Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:
(Luke 16:1) And He also said to His disciples, "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and the same was accused to him that he had wasted his goods."
In the last chapter, Jesus had been teaching His disciples and others about the importance of saving just one lost soul and the joy in heaven when a lost soul was found which He illustrated in the parable of the prodigal son. He now began another parable directed to His disciples. He spoke of a rich man who had a steward, and it was told to him that that steward had been wasting his goods.
(2) "And he called him and said to him, 'How is it that I hear this of you? Give an account of your stewardship for you may be no longer steward.'"
The rich man called his steward to him, asking how it could be that he had heard such things about him. He demanded the steward give an account of his stewardship, his receipts and disbursements, and told him that he would no longer be his steward.
(3) "Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do? For my lord takes away from me the stewardship; I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.'"
The steward wondered within himself what he was going to do if his master took away his stewardship. He said he couldn't dig or do any such hard manual labor. Whether he was physically unable to do so or he wouldn't stoop that low to do such menial labor, scripture doesn't say, but we do get a sense of his character. He also said he was ashamed to beg, but apparently not too ashamed to cheat his master, so we don't see an actual sorrow and repentance over what he had done.
(4) "'I have resolved what to do that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'"
The steward had a plan that when he had been put out of the stewardship, the people he had had dealings with because of his stewardship would receive him into their houses.
(5) "So he called every one of his lord's debtors, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my lord?'"
The steward called all of his master's debtors to him and began by asking the first debtor how much he owed his 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.'"
The first debtor replied that he owed the steward's master a hundred measures of oil. The steward told him to take his bill and change it to fifty that he owed.
(7) "Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill and write eighty.'"
The steward asked another debtor what he owed and he replied that he owed a hundred measures of wheat. The steward told him to take his bill and change it to eighty. Of course, his plan was that all those debtors would feel an obligation to him and give him sustenance and a place to live after he lost his stewardship.
(8) "And the lord commended the unjust steward because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light."
Of course, my first reaction was "What?!" An unjust cheating steward was commended by the one he had cheated? But upon deeper reflection, the master had only commended the steward's wisdom and craftiness in providing for himself. And Jesus did say in Matthew 10:16 to be wise as serpents but harmless as doves. I believe the second part of the statement above was Jesus's own reflection on the moral of His story; the children of this world, those with only worldly interests, were wiser than the children of light, those following Christ. It struck me how I could compare this to the circus going on in Congress this very minute. Although I think the Democrat Party stands for everything against God, against life, against God Himself, against authority, and standing for what He deems an abomination, like same-sex marriage and pornography and the abuse of children. Although I found Nancy Pelosi to be a wicked woman, she was a very shrewd leader, and always produced for her party and her president. However, the party that is supposed to stand for God and life and the people and good morals, constantly flails around and never comes together to do anything of any real value. Oh, that they would be as wise as the Democrats! Wow, what a lesson for how to defeat the darkness that is of the principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world (Ephesians 6:12), who kill the babies, allow the trafficking of children, and celebrate every sexual deviancy and depravity! I hear leaders saying they don't want to stoop to the same level as the other side, but Jesus says here that the other side is wiser! We should use every legal measure within our means to achieve just and righteous laws. Why, I even believe this answers the question to whether or not a Christian should stand in the political arena. Some believe a Christian should have nothing to do with filthy politics. But politics determines the world our children live in, so we should be willing to use every wise and shrewd method available to us to improve that world and keep it as safe and fair as possible for them to live freely.
(9) "And I say to you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations."
Jesus told His disciples to make friends with the mammon of unrighteousness. He called it that because money and riches are often gotten by unrighteous means. However, the money in itself is not evil; only the love of it is (1 Timothy 6:10). Therefore feel free to use money for good. I fought hard against Obamacare because I found it wrong to make taxpayers pay for the healthcare of everyone, especially when it included many things I was opposed to as a Christian. However, when I was a recipient of the subsidies for it, I used them. That freed up my personal money to do some good. It is fine to take advantage of the proceeds we may get because of unrighteous laws or maybe from proceeds we get from an unrighteous boss. However, the line in the sand we must not cross is if we are called to do something against God's laws, such as killing a baby in the womb for a paycheck. There may come a time when we must sign our names to say we agree and approve of abortion and same-sex marriage and teaching porn in elementary schools in order to receive social security checks. That is when we will have to say no to mammon. To accept that check would be demonstrating the love of that social security check over God's laws and thus Him.
The meaning of the word translated as "fail" above means more precisely "cease (by implication) die." If one has used mammon to do good as in feeding the poor and helping the less fortunate, he will be received into heaven and everlasting life when he dies.
