"The safest road to hell, is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." (C.S. Lewis)
15 The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge,
And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. (Prov 18:15)
3 A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,
But the simple pass on and are punished. (Prov 22:3)
Luke 16:1-2
In the previous chapter, Jesus spoke to the Scribes and Pharisees. The parable of chapter 15 was of the prodigal son and it ended with revealing the heart of the elder son. The younger son confessed His sin and repented to the father. The older son also confessed to the father. He told him of his dedicated service; his perfect record of righteousness having never transgressed, ever. With all his good works and perfection, dad never offered even a goat of a celebration for him. The statement oozes with pride, self-righteousness and covetousness. He was so good, it's not clear why he even needed a father. The son had no consideration for his brother, no grace at all. He has no thought of why his father felt the way he did. There is no love or compassion visible but only a focus on his wants and desires. We get a clear view of his hard heart. It was a reflection of the hard heart of the Pharisees. Did they see themselves? The parable was told as evidence that it was right for Him to receive sinners and tax collectors to Himself.
Jesus is now speaking to His disciples and we know the scribes and Pharisees are nearby listening (based on verse later in this chapter). It is about a rich man and his steward. A steward is one who would oversee property and finances of his master. This steward was accused of wasting the goods that belonged to his master. This could be foolish managing, spending it on himself of just spending extravagantly. The word means 'squander' and is the same word used to describe what the Prodigal did with his inheritance (15:13).
The rich man called to his steward to give an account. This was to settle all debts. The steward was to return all that had been entrusted to him. In addition, he was being fired.
So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12)
See also 2 Corinthians 5:10 and 1 Peter 4:5-6.
Luke 16:3-4
Was this a surprise to the steward. Had he not considered every day that a day of accounting would come? Had he cared for the masters goods every day or was the accusation true that he had squandered the wealth? He was concerned of what he would do, where he would go after being fired. Manual labor didn't suit him, after all, he was a manager and such things were beneath him. Begging was out of the question; he couldn't go beg from those he once collected debts from. This represented a step down in status. It is clear that no thought had been given to this future day of accounting. Within the language is the idea that it was with suddenness he realized what he needed to do. He would use his authority and power of his stewardship one last time to position himself better for the future; to find favor with the debtors.
Luke 16:5-8
He called all the masters debtors and called in their debts but did so at a discount. Imagine the pleasant surprise of having the repayment of your loan cut in half. This first debtor owed a hundred measures of oil. A measure (also called a bath) was a little over 8 gallons – so the debt was 875 gallons of olive oil. This is a huge debt, worth over 3 years wages of a worker. This man would have been very grateful to the steward and maybe even felt like he owed him something.
Another received a 20% discount on 100 cors of wheat. A cor was 10-12 bushels of grain. A thousand bushels of grain was a debt equal to 9 years of a worker's wages. It would take a good hundred acres to grow that much grain. Again, we see this was a massive debt.
How was this man able to reduce the debt?
- Did he just lower the price? It could be, after all, the master already established him as unrighteous. He wouldn't look any worse in the master's eyes but would be elevated to the debtors.
- It is possible that he removed the interest on the debt. And it was very possibly the debt was excessive. The master would still receive his goods and he would be looked upon favorably by the debtors.
- He may have removed his own commission. This might dovetail with #2. He may have been planning on pocketing a large part of this for himself.
Verse eight is a strange verse. The master considers him 'unjust' but he commended him for his action. He was unjust based on his previous action. The commendation was based on the current cleverness. The steward acted in a way that was consistent with the requirements of the master as well as his need for a future. Can we consider saying, 'All the steward did previously was unjust, while the actions now were commendable to the master.' It appears he was using the wealth as it was always supposed to be used.
Jesus establishes a fact by which he will explain the point of the parable. The sons of this world are the unbelievers of the world and are shrewder. The sons of light are the righteous.
Luke 16:9-13
Jesus told the disciples to use wealth to make friends who could offer them an everlasting home. What kind of friend would that be? Only God could offer an everlasting home and He didn't need their money. Being shrewd and manipulative with wealth offered no eternal value. It was a black hole that many a good men and woman have fallen in. However, being generous in using the world's wealth shows a love towards God and higher principal at work. You are just one of God's managers of all that he has. I think we are to be a little more shrewd with wealth for the Glory of God and advancing His kingdom.
Character is revealed in how the little things are treated. There is a consistency in our dealings from the least to the great, the value doesn't determine our ethic, it's our heart. The established fact then is if you can't handle the wealth of the world well, you won't be entrusted with the true riches. The true riches are the things of God. If you can't handle someone else's wealth with respect, honesty and integrity, who would give you the true riches that could be your own. In essence, Jesus lays a choice before them:
- They can act like the steward and his master.
