The Unrighteous Steward
Notes
Transcript
The parables of Jesus.
Immediately after the Prodigal Son, Jesus jumps into another parable.
Transition:
To the tax collectors, sinners and crowd:
Lost Sheep
Lost Coin
And He said:
Prodigal Son
I just want to point out that except for the very beginning, the Holy Spirit of God inspired Luke to write the words, “and He said.”
Then we get to chapter 16 and we get the phrase, “Now He was also saying to the disciples.”
We know the scribes and Pharisees were listening to the previous parables, and we will learn down in verse 14, they are still listening, but parables were meant to be understood by believers and be nonsense to unbelievers.
The Unrighteous Steward (Manager)
One of the most confusing parable Jesus told.
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.’
was reported: diaballo diabolical
squandering : The same thing that the prodigal son did.
Then the manager starts this soliloquy
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.’
Trying to secure his future:
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.’
In this story that Jesus made up, He is conveying the idea that the rich man had many debtors and that the manager gave them all a discount on their debt, but only gave two examples of the kinds of discounts he gave.
100 measures of oil. Each measure was a little shy of 9 gallons up to 10 gallons. Between 800 and 1000 Gallons of oil. 146 olive trees. Large scale operation.
50% discount
100 measures of wheat. Each measure is about 10 bushels. Total 1000 bushels 100 acres. 20%
He is cheating his boss, giving huge discounts to these people so that when he gets the boot, they will be nice to him.
This is where it gets weird.
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.
To act shrewdly is to act in a way that shows sharp powers of judgment; astutely.
wise and calculating.
So the manager cheats the landowner to feather his own nest after he gets fired and the landowner praises him?
Then it gets even worse!
The second half of this verse Jesus says, “for the sons of this age are more shrews in relations to their own kind than the sons of light.”
Jesus is giving praise this manager for his behavior.
And worse!
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.
So lets back up and see if we can understand what’s going on here.
I mean, lets see if we can get a handle on this before it gets out of hand.
I think we understand the first part of this parable pretty well.
The manager is not doing a good job.
To understand his problem solving technique, you have to understand the culture they were living in.
Honor - Shame Culture
Honor - Shame Culture
Family defines everything
Us - we can distance ourselves from family that brings shame.
Them - There is collective honor or collective shame in the family.
Social capital fixes everything
Us - we look down on the “good ol-boy system”
Them - The most important asset they have is their reputation, which can be used to network with other to solve your problems.
Aggression restores honor
Us - Any bad behavior is looked at as criminal.
Them - Honor is competed for and vigorously defended.
Words define status
Us - Let me check my schedule.
Them - Immediate “Yes” conveys honor, “No or maybe” dishonor.
Food conveys honor
Us - Just nutrition
Them - Social. Eating alone is unheard of.
Solution
I am not strong enough to dig. Physical fact.
I am ashamed to beg. The status of him and and his family would not allow him to bring that kind of shame to his family.
People welcome me into their homes.
He is trying to purchase honor. Make these social connections that will pay off later.
He is about to be dishonored and knows that no one else would hire him as a manager, because that would mean they would be taking the scraps from the rich landowner’s table.
So he starts discounting debts.
Giving up his commission argument.
Giving up his commission argument.
He wasn’t really cheating his boss, he was merely giving up his commission, and thus sacrificing in the short term to gain in the long terms.
Like the tax collectors.
Proposed to “protect” Jesus’ reputation.
Different percentages. 50% and 20%
50% is way outside any examples of anything else known about the culture.
He bought favor with the people in debt to his master with the master’s own money.
So why did his master praise him?
So why did his master praise him?
He made it impossible for the master to do anything other than to praise him.
Remember (Honor -Shame Culture)
If he reversed the discount and punished his manager, He would lose favor with not one or two of his debtors, but all of them. Lose Honor.
If he punished his manager, but didn’t cancel the discounts, He would be trying to bring shame on the one person that every one else gives honor to, and thus lose honor, and he would be seen as weak or vulnerable, and thus lose honor.
His only option in that culture would be to let the discounts stand, and separate with the manager in such a way that doesn’t bring him dishonor.
The landowner was playing checkers and the manager was playing chess.
He praised him because he was shrewd.
I don’t like it, but you got me. Well played.
So that solves that problem, but why was Jesus praising him?
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.
Son’s of this age: Jesus is recorded as using this phrase also in Luke 20:34 Lost.
Sons of light: John 12:36, Ephesians 5:8, 1 Thess 5:5. Those that are in Christ Jesus.
Lost people are going to act like lost people. But they are better at being lost, than you are a being saved.
Lost people are going to act like lost people. But they are better at being lost, than you are a being saved.
But not just he is saying that this bad manager put more thought, consideration, effort, cleverness, energy in to securing his temporal future than we as self proclaimed followers of Christ put into securing our eternal future.
So look again at verse 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.
Wealth of unrighteousness - Money, power, influence.
When it fails -
Parable of farmer in Chapter 12.
Prosperous - tear down my barns and build larger ones
I will say to my soul, take your ease, eat drink and be merry.
God says you fool, this very night your soul is required.
Jesus told his disciples:
33 “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.
20 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
That is by Jesus said that when the wealth of this world fails, ie when you die, “they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.”
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
When did we do these things?
40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
This bad manager invested in his future by using all that was intrusted to him.
Are you?
It is all His! He gave you what you have. He gave you life, breath, strength, intelligence, work ethic. Everything that we are and everything that we have is HIS! But He intrusted it to you, what are you doing with it?
This manager got called on the carpet, and immediately acted.
Is God calling you on the carpet right now? Give an account of what you have done will all that I have intrusted you with?
Christians, I’m talking to you.
Excuses
Well I don’t have much, so I really don’t give much of nothing. But if I had more, I’d give more.
No you wouldn’t!
Well you don’t know me. I may not, but Jesus does and look what he said in verse 10.
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?
Here is the Point.
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.”