In some translations it is translated as “continued”

That is, this story comes right on the heels of the last 3 stories Jesus told

In the stories of lost things - sheep, coin, sons - Jesus was talking specifically to the Pharisees and scribes - the religious elites - while the regular people - the tax collectors and sinners - listened in

Here Jesus flips it

After talking to the religious elites, he continues on with another story, but this time talking to the disciples, the people that were listening in the first time

And it is the religious elites turn to listen in

So Jesus is talking to his followers, not just his closest disciples, but a group of people who wanted to learn from Jesus

Recap

unjust but effective

who is Jesus talking to in this parable?