- Or, act as followers of Jesus, using what has been entrusted to them for God's purpose.
The reason then, that there is a choice, is because you can't serve two masters. The two masters are God and mammon. You will love one and hate the other; or be loyal to one and despise the other. A heart is revealed in the choice – the favorite and treasured will always be chosen!
Money & wealth is not inherently evil, however it is often used for a means of evil. Wealthy, Godly people have done great work with their wealth. They also have to be very guarded and cautious of their attitude. They don't guard against the love of money as much as foster and advance the great love towards God. This keeps the perspective of money in the proper place.
Luke 16:14-15
As if Jesus needed a living example of His parable the Pharisee's once again don't disappoint him and deliver on cue. Luke tells us they were lovers of money and they heard this discussion. The word 'derided' means they 'turned their nose up' or 'sneered, ridiculed or showed contempt'. They loved one and hated the other. They were loyal to their wealth and despised Jesus. Amazing.
They justified themselves much like the older prodigal son. However, they might fool men part of the time, maybe even most men most of the time, but they never, ever fooled God. He knew their hearts. The wealth they so loved and held in high esteem was a horror and disgust to God. These men knew that word abomination well, they had thrown it around in their condemnation and judgment of others.
Luke 16:16-17
Jesus presents the idea of two eras and John is the dividing line between them. The first era is that of the law and prophets. The scribes and Pharisees had positioned themselves as the foremost experts of the law, the keepers and teachers of the law. They could not imagine an era change in which they would not be on the front lines to offer their thoughts and opinions. They would never have dreamed of an era change that defied them. Now, the kingdom of God was being preached. It wasn't just to the Jews, nor was in control of the Pharisees. The phrase 'everyone is pressing into it' is a debated passage. The NIV, ESV and NASB all say 'everyone is forcing their way into it'. The difference between the idea of 'pressing into' and 'forcing into' depends on how one applies the verbs. Just by the context, everyone 'forcing' their way into it doesn't make sense. Lots of people reject the kingdom and many come willingly. The idea of pressing is probably the press of the gospel on every person, some will receive it and others reject it, but all will feel the press.
Everyone would feel pressed to the kingdom in this new era, but Jesus also wanted to make sure folks knew that Heaven and earth would pass away but not one tittle of the law would fail. Jesus didn't come to eliminate the law, but to fulfill it. The scribes and Pharisees knew the law and they should have known Jesus from it. All the law and prophets point toward Jesus. This verse is paralleled in Matthew:
17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)
Matthew spoke of the jot, a small letter in the Greek, iota. Matthew also mentioned the title as Luke did. It was a short line on the main stroke of a Hebrew letter. The average person would be intimidated to hear the Pharisees wave the law before them. I wonder if the Pharisees were intimidated when the Son of God held the law up before them. Did their self-righteousness crumble?
It appears they may have been very much like the unjust steward who had not made good use with what was entrusted to them. They were shrewd in their response, attempting to win the favor of all those who they had offended by putting burdens on them. They had placed people in debt to the law for years. Now Jesus was reminding them of their debt. It would have been a good time for them to repent. To turn to God and seek the Kingdom of God that Jesus spoke of. However, pride blocked the way.
Luke 16:18
Jesus held divorce up as an example of the law. It may be that these Pharisees had not been very faithful to that portion of the law. This made the guilty of all the law. It's as though Jesus was showing them specifically that they were indeed the unjust stewards of the parable.
In the context and placement of the parable, the certain rich man points to the Pharisees. However, we shouldn't assume we don't have something profound to learn about ourselves. We need to make sure we aren't that rich man unaware. This rich man was living a luxurious and opulent lifestyle. By contrast, there was a beggar, named Lazarus. His name means 'God helps'. He is the only person named in a parable. He was laid at the gate, begging for anything to be able to eat. His desire was to eat what fell from the rich man's table. This is a similar phrase the prodigal son used in speaking of the desire to return to his Father. The food that fell from the table was the dog's food. Now Lazarus was full of sores and apparently unable to get around on his own. As if the picture was not graphic enough, we are told that the dogs came and licked his sores. He had become the dogs food rather than the crumbs of the rich man.
The day came when Lazarus died. Jesus spoke of how the angels took Lazarus to Abraham's bosom. This is the idea of being in the presence of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It might also speak to him having an honorable position in the proximity of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried. The angels didn't come get him though. He went to a place of torment, to Hades or hell, where sinners suffer eternal torment. He was a long way from Abraham, but apparently part of his torture was to see him far off. As he looked, he also saw Lazarus there. How could this have happened? How could he, this rich man, having so many resources and having the world at his fingertips, end up so far from Abraham? How could this pathetic, broken, damaged shell of a man be near Father Abraham?
