Heart Test
INTRO: Tests - any kind of test but most tests test your knowledge… this passage is a test of your heart
“an article which may be used as a universal passport to everywhere except heaven, and as a universal provider for everything except happiness.” The writer might have added that money is also a provoker of covetousness and competition, a wonderful servant but a terrible master.
This particular steward forgot that he was a steward and began to act as if he were the owner. He became a “prodigal steward” who wasted his master’s wealth. His master heard about it and immediately asked for an inventory of his goods and an audit of his books. He also fired his steward.
This parable, especially the applications at the end, argues that the use of resources is a litmus test of spiritual stewardship.
Of the nearly forty parables told by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospels, about one third of them deal in some way with money. That money played such a prominent role in the teaching of Jesus is not surprising, since it has a dominant role in society and the lives of individuals. People spend much of their time thinking about money; how to acquire it, spend it, save it, invest it, borrow it, keep track of it, and sometimes give it away. The widespread preoccupation with money that dominates today’s society results in anxiety, covetousness, selfishness, greediness, discontent, idolatry, and pride.
Many well-to-do landowners had managers to oversee their estates; these managers, or stewards, could be slaves or, as here (16:3–4), free persons. Squandering another’s possessions was considered a particularly despicable crime (cf. 15:13).
Although the master has dismissed this manager, the master gives him some time to get the accounts together before he leaves. The manager uses this time to procure favor for himself with others to whose houses he may join himself afterward; ancients were very conscious of favors they owed. He uses the master’s authority even though he can no longer legally exercise it.
Both digging and begging were considered undignified professions. Digging was usually performed by captive slaves or those who knew no other skills, and was viewed as the most difficult form of labor.
16:6–7. The measure of olive oil (100 baths, about 850 gallons) represented the yield of nearly 150 trees and was worth about 1,000 denarii, no small sum. The measure of wheat (100 cors, about 1,000 bushels) represented the yield of about 100 acres and was worth about 2,500 denarii. The percentages of debt forgiven differ, but roughly the same amount of money is forgiven in each of the sample transactions (about 500 denarii). These renters are all relatively well-to-do in their own right, and thus might make use of a manager themselves in the future.
All these changes of notes required only small marks on the papers, made by the clients themselves; and if the projected income thereby appears less, it will be harder to recognize that the master’s profits affected by the manager’s embezzlements are really diminished.
More important, the manager has gained public favor for himself and for the master as a generous benefactor; if the master punishes the manager now, it would appear to the public that he were doing so because of the manager’s benevolent act. The criminal manager could be jailed, but he wisely stakes everything on his master’s honor as a generous man. Ancient stories often portray powerful persons as appreciating and rewarding cunning, even if it had been used against them (“wisely”—KJV—can mean “shrewdly”—NIV, NASB, etc.; cf. Ex 1:10).
. The moral of the story is: Use possessions to serve people, because you are only God’s managers of anything you have. “Mammon” (KJV) is an Aramaic word for possessions or money.
Suggested possibilities include these: (1) The amount taken off the account is not part of the original debt but is the commission or interest that rightly belongs to the manager. (2) Since the manager earlier shamed his master (v. 1), his distributing his master’s wealth may restore his master’s status as an honorable benefactor. (3) The manager uses “wealth to gain friends” (v. 9) and thus can form a network that provides for him when he is unemployed.
was wasting his goods. His prodigality is a thread that ties this parable to the preceding one. Like the younger son in the earlier parable, this steward was guilty of wasting the resources available to him. Unlike the prodigal, however, he had enough sense to make sure that his wastefulness did not leave him friendless and unprovided for in the future.
“Manager” (oikonomos, v. 1, often tr. “steward”)
We have heard him in the jolting woe of the Sermon on the Plain (“Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort,” 6:24) and in the pungent Parable of the Rich Fool in 12:13–21. Now Jesus raised the issue again in the successive parables of the dishonest manager (16:1–13) and the rich man and Lazarus (16:19–31) and not much later in the account of the rich ruler (18:18–30), followed by the story of Zacchaeus who gave half his possessions to the poor (19:1–9). Jesus has indeed spoken on the issue!
