Luke 16
16
Jesus Speaks about Dishonesty
1Then Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a business manager. The manager was accused of wasting the rich man’s property. 2So the rich man called for his manager and said to him, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Let me examine your books. It’s obvious that you can’t manage my property any longer.’
3“The manager thought, ‘What should I do? My master is taking my job away from me. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg. 4I know what I’ll do so that people will welcome me into their homes when I’ve lost my job.’
5“So the manager called for each one of his master’s debtors. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6“The debtor replied, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’
“The manager told him, ‘Take my master’s ledger. Quick! Sit down, and write “four hundred!” ’
7“Then he asked another debtor, ‘How much do you owe?’
“The debtor replied, ‘A thousand bushels of wheat.’
“The manager told him, ‘Take the ledger, and write “eight hundred!” ’
8“The master praised the dishonest manager for being so clever. Worldly people are more clever than spiritually-minded people when it comes to dealing with others.”
9 ⌞Jesus continued,⌟ “I’m telling you that although wealth is often used in dishonest ways, you should use it to make friends for yourselves. When life is over, you will be welcomed into an eternal home. 10Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with a lot. Whoever is dishonest with very little is dishonest with a lot. 11Therefore, if you can’t be trusted with wealth that is often used dishonestly, who will trust you with wealth that is real? 12If you can’t be trusted with someone else’s wealth, who will give you your own?
13“A servant cannot serve two masters. He will hate the first master and love the second, or he will be devoted to the first and despise the second. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
14The Pharisees, who love money, heard all this and were making sarcastic remarks about him. 15So Jesus said to them, “You try to justify your actions in front of people. But God knows what’s in your hearts. What is important to humans is disgusting to God.
16“Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets were ⌞in force⌟ until the time of John. Since that time, people have been telling the Good News about God’s kingdom, and everyone is trying to force their way into it. 17It is easier for the earth and the heavens to disappear than to drop a comma from the Scriptures.
18“Any man who divorces his wife to marry another woman is committing adultery. The man who marries a woman divorced in this way is committing adultery.
A Rich Man and Lazarus
19“There was a rich man who wore expensive clothes. Every day was like a party to him. 20There was also a beggar named Lazarus who was regularly brought to the gate of the rich man’s house. 21Lazarus would have eaten any scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Lazarus was covered with sores,#16:21 The last sentence in verse 20 (in Greek) has been moved to verse 21 to express the complex Greek paragraph structure more clearly in English. and dogs would lick them.
22“One day the beggar died, and the angels carried him to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23He went to hell, where he was constantly tortured. As he looked up, in the distance he saw Abraham and Lazarus. 24He yelled, ‘Father Abraham! Have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool off my tongue. I am suffering in this fire.’
25“Abraham replied, ‘Remember, my child, that you had a life filled with good times, while Lazarus’ life was filled with misery. Now he has peace here, while you suffer. 26Besides, a wide area separates us. People couldn’t cross it in either direction even if they wanted to.’
27“The rich man responded, ‘Then I ask you, Father, to send Lazarus back to my father’s home. 28I have five brothers. He can warn them so that they won’t end up in this place of torture.’
29“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses’ ⌞Teachings⌟ and the Prophets. Your brothers should listen to them!’
30“The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! If someone comes back to them from the dead, they will turn to God and change the way they think and act.’
31“Abraham answered him, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses’ ⌞Teachings⌟ and the Prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone comes back to life.’ ”
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
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.