In this chapter our Lord deals with the way that God has ordained to enter the kingdom of heaven. We read about someone who did enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We also read about someone who did not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. There is no room for error here.

You cannot force your way into the Kingdom. Certainly you must be wise as you use the gifts you have been given. We read the parable about the shrewd manager. What lesson can be learned from this parable?

This chapter makes clear that what we have and what we do with it has a bearing on the matter whether one can enter the Kingdom or not.

The Way into the Kingdom (Luke 16:1-18)⤒🔗

¹Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. ²So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.' 

³"The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg-- ⁴I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.' 

⁵"So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' 

⁶"'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied.

"The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.' 

⁷"Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?' "'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied.

"He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.' 

⁸"The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. ⁹I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 

¹⁰"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹²And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? 

¹³"No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money." 

¹⁴The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. ¹⁵He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.

¹⁶"The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. ¹⁷It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. 

¹⁸"Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.           Luke 16:1-18

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager (Luke 16:1-15)←⤒🔗

The Lord told another parable, and this time it was directed to his disciples. There is bit of a problem here: how can the master “commend” the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly? (16:8) We’ll have to look closer to see what this means, also for us today. It is not an easy Scripture passage to understand.

The parable deals with an issue that was probably not uncommon. The manager (steward) of a rich man was accused of wasting his possessions. “So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.” (Luke 16:1, 2)

The man must set things in order, complete the books, and then he will be gone. He has a few days to do so. The point is not whether he should have been dismissed right away. The point is how he still manages to gain favor with others. His actions show indeed how shrewd he is. This does not mean to say that we today may cheat our employers in any way. What the Lord means is that the “people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light” (16:8). They use money to develop and protect relationships.

What does the dishonest manager do? He does not repent, let’s note that carefully. He assesses his own situation very well, “What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I am not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg – I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.” (16:3, 4)

He called in each of the master’s debtors. And asked each one of them what they owed his master. Then he gave the bill or invoice and said, “Take your bill, sit down quickly and lower the amount by fifty percent.” He acted in this way with each of his master’s debtors, so that the master was greatly defrauded.

We would expect his master to be extremely angry that he was again cheated by his dishonest manager. But to our surprise we read, “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.” Jesus says, “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of light.” (16:8)

How should we take this? Is dishonesty now being touted as a form of shrewdness? Does the Lord condone the sinful actions of his dishonest steward? Of course not. The Lord does not sanction dishonesty, but he does appreciate shrewdness. Shrewdness need not always be taken in a negative way. In Psalm 18:26, shrewdness is mentioned as one of God’s attributes, “To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.” Shrewd here means being level-headed and showing discerning awareness, or just plain common sense.

The dishonest manager is still a person who acted in such a way that might benefit him later, and might lead to certain positive reactions. Being shrewd means using common sense when facing difficulties. The Lord does not say that we may be dishonest, but he does say that when we deal with each other we should use our common sense and be careful to make wise decisions. After all, as he adds, we are the “children of light”. We have even more clarity than those who are in the dark.

He adds, “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” Friendship is not something that can be bought, but if you treat others well and help them when you should, they will reciprocate the kindness when you need it. One good turn does not necessarily deserve another, but humble and sincere kindness often leads to good relationships. We need to use our money wisely especially in the kingdom of light.

What does the Lord mean by “eternal dwellings”? Note that the dishonest manager spoke only of people welcoming him into their earthly houses (15:4).

Generally speaking explainers agree that those who have helped fellow Christians here on earth will be joyfully received when they die and go to heaven.

But we cannot buy our way into heaven. Perhaps it is much simpler. Those who use their wealth to help others graciously and in humble faith will find a place while on earth in the communion of saints and later a place in heaven where their treasure is also.

It is first of all a matter of trust. A master should be able to trust his manager(s). “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (16:10). The opposite is also true. If you cannot be trusted with little, who will give you more to manage? The bottom line is, “No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.” (16:13) Sometimes people try to combine these two, but the Lord says plainly “no servant can serve two masters”. But you can serve God and help your neighbor with your money.

