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Scripture Reading: Luke 16:1-13
Chapter sixteen of the Gospel of Luke is actually a continuation of chapter fifteen. This is proved strongly by the fact that the first word in the first verse is “and.” This word denotes continuation, especially when it is used at the beginning of a chapter.
In the preceding chapter the Lord spoke three parables concerning a sinner’s salvation. In this chapter He continues with one more parable, this one concerning the believer’s service. After a sinner becomes a believer, he needs to serve the Lord as a prudent steward.
In chapter fifteen the full salvation accomplished by the Divine Trinity is clearly presented. But after this presentation the Lord Jesus does not stop speaking. Instead, He goes on to give the Pharisees another parable. In this parable we do not see salvation; we see the prudence of a steward. This indicates that after we have been received into the house of God, we should become stewards. We were sinners, we have been saved, and we have become children of God. Now as children of God, as saved ones in the house of God, we should be stewards serving God in His house. This means that we should serve God in the church.
In the Gospel of Luke we see that whenever the Lord Jesus speaks of salvation, He goes on further to reveal something concerning the service. For instance, the parable of the good Samaritan in chapter ten portrays the Man-Savior’s saving grace in His human virtues expressing His divine attributes. Immediately after this parable, we have the case of Martha and Mary, a case that shows how we need to serve the Lord according to His desire and preference. The principle is the same in chapter fourteen. First the Lord speaks to us concerning an invitation extended by God to attend a great dinner. This signifies God’s salvation. Following this, we have the Lord’s teaching concerning following Him at the cost of renouncing all earthly things so that as good and faithful followers we may enter into the coming jubilee. This teaching is also related to service. Then after a full presentation of God’s full salvation in chapter fifteen, the Lord gives us a parable in chapter sixteen showing us that after we have been saved we need to serve God in His house as stewards.
The parable regarding the prudence of a steward is simple and brief. Nevertheless, this parable contains a puzzling point, and this is the Lord’s using an unrighteous steward to illustrate the service of a steward in God’s house. As we shall see, this does not mean that the Lord is teaching us to be unrighteous as we are serving. The important matter here is the steward’s prudence.
Verse 1 says, “And He said also to the disciples, There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and this one was accused to him of squandering his possessions.” The steward here illustrates how the believers, saved by the love and grace of the Triune God, are the Lord’s stewards (12:42; 1 Cor. 4:1-2; 1 Pet. 4:10), to whom He has committed His possessions.
Verses 2 and 3 continue, “And he called him and said to him, What is this I hear concerning you? Render the account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward. And the steward said within himself, What shall I do, because my lord is taking away the stewardship from me? I am not strong enough to dig. I am ashamed to beg.” Here the steward says he is not strong enough to dig as a farmer digging in the field, and he is ashamed to beg as a beggar begging for help. In verse 4 the steward said to himself, “I know what I will do, in order that when I am removed from the stewardship they may receive me into their own homes.” The receiving here signifies being received into the eternal tabernacles (v. 9).
Verses 5 through 7 say, “And he called to him each one of his lord’s debtors and said to the first, How much do you owe my lord? And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said to him, Take your bill and sitting down quickly write fifty. Then to another he said, And you, how much do you owe? And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. He says to him, Take your bill and write eighty.” In these verses we see that the discharged steward, while he was still in the house, took the opportunity to do something for others in order that later they might do something for him. This was the steward’s prudence.
Concerning the prudence of the steward, verse 8 says, “And the lord praised the unrighteous steward because he had acted prudently; for the sons of this age are more prudent than the sons of light in their own generation.” Literally, “the unrighteous steward” means “the steward of unrighteousness.” However, the praise here is not for the steward’s unrighteous act; it is for his prudence.
In verse 8 the Lord Jesus explains that the sons of this age are more prudent than the sons of light in their own generation. The sons of this age are the unsaved ones, the worldlings. The sons of light are the saved ones, the believers (John 12:36; 1 Thes. 5:5; Eph. 5:8). The phrase “in their own generation” refers to dealings with the people of their generation. Here the Lord certainly is not teaching us to be unrighteous. Instead, He is teaching us to be prudent, that is, to do things at the right time, to take the opportunity at hand.