(10) "He who is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much, and he who is unjust in the least is unjust also in much."
Jesus's point was that if one is faithful in the lowest things such as worldly substance, he is also faithful in things of a higher nature, and one who uses the lowest gifts unjustly and unfaithfully is likewise unfaithful in spiritual things.
(11) "If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?"
If one has not been faithful in the proper righteous use of unrighteous mammon, how can he be trusted with true riches, those of heaven which are spiritual and eternal?
(12) "And if you have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?"
If one has not been faithful in that which is another's, which is the proper definition of "allotrios" that was translated as "another man's," that is more specifically, the things that are the Lord's, the things that have been committed to his care as a steward of all that belongs to God, how can he be trusted with the things that are truly his own? All things on earth are God's and it is only through His blessings that we are born when and where we are, that we have the health and the talents to make something in this world, that resources and privileges are available to us, and that no man takes it all away from us, including our very lives. The only thing that is truly ours is our eternal salvation by the love and mercy of God. That is the one thing that no man can take away from us (John 10:29); men might be able to kill our bodies, but they cannot kill our eternal souls (Matthew 10:28). If we cannot be trusted with trivial worldly matters, how can God trust us with something so infinitely more important as the salvation of our eternal souls and our life's testimony to that salvation? He must be able to trust us to be good stewards of that salvation, that by our example, others may desire it as well.
(13) "No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
Jesus concluded this particular lesson by saying that one could not wholeheartedly serve God and riches at the same time. His heart would naturally be more for one over the other. If he used unrighteous mammon for his own gain and his riches were most important, he could not possibly be a good servant and steward to God; it would be impossible. One must be able to put God over riches and say no when those riches cause us to sin against God.
(14) And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things, and they derided Him.
Pharisees, who were among the group of people who heard Jesus speak, heard all these things Jesus taught and had contempt for Him because they were lovers of money.
(15) And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God."
Jesus either heard the Pharisees talking or simply knew their thoughts and spoke directly to them. The Pharisees attempted to serve both God and mammon, justifying their actions before men, but they didn't fool God for He knew their hearts. The deeds they did that were highly esteemed among men were pure abomination in the sight of God. It can't be understood that Jesus said every act that was highly esteemed among men could be considered abomination, for often righteous deeds may be esteemed by men, but in the case of the Pharisees, their "good" deeds were an abomination because God knew their hearts and their true reasons for doing any good they appeared to do.
(16) "The law and the prophets were until John; since that time the kingdom of God is preached and every man is pressing into it."
Before that time when Jesus was speaking, all the people had were the law and the prophets which foresaw this time of Jesus. But at that present time, they had Him and His message of salvation and eternal life, and the people were pressing into it and Him in great numbers.
(17) "And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than one tittle of the law to fail."
Jesus's point was that what was taught by the law and the prophets was not nullified because He was there at that present time offering the kingdom of God. He was the fulfillment of the law and what the prophets foresaw. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-18, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets; I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. For verily I say to you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the law till all be fulfilled."
(18) "Whoever puts away his wife and marries another, commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is put away from her husband, commits adultery."
Jesus then spoke of a man who divorced his wife and married another as having committed adultery. Also if a man married a divorced woman, he also committed adultery. This was undoubtedly spoken to the Pharisees to show how they departed from the law of Moses even though they pretended piousness.
(19) "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day."
Jesus then began a parable about a rich man who had the finest in clothes and lived every day in luxury.
(20) "And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus who was laid at his gate, full of sores."
There was also a very poor man, which is more the sense of the original word, rather than beggar. He may have been reduced to begging because he was very poor and his body was full of sores. He was laid at the gate of the rich man.
(21) "And desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table; moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores."
The poor man lay at the gate of the rich man hoping to eat from his crumbs, and dogs came and licked his sores; such was his state of destitution.
(22) "And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried."
The beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The Jews supposed that Abraham must be in heaven or else in a special paradise reserved for those saints' souls where they were until the resurrection. The poor beggar was with Abraham. The rich man also died and he was buried. We weren't told that the beggar was buried, most likely that was because fine burials were reserved for the rich only.
(23) "And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeing Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom."
The rich man was in hell. We aren't told of his life that brought him to that place, but we know he ignored the poor man at his gate! He was after his death tormented in hell, and part of that torment was that he could actually see Abraham and Lazarus in paradise.
