The Parable of the Unjust Steward Then Jesus said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. Luke 16:1-9 Then the manager said to himself, 'What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. So he summoned him and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.' I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes. So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' 1
He answered, 'A hundred jugs of olive oil.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.' Then he asked another, 'And how much do you owe?' He replied, 'A hundred containers of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill and make it eighty.' And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. Initial Impressions What don t you like about this parable? What do you like about this parable? Sympathetic or Not? Do you sympathize with the steward, who is about to lose his job, or not? Do you feel sorry for him? Is he getting what he deserves by being fired? What is familiar about this text? What can we, as people living in the year 2005, relate to in this story? 2
The Parable of The Unjust Steward also known as: The Dishonest Steward The Wasteful Steward The Shrewd Steward The Prudent Steward The Clever Steward The Savvy Manager The Parable of The Unjust Steward also known as: Oops I did it again. It s never too early to begin planning for your retirement. It s all done with Smoke and Mirrors Oops I did it again. The nature of the charges It was reported that the steward was squandering his boss s money. He is about to be fired for misappropriation of funds. And what does he do? He apparently squanders some more of his boss s money. Oops he did it again! diaballw means to to bring charges against with hostile intent, but it doesn t imply whether or not the charges were true or false. But the fact that the charges are taken seriously by both the master and steward indicates that they were true. The steward apparently doesn t even argue about it. The Prodigal Son Comparison The Prodigal Son Comparison 15:13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 16:1 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. diaskorpi zwn scatter, disperse, waste, squander, to scatter abroad. 3
The Prodigal Son Comparison Both contain an internal dialogue resulting in a decision But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."' Luke 15:17-19 Then the manager said to himself, 'What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.' Luke 16:3-4 It is never too early to start planning for your retirement Digging? Manual labor isn t for me. It s hard work. Welfare? I m ashamed to stand in line. By George, I think I ve got it!!! I have a plan. When I m done, people will welcome me with great big hugs and kisses. It is never too early to start planning for retirement Calls up the 1 st debtor on the list What s the balance due on your account? Hey, cut it in half! Calls up the 2 nd debtor on the list What s the balance due? I really like you, I ll give you a 25% discount on that bill. What if YOU got a call What s the balance on your student loan? Tell you what, just pay back half and we ll call it even. What was the nature of the discount? Additional dishonesty? Further attempts to falsify records? -OR - Unlawful interest? Was he acting legally? -OR- Was the interest his entitled commission? Is he forgoing his own profit? BOTTOM LINE: It doesn t matter! What was the amount of the discount? The Greek identifies the liquid measure of oil as a batos, a bath being about eight to nine of our gallons. The total value would be about a thousand denarii, with one denarius being a common worker s daily wage. Halving that amount would be about five hundred denarii off the original bill. The hundred containers of wheat are also identified. A container was the largest Hebrew dry measure, about five gallons. The total value would be about twenty five hundred denarii. The dollar reduction is the same as the first, about five hundred denarii off representing about twenty five percent interest. What was his retirement plan? We re left to wonder what in the world the steward was doing, when we finally figure it out. When the steward learned that he was about to lose his job, he spent his last few hours in office quite wisely. He went to some of his boss s best customers and gave them huge discounts on what they owed his boss. Why? So that after he was kicked out of his company for misappropriation of funds, he could go back to those same customers, whom he did this favor for. Naturally they would remember him, and show him incredible hospitality, and maybe even give HIM their business! BOTTOM LINE: It doesn t matter! 4
You have to admit, it was clever. When it came time for him to be fired, even his boss said, I ve got to hand it to you, you are one clever dude! Jesus said: For the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. Jesus did not commend the steward s dishonesty, He commended his shrewdness/wiseness. froni mwj shrewd, wise, with insight Interpretation? It s all done with smoke and mirrors. Jesus recognizes two kinds of people People of this World and People of the Light Just like the manager squandered his boss s possessions, present world..future world temporary....eternal sin/pain/heartache light/beauty/peace/love the Christian is to be a good caretaker (or steward) of God s possessions. 5
Just like the manager created friends with his inferiors for his benefit (to take advantage); we create friends with our inferiors for their benefit (to be charitable) and because our actions will be blessed by God. Luke 14:12-14 Jesus said also "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." Just like the manager did the wrong things for self-serving reasons, Just like the manager s boss called for an accounting of his practices, we are to do the right things for self-less reasons. so will God call for an accounting of our practices. So then, each of us will be accountable to God. -Romans 14:12 I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; -Matthew 12:36 Parable of the Talents -Matthew 25 Just like the manager thought ahead and made present decisions to secure a good future for himself, we also need to think ahead and make present decisions to secure a good future for ourselves. 6
Innocent + Wise Matthew 16:10 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. The manager in the parable was as shrewd as a snake, but he was as guilty as sin. We need to learn to be wise, but remain as innocent as doves. An important mirror image You cannot serve God and money. Another important mirror image Worldly Wealth vs. Heavenly Treasure. Luke 12:21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God." Matt 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Boundaries/Frame? Boundaries/Frame? Then Jesus said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer. Then the manager said to himself, 'What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.' So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' He answered, 'A hundred jugs of olive oil.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.' Then he asked another, 'And how much do you owe?' He replied, 'A hundred containers of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill and make it eighty.' Parable continued Jesus said "Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 7
No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed him. So he said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others; but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God. The End. Rabbinic Folklore Rabbinic Folklore A man once caught stealing was ordered by the king to be hanged. On the way to the gallows he said to the governor that he knew a wonderful secret and it would be a pity to allow it to die with him and he would like to disclose it to the king. He would put a seed of a pomegranate in the ground and through the secret taught to him by his father he would make it grow and bear fruit overnight. 8
The thief was brought before the king and on the morrow the king, accompanied by the high officers of state, came to the place where the thief was waiting for them. There the thief dug a hole and said, This seed must only be put in the ground by a man who has never stolen or taken anything which did not belong to him. I being a thief cannot do it. So he turned to the Vizier who, frightened, said that in his younger days he had retained something which did not belong to him. The treasurer said that dealing with such large sums, he might have entered too much or too little and even the king owned that he had kept a necklace of his fathers. The thief then said, You are all mighty and powerful and want nothing, and yet you cannot plant the seed, whilst I who have stolen a little because I was starving am to be hanged. The king, pleased with the ruse of the thief, pardoned him. Similarities? Main character is accused of stealing Main character is faced with an urgent dilemma Main character acts shrewdly/wisely Main character receives commendation/pardon 9