In verse 9 the Lord goes on to say, “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.” To make friends by means of mammon is to help others by the use of money to do things according to God’s leading.
Mammon, that is, money, is of the satanic world. It is unrighteous in its position and existence. The steward in the parable exercised his prudence by his unrighteous act. The Lord teaches us, His believers, to exercise our prudence in the use of unrighteous mammon.
The phrase “the mammon of unrighteousness” indicates that money is not in the realm of God. Money is outside the kingdom of God; it is in the world of Satan. Therefore, money is unrighteous both in position and existence. Actually, as far as God is concerned, money should not exist. In this universe there should not be such a thing as money. If we love money, we love something that should not exist.
In verse 9 the Lord says that if we make friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, when it fails we shall be received into eternal tabernacles. The word “fails” indicates that when the satanic world is over, mammon will be of no use in the kingdom of God. The eternal tabernacles are the eternal habitations into which the prudent believers will be received by those who share the benefit of their prudence. This will be in the coming kingdom age (Luke 14:13-14; Matt. 10:42).
In verse 10 the Lord continues, “He who is faithful in the least is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in the least is unrighteous also in much.” “Least” refers to mammon, the possessions of this age. “Much” refers to the rich possessions in the next age (see Matt. 25:21, 23).
In verse 11 the Lord says, “If therefore you have not become faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true?” The “true” refers to the true possessions in the coming kingdom age (see Matt. 24:47).
In verse 12 the Lord goes on to say, “And if you have not become faithful in that which belongs to another, who will give to you that which is your own?” It is not God’s intent in His New Testament economy for the New Testament believers to care for material possessions. Though the material things in this world were created by God and belong to Him (1 Chron. 29:14, 16), they have been corrupted by man’s fall (Rom. 8:20-21) and usurped by Satan the evil one (1 John 5:19). Hence, they belong to fallen man and are unrighteous (Luke 16:9). While God does supply the believers with their daily necessities from the material things of this age (Matt. 6:31-33) and commits to them as His stewards a portion of these material goods for their exercise and learning that He may prove them in this age, none of these goods should be considered theirs until the restitution of all things in the next age (Acts 3:21). Not till then will the believers inherit the world (Rom. 4:13) and have an abiding possession (Heb. 10:34) for themselves. In this age they should exercise to be faithful in the temporary material things God has given them so that they may learn faithfulness toward their eternal possession in the coming age.
Verse 13 continues, “No household servant can serve two lords; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cleave to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” In this verse the Greek word for “serve” means “serve as a slave.” Here the Lord indicates that to serve Him requires us to love Him, giving our hearts to Him, and cleave to Him, giving our entire being to Him. Thus we are released from the occupation and usurpation of mammon so that we may serve the Lord wholly and fully. The Lord emphasizes here that to serve Him we must overcome the enticing deceitful mammon of unrighteousness.
In verse 13 we see that mammon is in rivalry with God, competing with Him. Because mammon is in rivalry with God, it is evil. On our part, we cannot serve two lords. We serve either God or mammon. This matter is very serious.
The Lord’s word about money was directed especially to the Pharisees, who were lovers of money (v. 14). They pretended that they loved God and were for Him. But the Lord knew well that they were not lovers of God; they were lovers of money.
While the Lord Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem, certain of the Pharisees came out to encounter Him. Much of what the Lord did and said on the way from Galilee to Jerusalem was aimed at the Pharisees. The record of this is a particular feature of the Gospel of Luke. The record in Mark and Matthew is somewhat different. In his Gospel Luke writes in such a way as to show the conflict that took place on the way to Jerusalem between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees who came out to meet Him. In chapters fourteen through sixteen the Lord’s word is addressed to the Pharisees.
In these chapters the Lord’s word is based upon the jubilee He declared in chapter four. We have seen that the jubilee is revealed as having two aspects: the aspect of the jubilee in this age and the aspect of the jubilee in the age to come. In other words, the Lord refers to both the present jubilee and to the jubilee in the coming age. The present jubilee is the jubilee of grace. But in the coming age the jubilee will be the jubilee of the kingdom.