The Lord uses the name “Mammon” (money) because money has become like a “god” who is worshiped and served by all. It is probably from the Aramaic word for wealth or riches.¹Mammon is the greatest purpose of the old world and of modern times. If we serve Mammon, we will not use our money for the Lord and his kingdom. We will not be open to helping our neighbor. Our personal budget comes first and God’s requirements come second, if at all. If we set up a budget with our own needs always first and greater, we will never have anything left for the Lord and his service.

The Greed of the Pharisees←↰⤒🔗

Notice the reaction of the Pharisees. Luke says, “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus” (16:14). The original has, “The Pharisees were greedy…” The single motivation of the Pharisees was plainly greed. They were also sneering at him, which suggests that while he was talking they mocked him and made nasty comments or gestures. They could not even wait for him to finish speaking.

The Lord finds it necessary to answer the Pharisees: “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight”. (16:15)

The Pharisees felt that they were entitled to riches and to display these riches, because God blesses the righteous. They constantly presented themselves as the righteous ones.  But Jesus and his disciples were obviously poor; was that fact not a clear judgment of God?  Christ responds strongly. From the outside the Pharisees look prim and proper, but God knows that their hearts are filled with evil. And he adds, “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight” (16:15b). Note the strong word “detestable”. God hates deeply what people esteem most. God detests most what people strive for: earthly wealth and riches.

Forcing Your Way into the Kingdom←↰⤒🔗

The section that follows Christ’s response to the Pharisees is harder to place than the preceding one. What is the connection with the preceding verses? I accept the order of things as having been determined by Luke through the Holy Spirit and work on that basis. So how exactly do John the Baptizer and the Law come into the picture here?

Christ is going to say something about the use and the application of the Law. Keep in mind that he is here addressing the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. He says, “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of the pen to drop out of the Law” (16:16, 17).

In Matthew 11:12 there is a somewhat parallel text. “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”

What is the sense here of the word “force”? It is said of people, “forceful men.” There are those who try to force their way in. Everyone is on the bandwagon. There are people who think that they have a right to a place in the Kingdom. They simply shove everyone aside and try to push their way it. John the Baptizer already noted that hypocrites were also coming to escape imminent judgment.

Since John the Baptist’s preaching, people claimed a place in the Kingdom of God. They thought that their power enabled them to achieve this. They are simply applying human force, as if that is sufficient. The Pharisees and teachers of the law are not a hair better, for they, too, think that they can force their way into the kingdom by their own deeds.

There was the old dispensation which ended when John came to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Now we live in the new dispensation. In this new dispensation the Law of God has not been abolished but fulfilled. (Matthew 5:17, 18) Today it is even clearer that not even the least stroke of a pen will be dropped from the Law. The law stands with all its depth and claim. No one can force his way into this kingdom, but must follow the Messiah, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

If these Pharisees think in any way that Christ has abolished the law, they’d better think again. The Lord then mentions the seventh commandment. This is not without reason. Adultery was rampant, as it is today. People were being told that there are all kinds of reasons for divorce, which was quite common. But the Lord maintains the seventh commandment, and uses it to show how far the leaders and the people have wandered away from God’s Word. When the institution of marriage is destroyed and family life crumbles, society is in great danger of divine judgment.

The Rich Man and Poor Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)←⤒🔗

¹⁹“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. ²⁰At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores ²¹and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

²²“The time came when beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

²⁵“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. ²⁶And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

²⁷“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, ²⁸for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

²⁹“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

³⁰“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’’’

³¹“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”Luke 16:19-31

In the above-mentioned parable the Lord continues with the theme of earthly riches versus eternal dwellings. The two figures that are mentioned in this context are a poor man called Lazarus and a rich man whose name we do not know. This is the only time that the Lord in a parable identifies a person by name.²He appears to be a different man than the Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead.

The rich man is dressed in accordance with his riches. Only the best clothes will do, purple linen being the most comfortable vestments for the rich. He lived in luxury every day. Please note the word “luxury”, the finest of food and drink (16:19). The Bible does not condemn riches, but ostentatious living is nowhere recommended. The word luxury implies that the riches are shown off. Everywhere he goes the rich man is greeted with great respect and dignity.

