Parable of the Unjust Steward
The sixteenth chapter of Luke deals with money and its eternal effects upon humans. Those who are covetous and greedy will end up in hell and those who give to God's kingdom on earth will receive eternal rewards.
Below is a verse by verse study of the Parable of the Unjust Steward which deals with the use of money and its relation to the kingdom of God.
Luke 16:1-2 (NKJV)
1 He also said to His disciples: "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.
2 So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'
This parable speaks of the use of money while humans are yet alive on earth. Those who are believers are just stewards of God's money just as the steward in this parable who managed his master's money. But this steward was informed that he could no longer be steward which has application to all believers because when they die their control over the money is ended and they can no longer be stewards over what God had entrusted to them.
Luke 16:3 (NKJV)
3 Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.
This speaks of the fact that once a believer on earth dies then they have no more opportunity to store up treasure in heaven by their giving on earth. Once their earthly "stewardship" is ended they can no longer work for it or beg for the rewards given to others in paradise. Only what they give on earth while they are alive will result in rewards in heaven.
Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV)
19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Jesus said that the believer is to lay up for themselves treasures in heaven which cannot be corrupted by rust or decay and where moth cannot destroy and where thieves cannot break in and steal. This speaks of eternal riches laid away in heaven for those who have given on earth. If their hearts are set on eternal rewards, they will be free of covetousness on earth. But if they cannot give to God or support God's kingdom then they are covetous and love money more than God.
Luke 16:4 (NKJV)
4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'
Being put out of the stewardship speaks of the time when a believers' life on earth is finished and having others receive them speaks of the heavenly welcome that a believer will receive who was faithful in giving on earth.
Luke 16:5-7 (NASB)
5 "And he summoned each one of his master's debtors, and he began saying to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'
6 "And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'
7 "Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He *said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'
The steward called the master's debtors and inquired of how much they owed. Then he reduced the payment to something that each debtor could afford (thus cancelling their debts). This speaks of the gospel which presents the good news to all humanity that they can call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. It is something that everyone can afford because everyone can call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.
Romans 10:13 (NKJV)
13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."
Everyone can afford the price of salvation because God made salvation free for whoever will call upon the name of the Lord.
Romans 6:23 (NASB)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The free gift of God is eternal life found in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So, the unjust steward reduced the debt that the debtors owed the master to something that they could afford. This speaks of the fact that all sinners need salvation and owe God a great debt of sin that they cannot pay. But the cost of redemption is reduced to the free cost of calling upon the name of the Lord. Thus, this is a price that was reduced to something everyone can afford.
Luke 16:8 (NASB)
8 "And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.
The unjust steward was commended for dealing shrewdly because the sons of the world know how to get what they want using money and so the sons of the light (the believers) should also know how to get what they want with money. But instead of seeking for worldly things the believers can use money on earth to gain heavenly rewards by their giving on earth.
Luke 16:9 (NASB)
9 "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.
This speaks of using money on earth to gain eternal rewards in heaven. Making friends with money speaks of investing money into the kingdom of God. For example if someone supports an evangelist and he wins millions of souls to the in Africa then they will receive "credit" for the souls that were won because they gave financially to support the work of the evangelist. The souls that were won in that evangelistic crusade will one day receive those who gave into heaven. They will say, "Thank you for giving because I was saved as a result and I escaped having to go to hell!" So, the believers who are givers use the money of the world's system and give it to the kingdom of God to win souls and support the work of the ministry. This results in people being saved and these people will welcome them (or receive them) into the everlasting habitations of heaven!
John 14:2 (NKJV)
2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Jesus said that there were many mansions being prepared for the believers in heaven so this is what it means when those who are affected for the gospel by giving on earth will later receive the giving believers into everlasting habitations in heaven!
Luke 16:10 (NKJV)
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.
If a believer is faithful to give a tenth of his income to God then they will give a tenth of one dollar or a tenth of one hundred dollars or a tenth of a thousand dollars to God. But if they are unfaithful to pay a tenth of one-dollar, they will also be unfaithful to pay a tenth of one thousand dollars. Those who are unjust in little like giving a tenth of one dollar will also be unjust in much like giving a tenth of one-thousand dollars.