Phronimōs (shrewdly) means to act wisely and with insight. The manager took advantage of his opportunity, carefully working the situation to his own advantage. Since the debtors were now obligated to him, his future was secure.
Sinners are more skilled and diligent in securing their temporal future in this present age than those whose citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20) are in securing their eternal reward in the age to come. Believers should be far more shrewd in preparing for their eternal futures.
That is, people in the world give more thought to their physical well-being than the righteous do to their spiritual well-being.
He develops the point by a specific example in verse 9. Wealth of this world should be used generously to gain friends, so that when the resources are gone, that disciple will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Monetary resources, which possess a power to distort values, should be put to generous and serving use, so that heaven will be pleased to accept the one who has been generous. God honors those who are generous. When the end comes and no more money is available, the one who has seen into the future and acted prudently will have handled the resources and stewardship God has given wisely. Zacchaeus is a positive example of this (19:1–10).
16:8b–13. In three ways Jesus applied the parable to His disciples who had to live with nonbelievers in the world. First, one should use money to win people into the kingdom (vv. 8b–9).
The thief says, “What’s yours is mine—I’ll take it!” The selfish man says, “What’s mine is mine—I’ll keep it!” But the Christian must say, “What’s mine is a gift from God—I’ll share it!” We are stewards and we must use our abilities to win the lost, encourage the saints, and meet the needs of hurting people.
6:17–19 Paul counsels Timothy what to teach those who are rich in material possessions, those who have more than the mere essentials of food, clothing, and shelter. Paul does not condemn such people, nor command them to get rid of their wealth. He does call them to be good stewards of their God-given resources (cf. Deut. 8:18; 1 Sam. 2:7; 1 Chr. 29:12).
Those who have much tend to trust in their wealth (cf. Prov. 23:4, 5). But God provides far more security than any earthly investment can ever give (Eccl. 5:18–20; Matt. 6:19–21).
6:18 ready to give. The Gr. word means “liberal,” or “bountiful.” Those believers who have money must use it in meeting the needs of others, unselfishly and generously (see notes on Acts 4:32–37; 2 Cor. 8:1–4).
wasting. This connects this parable with the previous one, in which the younger son “squandered his wealth” (15:13). This manager was “accused of” committing the same mistake and thus bringing shame to his master.
it is a mis-valuing of what is truly valuable. The Pharisees are described here in a way that is true of all of us—we are “lovers of money” (v. 14). Money is valued and sought because of the pleasure and honor it brings. Jesus points out that even though wealth brings honor with other people, God sees and cares about our hearts (cf. 1 Sam. 16:7). Even more strongly, this human valuing of wealth and what it brings is actually despised by God (Luke 16:15)
“the people of the light” (cf. John 12:36; Eph 5:8; 1 Thess 5:5) give up all that they have to follow Jesus at this critical moment in the history of salvation.
“the people of the light” (cf. John 12:36; Eph 5:8; 1 Thess 5:5) give up all that they have to follow Jesus at this critical moment in the history of salvation.
more shrewd. I.e., most unbelievers are wiser in the ways of the world than some believers (“sons of light,” cf. John 12:36; Eph. 5:18) are toward the things of God.
16:9 unrighteous mammon. I.e., money. The unjust steward used his master’s money to buy earthly friends; believers are to use their Master’s money in a way that will accrue friends for eternity—by investing in the kingdom gospel that brings sinners to salvation, so that when they arrive in heaven (“an everlasting home”), those sinners will be there to welcome them. Christ did not commend the man’s dishonesty; He pointedly called him “unjust” (v. 8). He only used him as an illustration to show that even the most wicked sons of this world are shrewd enough to provide for themselves against coming evil. Believers ought to be more shrewd, because they are concerned with eternal matters, not just earthly ones. Cf. 12:33; Matt. 6:19–21.
The text does not say that the manager’s action in writing off the debts was dishonest. Rather the word “dishonest” may be used here because it serves a double purpose. First, it refers back to his initial act of mishandling the master’s funds. Yet even one who had thus acted could do something commendable.
