The Word Is Alive The Gospel of Luke

1. The Word Is AliveThe Gospel of Luke Chapter Sixteen Presented by Tony Gillon

2. Chapter Sixteen • Luke 9:51–19:27 - • The Journey to Jerusalem (continues)

3. Chapter Sixteen • Luke 9:51–19:27 - • The Journey to Jerusalem (continues) • Luke 13:22–17:10 - The second mention of the journey to Jerusalem (continues)

4. Chapter Sixteen • Luke 9:51–19:27 - • The Journey to Jerusalem (continues) • Luke 13:22–17:10 - The second mention of the journey to Jerusalem (continues) • Luke 14:7–17:10 -  • Various Teachings and Parables (continues)

5. The Journey to Jerusalem • Summary of Chapter Sixteen • Wicked money.

6. The Journey to Jerusalem • Summary of Chapter Sixteen • Wicked money. • The Parable of Lazarus and the rich man.

7. The Journey to Jerusalem • Luke 16:1-15 – • The parable of the shrewd manager

8. The Journey to Jerusalem • Luke 16:1-15 – • The parable of the shrewd manager • Disciples may adopt a similar approach to this manager in preparing for kingdom life. • Disciples are not to misuse their spiritual gifts or other resources provided for his kingdom.

9. The Journey to Jerusalem • 1 Jesus told his disciples: There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.

10. The Journey to Jerusalem • The audience for the parable of the dishonest manager (vv.1–8a) included Christ’s disciples (v.1) and the Pharisees (v.14).

11. The Journey to Jerusalem • The audience for the parable of the dishonest manager (vv.1–8a) included Christ’s disciples (v.1) and the Pharisees (v.14). • The manager is the steward in charge of the estate, a trusted servant who exercised the chief responsibility for the management and distribution of the household goods. The manager acted as the agent for his master and had full authority to transact business on behalf of his master.

12. The Journey to Jerusalem • Wasting his possessions refers to the manager’s dishonesty and is a central theme woven throughout the parable. The manager is clearly guilty as charged because when the master fired him (v.2), the manager made no attempt to defend himself (v.3).

13. The Journey to Jerusalem • 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’.

14. The Journey to Jerusalem • 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’.

15. The Journey to Jerusalem • 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’.

16. The Journey to Jerusalem • He admits to being ashamed to beg but not ashamed to abuse his employer’s trust or to steal from him. • Stealing from employers is something that many seem to do today without seeing it as such.

17. The Journey to Jerusalem • The manager ingratiated himself with his master’s debtors so that they would still owe him favours and would then ‘welcome me into their houses’.

18. The Journey to Jerusalem • 8a The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.

19. The Journey to Jerusalem • 8a The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. • The master commended the dishonest manager:

20. The Journey to Jerusalem • The manager excluded his commission in the discounts.

21. The Journey to Jerusalem • The manager excluded his commission in the discounts. • These were hard to collect debts and thus the action helped with cash flow.

22. The Journey to Jerusalem • The manager excluded his commission in the discounts. • These were hard to collect debts and thus the action helped with cash flow. • He was commended for being shrewd although he was still being dishonest.

23. The Journey to Jerusalem • Personal comment: • My interpretation of this parable is that we have an example of how a worldly steward makes best provision for himself from what the world has to offer. Followers of Jesus are stewards too. We have been given everything that we need and are expected to make the best of it that we can both for our enjoyment and for distribution to those who have more need of it. We should encourage others to do likewise.

24. The Journey to Jerusalem • Personal comment: • For us as well, a time is coming when we must give up our stewardship and unlike the worldly steward, we often do not make the best of what we have in preparation of the life to come, when we must give account for it. We need to convert our worldly wealth into spiritual and eternal equivalents.

25. The Journey to Jerusalem • Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. (Continued).

26. The Journey to Jerusalem • In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

27. The Journey to Jerusalem • 8b For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.

28. The Journey to Jerusalem • 8b For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. • Verses 8b–13 constitute a series of teachings related to the parable of the dishonest manager (vv.1–8a). Jesus applies the parable both as a comparison and as a contrast.

29. The Journey to Jerusalem • In contrast to the manager, Jesus’ disciples must not use their money or gifts in an unrighteous manner but like the manager, they must use their money or gifts in such a way that they prepare for their future life.

30. The Journey to Jerusalem • The people of this world or this age often show more concern and skill in taking care of their earthly well-being than do the people of the light, i.e. believers, do in taking care of eternal matters.

31. The Journey to Jerusalem • 9I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

32. The Journey to Jerusalem • 9I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. • I tell you is a solemn expression stressing the importance of the application which Jesus now states by admonishing his disciples to be generous in their use of money and possessions.

33. The Journey to Jerusalem • Worldly wealth: • Unrighteous means in acquiring wealth. • Unrighteous desires in the use of wealth. • The corrupting influence of wealth.

34. The Journey to Jerusalem • The word translated here for wealth is a Hebrew and Aramaic term mammon, Greek Mamōnas and English mammon is used to denote wealth, possessions and money.

35. The Journey to Jerusalem • So that when it is gone, wealth will inevitably fail both to satisfy and to provide for eternal needs. • Jesus exhorts his disciples to gain friends for yourselves in the generous use of wealth and possessions for the care and well-being of others, so that when wealth does fail you will be welcomedinto the eternal dwellings.

36. The Journey to Jerusalem • Believers, who use their wealth and possessions generously in this way, give evidence of their faith and commitment to God and of their understanding that God will give eternal rewards to those who are generous in their use of the resources he has entrusted to them.

37. The Journey to Jerusalem • 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?

38. The Journey to Jerusalem • Worldly or unrighteous wealth here refers to earthly money and possessions.

39. The Journey to Jerusalem • Worldly or unrighteous wealth here refers to earthly money and possessions. • True riches: • Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys (Luke 12:33).

40. The Journey to Jerusalem • When Jesus heard this, he said to him, You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. (Luke 18:22).

41. The Journey to Jerusalem • Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. (Continued).

42. The Journey to Jerusalem • If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No-one 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 (Matthew 6:19–24).

43. The Journey to Jerusalem • 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

44. The Journey to Jerusalem • 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? • Not been trustworthy with someone else’s property means faithfulness with respect to worldly possessions that God entrusts to his people for their stewardship during their lifetime.

45. The Journey to Jerusalem • Your own refers back to the true riches of v.11 regarding spiritual responsibility in God’s Kingdom and heavenly reward.

46. The Journey to Jerusalem • 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.

47. The Journey to Jerusalem • You cannot serve both God and moneyor mammon. Jesus does not say ‘should not serve’ but ‘cannot serve’. • You cannot serve both God and Satan!

48. The Journey to Jerusalem • Serve is the Greek word douleuō and indicates the work of a slave not an employee. Since a slave is the sole property of one master he must give the master exclusive service. • A disciple’s loyalties cannot be divided. That is, one is either a slave to God or to money.

49. The Journey to Jerusalem • Those who are Jesus’ true disciples must make an either/or choice between serving God and serving money. Money is personified here in parallel with God indicating the way in which money can often take on an idolatrous place in one’s life. • The way to serve God rather than money is to put one’s resources to the service of others and the work of the kingdom.

50. The Journey to Jerusalem • 14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.