Luke 16
16
The Parable of the Dishonest Steward
1#Lk 15:13; 12:42He told His disciples: “There was a rich man who had a steward who was accused to the man of wasting his resources. 2So he called him and said, ‘How is it that I hear this about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you may no longer be steward.’
3“Then the steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, for my master is taking away the stewardship from me? I cannot dig. I am ashamed to beg. 4I know what to do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, others may receive me into their houses.’
5“So he called each of his master’s debtors, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6“He said, ‘Eight hundred gallons#Gk. 100 batous, or 3 kiloliters. of oil.’
“He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write four hundred.’
7“Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“He said, ‘One thousand bushels#Gk. 100 korous, or 35 kiloliters. of wheat.’
“He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eight hundred.’
8#Jn 12:36; Eph 5:8“The master commended the dishonest steward, because he had acted prudently. For the sons of this world are wiser in their own generation than the sons of light. 9#Mt 19:21; Lk 16:11I say to you, make friends for yourself by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when you fall short, they may receive you into eternal dwellings.
10#Mt 25:21; Lk 19:17“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much. And he who is dishonest in the least is dishonest also in much. 11So if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12And if you have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who will give you that which is your own?
13#Mt 6:24; Lk 16:9“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
The Law and the Kingdom of God
Mt 11:12–13
14#Lk 23:35; 20:47The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things and derided Him. 15#1Sa 16:7; Lk 10:29He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed before men is an abomination before God.
16#Mt 3:2“The Law and the Prophets were preached until John. Since then the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. 17#Mt 5:18It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of the law to fail.
18#Mt 19:9“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced by her husband commits adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19#Est 8:15; Eze 16:49“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20#Ac 3:2There was also a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, who had been placed at his gate, 21#Mt 15:27desiring to be fed the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22#Jn 13:23“It came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s presence. The rich man also died and was buried. 23#Ps 9:17; Isa 14:9In Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham from a distance and Lazarus in his presence. 24#Mt 25:41; Lk 16:30So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am tormented in this flame.’
25#Lk 6:24; Ps 17:14“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things. But now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf, so that those who would pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
27“He said, ‘Then I pray you, father, to send him to my father’s house, 28for I have five brothers, to testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’
29#Ac 15:21“Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them hear them.’
30#Lk 16:24“He said, ‘No, father Abraham. But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31#Jn 12:10–11“He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”
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Luke 16: MEV
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Military Bible Association
Luke 16
16
The Story of the Crooked Manager
1-2Jesus said to his disciples, “There was once a rich man who had a manager. He got reports that the manager had been taking advantage of his position by running up huge personal expenses. So he called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? You’re fired. And I want a complete audit of your books.’
3-4“The manager said to himself, ‘What am I going to do? I’ve lost my job as manager. I’m not strong enough for a laboring job, and I’m too proud to beg. . . . Ah, I’ve got a plan. Here’s what I’ll do . . . then when I’m turned out into the street, people will take me into their houses.’
5“Then he went at it. One after another, he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6“He replied, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’
“The manager said, ‘Here, take your bill, sit down here—quick now—write fifty.’
7“To the next he said, ‘And you, what do you owe?’
“He answered, ‘A hundred sacks of wheat.’
“He said, ‘Take your bill, write in eighty.’
8-9“Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.”
God Sees Behind Appearances
10-13Jesus went on to make these comments:
If you’re honest in small things,
you’ll be honest in big things;
If you’re a crook in small things,
you’ll be a crook in big things.
If you’re not honest in small jobs,
who will put you in charge of the store?
No worker can serve two bosses:
He’ll either hate the first and love the second
Or adore the first and despise the second.
You can’t serve both God and the Bank.
14-18When the Pharisees, a money-obsessed bunch, heard him say these things, they rolled their eyes, dismissing him as hopelessly out of touch. So Jesus spoke to them: “You are masters at making yourselves look good in front of others, but God knows what’s behind the appearance.
What society sees and calls monumental,
God sees through and calls monstrous.
God’s Law and the Prophets climaxed in John;
Now it’s all kingdom of God—the glad news
and compelling invitation to every man and woman.
The sky will disintegrate and the earth dissolve
before a single letter of God’s Law wears out.
Using the legalities of divorce
as a cover for lust is adultery;
Using the legalities of marriage
as a cover for lust is adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19-21“There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.
22-24“Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.’
25-26“But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.’
27-28“The rich man said, ‘Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won’t end up here in this place of torment.’
29“Abraham answered, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them.’
30“‘I know, Father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but they’re not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways.’
31“Abraham replied, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.’”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.