The Pharisees would have wondered the same. This was unheard of, a ridiculous parable, because this guy was gutter trash to them. They saw the 'down and out' as someone out of favor with God. The rich man had been blessed by God, why would he go to hell?
Luke 16:24-26
The rich man begged for mercy from Abraham. His idea was that Lazarus could dip his finger in cool water and come to him to cool his tongue, in the midst of the flame. Did the rich man feel there was a mistake? Did it cross his mind to offer cash, wealth and riches; until he remembered that he had none of that there. In fact, the only difference, after life had ended, was that Lazarus was there and he was in hell. Death had been the great equalizer. In fact, he doesn't make the case that he doesn't deserve to be there. He seems to understand and agree with the judgment.
Abraham reminded the rich man of the great life he had while Lazarus suffered. Now Lazarus would enjoy eternity and be comforted while he suffered eternal torment. The other problem with the rich man's idea was that there was a great gulf. This 'gulf' is a chasm, we might picture as a grand canyon. No soul would pass this chasm, it was a fixed, impassable gulf.
Luke 16:27-31
He was fixed on Lazarus resolving this dilemma he was in. If his situation could not be changed, at least maybe he could warn others. He asked that Lazarus be sent to his father's house and give testimony. He already understood his brothers would be along soon and find themselves in torment.
Abraham spoke the words that might have perked up the Pharisees, "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them." Could they imagine Father Abraham saying that? Had they not heard them? The man said no, he knew that wasn't enough. He knew that they had not paid attention to the law and prophets. He was sure that if Lazarus came back to them from the dead, they would indeed listen and repent. Abraham disagrees. If they could not know the law and prophets and repent, then hearing the testimony of one who rose from the dead would not do any good.
There were two eras and Jesus presented the second to them by preaching the kingdom of God. However, he would not allow these men to cause a division of the two eras. They were of the same God. The second era was spoken of in the first and first era was fulfilled in the second. The Pharisees could not hold to the law and reject Jesus. To reject Jesus was to reject the Father and His words.
We have no idea how the Pharisees responded to these words. If there was no response, it certainly gives us a look at how hard their hearts had become. The movement from which they came was born out of the idea of preserving the traditions of God given to the Jews and the Word of God. It was a response to Hellenism, the Greek culture invading Israel and Judaism. Their beginnings were noble, their motives were initially good. Yet a few hundred years later, they care of prestige, money and their appearance. They burdened their brothers and sisters with a law that was to point them to the need for a savior. They had become a roadblock.
These men stood before their savior that day with a hard heart. If there was no movement, maybe at least a crack formed. Maybe the fact Jesus spoke to them translated to a love they had not known. Maybe it was more important that they remember this parable for a day soon to come. When Jesus rose on the third day, did they think of the words of Abraham in the parable?
If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.' "
Look at the two parables together, on the heels of the parable of the prodigal son who was always with the father, but not of the father. We saw a steward who wasted his life, then making a recovery when he saw he had not prepared for the future. He shrewdly used his position and authority to attain a future place. Then we saw a parable of a man who waited till it was too late. He wanted to warn his brothers not to do what he did. However, he lived his life, it landed him in hell.
All this seems to point to the Pharisees. However, across the previous 15 chapters we often noted that maybe there was a little more Pharisee in us than we care to admit. Don't dismiss these parables as not being for you. We can know, even if we've wasted our lives and been unjust stewards of the life and resources given us, that can change today. Our pardon will be no less magnificent. It would be the celebration of a prodigal running to the father, even though he had always been right there in his presence. Of the Pharisees, we know there were a few these men who seemed to pursue Jesus for the right reasons. Maybe we'll meet a few of them one day when we join them in heaven.
Notes:
This parable refutes what some call "soul sleep". We see both the rich man and Lazarus as conscious. Lazarus enjoying comfort and the rich man suffering torment.
Jesus said the angels carried Lazarus to heaven. What a beautiful picture. Can we not expect the same if we are in Christ?
Hell is not a Saturday night frat party. Occasionally you hear someone say they won't mind hell since all their friends will be there. Hell appears to be lonely torment in the flames with heaven in view. All eternity to think what could have been.
It's been noted by some, that this earthly life is a testing ground for heavenly life. This means our moral conditions here and now, our belief in the promises of God and willingness to walk in them, all become vitally significant in determining our eternal position.
©2020 Doug Ford
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