Luke 16:9

And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they 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. AND I SAY UNTO YOU, MAKE TO YOURSELVES FRIENDS OF [ ek (G1537 ), RATHER 'OUT OF'] THE MAMMON OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS - that is, by the help of it. The word "mammon" [ mamoonas (G3126)] - on which see the note at Matthew 6:24 - stands here just for those riches which the children of this world idolize, or live supremely for; and it is called "the mammon of unrighteousness," or "the...

9._Make to yourselves friends. _As in the words which were last considered Christ did not enjoin us to offer sacrifices to God out of the fruits of extortion, so now he does not mean that we ought to search for defenders or advocates, who will throw around us the shield of their protection; but teaches us that by acts of charity we obtain favor with God, who has promised, that _to the merciful he will show himself merciful, _(Psalms 18:25.) It is highly foolish and absurd to infer from this passage, that the prayers or approbation of the dead are of service to us: for, on that supposition, all that is bestowed on unworthy persons would be thrown away; but the depravity of men does not prevent the Lord from placing on his records all that we have expended on the poor. The Lord looks not to the persons, but to the work itself, so that our liberality, though it may happen to be exe

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...

Verse Luke 16:9. _THE MAMMON OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS_] μαμωνα της αδικιας - literally, _the mammon_, or _riches, of injustice_. Riches _promise_ MUCH, and _perform_ NOTHING: they excite _hope_ and _confidence_, and _deceive_ both: in making a man _depend_ on them for _happiness_, they _rob_ him of the salvation of God and of eternal glory. For these reasons, they are represented as _unjust_ and _deceitful_. Matthew 6:24, where this is more particularly explained. It is evident that this must be the meaning of the words, because the _false_ or _deceitful riches_, here, are put in opposition to the _true_ _riches_, Luke 16:11; i.e. those Divine graces and b...

I SAY UNTO YOU - I, Jesus, say to you, my disciples. MAKE TO YOURSELVES FRIENDS - Some have understood the word “friends,” here, as referring to the poor; others, to holy angels; and others, to God. Perhaps, however, the word should not be considered as referring to any particular “persons,” but is used in accordance with the preceding parable; for in the application our Saviour uses the “language” appropriated to the conduct of the steward to express the “general” truth that we are to make a proper use of riches. The steward had so managed his pecuniary affairs as to secure future comfort for himself, or so as to find friends that would take care of him “beyond” the time when he was put out of the office. That is, he would not be destitute, or cast off, or without comfort, when he was removed from his office. So, says our Saviour to the publicans and those who had property, so use your...

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 I SAY UNTO YOU,.... These are the words of Christ, as are also the latter part of the preceding verse, accommodating and applying the parable to his disciples, and for their instruction: MAKE TO YOURSELVES FRIENDS OF THE MAMMON OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS: by "mammon" are designed riches, wealth, and substance; Matthew 6:24 and is called "mammon of unrighteousness", because such wealth is often unrighteously detained, and is not made use of to right and good purposes, by the owners of it; or because, generally speaking, it is possessed by unrighteous men; and, for the most part, used in an unrighteous manner, in luxury, pride and intemperance, and is the root, instrument, and means of such unrighteousness: or it maybe rendered "mammon of hurt", or "hurtful mammon"; as it often is to those who are over anxious and desirous of it, or other disuse or misuse of it: or,

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...