The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 “‘Nine hundred gallons [Or about 3,000 liters] of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘A thousand bushels[Or about 30 tons
] of wheat,’ he replied.
] of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.
Additional Teachings
16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it. 17 It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.
18 “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity 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 fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
NOTES:
16:1–8a The parable of the dishonest steward has to be
understood in the light of the Palestinian custom of agents acting on behalf of
their masters and the usurious practices common to such agents. The dishonesty
of the steward consisted in the squandering of his master’s property (Lk 16:1)
and not in any subsequent graft. The master commends the dishonest steward who
has forgone his own usurious commission on the business transaction by having
the debtors write new notes that reflected only the real amount owed the master
(i.e., minus the steward’s profit). The dishonest steward acts in this way in
order to ingratiate himself with the debtors because he knows he is being
dismissed from his position (Lk 16:3). The parable, then, teaches the prudent
use of one’s material goods in light of an imminent crisis.
16:6 One hundred measures: literally, “one hundred baths.” A
bath is a Hebrew unit of liquid measurement equivalent to eight or nine
gallons.
16:7 One hundred kors: a kor is a Hebrew unit of dry measure
for grain or wheat equivalent to ten or twelve bushels.
16:8b–13 Several originally independent sayings of Jesus are
gathered here by Luke to form the concluding application of the parable of the
dishonest steward.
16:8b–9 The first conclusion recommends the prudent use of
one’s wealth (in the light of the coming of the end of the age) after the
manner of the children of this world, represented in the parable by the
dishonest steward.
16:9 Dishonest wealth: literally, “mammon of iniquity.”
Mammon is the Greek transliteration of a Hebrew or Aramaic word that is usually
explained as meaning “that in which one trusts.” The characterization of this
wealth as dishonest expresses a tendency of wealth to lead one to dishonesty.
Eternal dwellings: or, “eternal tents,” i.e., heaven.
16:10–12 The second conclusion recommends constant fidelity
to those in positions of responsibility.
16:13 The third conclusion is a general statement about the
incompatibility of serving God and being a slave to riches. To be dependent
upon wealth is opposed to the teachings of Jesus who counseled complete
dependence on the Father as one of the characteristics of the Christian
disciple (Lk 12:22–39). God and mammon: see note on Lk 16:9. Mammon is used
here as if it were itself a god.
16:14–18 The two parables about the use of riches in chap.
16 are separated by several isolated sayings of Jesus on the hypocrisy of the
Pharisees (Lk 16:14–15), on the law (Lk 16:16–17), and on divorce (Lk 16:18).
16:14–15 The Pharisees are here presented as examples of
those who are slaves to wealth (see Lk 16:13) and, consequently, they are
unable to serve God.
16:16 John the Baptist is presented in Luke’s gospel as a
transitional figure between the period of Israel, the time of promise, and the
period of Jesus, the time of fulfillment. With John, the fulfillment of the Old
Testament promises has begun.
16:19–31 The parable of the rich man and Lazarus again
illustrates Luke’s concern with Jesus’ attitude toward the rich and the poor.
The reversal of the fates of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16:22–23) illustrates
the teachings of Jesus in Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain” (Lk 6:20–21, 24–25).
16:19 The oldest Greek manuscript of Luke dating from ca.
A.D. 175–225 records the name of the rich man as an abbreviated form of
“Nineveh,” but there is very little textual support in other manuscripts for
this reading. “Dives” of popular tradition is the Latin Vulgate’s translation
for “rich man” (Lk 16:19–31).
16:23 The netherworld: see note on Lk 10:15.
16:30–31 A foreshadowing in Luke’s gospel of the rejection
of the call to repentance even after Jesus’ resurrection.
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