Reflections on Luke 16

Luke 16 (Contemporary English Version)

1. Jesus said to his disciples: A rich man once had a manager to take care of his business. But he was told that his manager was wasting money.
   
2. So the rich man called him in and said, "What is this I hear about you? Tell me what you have done! You are no longer going to work for me."
   
3. The manager said to himself, "What shall I do now that my master is going to fire me? I can't dig ditches, and I'm ashamed to beg.
   
4. I know what I'll do, so that people will welcome me into their homes after I've lost my job."
   
5. Then one by one he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He asked the first one, "How much do you owe my master?"
   
6. "A hundred barrels of olive oil," the man answered. So the manager said, "Take your bill and sit down and quickly write 'fifty'."
   
7. The manager asked someone else who was in debt to his master, "How much do you owe?" "A thousand bushels of wheat," the man replied. The manager said, "Take your bill and write 'eight hundred'."
   
8. The master praised his dishonest manager for looking out for himself so well. That's how it is! The people of this world look out for themselves better than the people who belong to the light.
   
9. My disciples, I tell you to use wicked wealth to make friends for yourselves. Then when it is gone, you will be welcomed into an eternal home.
   
10. Anyone who can be trusted in little matters can also be trusted in important matters. But anyone who is dishonest in little matters will be dishonest in important matters.
    
11. If you cannot be trusted with this wicked wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?
    
12. And if you cannot be trusted with what belongs to someone else, who will give you something that will be your own?
    
13. You cannot be the slave of two masters. You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than to the other. You cannot serve God and money.
    
14. The Pharisees really loved money. So when they heard what Jesus said, they made fun of him.
    
15. But Jesus told them: You are always making yourselves look good, but God sees what is in your heart. The things that most people think are important are worthless as far as God is concerned.
    
16. Until the time of John the Baptist, people had to obey the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets. But since God's kingdom has been preached, everyone is trying hard to get in.
    
17. Heaven and earth will disappear before the smallest letter of the Law does.
    
18. It is a terrible sin for a man to divorce his wife and marry another woman. It is also a terrible sin for a man to marry a divorced woman.
    
19. There was once a rich man who wore expensive clothes and every day ate the best food.
    
20. But a poor beggar named Lazarus was brought to the gate of the rich man's house.
    
21. He was happy just to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. His body was covered with sores, and dogs kept coming up to lick them.
    
22. The poor man died, and angels took him to the place of honor next to Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.
    
23. He went to hell and was suffering terribly. When he looked up and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side,
    
24. he said to Abraham, "Have pity on me! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and touch my tongue. I'm suffering terribly in this fire."
    
25. Abraham answered, "My friend, remember that while you lived, you had everything good, and Lazarus had everything bad. Now he is happy, and you are in pain.
    
26. And besides, there is a deep ditch between us, and no one from either side can cross over."
    
27. But the rich man said, "Abraham, then please send Lazarus to my father's home.
    
28. Let him warn my five brothers, so they won't come to this horrible place."
    
29. Abraham answered, "Your brothers can read what Moses and the prophets wrote. They should pay attention to that."
    
30. Then the rich man said, "No, that's not enough! If only someone from the dead would go to them, they would listen and turn to God."
    
31. So Abraham said, "If they won't pay attention to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen even to someone who comes back from the dead."
    

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    Continuing into chapter 16, Jesus taught kingdom values to His disciples. Using a parable, Jesus taught them that possessions are best used to invest in the kingdom. Those who are "sons of this age," Jesus said, "are more astute than the sons of light in dealing with their own people." (16:8) That is, those who have no concern for God's kingdom prepare for their future in this world more astutely than those of the kingdom prepare for their future in heaven. Then Jesus advised His disciples to use "unrighteous money" to "make friends for yourselves" so they may "welcome you into eternal dwellings." (16:9) The Bible Believer's Commentary states it this way, "we should use money and other material things in such a way as to win souls for Christ and thus form friendships that will endure throughout eternity." Then Jesus drove home the point that no one can serve two masters.  We cannot "be slaves to both God and money." (16:13) Whatever money we possess should be used to serve God, making Him our master rather than the money.
    
    The Pharisees had evidently been listening in on Jesus' instructions to His disciples and scoffed at what He was telling them. This made no sense to them because they "were lovers of money." (16:14) What Jesus told the Pharisees next might be summarized in this way: "You reject the good news of the kingdom of God claiming to place your trust in the law. But in truth you don't even keep the law." To point out their failure in keeping the law, Jesus used the example of divorce. The law forbids divorce, but the Pharisees justified themselves in condoning it. Furthermore, they were guilty of spiritual divorce, turning their backs on God's covenant with them in their quest for wealth.
    
    The chapter concludes with another parable told by Jesus. It tells of a rich man who, during his life on earth, ignored the poor man Lazarus who sat outside his gate without food or care. After both had died, Lazarus was in heaven and the rich man in hell. Though the rich man had ignored Lazarus' needs while on earth he had not failed to see him in need outside his gate. From hell he saw and recognized Lazarus who was in heaven along with Abraham and asked that he be allowed to come to hell to offer some relief from his torment. Failing at that, the rich man asked that Lazarus be sent to his five brothers who were still living to warn them of the torment of hell. Then came the main point. If the brothers were not persuaded to enter God's kingdom by scripture, they would not be persuaded even if one were raised from the dead.
    
    The main point of the parable was Jesus' message to the Pharisees. They had the scriptures (Moses and the prophets) and were not persuaded by them to accept Jesus' good news of the kingdom of God. Neither would they be persuaded by the signs and wonders they expected Jesus to perform so they might believe. And so it is with any of us. We have available to us all the truth and evidence needed to accept that Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6) If we are not convinced by them, we will not be convinced.