Malachi 3:8-11 (NKJV)
8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Says the LORD of hosts;
Those believers who do not pay a tithe of their income to God are robbers of God. If they are unjust to give a tenth of one-dollar, they will be unjust to give a tenth of one-thousand dollars. God cannot trust them with large amounts if they are unfaithful to give on the small amount they have.
Luke 16:11 (NKJV)
11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
If the believer has been unfaithful to give unrighteous money on earth to God then who will give them true riches that endure forever in heaven? The only way to receive true riches is by giving on earth to the kingdom of God.
Luke 16:12 (NKJV)
12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?
If a believer has not be faithful with what belongs to another man (the money that belongs to God which he has entrusted to them) then who will give them their own rewards in heaven (if they have given nothing on earth)?
Luke 16:13 (NKJV)
13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
The believer cannot serve two masters because he will love one and hate the other or be loyal to one and despise the other. In the same way the believer cannot love money and God at the same time. If a believer loves money more than God then that is idolatry and this will send them to hell. This is the sin of the "worldly" rich men who are lovers of money and this illicit love will send them to hell. The believer cannot love God and love money at the same time!
Luke 16:14 (NKJV)
14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him.
The Pharisees were unregenerate religious men who were extremely covetous and greedy and lived for nothing else but to gain money for themselves. The whole purpose of the false religious system they were running was to make a business out of religion to fleece people of their money and to enrich themselves. These religious men perceived that Jesus was talking about them and their greed and therefore they derided Jesus!
Luke 16:15 (NKJV)
15 And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
Jesus was aware that these men loved to appear as self-righteous in the sight of men while at the same time trying to cover up the covetousness and greed of their hearts. They had turned the things of God into a means of profit and were making money from the religious system they setup in Jerusalem. But these things that were esteemed by these humans were an abomination in the sight of God. These greedy religious men all went to hell with their idolatry and love of money!
Isaiah 53:9 (NASB)-M
9 His place after death was assigned with wicked men, and He was in the place of the rich man’s hell ensuing his decease. He suffered punishment for all human sin as a sacrifice even though He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit found in His mouth.
Jesus went to hell to pay the price of redemption for all humanity by taking their place of punishment in hell. Hell is also referred to as the place of the rich because the worldly rich men all go to hell! The worldly rich men do everything that is evil and they bribe and give lobbying money to change the laws for their own benefit. When they murder or commit crime they do not go to prison because they can buy their way out of trouble with expensive lawyers and a legal system that can be bribed. They grow arrogant in their riches as if they were a self-made man without any need of God's blessing. They exploit the poor and cheat and enslave people and rob the wages of those who work for them. Immorality is rife among them because they can buy anything that they want. Everything is evil about worldly rich men and these worldly rich men all go to hell and hell is even called the place of the rich man for this reason!
Luke 16:16 (NIV)
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 his way into it.
The Law and the Prophets ended at the preaching of John the Baptist who announced salvation by grace through believing in Yeshua (Jesus) the Jewish Messiah. Since the time that John announced the coming of the Messiah then salvation by faith is being preached and everyone is forcing their way into it. This is like a crowd of starving people storming through a gate to get the free food as they force their way out of dead religion with great abandon!
2 Kings 7:16-20 (NASB)
16 So the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. Then a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
17 Now the king appointed the royal officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate; but the people trampled on him at the gate, and he died just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him.
18 It happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, "Two measures of barley for a shekel and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, will be sold tomorrow about this time at the gate of Samaria."
19 Then the royal officer answered the man of God and said, "Now behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?" And he said, "Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it."
20 And so it happened to him, for the people trampled on him at the gate and he died.
The free gospel is like free bread that satisfies forever and just like the people of Samaria who burst out of the gates after they had been starving to death (under siege) so that they forced their way out and even trampled the officer who was supposed to oversee an orderly departure. They had been starving to death before this day and they were desperate for food and trampled down anyone who got in their way! So also, people stuck in dead religion have no satisfaction and they are like starving men ready to knock down the gates to run to the free food of the gospel!
