Luke 16:1-18
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Introduction
Introduction
[CONTEXT]
In Luke 14 Jesus called for total commitment from those that would follow Him as His disciples.
He said in Luke 14:26...
26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
And in 14:27...
27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
And He also said in Luke 14:33...
33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
This doesn’t mean that we aren’t allowed to own anything but we recognize that everything we have comes from Jesus and relinquish the use of everything we have to Jesus.
Then in Luke 15, Jesus gives us three parables—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son.
And we notice that while the point of each parable is God seeking and saving the lost and all of Heave rejoicing, each parable also mentions possessions.
The shepherd lost his sheep.
The woman lost her coin.
And the prodigal son squandered all his possessions on loose living.
That word ‘squandered’ shows up here in Luke 16 as well.
Just as the prodigal son knew it was time for action when he squandered all he had, so this unrighteous manager knows its time for action when he squanders his master’s possessions.
Follow along with me beginning in Luke 16:1...
[READING]
1 Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. 2 “And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 “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; I am ashamed to beg. 4 ‘I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ 5 “And he summoned each one of his master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 “And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 “Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 “And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. 9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings. 10 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. 11 “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? 12 “And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 “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. You cannot serve God and wealth.” 14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. 16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17 “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail. 18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.
[CIT/PROP]
The point of this passage is simple: There is a final accounting coming—a final accounting that we must prepare for—a final accounting that we must prepare for by entering into and investing in the Kingdom of Jesus.
[TS] First, let’s take a closer look at this parable...
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
The Parable (vv. 1-9)
The Parable (vv. 1-9)
We’ve read this parable twice now; Jesus is speaking to His disciples but the Pharisees are within earshot. As is often the case with the teachings of Jesus, instruction for His disciples doubles as a rebuke to the Pharisees.
Jesus tells the story of an unrighteous steward or manager who had squandered his master’s possessions. The master gets word of it and announces that he will soon remove the manager from his post. The manager panics because he won’t be employable as a manager any longer, he isn’t physically built for manual labor, and he is too proud to beg.
How will he eat?
How will he make it once the master kicks him out?
The manager gets an idea: he will call in the folks that owe the master money and he will reduce their bills. In turn, they will be grateful and feel obligated to the manager. When the master kicks him out, these folks will take the manager in.
The master gets word of this as well and praises the manager—not for his dishonesty or cheating— but for his shrewdness.
The manager’s actions were dishonest, manipulative, and caused by his own foolishness, but the master could appreciate the fact that at least the manager took steps to prepare for the end, the judgment, the final accounting that he knew was coming.
Jesus drives the point of the parable home in vv. 8-9...
8 “And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. 9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.
What’s Jesus getting at here?
Worldly people (i.e., the sons of this age; those like the unrighteous manager in this parable) are more shrewd, astute, clever, or we might even say wise in using worldly things to accomplish worldly purposes.
The disciples of Jesus (i.e., the sons of light) must learn to be just as shrewd in using wordly things to accomplish Kingdom purposes.
The disciple of Jesus is one who believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. It is one who has repented of sin and trusted in Jesus for forgiveness from God and righteousness before God. The disciple of Jesus is one who has given up everything and everyone to follow Him. The disciple of Jesus follows the Light of the World and is the light of the world. The disciple of Jesus has entered into the Kingdom of Jesus (i.e., the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven) and invests in the Kingdom of Jesus.
We enter into the Kingdom through faith in Jesus.
We invest in the Kingdom through obedience to Jesus.
Jesus gives us a clear command in v. 9...
9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.
The wealth of unrighteousness refers to material possessions here on earth.
We live in a sin-cursed world, and everything we own in it is to some degree tainted by unrighteousness. Houses crumble because of the curse of sin. Cars break down because of the curse of sin. Money runs out because of the curse of sin. It’s all cursed. It’s all temporary. In that way, it’s all unrighteous because truly righteous things never fail.
This is what Jesus gets in v. 11 when He contrasts unrighteous wealth with true riches. True riches are the treasures we store up in Heaven; they are the rewards we receive for faithfully following Jesus while on earth.