The jubilee both in this age and in the age to come is actually the kingdom of God. Furthermore, the kingdom of God is the Man-Savior Himself. Moreover, the jubilee is the gospel. According to Mark and especially Luke, the gospel is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the Savior Himself, the all-inclusive One coming in His status as both God and man, with the divine attributes expressed in His human virtues, to sow Himself as a seed. In the Life-study of Mark we pointed out that the seed of the kingdom in Mark 4 may be called the kingdom gene. The Lord Jesus sowed Himself as the seed, the gene, of the kingdom of God. His goal is that the seed sown into those who receive it may grow and develop into a kingdom. This is the genuine kingdom of God. This kingdom is the gospel that frees us from every kind of bondage and recovers our right to the lost inheritance to enjoy God in Christ through the Spirit. This is the jubilee.
We need to be impressed with the fact that in the Gospel of Luke the gospel, the kingdom of God, the Man-Savior, and the jubilee are actually synonymous and refer to the same thing. These four refer to our being set free from bondage and experiencing the recovery of our divine inheritance. This is the jubilee, the gospel, the kingdom of God, and also the Man-Savior Himself.
The basic element of the Lord’s speaking on the way from Galilee to Jerusalem is the jubilee. The jubilee is also the governing principle of His teaching. Everything in 9:51—19:27 is related to the jubilee.
If we do not see that the jubilee is the basic element and the governing principle in chapters nine through nineteen, we shall not have the key that enables us to understand these chapters properly and thoroughly. Instead, our understanding of these chapters may be fragmentary; that is, we may understand a piece here and a piece there, but not understand these chapters as a whole. We may compare this section of the Gospel of Luke to a jigsaw puzzle. Only when we use the key to open each chapter are we able to put the pieces together and see the whole picture, a picture portraying the jubilee.
In chapter fifteen of Luke we see the salvation accomplished by the Divine Trinity. God’s salvation issues in the stewardship. As saved ones, we should now serve our saving God as His stewards. A steward is one useful in a household. This indicates that after we have been saved, we should serve God in His church, which is His house on earth today, as good stewards.
According to Luke 16, our stewardship has much to do with the handling of money. In a sense, all of us are “bankers” who deal with money day by day. Daily you may consider how much money you have in your possession.
As an illustration of how people are occupied with money, let me tell you the story of a certain businessman who was called upon to pray after the pastor’s sermon. The man was greatly surprised and could not avoid offering a prayer. In the course of his prayer, he suddenly uttered a word concerning an amount of money. As he was praying, he spontaneously spoke about money. This is a fulfillment of the Lord’s word that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34). Whatever fills our heart will eventually proceed out of our mouth.
When you hear about this businessman, you may think that you would never be that way. However, is it not true that you give much thought to the matter of money? Even during the church meetings you may be concerned with money, perhaps considering how much you have in your checking account or savings account. The handling of money is certainly a great matter.
The satanic world could not exist without money. If there were no money, the world would cease to exist, and the kingdom of God would come. When money is gone, the kingdom comes.
The Lord Jesus surely knows the secret in the depths of our being. This deep secret is mammon, money. The Lord not only knows this secret within us, but He knows how to touch our problem concerning it. Regarding money, we all may be like the Pharisees. Therefore, in 16:1-13 the Lord teaches us to be prudent in handling our money. He teaches us to take the opportunity to use the unrighteous mammon in a prudent way.
A time is coming when money, the mammon of unrighteousness, will fail. This means that there will be a time when money will be useless. I believe that this time will be during the millennium. There is no word in the Bible telling us explicitly that money will be out of use during the millennium. However, as a result of my study of the millennium in the Scriptures, I believe that this will be the situation. After studying the millennium according to Isaiah, the Gospels, Acts, the Epistles of Paul, and the book of Revelation, I would say assuredly that when the millennium comes, money will be out of use. Today’s world is the system of Satan, and money belongs to this satanic system. But when the millennium comes, the satanic system will be terminated and replaced by God’s kingdom. Then money will no longer have a place in human society.
Some may think that it will be a long time before the millennium comes and money is useless. But have you ever thought that when a person dies his money becomes useless to him? At the time of death a person’s relationship with his money is terminated. Someone may have a great deal of money, but it will all be useless to him when he dies.
I mention this to point out that we need to take the opportunity to use our money prudently to benefit others. Try to use your money to benefit others so that when it is out of use, others will do something for you.
