The Parable of the Dishonest Manager.
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager continues the series by Stephen March. Learn the significance of this lesser known parable.
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager Explained
Not all parables are created equal. Sometimes, we read through them, and the meaning is straightforward, clear, and easy to pick out. Other times, we can read them over and over and still have more questions than answers. The parable we are looking at today falls into the second category. There are things in it that can make us think that God is approving of something ungodly, or even telling us to behave a dishonest way. This couldn’t be farther from the truth, but still, it is a parable that requires a vey careful read. The parable of the dishonest manager, found in Luke 16.
He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Luke 16:1-13
What is Happening Here?
If we read through this quickly, it is easy to conclude that the rich man, who does represent God in this story, is commending the dishonest steward for lying, and stealing to provide for himself in the future. It can also be interpreted that Jesus is suggesting that his followers should take note of the manager’s example. But we have to be very careful if we are going down this road of interpretation. Remember, God is perfectly holy and just, as is His Son Jesus. As such, they cannot do, or cause or ask anyone else to do something that is outside of their perfect, sinless nature. So, what’s really happening here then?
Context of the Dishonest Manager is Important
For that, we go back to my favourite expression from this series, context is important. This scene actually began two chapters ago in Luke 14, with Jesus attending a dinner or banquet on the Sabbath at the home of a Pharisee. Since then, Jesus has been speaking to the Pharisees, the disciples, and the crowds around him in parables. Sometimes he spoke to everyone, other times his stories were directed to the Pharisees, and now, in chapter 16, he speaks to his disciples.
So, the first thing this allows us to do is to create distinction between the groups he is speaking to. In this case specifically, though he is speaking to the disciples, we can read in verse 14, immediately after the parable, that the Pharisees heard all these things.
The Parable is About Stewardship
This parable is about stewardship. More specifically, it is about the stewardship, or management of what has been entrusted to us by others. The Jews had been entrusted with so much from God. The Scriptures, His presence and support throughout history, the Law. They built their social structure around these things, and as a result, certain men elevated themselves in the ranks of the religious.
Consider this, the Sanhedrin, the collective of Pharisees and Sadducees, is not a Biblical order. Neither of these groups were called out in the Old Testament writings. They were formed with good intentions but over time some members started to seize the opportunity, through these offices, to rise in power, authority, and influence over their people. They were using, or rather misusing, the resources God had given them for personal gain. They used the influence they gained, to control the people.
The Pharisees Controlling the People
In the gospel of John we see a glimpse of this. Jesus healed a man born blind, that man was then brought before the Pharisees. In that passage we see that the had agreed anyone that confessed Jesus to be Christ, or in the case of the blind man, acknowledged that Jesus made them well, would be kicked out of the synagogue, a very serious thing for a Jew.
That is what Jesus is talking about in this parable. Honesty, and proper use of the gifts that God has given us. When the rich man commended the manager for his shrewdness, it was not to say that we also should be dishonest in our dealings.
Believers are Followers
The point he was making was actually brought out in the next statement. “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.” Now again, remember Jesus is giving this parable to the disciples, those who have believed in Jesus and are counted as His followers. They were the ones who understood and believed that righteousness and eternal life come through God, through faith in the Messiah.
The Jewish authorities, also hearing this parable, rejected Jesus as the Messiah. They did not have the hope of eternal life, and as such were forced to use what they did have, the law and religion, to provide for themselves in this life. Earlier in His ministry, Jesus told His disciples that they were to store up for themselves treasures in heaven, those spiritual blessings and rewards that can never fade away. This is what God’s blessings to us are to be used to for. Jesus is saying that the unrighteous are better at using the material blessings of this world for their own personal benefit, than the righteous are of using similar blessings for heavenly gain.
The Parable is a Warning and a Challenge
And so now the purpose of this parable becomes two-fold. It is a warning and a challenge to the followers of Jesus to make sure that they are living for the glory of God, and working toward heavenly rewards rather than the earthly things that will fade away. It is also an indictment of the Pharisees that were present, regarding the way that they were using the things God had given to them to cling to money and power.
Jesus tells us here that if anyone is faithful with the temporary things we have, which is what he is referring to when he says unrighteous wealth, if anyone is faithful and trustworthy with that, God will provide even greater riches, those eternal blessings that come as a reward for serving Christ, treasures in heaven. That’s what we should be seeking, not the stuff that will wither and fade, or even lead to our destruction.
No One Can Serve Two Masters
The final thought Jesus shares with his disciples here is that no one can serve two masters, one will have to be chosen over the other. We can’t serve God and riches. If we spend our lives chasing after wealth, and recognition, and pleasure, we may find them. But in the process, we will be giving up a relationship with God through faith in His Son Jesus. If we give that up, we have no hope.
The Pharisees were giving that up. In just a short time after this, they would take this Jesus, the one who threatened their authority and influence over the Jewish people, and hand him over to be crucified on a Roman cross. Stated correctly, they would take this Jesus, the one who came to deliver them from death, and offer them true life through faith, and hand him over to be killed. The Pharisees weren’t serving God, they were serving themselves. Who will you serve?
What did you learn from the parable of the dishonest manager? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Stephen March
Stephen March is the President of FBH International and HopeStreamRadio. He graduated from the Broadcasting Program at Niagara College in 2001, and has previously worked in television production and post-production.
Stephen lives in St. Catharines, Ontario, with his wife Corinne and their four children.
Read and hear more from Stephen March on his contributor’s page. Stephen currently has 5 Programs on HopeStreamRadio:
- Please Forgive Me
- Isolation Chronicles
- Faith By Hearing – The Twelve
- Bibles and Baseball
- Bible Tech Talk
More Podcasts Below:
More Blogs:
Palm Sunday, The Coming King, and the Last Week of Christ
Images courtesy of:
The Parable – Wikipedia
Coins – efotowelt
Jesus and Pharisees – James Tissot
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