Chap 16_Luke

Luke 16:1–7 (HCSB)

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

16Luke 16:1–7 (HCSB)

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

OOOOOOOOOO 16 He also said to the disciples: “There was a rich man who received an accusation that his manager was squandering his possessions. 2 So he called the manager in and asked, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you can no longer be my manager.’

3 “Then the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig; I’m ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I’ll do so that when I’m removed from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’

5 “So he summoned each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first one.

6 “ ‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he said.

“ ‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘sit down quickly, and write 50.’

7 “Next he asked another, ‘How much do you owe?’

“ ‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he said.

“ ‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘and write 80.’

So a rich man received bad reports about his manager. It appears that the manager was inept, not tending towards his duty, or possibly paying too much. There is no hint of corruption or stealing, but not fulfilling his duties is an indication that he is not above stealing as will be shown. His manager’s reputation is tarnished, but he is asked to explain. But he is fired. Squandering or wasting resources is not accepted [ previously the prodigal son].

The fired manager is fearful but also shrewd. He must be older or not strong. He worked with his cleverness. How will he survive without this position. So he uses the uncollected rents to incur an obligation from his master’s debtors. He cuts them a deal and reduces their payoff and thereby paying for some future favors. So he steals from what is owed to his master to reduce the debtor’s payoff.Was it corruption, or not paying attention to details, or skimming off the top.

OOOOOOOOOO Luke 16:8–13 (HCSB)

8 “The master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted astutely. For the sons of this age are more astute than the sons of light in dealing with their own people. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of the unrighteous money so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings. 10 Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much. 11 So if you have not been faithful with the unrighteous money, who will trust you with what is genuine? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own? 13 No household slave can be the slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t be slaves to both God and money.”

The master sees the amounts of grain and olive oil coming in as payments and thinks that he fired manager is now doing his job and collecting what is owed. More than likely, the manager who collects the monthly payments is the only one who is actually knows what is the outstanding debt incurred by for each person. The master unaware that he is being cheated again for services that were due, commends the manager. He praises the manager for knowing how to profit from the world.

One commentator said that this was a tale of 3 rascals. You had those carrying debt and looking for a way to sneak out of repayment, you had the deceptive, fraudulent manage who was also setting himself in position to blackmail those who participated in cheating the owner r, and you had the rich master which applauded the use of worldly methods.

The business sense of dealing with the world is not a strength of the sons of light. But they should become shrewd, wise, for God’s wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things. But believers become children of light, but not in order to cheat others Ephesians 5:8–10 (HCSB)8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light — 9 for the fruit of the light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth — 10 discerning what is pleasing to the Lord.

.... And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of the unrighteous money so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings. And believers can use unrighteous money for the kingdom. You can make friends using this money. When it fails you, you will have friends to support you. You can improve the lives of others- grants, libraries, public aid,For what purpose = so that when the wealth of the world fails them - doesn’t save them they will welcome you into heaven. But remember that unrighteous money is a tool, and you are never to serve it.

...11 So if you have not been faithful with the unrighteous money, who will trust you with what is genuine? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own? If you cannot be entrusted with the wealth of the world, then how can you be entrusted with the true wealth of the kingdom. A believer must be honest in all dealings. You purpose, your destiny if you choose it , is to serve God in all things. Even your dealings with mammon is to serve God.

If you cannot deal with the world’s wealth in a righteous way, then how can you deal with true wealth, if you steal from the world; then how will you take care of what is yours?

.... No household slave can be the slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t be slaves to both God and money.” There is no compromise. There is no fence straddling! Unlike today’s gig economy where we earn money from various sources and bosses, a slave was exclusively owned by one master.

Who are you going to serve? Wrote The Times They Are A-Changin’ 9. . ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ ’ ,‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’ , . ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’.Bob Dylan from his early days after becoming a Christian “ 1979 studio album Slow Train Coming. It won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Male in 1979. n the late 1970s, Bob Dylan converted from Judaism to Christianity and recorded a trilogy of Gospel albums for which he won a Grammy. He later changed back to Judaism

You may be an ambassador To England or France You might like to gamble You might like to dance You may be the heavyweight Champion of the world You might be a socialite With a long string of pearls

But you're gonna have to serve somebody Yes indeed, you're gonna have to serve somebody Well it may be the Devil Or it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody

Might be a Rock-n-roll addict Prancing on the stage Money, Drugs at your command Women in a cage You may be a businessman Or some high degree thief They may call you doctor Or they may call you chief

But you're gonna have to serve somebody Yes you are, you're gonna have to serve somebody Well it may be the Devil Or it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody

You may be a state trooper You might be a young Turk You may be the head Of some big TV network You may be rich or poor You may be blind or lame Maybe livin' in another Country Under another name

But you're gonna have to serve somebody Yes you are, you're gonna have to serve somebody Well it may be the Devil Or it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody

Maybe a construction worker Workin' on a home Might be livin' in a Mansion You might live in a dome You may own guns And you may even own tanks You may be someone's landlord You may even own banks

But you're gonna have to serve somebody Yes, you're gonna have to serve somebody Well it may be the Devil Or it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody

You may be a Preacher Preaching Spiritual Pride Maybe a City Councilman Takin' bribes on the side Maybe working in a Barbershop You may know how to cut hair You may be somebody's mistress Maybe somebody's heir