A side note here is that I have often heard the debate about whether we actually go to heaven when we die or if we are in limbo until the resurrection. I believe our souls may go directly to heaven, but our bodies decompose in the ground until the resurrection. So how is it that the rich man could see Abraham and Lazarus? At Jesus's crucifixion, He told one hanging on a cross next to Him that He would see him in paradise that very day (Luke 23:43). Of course, Jesus was only telling a parable in the first instance, so perhaps it shouldn't be taken so literally. Perhaps it was only the souls of Abraham and Lazarus, and where exactly did the rich man see them? The scripture didn't specifically say; I called it paradise as the opposite of where the rich man was. However, Jesus did say "paradise" to the thief on the cross. Jesus said at one point to Nicodemus in John 3:13 that no one had ascended to heaven except Him. However, in 2 Kings 2:11, we were told that Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. I have not studied all references at this point, but I am learning that there may be different levels of heaven, at least prior to Jesus's resurrection after He was crucified. Before Jesus, people could not accept Jesus's payment for their sins that justly required death. Where did their souls go? They could not be with God because of their sins, but in their hearts they followed God to the best of their abilities. Some of the old commentators I study suggest it may have been a place called Paradise or Abraham's Bosom. Although very peaceful and pleasant in complete opposition to a tormenting hell, it was not with God yet. Once Jesus paid the price for their sins, then they could be with God. Is this another level of heaven? Or merely a way for our human minds to understand the differences? As far as Elijah going up to heaven, it could be this "lower" level of heaven reserved for those righteous people who did not yet have the gift of Christ. In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth (Genesis 2:4). Deuteronomy 10:14 spoke of heaven and the heaven of heavens, denoting two different heavens. Whether it refers to different levels of heaven or maybe only to the universe and God's heaven above, I can't say with authority. However, I know that a God I could fully explain and a heaven I could fully understand couldn't possibly be as magnificent and glorious as they surely are, and my simple mind could not possibly know the completely just and righteous and good and loving mind of God!
Back to the rich man and Lazarus:
(24) "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 tormented in this flame.'"
The rich man in hell called out to Abraham to have mercy on him and to send Lazarus down to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool the rich man's tongue. I don't believe this can be taken literally that the rich man could actually talk to Abraham, but it is said that the Jews thought it was possible that departed spirits might know and converse with each other. Therefore, Jesus was using language they would understand to convey His message about the torment in hell.
(25) "But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted and you are tormented.'"
Note that Abraham did not revile this damned soul. It's a beautiful picture of how Jesus Christ must feel about those who rejected Him in life and must then face the terrible consequences of their choice. An additional lesson might be that the rich man was probably indeed a descendant of Abraham, but that was not enough to save him. In Matthew 6:1-2,5, Jesus spoke of those who would have their reward on earth and would have no reward in heaven. In this parable, Abraham reminded the rich man that he had chosen to receive his reward on earth. However, Lazarus had received evil things in his life due to no fault of his own and was at that present time comforted in Abraham's bosom.
(26) "'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who would pass from here to you cannot; neither can they pass to us from there.'"
Additionally, Abraham told the rich man that there was a great fixed chasm between them and neither side could reach the other even if they wanted to.
(27) "Then he said, 'I pray thee therefore, Father, that you would send him to my father's house. (28) For I have five brothers, that he may testify to them lest they also come to this place of torment.'"
The rich man then asked Abraham to send Lazarus to his father's house to warn his five brothers about that place of torment that awaited them if they did not change their ways.
(29) "Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'"
However, Abraham told the rich man that his brothers had all the writings of Moses and the prophets to warn them and that they should take heed to what they said.
(30) "And he said, 'No, Father Abraham, but if one went to them from the dead, they will repent.'"
The rich man in turn implied that was not enough, but if someone from the dead went to tell them the firsthand truth, they would then repent.
(31) "And he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.'"
However, Abraham told the rich man that if his brothers would not hear the words of Moses and the prophets, then they would not listen even if one rose from the dead, which of course, Jesus would soon do, and still most of His listeners to this parable, most especially the Pharisees, would not be persuaded to repent.
Much can be gleaned from this parable of Jesus. I believe it tells us that our souls do not die with our bodies and that they do not sleep, but are conscious after death. The righteous are taken immediately to a place of happiness upon death, even if not heaven with God Himself, and the wicked are immediately sent to a place of misery, even if not the final hell after judgment. We should certainly not envy the powerful and rich, but strive for a better inheritance than can ever be possessed in this life. The sufferings in hell will be indescribably great and there will be no escape or end to the torments. God has given us sufficient warning to prepare for death. He sent His Word, Jesus Christ, a multitude of servants, and His Holy Spirit to draw us, and He will give us nothing more. If one doesn't believe after all the proof he has been given, why would he believe one claiming to come from the dead to warn him? God has set before us two choices, life and death, therefore choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19)!
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