Luke 16:16 (NASB)
16 "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
Again this is what it means that everyone is forcing their way into it. Prior to the free gospel being preached, everyone was in bondage to the legalism of the religious system controlled by these greedy religious men! These men would cheat them constantly in every way imaginable. If they brought livestock to sacrifice to God they would be told they are not fit for sacrifice and sold another animal for a huge sum. This sort of thing was happening constantly and the people were spiritually starving like the citizens of Samaria under siege!
But when the good news of the gospel came the people no longer had to go to Jerusalem and be cheated by the greedy religious leaders who were controlling everything for their own profits. Instead Jesus sacrificed himself once for all so that whoever called upon the Name of the Lord could be saved. They did not have to pay high prices for animal sacrifices anymore because Jesus sacrificed himself and his own blood to pay for the sins of all humanity. Jesus offered this salvation free to whoever would call upon the Name of the Lord.
This was such a good deal that people pressing into to get through the doorway or gate (who is Jesus) to eat freely of the bread of Life provided for them. They were trampling down anything that got in their way as they ran forward toward the free food of salvation! They were forcing their way into the free gift of eternal life like starving people who were not going to wait for anyone to tell them to stop!
Luke 16:17 (NASB)
17 "But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.
Jesus fulfilled the entire law and every detail in the law. No longer did humans have to engage in worthless religions trying to pay for their own sins by sacrificing animals and livestock. They only had to receive the free gift of eternal life from Jesus and everyone could afford the price because all they had to do is call upon the Name of the Lord. There was the pandemonium of joy as people stormed through the gate of salvation to partake of the free bread of Life!
Luke 16:18 (NASB)
18 "Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.
Jesus made it clear to the religious leaders that the religious system they were making profit off of by cheating worshipers of God had now come to a close. From that time forward salvation was made available free of charge for whoever would call upon the name of the Lord. The people were ecstatic like refugees escaping from a famine-stricken city and running out to get some free food! From this time on their religious system was cancelled and divorced by God and now salvation was made free to all humanity (apart from dead religion).
Jesus said that whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery and this speaks of the fact that anyone who divorces salvation by grace and tries to return to dead religion to earn their salvation by human works is committing adultery against God! If anyone marries someone who is divorced commits adultery and the same was true of dead religion which was divorced by God and whoever returns to dead religion is marrying someone who was been divorced.
The profit-based religious system set up in Jerusalem and controlled by greedy religious men had been put away by God and divorced and a new way to eternal life was made by the sacrifice of Jesus. Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved and this is a free gift to whoever calls.
Luke 16:19-21 (NASB)
19 "Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.
20 "And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,
21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.
Jesus then continued with a true example of a rich man and poor man. This example illustrates why those who make an idol out of money are fools because they will spend all eternity in hell!
These rich men were just like the religious leaders who scoffed at Jesus for exposing their greed. These greedy men thought nothing about anything else except money! That was the purpose of their lives on earth and when they died every one of them went into eternal damnation!
Luke 16:22-24 (NASB)
22 "Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.
23 "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'
The rich man who pursued nothing but money and worldly pleasure and feasting all of his life and living in luxury and serving only himself ended up in hell! His body was buried on earth but he found he was still very much alive in hell! Humans are eternal beings and will live for ever either in heaven or in hell depending on how they lived while alive on earth!
In the time before the sacrifice of Jesus was made, there was a holding place in the center of the earth called Abraham's bosom. It was a place of comfort where all of the righteous people of the Old Testament era remained until the time that Jesus came and provided salvation for them. This place of comfort was separated from the place of torment by a great chasm. The self-serving rich man landed on the torment side of the chasm and the poor man landed on the comfort side of the chasm (apparently being a righteous man).
See the lesson called "Abraham's Bosom" for more details.
Luke 16:25-26 (NASB)
25 "But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.
26 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.'