But you're gonna have to serve somebody Yes, you're gonna have to serve somebody Well it may be the Devil Or it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody

Might like to wear cotton Might like to wear silk Might like to drink whiskey Might like to drink milk Might like to eat caviar You might like to eat bread Maybe sleeping on the floor Sleepin' in a king-size bed

But you're gonna have to serve somebody Yes indeed, you're gonna have to serve somebody Well it may be the Devil Or it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody

You may call me Terry You may call me Timmy You may call me Bobby Or you may call me Zimmy You may call me RJ You may call me Ray You may call me anything No matter what you say

You're still gonna have to serve somebody Yes, you're gonna have to serve somebody Well it may be the Devil And it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody

Ohh Yeah Serve Somebody

The unadulterated message from Jesus is that God is the only salvation, God is God. The things of world are excluded from the kingdom.

OOOOOOOOOO Luke 16:14–15 (HCSB) Kingdom Values

14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and scoffing at Him. 15 And He told them: “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight. The Sadducees were even more drawn to commercial wealth, but Jesus is saying that the Pharisees were also drawn to mamon. The mocked Jesus as they listened to him. They cannot come out directly and oppose him for he always wins and these large crowds support him. These crowds are not only a threat, but it is those whose approval they need. They want the crowds to support them. They are honored in the markets or the synagogues. They yearn for the prestige given to them by the people.

But their actions don’t cover their heart. God sees through the screen of propriety and feigned holiness. Don’t try to con the Man. What pleases the people is an insult to God. It is revolting, a better word is abomination in the Greek. It is detestable, disgusting, hated thing.

OOOOOOOOOO Luke 16:16–17 (HCSB)

16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to drop out. Jesus clarifies that John was the last prophet. But now a new prophecy is being realized and the Kingdom of God is being announced. And people are urged to enter in to it. Some translations say forces theri way in or urgently pressed into the kingdom. The word for enter is in the Present Indicative Middle tense. This means that something is occurring while the speaker is making the assertion. So this is another example that reveals that the kingdom is up and operational at the time of Jesus. It is not a some day thing.

So Jesus is affirming the the law and the Prophets , but he says John was the last prophet but the law will always be here even in the smallest part of the law.

Matthew 5:17–18 (HCSB}Christ Fulfills the Law 17 “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished.jot and tittle The very smallest detail (s) or amount (s). "Jot," derived from the word for the Greek letter "iota," is a small amount, while a "tittle" is the dot over a lowercase.

Jesus said that the law would never be done away with.Jesus says that he came to fulfill the law. The enhanced, kingdom progression of the law generally increased or raised the bar. The ceremonial requirements were rescinded since the ultimate sacrifice was made by Jesus and no more neutering the effects of sin required.

But not one small part of the law is dropped. Later rabbis told the story that when God changed Sarai’s name to Sarah, the “yod” the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet that was removed, they complained to God for generations till he reinserted it in Joshua’s name. They used this as an illustration that the law was sacred and one could not regard any part as being too small to be worth keeping.

The Muslims look upon the Koran as something eternal and sacred. That is why the original language is considered sacred. Even though it is eternal, I don’t know that they consider the law as god. I suppose you could have one god and have multiple things that are eternal?

OOOOOOOOOO Luke 16:18 (HCSB) 18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and everyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. As an example of the law Jesus mentions adultery. During those times there were a two different schools of thought. The Roman law gave some rights to the woman in a divorce, but the Jewish law favored the man. Deuteronomy 24 (HCSB) Marriage and Divorce Laws 24 “If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something improper about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house. 2 If after leaving his house she goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 and the second man hates her, writes her a divorce certificate, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house or if he dies, 4 the first husband who sent her away may not marry her again after she has been defiled, because that would be detestable to the Lord. You must not bring guilt on the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

The rabbis said that God could overlook everything except unchastity. Imagine how that went over with some of the temples having prostitutes and mistresses were often the norm. During Jesus’s time,in Jewish eyes a woman could divorce her husband only if he became a leper or an apostate or if he raped a virgin The only thing she had any rights to is that the marriage dowry could be returned. The school of Shammai said that meant adultery was the only reason for a man to divorce his wife. The school of Hillel said she could be divorced if she spoiled his food, talked to a strange man, is she spoke of her husband disrespectfully, or is she was a brawling woman. So which school prevailed and was popular? Both of these schools were a generation before Christ. Interestingly Paul was a student of Gamiel who was taught by Hillel.

Jesus is laying out the direct command and as in Matt - the school of Hillel had no legitimacy. Also he was elevating women. Paul in Galatians 3 noted that men and woman are all the same in the kingdom. He is telling the Pharisees again that the door is narrow, your righteousness well not be enough, there is no compromise in entering the kingdom. And God knows even you deepest, sinful thoughts.

OOOOOOOOOO Luke 16:19–31 (HCSB) The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen, feasting lavishly every day. 20 But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was left at his gate. 21 He longed to be filled with what fell from the rich man’s table, but instead the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. 24 ‘Father Abraham!’ he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!’

25 “ ‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’

27 “ ‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house— 28 because I have five brothers—to warn them, so they won’t also come to this place of torment.’

29 “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’

30 “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’ ”