We are to use unrighteous wealth to make friends just as the unrighteous manager did, but we aren’t to do it by cheating our master and we aren’t to do it so that we will be welcomed by those friends here on earth.
We are to use unrighteous wealth—the material possessions we have here on earth—to make friends in Heaven (i.e., to lead people to Jesus) so that when the end comes and all the things of earth fail, those friends will be there to receive us when we arrive in Heaven.
In the case of the unrighteous manager, unrighteous wealth was used to make temporary friends so they would help him when his earthly master kicked him out.
In the case of Jesus’s disciples, unrighteous wealth should be used to make eternal friends (i.e., brothers and sisters in Christ) who will receive them when their eternal Master welcomes them home.
Ask yourself this question the next time you’re about to spend some money, “Am I investing in the Kingdom or squandering the Master’s possessions?”
We use earthly goods to invest in the Kingdom when we use them to take care of ourselves.
First Thessalonians 4:11-12 says...
11 to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 so that you may walk properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone.
Squandering the master’s goods leads to a sinful dependence on others.
We use earthly goods to invest in the Kingdom when we use them to take care of the needy.
Ephesians 4:28 says...
28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
We’ve all stolen from the Master in that we’ve all to some degree squandered the possessions He has given us. But no longer! If we are disciples of Jesus, we now labor or work to have something with which to help those who are in legitimate need!
We use earthly goods to invest in the Kingdom when we use them to push forward the good news about Jesus.
We want to be like the Christians in the Philippian church that pushed forward the good news about Jesus by supporting the Apostle Paul.
In Philippians 4:15-16, Paul writes...
15 You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; 16 for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.
Then he writes in v. 18...
18 But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.
We squander the Master’s possessions when we don’t support the advance of the Gospel.
When we do invest in the advance of the Gospel we invest in our own heavenly welcome home party.
So, how are you using your unrighteous wealth? How are you using your earthly possessions? Are you squandering what the Master has given you or are you investing in the Kingdom by taking care of yourself, taking care of the needy, and advancing the Gospel?
[TS] That’s The Parable. Next, let’s look at Two Principles related to it.
Two Principles (vv. 10-13)
Two Principles (vv. 10-13)
10 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. 11 “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? 12 “And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 “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. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
A principle is a fundamental truth, and Jesus gives us one in v. 10 and another in v. 13, both related to God and possessions.
The principle in v. 10 is the faithfulness principle—if your faithful with a little, you’ll be faithful with a lot.
This principle is further explained by vv. 11-12, which say that the little we must be faithful with is our unrighteous wealth or earthly possessions, which are given to us by God.
If we aren’t faithful with what He has given us here on earth, God will not reward us with true riches in Heaven.
The principle in v. 13 is the service principle—you are a servant and a servant has only one master; you cannot serve God and wealth.
Your translation may say ‘God and money’ or ‘God and mammon,’ which is the Greek word for wealth or money.
Rather than using money to serve God, some people use themselves to serve money. No matter how much they have, they constantly think about money, constantly strive to get more money, and generally think that the whole point of life is get as much money as possible before you do.
Such a person is innately stingy and unwilling to use his material possessions to serve God by investing in the Kingdom, and by his refusal he proves that wealth, money—mammon is his true master. It’s his idol.
We can’t help but think of the rich young ruler here, can we?
He came to Jesus asking, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus referred to the ‘love your neighbor’ commands in the Ten Commandments. The rich young ruler said that he had kept all those from his youth. Then Jesus referred him to the ‘love the Lord your God’ commands in the Ten Commandments—really to just the first one that says, “You shall have no other god before me.”
Jesus did this by telling the rich young ruler that if he would be saved, he needed to go sell his possessions and come follow Jesus.
The rich young ruler walked away sad because he had great possessions, and those possessions owned him.
He wouldn’t follow Jesus because he already had a master—his stuff.
His wealth was the idol that he had put before God.
Who are you serving? God or stuff? God or money? God or wealth?
