Luke 16:1

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. No indication is given of the time and occasion of these two parables-as usual in this portion of our Gospel. (See opening remarks at Luke 9:51.) But they appear to be in their natural order after the preceding, and a certain distant connection with them has been traced. This parable has occasioned more discussion and diversity of opinion than all the rest. But judicious interpreters are now pretty much agreed as to its general import. AND HE SAID ALSO UNTO HIS DISCIPLES - not the Twelve exclusively, but His followers in the wider sense: THERE WAS A CERTAIN RICH MAN - denoting the Great Lord of all, "the most high God, Possessor of heaven and earth,...

The leading object of this parable is, to show that we ought to deal kindly and generously with our neighbors; that, when we come to the judgment seat of God, we may reap the fruit of our liberality. Though the parable appears to be harsh and far-fetched, yet the conclusion makes it evident, that the design of Christ was nothing else than what I have stated. And hence we see, that to inquire with great exactness into every minute part of a parable is an absurd mode of philosophizing. Christ does not advise us to purchase by large donations the forgiveness of fraud, and of extortion, and of wasteful expenditure, and of the other crimes associated with unfaithful administration. But as all the blessings which God confers upon us are committed by Him to our administration, our Lord now lays down a method of procedure, which will protect us against being treated with rigor, when we come to r...

1-12 Whatever we have, the property of it is God's; we have only the use of it, according to the direction of our great Lord, and for his honour. This steward wasted his lord's goods. And we are all liable to the same charge; we have not made due improvement of what God has trusted us with. The steward cannot deny it; he must make up his accounts, and be gone. This may teach us that death will come, and deprive us of the opportunities we now have. The steward will make friends of his lord's debtors or tenants, by striking off a considerable part of their debt to his lord. The lord referred to in this parable commended not the fraud, but the policy of the steward. In that respect alone is it so noticed. Worldly men, in the choice of their object, are foolish; but in their activity, and perseverance, they are often wiser than believers. The unjust steward is not set before us as an exampl...

CHAPTER XVI. _The parable of the unjust steward_, 1-8. _Christ applies this to his hearers_, 9-13. _The pharisees take offence_, 14. _Our Lord reproves them, and shows the immutability of the law_, 15-17. _Counsels against divorce_, 18. _The story of the_ rich man _and the_ beggar, _commonly called_ Dives _and_ Lazarus, 10-31. NOTES ON CHAP. XVI. Verse Luke 16:1. _A STEWARD_] οικονομος, from οικος, a _house_, or οικια, _a family_, and νεμω, _I administer_; on

HIS DISCIPLES - The word “disciples,” here, is not to be restricted to the twelve apostles or to the seventy. The parable appears to have been addressed to all the professed followers of the Saviour who were present when it was delivered. It is connected with that in the preceding chapter. Jesus had there been discoursing with the scribes and Pharisees, and vindicating his conduct in receiving kindly publicans and sinners. These “publicans and sinners” are here particularly referred to by the word “disciples.” It was with reference to “them” that the whole discourse had arisen. After Jesus had shown the Pharisees, in the preceding chapter, the propriety of his conduct, it was natural that he should turn and address his disciples. Among them there might have been some who were wealthy. The “publicans” were engaged in receiving taxes, in collecting money, and their chief danger arose from...

EXPOSITION LUKE 16:1 The _Lord_'_s teaching on the right use of earthly possessions with regard to the prospect of another world, in the form of the two parables of the unjust steward, and Dives and Lazarus._ LUKE 16:1, LUKE 16:2 AND HE SAID ALSO UNTO HIS DISCIPLES. There is no doubt that this important teaching belongs to the last portion of our Lord's life, and it is probable that it is closely connected with the parable of the prodigal son just related. It is not likely that two such weighty sermons had been preached at the same time, but in the evening, or on the following day, or at leas

AND HE SAID ALSO TO HIS DISCIPLES,.... The Syriac version adds, "a parable", as the following is; and which is directed to the disciples, as those in the preceding chapter are to the Pharisees; and who also are designed in this; though it is particularly spoken to the disciples, because it might be of some use to them, with respect, to the stewardship they were in. The Persic and Ethiopic versions read, "Jesus", or "the Lord Jesus said": and which is to be understood, though not expressed; for the parable was delivered by him, and is as follows: THERE WAS A CERTAIN RICH MAN: by whom God is meant, who is rich in the perfections of his nature, in the works of his hands, in his government, and the administration of it, in providential goodness, and in the large revenues of glory due to him from his creatures; for all temporal riches are from him; and so are all the riches of mercy, grace,...

CHAPTER 16 _ 1. The Unjust Steward. (Luke 16:1)_ 2. The Impossible Service. (Luke 16:13) 3. The Deriding Pharisees Answered. (Luke 16:14) 4. Concerning Divorce. (Luke 16:18) 5. The Rich Man and Lazarus. (Luke 16:19 .) Luke 16:1 Let us notice that this story was spoken to the disciples. It contains a number of difficulties. It has well been said “there are knots in it which perhaps will never be untied, until the Lord comes again. We might re

PARABLE OF THE UNJUST STEWARD (Lk. only). It has been suggested that a better title would be The Shrewd Agent. At any rate the epithet unrighteous has as much reference (if not more) to Luke 16:1 as to Luke 16:5. A steward in danger of dismissal for mismanagement of his master's estate seeks to provide for the future by making friends with the tenants. That this is at his master's expense has nothing to do with the point of the parable-_,_ it is a parable, not an allegory. The agent summons the tenants, who are under bond to pay part of their rent in kind (or perhaps they are merchants having supplies of goods on credit) and encourages them to alter their contracts in their own favour. Who is the lord that praises the overseer for his action? Apparently it is the landlord (_cf._...

Jesus said to his disciples, "There was a rich man who had a steward. He received information against the steward which alleged that he was dissipating his goods. He called him, and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.' The steward said to himself, 'What am I to do? I have not the strength to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do, so that, when I am removed from my stewardship, they will receive me into their houses.' So he summoned each of the people who owed debts to his master. To the first he said, 'How much do you owe my master?' He said, 'Nine hundred gallons of oil.' He said to him, 'Take your account and sit down and write quickly, four hundred and fifty.' Then he said to another 'And you--how much do you owe?' He said, 'A thousand bushels of corn.' He said to him, 'Take your account...