Luke 16 - One Year New Testament - To Whom Much Is Given Much is Required

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The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

Jesus had a lot to say about possessions. On one hand he warned against trusting in possessions or letting possessions dominate you. i.e. Where your treasure is there your heart is also. But in today's parable, he teaches about the importance of managing the possessions God has given you. Possessions are something that God has entrusted to you, if you have them. Jesus says in this passage, "Whoever has been entrusted with a lot will be accountable for how they use them." 

In the story, the servant is in trouble. He has been lazy and wasteful of his master's possessions. He is about to get fired for his laziness. But instead of being a victim, he goes out and barters with the master's clients and ends up getting as much out of these accounts as possible. The master is impressed with his servant for his resourcefulness, and he keeps his job. 

Jesus uses this example to say if those in the world can be this shrewd how much more faithful should the disciples be with what they have been given. Jesus adds if his disciples are not faithful in handling worldly possessions, how will they handle heavenly possessions?

How faithful have you been with the possessions God has given you? Would he give you more to handle based on your faithfulness?

Additional Teachings

Jesus teaches something important about the role of the Law, the moral commandments of the Old Testament. I.e. Ten Commandments. Though the Good News of Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law, it doesn't mean that the Laws is abolished. This is important as we have seen throughout 2,000 years of church history when Christians said, "We don't have to follow the Law, we are under grace". 

Jesus affirmed the traditonal view of marriage. He states a man who divorces his wife and then marries a divorced wife, commits adultery. One of the things that happened in Jesus' day was that men could divorce their wives for whatever they wanted. Jesus not only upholds the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, but also denounces the men in the culture for that behavior. He calls it "adultery". I.e. Sex outside marriage

The Rich Man and Lazarus

Jesus teaches another parable about why how you manage your material possessions is so important in God's eyes. Luke puts more emphasis on the the stewardship of possession than the other three gospels. It fits with his theme of discipleship. In this case a rich man who is dressed expensively and lived in luxury EVERY DAY. There was a beggar who just longed for a little bit of food. His condition was so bad even the dogs licked his sores. How would the rich man handle it?

It is important to point out that this is probably not completely analagous to our present day homeless situation, though Christians are called to minister to the homeless. We know some homeless people today prefer to be homeless, and/or refuse to get the help they need to get them out of homelessness. But the homeless man in this situation was in this situation due to factors out of his control. However, the rich man had been given his riches. 

So after they both die, Lazarus goes to Abraham's side. I.e. Heaven And the rich man goes down to "hades". I.e. Hell The rich man is dying of thirst and asks the poor the man to just wet the tip of his tongue, but there is a chasm between them so the poor man cannot help him. The judgment is final, there is no chance of reversal. As a last ditch effort, the rich man asks father Abraham (who represents God) to send Lazarus to warn his family. I.e. to raise him from the dead. But Father Abraham lets them know if they would not listen to the law and prophets, they won't listen even if someone rises from the dead.

This is a stern parable with a theme of both judgment and the importance of using the things we have been given to help those less fortunate. For those who have been blessed with wealth, we will be accountable for how we use it. Someone might say, "Well I earned my wealth through hard work!" Yes that is true but all the things you needed to d0 that were given by God. I.e. talents, health, education, family, and resources. 

Finally, Jesus is foreshadowing how the Jews would reject him even after he was raised from the dead . You would think that when he rose from the dead, they would finally change their mind about him. But we know they didn't. It is a dangerous thing for a person to reject what they have been shown of God, thinking one day they will accept him. 

Do you have a Lazarus in your life? Someone who has geniune been dealt a "bad deck of cards"? Can you help them? Importantly this will not save you, but show you are saved and are generous with the grace you have been given! You will have done much with what you have been given and be given more!