The reason the manager was now commended, though he had previously acted dishonestly, may be that he had at last learned how one’s worldly wealth can be wisely given away to do good. This assumption is reasonable if Fitzmyer’s suggestion (Semitic Background, pp. 175–76) is correct that the amount taken off the bills in vv. 5–7 was not part of the debt owed the master but rather represented the interest the manager himself was charging. Though this would have been contrary to Jewish law (Exod 22:25; Lev 25:36–37; Deut 15:7–8; 23:19–20), charging a poor Jew such interest (actually usury) was often rationalized. The bill would be written in terms of the commodity rather than in monetary figures, with the interest hidden in the total. By law a master could not be held accountable for illegal acts of an employee. So the master in the parable was in a position to view the manager’s activities objectively. If this explanation is correct, the manager’s transaction was not illegal. In any event, the master would lose no money if the amount forfeited was simply the interest the manager would have gained. Furthermore, such a forgiveness of debts would hardly have hurt but would probably have helped the master’s own reputation. Therefore, the master admires the manager’s shrewdness. The manager knew his job and reputation were gone because of his previous mishandling of funds. He needed friends; and, by foregoing the customary interest, he won friends among the creditors. Jesus then uses this story to show that the “people of the light” could also accomplish much by wisely giving up some of their “worldly wealth.”
The amounts owed were large; the wheat is said to be equal to the yield of about one hundred acres (Jeremias, Parables of Jesus, p. 181).
The actual value of the reduction in each case has been computed to equal about five hundred denarii, roughly eighty dollars, or sixteen months’ wages for a day laborer.
The steward knew he would lose his job. He could not change the past, but he could prepare for the future. How? By making friends of his master’s creditors so that they would take him in when his master threw him out. He gave each of them a generous discount, provided they paid up immediately, and they were only too glad to cooperate. Even his master complimented him on his clever plan (Luke 16:8).
Jesus did not commend the steward for robbing his master or for encouraging others to be dishonest. Jesus commended the man for his wise use of opportunity. “The children of this world” are experts at seizing opportunities for making money and friends and getting ahead.
The NIV gives a modern equivalent of the ancient measure, literally a hundred measures (batous) of olive oil. The exact amount is uncertain, but it would have been around eight to nine hundred gallons.
The master commended the dishonest manager. This is a surprising and unexpected twist in the story. Jesus’ skill as a storyteller is clearly shown here. “Master” here can refer either to the rich man in the parable (16:1–3, 5) or to Jesus.
The first bill involves a hundred baths of olive oil (more than eight hundred gallons). The oil would have cost one thousand denarii, or a little over three years’ salary for an average wage earner. The man who has the debt is not an average wage earner, but the debt can still be appreciated as a significant one. By eliminating the manager’s commission, the debt is reduced by half. Needless to say, this deflationary trend would not have been resisted! The second example concerns a thousand bushels of wheat, representing the yield of about a hundred acres and costing 2,500–3,000 denarii, anywhere from just over eight to nine and a half years’ wage. This bill is reduced to slightly over eight hundred bushels. Again, the manager sacrifices his commission. The reduction is significant and would be met with much appreciation.
The Old and New Testament have much to say about how people in need should be seen and cared for (see Matt. 25:31–46; James 2:14–16).
In Jesus’ tale, the terminated man was a scoundrel and wastrel, and he deserved what he got. His boss didn’t waste any words: “What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer” (v. 2). In todayterms, “Give me all your records, and clean out your desk. You’re outta here!” This is depressing, even if you are a crook.
“Yes!” In order to get the sense of just how clever this was, we must understand that it was illegal in Jewish culture to charge interest to fellow Jews (cf. Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:36; Deuteronomy 23:19). There was no such thing as principal and interest. So they would hide the business interest by hiding it in the loan, so that the principal included the interest. It was not unknown to charge as much as 100 percent interest on profitable commodities. The manager, according to common, accepted business practice, was making such usurious loans, just like everyone else.
Thus the solution: “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred’ ” (vv. 5, 6). The truth is, the debtor actually only owed 400 gallons of oil. The other 400 were the manager’s commission. The debt had been large (800 gallons was the yield of 146 olive trees). Accordingly, the debt reduction was massive.
