Day 60 – Tuesday, March 25, 2025

One Year Journey Through the New Testament

Luke 16

Welcome to our journey through the New Testament!

 Parable of the Unjust Servant

1 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. ² So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’

³ “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I have 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 master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸ So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.

⁹ “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. ¹⁰ He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. ¹¹ Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? ¹² And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what 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 be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:1–13, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• Jesus here shares a parable that is somewhat unique to Luke.
• He tells of a steward serving a rich man whose boss accused him of wasting his boss’s resources. The boss called him in and fired him from his position.
• He schemed how to find a place for himself, for he had no other career options available to him.
• He shrewdly endeared himself to several of his boss’s customers by reducing the price they would pay for his goods. Then they would help him after he left the job. The master commended the servant for his shrewdness.
• Jesus basically gave the moral of the story by saying that one should make friends by unrighteous mammon, or money. But He also told His disciples to be faithful in little so that they may be trusted with much.
• He warned that no one could serve two masters, namely God and mammon. Do not choose the wrong master!

Christ Warns the Pharisees

¹⁴ Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

¹⁶ “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. ¹⁷ And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail. (Luke 16:14–17, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• In the days of Christ, the Pharisees loved opulence and honor for themselves. They therefore did not respect Jesus’ words about the danger of loving money.
• Jesus accused them of justifying themselves about their love of money, but they did not realize it. He revealed that what men loved, God hated.
• Jesus then spoke of the progression of the kingdom of God and how many were pressing in to it, but others rejected it. The kingdom will not fail, but the objectors will.

Christ Teaches on Divorce

“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery. (Luke 16:18, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• Christ then shifts gears to discuss marriage and divorce.
• He simply outlaws divorce and remarriage.
• He does not say that divorce alone is the sin, although He discourages in all of His teachings. However, He does say that remarriage is tantamount to adultery.

Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. ²⁰ But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, ²¹ desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

²⁴ “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

²⁷ “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, ²⁸ for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ ²⁹ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ” (Luke 16:19–31, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• This next story or parable is very apocalyptic or cryptic, looking beyond this life and into the next life.
• Jesus spoke of two individuals who had very different life experiences. One was a rich man, with opulent fare, housing, and clothing. Then there was another, Lazarus, who appeared to be crippled with bedsores, who begged at the gate daily.
• Lazarus begged for scraps from the rich man’s table, and the rich man’s dog’s licked his sores.
• The beggar died, and was carried into the presence of the Lord.
• The rich man died, and woke up in torment in hell. At this time, the two places were separated by a gulf, but one could still see into the other.
• The rich man saw Lazarus in heaven and prayed for
  Abraham to tell Lazarus to bring a few drops of water for the rich man’s tongue. Abraham said this was not how the system worked. The rich man was given all the good things in his life, and the beggar was in bad conditions. Now the tables were turned.
• Once the rich man saw that he could not receive comfort, he asked Abraham to send Lazarus back to his family to warn them of the torment of hell. Again, Abraham said they have their witness, Lazarus would not be sent.
• This torment was so extreme and so relentless that it woke up the sensibilities of the rich man. But it was too late for him and too late for heroic measures to save his family. Don’t wait too late to make sure your are saved. Don’t gamble with eternity. Serve God now and serve God well!

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All Scriptures from New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

Join us this afternoon at 5:00 pm for a discussion of this chapter live online. Live@5 with Dr. Greg Sloop can be found on Facebook on the Dr. Greg Sloop page or on the Kannapolis Church of God Facebook page or Youtube page. Another blog will be posted each weekday at 6:00 a.m.