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In this lesson:
A parable of stewardship, teaching responsibility. The parable of the crooked steward is exclusive to Luke and difficult to interpret. Read both the "King James" text and "The New Living Translation" for a better understanding. Study Tip: Pray as you study and trust your informed interpretations. God will open your heart and pour in more knowledge as you're ready to receive it. |
Parable of the dishonest steward.
By an unknown artist. |
The Gospel According to St. Luke
The King James Bible
The King James Bible
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Luke 16:1-18
Parable of the dishonest steward 1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 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. 9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 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. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. 15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. 16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. 17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. 18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery. |
Margin notes:
"Steward." (16:1) - An accountant with the authority to conduct business on behalf of his employer. "He had wasted his goods." (16:1) - Like the prodigal son in lesson 141 (Luke 15:11-14), the steward did not take care of the money entrusted to him. "For thou mayest be no longer steward." (16:2) - "For you can't be my steward any longer." "I am resolved what to do." (16:4) - Means, "I have decided what to do." "They may receive me." (16:4) - "They may welcome me." "The lord commended the unjust steward." (16:8) - "The master admired the dishonest accountant." He admired the steward's shrewdness because he was also "of this world" and corrupt. "Because he had done wisely." (16:8) - "Because he was shrewd." "The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." (16:8) - Wiser, as in more clever, shrewd. Jesus tells us not to be "children of this world." Instead, we should walk in the light (John 12:36; Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5). "I say unto you." (16:9) - "I'm telling you." "Mammon." (16:9) - Money, wealth, material possessions. "When ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations." (16:9) - "When it is gone, they will welcome you into heaven." "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (16:13) - Jesus considered this teaching so important, He repeated it in Matthew 6:24. "Who were covetous." (16:14) - "Who were greedy." "God knoweth your hearts." (16:15) - See also Proverbs 21:2 and 24:12. "The law and the prophets were until John." (16:16) - "The Mosaic Law (Old Testament) and the words of the prophets were your guides until John the Baptist." "Since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it." (16:16) - "Since John the Baptist preached the Kingdom of God, everyone wants to get in (to heaven)." Despite the Pharisees' opposition, people were flocking to Jesus. "Tittle." (16:17) - "Dot." |
New Living Translation
Luke 16:1-18
Parable of the Shrewd Manager
1 Jesus told this story to his disciples: "There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer's money.
2 So the employer called him in and said, 'What's this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.'
3 "The manager thought to himself, 'Now what? My boss has fired me. I don't have the strength to dig ditches, and I'm too proud to beg.
4 Ah, I know how to ensure that I'll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.'
5 "So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, 'How much do you owe him?'
6 The man replied, 'I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.' So the manager told him, 'Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.'
7 "'And how much do you owe my employer?' he asked the next man. 'I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,' was the reply. 'Here,' the manager said, 'take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.'
8 "The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light.
9 Here's the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.
10 "If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities.
11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?
12 And if you are not faithful with other people's things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?
13 "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
14 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him.
15 Then he said to them, "You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.
16 "Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in.
17 But that doesn't mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God's law to be overturned.
18 "For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery."
This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."
Parable of the Shrewd Manager
1 Jesus told this story to his disciples: "There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer's money.
2 So the employer called him in and said, 'What's this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.'
3 "The manager thought to himself, 'Now what? My boss has fired me. I don't have the strength to dig ditches, and I'm too proud to beg.
4 Ah, I know how to ensure that I'll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.'
5 "So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, 'How much do you owe him?'
6 The man replied, 'I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.' So the manager told him, 'Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.'
7 "'And how much do you owe my employer?' he asked the next man. 'I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,' was the reply. 'Here,' the manager said, 'take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.'
8 "The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light.
9 Here's the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.
10 "If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities.
11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?
12 And if you are not faithful with other people's things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?
13 "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
14 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him.
15 Then he said to them, "You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.
16 "Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in.
17 But that doesn't mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God's law to be overturned.
18 "For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery."
This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."
Key verses from this passage
"And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward." (16:1-2)
"So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty." (16:5-6)
"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. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (16:13)
"So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty." (16:5-6)
"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. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (16:13)
Today's Questions:
1. What does the parable of the dishonest steward mean?
2. What does Jesus' comments on divorce (16:18) have to do with the Pharisees and the Mosaic Law?
Read the Bible to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy.
1. What does the parable of the dishonest steward mean?
2. What does Jesus' comments on divorce (16:18) have to do with the Pharisees and the Mosaic Law?
Read the Bible to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy.
Answers: (Do you agree?)
1. (Verses 1-8) - The parable of the shrewd steward teaches that the way we use our earthly treasure is a measure of the type of person we are. Material possessions can be used for good, such as promoting faith, or for bad purposes. Remember, we are but stewards of our earthly possessions, they are only on loan to us.
(Verse 9) - "Mammon of unrighteousness" means wrongfully attained wealth. "Everlasting habitations" refers to heaven. Money can be evil, but wise Christians can use it for God's benefit.
(Verses 10-11) - When it comes to money, our honor is at stake. If we are dishonest in small things (earthly wealth), then we can't be trusted to handle "true riches" (heavenly wealth).
(Verse 13) - Since the pursuit of wealth threatens to replace God in our lives, we must be careful to keep a proper perspective.
(Verse 14) - This means that the Pharisees loved money and the things it brought them. They discarded their religion to obtain more wealth.
(Verse 15) - The Pharisees "justified themselves before men" by appearing to obey the Law and by giving away ten percent of their money. Their followers were fooled by the Pharisees' false righteousness, but God read their hearts and knew they were greedy and poor stewards.
(Verses 16-17) - John the Baptist introduced the good news of Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies.
2. It isn't easy to see a connection with verse 16:18 and the rest of this passage. "Perhaps Jesus meant that since the Gospel was so profoundly influencing the people it was harder for Pharisees to justify the law, they ignored the teachings of the law about divorce, allowing it for any trivial cause."
("Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; page 515)
Application thought for the day:
God knows our hearts (16:15), even our deepest secrets. What does God see when He looks into your heart?
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Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress Books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; "The Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies"; "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course, the "King James Bible". All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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© 2026 evolke