Lazarus, however, has all things going against him. Not only was he poorly dressed, but he was so needy that he lived off the waste given to the dogs. As if that is not enough, he was afflicted with a terrible disease, covered with sores, which the dogs licked clean (16:20). It is of interest to note that Luke uses a medical term which is found only here. After all, Luke is a doctor familiar with such terms.

The poor man was laid at the gate of the rich man’s housing complex. That was a strategic spot, for many guests and visitors would surely give something to this poor beggar.

On the other hand, his presence there always affected the rich man. The world right outside his gate was hard and vicious and he was confronted with it daily. Perhaps after a while one learns to take these things in stride. In any case, he did not really care for the poor, sick man. The only relief for the man was that dogs licked his sores.

Eventually the beggar dies “and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side” (16:22). We’ll get back to those words in a moment. We note that the rich man also dies and is buried. It was probably a lavish ceremony and memorable burial.

The two are now both dead. All that they enjoyed or suffered on earth is gone.  But there is a big difference between the two. The tables are turned. Of the beggar is it said that when he died, “the angels carried him to Abraham’s side.” Literally it says that Lazarus was carried into Abraham’s bosom, on his lap near the heart. This means a very close and loving unity. Lazarus is in heaven enjoying fellowship with Lord and the saints of old. From the verse comes the Negro Spiritual: Rock My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham (16:22).

The rich man also died, “and was buried”. This is mentioned perhaps because Lazarus did not really have a burial of note. He was probably anonymously dumped in a mass grave without even a name.  It is the last indignity that Lazarus suffered.

When the rich man dies he discovers that he is “in hell” (16:23). He is also in torment there. It appears to be the agony of heat and fire (16:24c). In the original language the word ‘hades” is used and means the place where the unbelieving dead are kept until judgment day.³

The (formerly rich) man looks up and sees Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side (16:23). It says then “So he called to him: ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony is this fire.’”(16:24) Notice that there is not a hint of repentance and he still thinks that Lazarus is at his disposal.

While Abraham is able to hear the rich man, it is of little consequence because the distance is too great. “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that it your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’” (16:26)

Please note a few items. First, the point is not that the rich man is being punished because he was rich, for wealth in itself is not a ground for damnation; the point is simply and conclusively that the rich man never really helped Lazarus while he was able. It is the selfish abuse of wealth that makes the difference. Second, the chasm between heaven and hell has not been determined by Abraham, but it has been fixed. By whom? God has made this chasm fixed forever and Abraham and Lazarus cannot cross it.

The parable is not yet finished.  The (rich) man finally shows some concern for others. He answered “Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.” (16:27) Note that the man still presumes to be able to make use of Lazarus. Everyone knows Lazarus from his gate side position as he lay dying. Surely if Lazarus comes to warn them, they will listen!

But Abraham is not giving in to this nonsense. He says “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them” (16:29). Moses and the Prophets means the whole Bible known in those days. They have the Bible, and that’s enough. But still the man persists: “No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent” (16:30).

It says: Abraham said to him, indicating that a final reply is coming, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” (16:31). The time to repent is now, when you hear the word. If someone does not believe the Bible, how can he acclaim Jesus Christ as Messiah and Saviour?

We are reminded that there was another Lazarus, who was dead and buried, already decaying. “Jesus looked up to his father and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here that they may believe that you sent me.’  When he had said this, he called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’” (John 11:41-44) The decision to believe falls in this life, not in the after-life.

Yes, there were those who, having seen this, believed in the Christ. But others went to the Pharisees, who convened an official meeting of the Sanhedrin where the decision was taken to kill Jesus.

We have the Bible, the Old and the New Testaments. That’s all we get. That’s all we need.

Questions←⤒🔗

1. What is the theme of chapter 16?  Who did not find the way to the kingdom? Who did find the way?
2. Why does Christ commend the unfaithful steward? What does this mean for us?
3. Can we buy our way into heaven? Why does this parable lead to the conclusion: you cannot serve both God and Money?
4. What does it mean to force yourself into the kingdom of heaven?
5. What is the key point in the parable of the poor Lazarus and the rich man?
6. Are the parables of the shrewd manager and the poor Lazarus to be taken literally?