Joseph A. Fitzmeyer, The Gospel According to Luke, II (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981), p. 1101 explains:
This does not mean a cancellation of half the debt or a falsification of accounts, pace J. Jeremias, Parables, 181. It means that the debtor actually owed the master only fifty jugs of oil, and that the other fifty were the manager’s commission. The amount of interest (100%) seems exorbitant; it may be nothing more than the (fantastically) high figures used in parabolic stories (see J. Jeremias, Parables, 28, 181), but J. D. M. Derritt (Law, 69–72) has tried to show that the interest of 100% is not unknown (in Indian sources!).
“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred’ ” (v. 7). Here he wrote off a 20 percent commission on a less inflationary commodity.
The manager did this with “each one of his masters’ debtors” (v. 5)—and every one of them thus became his debtor.
While the disciples were admiring the surprise turn in the story, Jesus turned it on them, perhaps with a smile himself: “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light” (v. 8b). The dishonest manager had faced reality. He refused to live with his head in the sand. If he did not do something fast, he would be out on the street. He used all his intelligence, wit, and energy to insure his earthly comfort. In contrast, “the people of the light” stand on the edge of eternity but lack the vision, foresight, and strength of will to do anything about it—especially in their relationships with others. If only Christians would give as much attention to the things that concern eternity as they do to their worldly business.… If only we would be as spiritually shrewd as the corrupt manager was in temporal pursuits.
Others think “friends” refers to people who have been spiritually benefited by one’s wealth. The word may include both God and redeemed humanity welcoming a newly departed and generous believer to glory. What a picture! God, his angels, and grateful souls—eternal friends, those who have heard the gospel because of one’s giving—greeting and leading a faithful believer into the eternal tents. St. Ambrose said, “The bosoms of the poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of children are the barns which last forever.”
We must also use our possessions to gain eternal friends. It is not enough to give money—we must devote our personal belongings to making eternal friends as well. The mere giving of money can be so sanitized and insulating, but when we use our homes for others, so that our personal space is loaned to others, when we use our vacation homes to refresh others, or let others borrow our cars, then we have begun to touch upon what Christ says.
One thing is sure: our worldly wealth will go somewhere—we cannot hang on to it.
The Lord calls for Christians to use their money for eternal purposes to produce a heavenly reward. In the familiar words of the Sermon on the Mount, He commanded,
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt. 6:19–21)
Where they invest their
Some, like the poor widow described in Luke 21:1–4, who have nothing give everything; others who have everything give nothing. The issue is not finances, but integrity and spiritual character. Those who are faithful with the very little they have would be faithful if they had more; those who are unrighteous—selfish, proud, indulgent—in the use of what little they have would be so if they had much. The determining factor is not how much people possess, but how strong their commitment to the gospel of salvation is.
True discipleship is reflected not by the amount with which one is entrusted but by the way one uses it.
16:11 true riches. Faithful use of one’s earthly wealth is repeatedly tied to the accumulation of treasure in heaven (cf. 12:33; 18:22; Matt. 16:19–21).
16:9 unrighteous mammon. I.e., money. The unjust steward used his master’s money to buy earthly friends; believers are to use their Master’s money in a way that will accrue friends for eternity—by investing in the kingdom gospel that brings sinners to salvation, so that when they arrive in heaven (“an everlasting home”), those sinners will be there to welcome them. Christ did not commend the man’s dishonesty; He pointedly called him “unjust” (v. 8). He only used him as an illustration to show that even the most wicked sons of this world are shrewd enough to provide for themselves against coming evil. Believers ought to be more shrewd, because they are concerned with eternal matters, not just earthly ones. Cf. 12:33; Matt. 6:19–21.
Jesus’ second application is in verses 10–12. If one is faithful in his use of money, then he can be trusted with greater things. True riches (v. 11) seem to refer to the kingdom’s spiritual riches of which the disciples will partake.
16:11 Worldly wealth. A slightly different expression is used here from 16:9, but the meaning is the same. Since it is the use of this worldly wealth, not the possession of it which is condemned, worldly wealth is in itself neutral. The rich fool in the next parable is not culpable because he was wealthy but because he did not use his wealth to love God and his neighbor, Lazarus.