If we serve God, we will faithfully use the stuff He has given to us to invest in the Kingdom; we will faithfully use our earthly possessions to take care of ourselves, take care of the needy, and advance the Gospel.
If we serve our stuff, we will just horde it for ourselves until our life ends.
Only then we will discover how foolish we have been to store up treasure for ourselves, rather than being rich toward God by investing in the Kingdom.
[TS] And finally this morning, let’s look at The Pharisees in vv. 14-18...
The Pharisees (vv. 14-18)
The Pharisees (vv. 14-18)
14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. 16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17 “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail. 18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.
To scoff is to ridicule. Why were the Pharisees scoffing at Jesus? Why were they ridiculing what He had just said? Luke gives us the answer in v. 14: they were lovers of money.
They loved money more than God, and although they liked to make a show of using their money for supposedly godly purposes, God knew their hearts. Their self-serving, false generosity may have been applauded by men, but it was detestable in the sight of God.
Now, at this point, the Pharisees may have wanted to appeal to the Law. They may have wanted to argue that everything they did with their wealth was permitted under the Law of God.
But they often confused their traditions with God’s Law, and those who make excuses for their sinfulness by way of their traditions will not enter the Kingdom of Jesus.
When King Jesus came preaching, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel,” (Mark 1:15), many people did just that—they entered the Kingdom through faith in Jesus without delay. Upon hearing that God’s save sinners in Jesus Christ, they, in effect, beat down the doors to get into the Kingdom. They came in with force.
But to enter, they had to repent of their sin. They had been measured against the Law and Prophets—against God’s holy Word—and they saw that they fell short. The Law wasn’t going to fail in condemning them as sinners, so they did the only thing they could do—they came to Jesus for salvation.
But the Pharisees (at least most of them) did something else: they convinced themselves that they weren’t really sinners because they kept their traditions—traditions that excused their sin in regard to money and marriage among other things.
It might seem like v. 18 with its talk about divorce comes out of nowhere, but I think Jesus mentions it here as an example of how the Pharisees used their traditions to excuse their breaking of God’s Law.
God instituted marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman to last a lifetime in Genesis 2 (cf., vv. 23-24). Moses permitted divorce, but that was not apart of God’s original design for the covenant of marriage, and Jesus interpreted Moses (i.e., the Law) to mean that divorce was permitted only in cases of adultery (c.f., Matt. 19:8-9).
The Pharisees, however, took Moses’s permission to divorce in cases of adultery as a justification of divorce for any reason.
One rabbi taught that if a wife spoiled her husband’s dinner, her husband could divorce her.
Another taught that if the husband found someone prettier, he could divorce his wife.
All that was required was certificate of divorce.
By their tradition (i.e., their twisted way of interpreting God’s Law) they were excusing their sinfulness in regard to marriage, divorce, and remarriage.
And they did the same sort of thing when it came to money.
For example, the Law said that they weren’t to charge any interest to a fellow Jewish person who wanted to borrow money (Deut. 23:19). The Pharisees, however, interpreted this to mean that they couldn’t charge interest to any fellow Jew who was needy and then they basically said that the needy were the ones who had absolutely nothing.
Thus, by way of their tradition (i.e., their twisted interpretation) they were able to charge interest to essentially everyone.
Or consider Mark 7, where Jesus says to the Pharisees and scribes...
8 “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” 9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.
And then Jesus gives this example...
10 “For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to be put to death’; 11 but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ 12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
The Pharisees didn’t use their earthly goods—their unrighteous wealth—to invest in the Kingdom; they squandered what the Master had entrusted to them on themselves. And then they excused their sinfulness by twisting God’s Word.
[TS] …
Conclusion
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, Jesus is clear. If we have entered the Kingdom through faith in Him, He expects us to use what we have to invest in the Kingdom so that others might trust in Him.
We must be faithful with what we have.
We must serve God with what we have.
We must not hide behind our excuses.
We must not be lovers of money as the Pharisees were—for as the Word of God warns us…
10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
So, choose this day whom you will serve: God or stuff—for a man cannot have two masters.