|
| Chapter 16 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
|
1 ¶ And He said also unto His disciples, "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him and said unto him, ’How is it that I hear this of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer steward.’ 3 Then the steward said within himself, ’What shall I do? For my Lord taketh away from me the stewardship. I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So he called every one of his Lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, ’How much owest thou unto my Lord?’ 6 And he said, ’A hundred measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ’Take thy bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then said he to another, ’And how much owest thou?’ And he said, ’A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said unto him, ’Take thy bill and write fourscore.’ 8 And the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely; for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9 And I say unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10 He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall 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 hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." 14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things, and they derided Him. 15 And He said unto them, "Ye are they who justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. 16 "The Law and the Prophets were until John. Since that time the Kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. 17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than one tittle of the law to fail. 18 "Whosoever putteth away his wife and marrieth another committeth adultery; and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery. 19 ¶ "There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores 21 and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. 23 And in hell, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, ’Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ’Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime received thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that they who would pass from here to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from there.’ 27 Then he said, ’I pray thee therefore, father, that thou would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said unto him, ’They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ’Nay, father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 And Abraham said unto him, ’If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.’" |
The unjust Steward Jesus now tells a parable which shows the attitude of people. Jesus seems to be telling His followers that, though He does not approve of evil in any form, Believers could be more useful for the Kingdom of God if they involved themselves in the same commitment for the task given by God as the dishonest steward for his work. For example, someone planning to steal from a bank will spend many days examining the task and making plans. Unfortunately, many believers never make any plans for the work of God, I have even heard people say "God will sort out any failures I make." None of us are perfect but we can always do the best we can for the work of God, not having a "that should be good enough" attitude. Jesus refers to two types of people, "the children of this world," and "the children of light," v8. The first group are controlled by their worldly desires. Both the rich man and the steward were controlled by self interest. The "the children of light," should always consider earthly good and also their future with God. The rich man has a steward who is trusted and looks after and manages the rich man’s home and business. However, it appears that the steward was not very good at his job and probably dishonest. The rich man has heard about the bad workmanship of the steward and calls him to explain his bad workmanship. v4 Without doubt this steward is guilty of wrong. When he examines his action he realized he cannot do physical work like digging, and feels too ashamed to beg, however, the steward had not been ashamed to steal or misuse his position. The steward, realizing that he had been caught out, his dishonesty was now revealed and he was soon to be out of work, has to think quickly and comes up with a very bright idea, however, it means he has to be even more dishonest, stealing more from his master. He approaches the many people who owed money to the rich man. It was part of his job as steward to make sure the debts were paid, but he also had the power to set how it was paid, in one payment or in small amounts each month. Even if the rich man sacks the steward, any arrangements the steward had made would be legally binding. v5-7 The steward deliberately reduces the amount owed to his master by each debtor. This means that the debtors now owed the steward a possible reward for letting them off some of their debt. This was the main aim of the steward, v4 "when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ v8 "And the Lord commended the unjust steward,". This is not Jesus commending the steward, it is the master. The rich master does not approve of the steward’s action but has admiration for his way of working, at least he now has some of the debts paid. Jesus said that worldly people seem to make more accurate judgements in dealing with things of the world than believers. v9-12 "Make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness," Mammon is an Aramaic word meaning money or possessions. The steward knew that by his action he would have a claim on the debtors whose bills he had reduced, they would be very happy with the financial help, and so would help him if in need. Jesus told the listeners that "He wanted believers to also be smart in the same way, but make sure you only do what is right, I’m not telling you to cheat, only be honest, even in small ways, use problems to help you survive in this world. If you are not trusted to deal with worldly wealth, you will not be trusted with the true riches of heaven. If you cannot faithfully handle other people’s money, why will you be trusted with what money others give you for your own use?" If you cannot use the material wealth of the world, then you do not deserve to be trusted with spiritual responsibilities. v13 During the New Testament times there did not exist the modern common practice of having two employers, daytime and evening, slavery or employment at that time did not expect a division of devotion. God makes a full exclusive demand on His people. v14-18 The Law and the Pharisees attitude. The teaching of Jesus did not meet the behaviour of those who wanted wealth and being deeply religious, as with the Pharisees. Jesus warns them that though they may appear ‘holy’ to the world, their hearts are so full of wrong that they are an abomination (cause disgust) to God. v16 Jesus declares that John the Baptist marked the end of the Law, when John declared the coming of the Messiah he was introducing the kingdom of God. " every man presseth into it," this can have a meaning of force against or just crowding to enter. The most likely meaning is that ordinary people are wanting, pressing to enter this kingdom rather than demonic or men being in opposition to its coming. v17 The "Tittle" or little horn was a small ‘hook’ that was used to separate one Hebrew letter from another similar to it. Jesus is saying that it is easier to destroy the universe than for the Law to be changed, even in the smallest point. v18 Divorce. Matt 5:31,32; Mark 10:2-12; 1 Cor 7:10-15. Under the Law a man can divorce a wife under certain conditions, "If there was some uncleanness in her" Deuteronomy 24:1. The original law was intended only for wrong sexual behaviour, but over time it had been expanded by the religious leaders and teachers to include many other things, even allowing divorce if the wife burnt or spoilt a man’dinner! Note, only the man could divorce the woman. Jesus is reminding the Pharisees that if they permit divorce outside of the initial meaning of the Law they will be committing adultery. The Lord was indicating that marriage for the believers must be monogamous, only one husband and wife at any time. v19-31 The rich man and Lazarus. The rich man did not go to hell because he was rich, neither the beggar because he was poor. It was what they trusted in, the rich man in money, the poor man in God. Verse 28 does suggest that the beggar had spoken to the rich man about his heart desires. v19 The description of the rich man given by Jesus indicates how rich this man was, purple dye was very expensive, linen clothes would only been available to the very rich. This man lived in a very rich manner, "fared sumptuously every day." v20,21 This is the only parable that Jesus gave a proper name for a person, some Bible students have therefore wondered if this was based upon a true story. Lazarus, a beggar, is laid at the gate of the rich man’s house each day by friends, there hoping to get food scraps and leftovers from the house, probably meant for the scavenger dogs found in the Eastern streets. These dogs would come and lick the open skin wounds and sores of Lazarus who was too sick to resist. v22 The beggar and the rich man die, there is no mention of a burial for Lazarus because it was normal to throw the bodies of beggars onto the rubbish heaps. The heavenly host takes Lazarus to be in the place of honour by Abraham. The rich man was buried, however, he ends up in hell. The Hebrew word Sheol translated hell can mean the place of after life or the place of punishment. Hades, under Jewish teaching, contained both Gehenna or hell, and paradise. v23-26 The rich man can see Lazarus and Abraham and is able to speak to them, he asks for Lazarus to come to him and help him in the pain he is suffering. Abraham reminds the rich man what each received during their lifetime, now they are receiving what was earned during their lifetime. Abraham also points out there was a permanent gap between hell and paradise which could not be crossed. v27-31 The man then asks for Lazarus to be sent back to life to warn his family. Abraham tells the man that he and his family have taken no notice of the messages and teachings of Moses and the prophets and a man who rises from the dead will also be ignored. Miracles on there own do not produce faith for soon Jesus was to rise from the dead yet the religious leaders and many of the people still did not believe. |
Easy English Translation
| Back to previous page | Return to Home Page |
| St. Luke’s Gospel |
