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Luke 16

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The Parable of the Unjust Steward 1–7

1
And he said also unto the disciples, There was a certain rich man, who had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he was wasting his goods. ​
2
And he called him, and said unto him, What is this that I hear of thee? render the account of thy stewardship; for thou canst be no longer steward. ​
3
And the steward said within himself, What shall I do, seeing that my lord taketh away the stewardship from me? I have not strength to dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4
I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. ​
5
And calling to him each one of his lord’s debtors, he said to the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
6
And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bond, and sit down quickly and write fifty. ​
7
Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. He saith unto him, Take thy bond, and write fourscore.

Wisdom in the Use of Wealth 8–13

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And his lord commended the unrighteous steward because he had done wisely: for the sons of this world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of the light. ​
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And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles. ​
10
He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much: and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much. ​
11
If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? ​
12
And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
13
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. ​

Jesus Rebukes the Pharisees 14–18

14
And the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things; and they scoffed at him. ​
15
And he said unto them, Ye are they that justify yourselves in the sight of men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. ​
16
The law and the prophets were until John: from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man entereth violently into it. ​
17
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fall. ​
18
Every one that putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and he that marrieth one that is put away from a husband committeth adultery. ​

The Rich Man and Lazarus 19–31

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Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, faring sumptuously every day: ​
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and a certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores,
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and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table; yea, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
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And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: and the rich man also died, and was buried. ​
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And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. ​
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And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.
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But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish. ​
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And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that they that would pass from hence to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to us. ​
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And he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house;
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for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
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But Abraham saith, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. ​
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And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one go to them from the dead, they will repent.
31
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Luke 16

Verse 1

a steward… wasted his goods — Oikonomos, the house-manager, the title of 'that faithful and wise steward' in Luke 12:42. 'Wasted' is diaskorpizo, to scatter, the verb of the prodigal in Luke 15:13 ('wasted his substance'). The parable is told 'unto his disciples', after chapter 15 was spoken to Pharisees and scribes who murmured (Luke 15:2–3).

Verse 2

give an account of thy stewardship — 'Account' is logos and 'give' is apodidomi, to give back; 'stewardship' is oikonomia. The charge has reached the master (v.1; 'I hear this of thee'), and the demand sets the term of the office: 'thou mayest be no longer steward'. Scripture says of everyone, 'every one of us shall give account of himself to God' (Rom 14:12).

Verse 4

they may receive me into their houses — 'I am resolved' is literally 'I know' (ginosko). 'Receive' is dechomai, the verb of 'Take thy bill' in v.6 and of v.9, 'they may receive you into everlasting habitations'. The steward looks for houses (oikos) that will take him in when the stewardship ends.

Verse 6

An hundred measures of oil… write fifty — 'Measures' is batos, the Hebrew bath, a liquid measure, found only here. The 'bill' (gramma) is the written bond; 'take' is dechomai, as in v.4. Both debts were the master's: 'How much owest thou unto my lord?' (v.5). The steward seeks the debtors' welcome by what he writes (v.4).

Verse 8

the lord commended the unjust steward — The master praises his prudence (phronimos, the 'wise' of Luke 12:42), not his injustice: he is still the steward 'of unrighteousness' (adikia), the noun of 'the mammon of unrighteousness' in v.9. 'Children of light' is the name of believers in 1 Thess 5:5 and Eph 5:8, 'walk as children of light'.

Verse 9

friends of the mammon of unrighteousness — Mamonas, an Aramaic word for wealth, found in the New Testament only here (vv.9, 11, 13) and in Matt 6:24. 'Everlasting habitations' is literally 'eternal tents' (skene); In Luke's Gospel the only other use is the 'three tabernacles' of Luke 9:33. Compare 'laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come' (1 Tim 6:19).

Verse 10

faithful in that which is least — 'Least' is elachistos, the word of Luke 19:17, 'faithful in a very little', and of Luke 12:26. Pistos, faithful, is trustworthiness in a trust; its opposite here is adikos, unjust. The same measure runs through the master's reward: 'thou hast been faithful over a few things' (Matt 25:23).

