Slices
Prepare
In our society driven by desire for wealth and prestige, this lesser-known parable of Jesus gives us a down-to-earth and interesting angle on being in the world, but not of the world (see 1 John 2:16). Who are we ‘serving’ (v 13)?
Bible passage
The parable of the shrewd manager
16 Jesus told his disciples: ‘There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 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.”
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 – 4 I 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 ‘“Three thousand litres of olive oil,” he replied.
‘The manager told him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifteen hundred.”
7 ‘Then he asked the second, “And how much do you owe?”
‘“Thirty tons of wheat,” he replied.
‘He told him, “Take your bill and make it twenty-four.”
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. 9 I 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. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
13 ‘No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.’
14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, ‘You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.
Additional teachings
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 their way into it. 17 It 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.
Explore
Jesus directs this teaching to his disciples (v 1). However, he also has a subtle message for the hostile Pharisees (vs 14,15). The political tension is building, and they are looking for an opportunity to arrest him. So far, Jesus has skilfully avoided each trap as it is set. The time is not yet right for God’s plan of salvation to be fulfilled.
The parable itself is in verses 1–8, with the application from verses 9–18. In this unusual story, Jesus commends foresight and prudence and encourages us to be shrewd in our dealings with others, without being dishonest ourselves. The key to this is in verse 13. Our focus needs to be on following Jesus, so that we can deal with worldly distractions with integrity. Not surprisingly, the Pharisees’ response in verse 14 brings a hard-hitting rebuke from Jesus (v 15). However, this also challenges us to examine our attitudes, motives and lifestyle honestly. Are all the resources we have at our disposal available for God to use, as he wishes?
Respond
God’s words to Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7 are a salutary reminder to be beyond reproach in the way we live. Ask God to strengthen you as you follow him. Thank him for his forgiveness for times that you fail.
Deeper Bible study
Remember how God was faithful through times when you’ve faced big decisions. Pray for any decisions you now face and for decisions faced by others known to you.
Accused of wasting his master’s possessions, the steward faces ruin. Unable to dig and too proud to beg, he takes advantage of the hours left before he has to return the account books that symbolise his office. Summoning his master’s debtors for private conversations, the steward radically reduces each one’s debt, asking the debtor himself to make the amendment in the account book. As the steward had the right to act on behalf of his master, these transactions are binding. None of the debtors know that he is all but dismissed, so he uses his last hours in the job to create a reputation for his master of great generosity. The debts forgiven are huge: a large olive grove’s annual produce or the rent of a farm twenty times larger than an ordinary family farm.1 With the ethic of reciprocity fundamental to the culture, the steward will be treated hospitably everywhere he goes.
It’s hard for the master to fight back. Demanding restitution would make him look foolish when currently he’s loved for being generous. He’s already dismissed the steward and can’t pursue him for theft because he hasn’t stolen anything, he's simply put money in other people’s pockets. When the steward returns the account books amended by the debtors themselves, the master can only commend him for his shrewd opportunism. Jesus wants us to learn from the steward’s shrewdness, not from his dishonesty. We’re challenged to see wealth as a resource for the kingdom (v 9) and to give it away in the service of God to show that it is not our master (v 13).
The steward shows shrewdness to evaluate a situation and the courage to turn it to his advantage. Are there opportunities around you where a faithful risk might be God’s call?
1 John Nolland, Luke Vol 35b and Vol 35c, Word Biblical Commentary, Thomas Nelson, 1993, 1994
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Genesis 14,15; Psalms 3,4
Pray for Scripture Union
As we move into another year, pray for fruitfulness in all Grow Communities asking that children and young people will discover more about Jesus and that they will learn to trust him and grow in faith.
