Read or listen The Gospel of Luke, chapter 16 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

Taking advantage of the situation – Luke 16:1-13

The parable of the unjust, dishonest steward is one of the most difficult New Testament stories to explain.

The manager's actions are easy to understand. He had misused his master's funds. At that time, there were many large farms in Galilee, whose owners lived elsewhere - mostly in Jerusalem. This master heard that the servant who managed his farm had been dishonest. The manager realized that he could only help himself as long as he was the manager. So he called in the debtors - apparently those who had bought goods from the farm on credit - and one by one he changed the bills.

Only two frauds are described in detail: one debtor was "forgiven" 50 jars of oil (about 2,000 liters) and the other 20 barrels of wheat (about 8,000 liters). Both amounts were worth about 500 denarii.

Now the housekeeper had friends who were also his partners in crime. So he could expect them to help him after he was fired. The man could even blackmail them.

Who praised the dishonest steward (verse 8)? There are two possibilities: Jesus or the master of the farm. If the one praising was the master of the farm, he could not help but admire the cunning of his servant. But what is the lesson of the story for us? Is it that by committing a clever deception, you can get away with it? If Jesus is the one who praises, how could Jesus praise the dishonest manager?

It is worth remembering that a story is not an example - "go and do likewise" - but a parable. Parables usually have only one point of view, one lesson to teach (although an attempt is often made to extract some "new" lesson from each of their details).

The lesson of this parable is that one must use the remaining time correctly and usefully. A person can only repent during this life, after death it is too late!

It is no coincidence that Luke - or probably already Jesus - has told a parable about the false and true mammon immediately after. Jesus’ instruction on how to serve the master comes in verses 10-13, not verses 1-7! Also note that the story of the rich man and Lazarus (verses 19-31) explains this episode.

Wealth here means everything temporal, everything that is related to this time and this life. Wealth can be property, power, friends, etc. The gifts that God has given us must be used correctly. But unfortunately, the parts often change: the gift takes the place of the giver: some earthly thing becomes our god.

In the Large Catechism, Luther explains in relation to the first commandment what or who is a man's God or idol. Our God is the one we rely on, the one we live on. If we live relying on anything other than God, it has become an idol for us. God has not given us his gifts so that we would serve them as idols, but so that we would use them to invite people into the kingdom of God.

A double life produces death – Luke 16:14-18

Hypocrisy was a particular problem of the Pharisees (compare Matt. 23:13-36). They wanted to appear pious, but did not always want to live as they taught. They therefore lived a kind of double life: on the one hand they were religiously strict - on the other hand they allowed themselves to do things that the law condemned. But God does not look only at the outward appearance, but sees into the heart of a person (Luke 7:39-40).

Jesus gave just one example. The Pharisees' interpretation of divorce had in practice led to polygamy - not all at once, but one after the other (Paul also speaks of the same thing in Romans 2:17-24, especially verse 22). Rabbi Hillel taught that a spoiled meal was sufficient grounds for divorce. Rabbi Akiba taught that a man could take another wife if he found a more beautiful woman.

The Pharisees had forgotten that God's law revealed to people the way to Heaven (even though the law's way to salvation was impossible for us). To the Pharisees, the law had become nothing more than a collection of rules that could be “interpreted.” To Jesus, the law was a sacred, permanent revelation of God (verse 17), which is why Jesus interpreted the law much more strictly than the Pharisees (Matthew 5:21-32).

But Jesus also taught that the law as a way of salvation had become obsolete, outdated. After John the Baptist, the time of grace had begun. But that did not mean that this life had nothing to do with getting to heaven. A clear indication of this is the following story of the rich man and Lazarus, which is also an explanation of verses 9-13.

The Rich Man and Lazarus – Luke 16:19-31

The story of the rich man and Lazarus is an example, albeit a negative one: this should not be done. Poor Lazarus lay at the rich man's door. Perhaps he was paralyzed because he could not scare the dogs away. To the Jews, a dog was an unclean animal. Dogs of that time were wild dogs, beasts.

After death, the men's parts were reversed. Lazarus was with Abraham, the rich man in Hades. It is important to note that the rich man did not go to Hades because he was rich, but because of how he used his wealth. After all, Abraham was a rich man. Salvation is not determined by the amount of wealth. Lazarus was not saved because of his poverty either. Jesus does not speak about Lazarus' faith, but his very name says a lot: "God helps." Lazarus was one of the "poor" who put their hope in God's help.

The lesson of the story is not that the wrongs suffered here in time will be atoned for and compensated for after this life. It is that the choice of side made here in time remains valid even after death (verse 26).

The Jews taught that Abraham periodically sent his servant Eleazar (Genesis 15:2, Greek: Lazarus) to check whether the Jews were showing brotherly love. The rich man had failed - he had only thought of himself. Lazarus is the only person mentioned by name in Jesus' parables.

God's Word is sufficient

The afterlife was a surprise to the rich man. So he asked Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers. But Abraham refused. If the brothers did not believe God’s revelation in the Scriptures, they would not believe even if someone rose from the dead.

We see evidence of this when we consider what happened when Jesus raised Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, from the dead. That act caused Jesus’ opponents to decide that Jesus must be killed (John 11:53). No faith was born, but unbelief only grew stronger and more intense. Even Jesus’ resurrection did not convince everyone of his divinity (Matthew 28:11-15).

Even today, miracles do not produce genuine, living faith. Genuine faith is born only on the basis of God's Word. We cannot believe in Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for our sins except on the basis of God's revelation alone. When Abraham refused to send Lazarus to the rich man’s brothers, it was not because it was impossible, but because it was useless (verse 31).

Some notes

Hades (verse 23) is not yet perdition (compare Revelation 20:13-14). We do not know very much about life after death, so the various orders and systems and "intermediate state doctrines" that have been constructed inevitably remain at the level of guesswork. The main idea here is: there are two options after death and the choice between them occurs already in this life, not in the next.

The rich man's going to hell is an indication that simply belonging to the group of Abraham's heirs was not enough for salvation (compare John 8:37-47). The same is true of belonging to the church: it does not save, faith in Jesus does.

I have sometimes wondered how the proponents of prosperity theology explain this story. Here the part of the rich and successful was bad after this life, but the poor and miserable is comforted there.

God does not act according to our wishes, but according to His holy will.