Verse 11

the true riches — 'Faithful' (pistos) and 'commit to your trust' (pisteuo) share a root: the one unfaithful with 'the unrighteous mammon' (v.9) is not trusted with more. 'True' is alethinos, genuine, as against passing wealth. The Lord speaks of 'a treasure in the heavens that faileth not' (Luke 12:33).

Verse 13

Ye cannot serve God and mammon — 'Servant' is oiketes, a household servant, the standing of the steward in v.1. Matt 6:24 has the saying in almost the same words. 'Hold to' (anthechomai) is to cling, 'despise' (kataphroneo) is to think little of; the two masters allow no shared loyalty.

Verse 14

the Pharisees also, who were covetous… derided him — 'Covetous' is philarguros, silver-loving, found elsewhere only in 2 Tim 3:2. 'Derided' is ekmukterizo, to turn up the nose, and is used only here and of the rulers at the cross: 'the rulers also with them derided him' (Luke 23:35). They had heard 'all these things' (vv.1–13).

Verse 15

God knoweth your hearts — 'Justify yourselves' is dikaioo. What God sees is the heart, as in 1 Sam 16:7, 'the LORD looketh on the heart'. 'Highly esteemed' is hupselos, lofty, and 'abomination' is bdelugma; compare 'Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD' (Prov 16:5).

Verse 16

every man presseth into it — 'Presseth' is biazo, to use force, found elsewhere only in Matt 11:12, 'the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force'. Matt 11:13 gives the first half: 'all the prophets and the law prophesied until John'. 'Is preached' is euaggelizo, to bring good news; the law is not set aside (v.17).

Verse 17

one tittle of the law to fail — Keraia, a little horn, the smallest stroke of a letter; Matt 5:18 says 'one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law'. The saying follows 'the law and the prophets were until John' (v.16). Christ says of his own words, 'my words shall not pass away' (Luke 21:33).

Verse 18

putteth away his wife… committeth adultery — Apoluo, to send away. The same teaching is given in Matt 19:8: 'Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so' (Matt 19:8). Matt 19:9 adds 'except it be for fornication', and Mark 10:11–12 speaks of the husband and of the wife.

Verse 19

clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day — Porphura is purple dye, and bussos fine linen, a word found only here and in Rev 18:12. 'Fared sumptuously' is euphraino, to make merry, as at the feast of Luke 15:23 and in the rich fool's 'be merry' (Luke 12:19), with lampros, splendidly. Compare Amos 6:4–6.

Verse 22

Abraham's bosom — Kolpos is the bosom, the place next to the host at table, as in John 13:23, 'leaning on Jesus' bosom'. The beggar (ptochos), 'laid at his gate' (v.20), 'was carried by the angels' there. Of the rich man it is said only that he 'died, and was buried'.

Verse 23

in hell he lift up his eyes — Hades, the realm of the dead, found in Luke's Gospel only here and in Luke 10:15, 'thrust down to hell'. 'Torments' is basanos, torture, used in the New Testament in Matt 4:24 and in vv.23, 28. He 'seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom' — the beggar named in v.20.

Verse 25

Son, remember — Abraham addresses him as teknon, child. 'Comforted' is parakaleo, the verb behind the paraklesis, 'consolation', of Luke 6:24: 'woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.' David asks to be delivered from men 'which have their portion in this life' (Ps 17:14).

Verse 26

a great gulf fixed — Chasma, an opening or chasm, found only here in the New Testament. 'Fixed' is sterizo, to set firmly, the verb of Luke 9:51, 'he stedfastly set his face', and of Luke 22:32, 'strengthen thy brethren'.

Verse 29

They have Moses and the prophets — The Scriptures read every sabbath (Acts 15:21), which the risen Christ opens: 'beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself' (Luke 24:27). 'Hear' (akouo) is the verb of v.31 too. Abraham answers the plea that Lazarus be sent.

Verse 31

neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead — Peitho is to persuade or win over. After Lazarus was raised in John 11, 'the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death' (John 12:10). Christ himself says that the law, prophets and psalms speak 'concerning me' (Luke 24:44).