The rich man had received good things in his natural life on earth while Lazarus had received bad things so in the afterlife the rich man was in torment and the poor man was in comfort. This shows clearly that how people live while they are alive on earth will effect their eternity.
Luke 16:27-31 (NASB)
27 "And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house—
28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
29 "But Abraham *said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.'
30 "But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!'
31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"
The rich man wanted to warn his surviving brothers on earth so they would not also come to this place of torment. If worldly rich people knew what was coming for them they would live different lives on earth and give toward the kingdom of God and help others instead of living self-indulgent lives of debauchery and sin!
Luke 24:44-45 (NIV2011)
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
Jesus said that everything written in the Jewish Old Testament was speaking of himself so that the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms all spoke of Jesus. Abraham said that the Law and the prophets spoke of the Messiah who is the way of salvation and that was enough for men to have faith in God and escape damnation!
But most wicked men do not want to repent so they pay no attention to God's word and do not give a thought about eternal life until after it is too late for them. Once they are in hell they are sealed up for all eternity and there is no getting out!
Luke 16:29-31 (NIV2011)
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.’ ”
Moses and the prophets all spoke of Jesus and salvation by faith and even those people who lived prior to Jesus (like Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and David and other righteous Old Testament men). These righteous OT men were able to find salvation when Jesus came and preached the gospel to them (and they were saved) and Jesus brought them out of their holding place in the center of earth and led them as the first fruits of salvation into heaven!
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and King David and Hezekiah and many others were all righteous rich men who did not make an idol out of money or love money from than God.
1 Chronicles 22:14 (NIV2011)
14 “I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the LORD a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them.
David was generous to give toward the things of God and gave financially toward building the first temple for God. David donated a hundred thousand talents of gold (75 lbs. per talent would be 7.5 million pounds of gold and a million talents of silver (75 lbs. per talent would be equal to 75-million pounds of sliver)! David was a righteous rich man and gave generously to the things of God on earth!
These righteous Old Testament rich men all went to the comfort side of the chasm while the worldly rich men who only served themselves on earth all went to the torment side of the chasm.
No doubt what a man does with his wealth while alive on earth will have big effect for them when they go into eternity. A person's giving on earth reveals their love for God and this will produce great eternal rewards for them in heaven!
Matthew 6:19-24 (NASB)
19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
23 "But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
In order for a believer to lay up treasures in heaven they are to give toward the things of God while on earth. If they only hoard up natural wealth on earth they will end up losing it all and spend eternity in hell where all worldly rich men reside.
Their eye speaks of motives because the rich man has his eyes only on money and he is full of darkness of greed and covetousness and cannot see that he is headed for eternal damnation. Those who love money more than God are full of darkness and blinded from spiritual truth.
Again, no human can serve two masters and this speaks of the fact that they cannot serve both money and God at the same time!
But there were many righteous rich men like Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob and David and Hezekiah and many others. These men did not look to money but looked to God who provided for them abundantly. Even Solomon started off good with God and God made him prosperous more than any king that ever existed on earth! God can make people prosper if they have their heart conditions right before God.
The test to see if their heart motives are pure is if they can give to God. If they are free to give then they do not have an idol of money. But if they cannot give that means they love money more than God and that is an idol that will send them to hell together with all of the worldly rich-men who have ever lived!
Mark 9:41 (NIV)
41 I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.
Even giving something as simple as a cup of water can cause the giver to receive eternal reward in heaven. Giving on earth is the means of laying away treasures in heaven.
Luke 12:33-34 (NIV)
33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Jesus spoke of people selling their possessions and giving to the poor because that as a means of laying away treasure in heaven.
Luke 18:22 (NIV2011)
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Jesus asked the rich young ruler to sell all he had and give to the poor and then come and follow him. This was because this rich young ruler loved money more than God and that is the reason he went away sad.
Luke 18:23-25 (NIV2011)
23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy.
24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!
25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
Jesus said it was hard for the worldly rich man to enter the kingdom of God because these worldly rich men love money more than God and were unable to give for this reason.
I wrote a poem depicting the homecoming of a man who gave a lot of money to the kingdom of God and supported missions work.