In 16:9 the Lord says, “Make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.” This indicates that those who have been benefited by our proper use of money will welcome us into the eternal tabernacles. This will be in the coming age of the kingdom. When the Lord Jesus comes back and we are received into His kingdom, some of us will have a number of people welcoming us. Who will be these welcomers? They will be those who have received benefit in this age by our prudent use of money.
Let me give a simple illustration of this. Suppose you use an amount of your money to publish gospel tracts for the purpose of bringing people to the Lord. Those who have been benefited by this use of your money will welcome you in the future. They may say, “Brother, we want you to realize that we were saved through one of the tracts paid for by you.” This is an example of being welcomed into eternal habitations by those who have shared the benefit of our prudence.
In the parable in chapter sixteen the unrighteous steward took the opportunity, while he was still in the house, to help his lord’s debtors to reduce their debt (vv. 4-7). He took the opportunity to use money to benefit others. In the same principle, while we are still on the way to the kingdom, we should use our money for the benefit of others. We should not use it for ourselves, for our luxury, amusement, pleasure, or indulgence. On the contrary, we should use our money for others’ benefit. There is a great deal of need, and there is much that we can do that will be a benefit to others. This is to be prudent in serving the Lord.
We cannot serve the Lord faithfully without using our money for the right purpose and at the right time. If we claim that we are serving the Lord, but use our money in the wrong way, we are not honest. The first thing an honest steward will do is handle his money properly and prudently.
When I was studying English as a teen-ager, I read an article by Benjamin Franklin that was concerned with money. In that article Franklin said that it is easy to earn money but very difficult to spend it. I was surprised by Franklin’s word, for I thought it was difficult to make money and easy to spend it. But after reading that article I became convinced that it is easy to make money, but difficult to spend it in the right way. It is difficult to spend money in a way that will not damage ourselves, others, or society. Consider how much damage is done to society by rich people spending their money in the wrong way. If the rich would use their money properly, they would benefit themselves, others, and all of society. To be sure, in order to serve the Lord as His stewards, we must handle our money rightly.
Some of us may say, “I am not a rich person. Because I am not rich, I don’t have a problem with the way I spend my money.” However, you may still have a problem with the money you have. Even though you are not wealthy, you need to learn how to handle your income.
As one who has been serving the Lord and the churches for more than half a century, I can testify that any Christian group whose members give faithfully and consistently ten percent of their income will have money in abundance. Statistics concerning church finance prove this. Certain groups require their members to pledge ten percent of their income, and these groups always have money in abundance. The point here is not that we make a legal requirement of giving ten percent of our income. The point is that those who faithfully give a tithe of their income never lack for money.
I would encourage the young people in particular to learn to give a portion of their income to the Lord. Young people, you should begin this immediately after graduation when you begin to work. Give a portion of the first wages you receive to the Lord. I can testify that this was my practice when I was young. When I first earned money, even as a poor student, I set aside a portion to the Lord. Perhaps some of us have never considered this. Therefore, I encourage all the saints, especially the young people, to give the Lord a portion of whatever money they earn. If we do this, we shall learn to handle our money properly.
Those who give to the Lord faithfully and consistently can testify that the more they give, the more they receive. For us Christians, to be rich is to give. The way to receive is to give. The Lord Himself said, “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will give into your bosom; for with what measure you measure, it will be measured to you in return” (6:38). Here we see clearly that giving is the way to receive.
For a church to be in poverty is a shame to the members of that church. Such poverty may indicate that the members are not faithful in their giving. May we all learn to serve the Lord as faithful stewards in handling money.
I encourage you to keep a record of your giving. During the course of a year, keep a record of everything you give. Then at the end of the year consider what percentage you have given to the Lord of what He has given you. I urge you all to practice this.
According to the statistics I have studied and the testimonies I have heard, the more we give to the Lord, the more we shall be able to give. For example, if you give ten percent one year, the next year you may be able to give twenty percent. Then if you are faithful to give a higher amount, you may be able to give even more the following year. The point here is that the more we give, the more we shall be able to give.
When some hear this word about faithfulness and giving, they may say that they do not have enough faith to give consistently. Actually, this is not a matter of our faith; it is a matter of our practice, and our practice is based on the Lord’s faith and His faithfulness.
