Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
LUKE 16
The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
1 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 “ ‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.
Additional Teachings
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 their way into it. 17 It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.
18 “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
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.’ ”
Application Notes
16:1-8 Many explanations have been offered for this difficult story. The most likely is that the use of our money is a good test of the depth of our commitment to following Jesus. Here we learn at least three things:
(1) Our money belongs to God, not us; we must use our resources wisely.
(2) Money can be used for good or evil; we must use ours for good.
(3) Money has a lot of power; we must use it carefully and thoughtfully. When we live by God's kingdom priorities, we will use our money and resources in a way that will grow our own faith and obedience (see 12:33-34) and be an example to others.
16:9 We are to make wise use of the financial opportunities we have, not to earn a ticket to heaven, but to help people find Jesus. If we use our money to help those in need or to help others find Jesus, our earthly investments will bring eternal benefit. When we obey God's will, the unselfish use of possessions will follow.
16:10-11 Our integrity is often put on the line in money matters. God calls us to be honest even in small details we could easily ignore. Heaven's riches are far more valuable than earthly wealth. But if we are not trustworthy with our money here (no matter how much or little we have), we will be unfit to handle the vast riches of God's kingdom. See that you maintain your integrity in all matters, both big and small.
16:13 Money has the power to take God's place in your life. It can become your master. How can you tell if you are a slave to money? Ask yourself these questions: Do I think and worry about money frequently? Do I give up doing what I should do or would like to do in order to make more money? Do I spend a great deal of time caring for my possessions? Is it hard for me to give money away? Am I in debt?
Money is a hard and deceptive master. Wealth promises so much—to some, security and happiness and contentment; to others, power and control. But from an eternal perspective, it has never delivered on these promises. Great fortunes can be made—and lost—overnight, but no amount of money can provide lasting satisfaction or eternal life. How much better it is to let God be your master. His followers have peace of mind and security, both now and forever.
16:14 Because the Pharisees loved money, they took exception to Jesus' teaching. We live in an age that measures people's worth by how much money they make. Do you scoff at Jesus' warnings about money? Do you try to explain them away by saying that you would never let money control you? Do you apply them to someone else as you keep trying to make more and more? Unless we take Jesus' statements seriously, we may be acting like Pharisees ourselves.
16:15 The Pharisees acted piously to get praise from others, but God knew what was in their hearts. They considered their wealth to be a sign of God's approval. God detested their wealth because it caused them to assume they were being blessed by God and stop seeking to humbly grow closer to him. Though prosperity may earn people's praise, it must never substitute for devotion and service to God.
16:16-17 John the Baptist's ministry was the dividing line between the Old and New Testaments (John 1:15-18). With the arrival of Jesus came the realization of all the prophets' hopes. Jesus emphasized that his kingdom fulfilled the Law (the Old Testament) and did not cancel it (Matthew 5:17). He was not a new system, but the culmination of the old. The same God who had worked through Moses was working through Jesus.
16:18 Most religious leaders of Jesus' day permitted a man to divorce his wife for nearly any reason. Jesus' teaching about divorce went beyond Moses' (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). Stricter than any of the thencurrent schools of thought, Jesus' teachings shocked his hearers (see Matthew 19:10) just as they shake today's readers. Jesus says in no uncertain terms that marriage is a lifetime commitment. To leave your spouse for another person may be legal, but it is adulterous in God's eyes. As you think about marriage, remember that God intends it to be a permanent commitment.
16:19-31 The Pharisees considered wealth to be a proof of a person's righteousness. Jesus startled them with this story, in which, a diseased beggar is rewarded and a rich man is punished. The rich man did not go to hell because of his wealth but because he was selfish, refusing to feed Lazarus, take him in, or care for him. The rich man was hardhearted despite his great blessings. The amount of money we have is not as important as the way we use it. What is your attitude toward your money and possessions? Do you hoard them selfishly, or do you use them to help others?
16:20 The Lazarus in this story should not be confused with the Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead in John 11.
16:29-31 The rich man thought that his five brothers would surely believe a messenger who had been raised from the dead. But Jesus said that if they did not believe Moses and the prophets, who spoke constantly of caring for the poor, not even a resurrection would convince them. Notice the irony in Jesus· statement; on his way to Jerusalem to die, he was fully aware that even when he had risen from the dead, most of the religious leaders would not accept him. They were set in their ways, and neither Scripture nor God's Son himself would shake them loose.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)