True riches. Literally the true. This probably is best understood as heavenly reward (12:33; 18:22) rather than the stewardship of the gospel.
Property of your own. This stands in parallelism with “true riches” in 16:11 and likewise refers to heavenly reward.
Verse 11 means that if you have not been faithful with money, “worldly wealth,” God will not trust you with true spiritual riches—the care of souls, missions, evangelism, the oversight of his church.
How shrewd and calculated are we with our wealth so we can make sure we are gaining eternal friends to welcome us to Heaven?
It must begin with giving. Dr. Carl F. H. Henry, the dean of evangelical theologians, was asked in a 1990 interview, “One of the major weaknesses, perhaps, of the Western church is our affluence. What kind of crippling effect has this had on the Western church and what can we do to remedy that?”
Dr. Henry answered:
I don’t think that God despises riches; in fact, He gives them to us. What He despises is the misuse of them, and He rewards stewardship. Even Christian missions owe a great debt to the consecrated and often sacrificial philanthropy of well-to-do Christian leaders. What we need to do is enlarge the vision and burden of those to whom God has given much so they understand that they have an opportunity that is rare in the history of Christianity to substantially advance the way of Christ.
Our giving must be matched by the sharing of all we have for the well-being and refreshment of God’s people and the proclamation of the gospel.
Loving money is destructive (1 Tim. 6:9), numbering among its victims Achan (Josh. 7:1–25), Balaam (Num. 22–24), Judas (Matt. 26:24; Acts 1:25), and Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5:1–10). Loving money leads to a lack of trust in God (Job 31:24–28; Prov. 11:28; 1 Tim. 6:17), results in ungratefulness and pride (Deut. 8:12–17), and causes people to behave foolishly (Luke 12:16–21), rob God (Mal. 3:8), and be indifferent to the needs of others (1 John 3:17).
Far from being legalistic, giving is to be willing, joyful, eager, enthusiastic, and from the heart. It is also to be secret, unlike the showy public giving of legalists and hypocrites (Matt. 6:2–4), regular and systematic (1 Cor. 16:1–2), and motivated by love, not legalistic compulsion (2 Cor. 8:8).
The accusation eventually reached the rich man that his manager was squandering (the same word used in 15:13 to describe the younger son’s wasting his share of the estate) his possessions.
One hundred measures of olive oil was 875 gallons, or the yield of about 150 olive trees, and was worth about one thousand denarii—more than three years’ wages for a common laborer.
(a hundred measures of wheat would have been equivalent to eight to ten years’ wages for a common laborer).
Pharisees … loved money. In Luke’s perspective, this is one of the most severe criticisms Jesus can level. In light of v. 13, the Pharisees are accused of hating God.
16:13 You cannot serve God and mammon. Many of the Pharisees taught that devotion to money and devotion to God were perfectly compatible (v. 14). This went hand-in-hand with the commonly-held notion that earthly riches signified divine blessing. Rich people were therefore regarded as God’s favorites (see note on Matt. 19:24). While not condemning wealth per se, Christ denounced both love of wealth and devotion to mammon. On the love of money, see notes on 1 Tim. 6:9, 10, 17–19.
19:24 camel … eye of a needle. I.e., it is impossible. Jesus was underscoring the impossibility of anyone’s being saved by merit. Since wealth was deemed proof of God’s approval, and those who had it could give more alms, it was commonly thought that rich people were the most likely candidates for heaven (see note on Mark 10:25). Jesus destroyed that notion, and along with it, the notion that anyone can merit enough divine favor to gain entrance into heaven. See note on v. 25.
This chapter includes two parables about wealth. The first parable (vv. 1–13) was spoken primarily to the disciples (v. 1). The second parable (vv. 19–31) was addressed to the Pharisees because of their response (vv. 14–18) to the first parable.
What is stated here is that the exclusive loyalty Jesus demands cannot be shared. Gospel of Thomas 47 introduces this saying with “It is impossible for a man to ride two horses [and] to stretch two bows.”