The Parable of the Unrighteous Steward
Please explain Luke 16:1-12 [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.
[2] And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
[3] Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
[4] I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
[5] So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
[6] And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
[7] Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
[8] And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
[9] 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.
[10] He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
[11] If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
[12] And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
See All......I don't understand the parable of unrighteous steward. Is there any commentary or materials?
I do not see this parable as teaching dispensational truth or dealing with eternal salvation. Rather, it is a lesson in Christian discipleship. Much of Luke emphasizes discipleship.
Christ shows the wisdom of the world in certain areas. Here, even the unjust steward understood that he could make things easier on himself by being kind to those under him. That is, if he were not greedy with his goods, others might be generous to him in his time of need.
Jesus contrasts that with the greed and covetousness of the Pharisees. They strictly followed religious traditions, but were stingy in their worldly goods. They made a great distinction between the spiritual and the secular and felt that their obedience to the spiritual rules made it unnecessary to live holy in the secular realm. But this parable teaches us that the way we deal with the earthly and secular areas of our life is how we will deal with the spiritual. If a man is not a hard worker on his job, he will not be a hard worker for God. The two are connected.
This parable also teaches us that God tests us in our secular areas of life to see if we are ready for spiritual responsibility (see Luke 16:10-12 [10] He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
[11] If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
[12] And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
See All...). If we cannot righteously do our work or handle our finances, why would God trust us with more important spiritual responsibilities?
The "everlasting habitations" statement in verse 9 is a difficult one for me. I believe the friendship with the mammon or unrighteousness simply refers to having a good report and testimony with the lost and with the people we deal with in the world. Consider this verse:
1 Thessalonians 4:12That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
See All... That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
It says must the same as Luke 16:9And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
See All....
But the everlasting habitations are more difficult. The best I can say is that it refers to their hospitality from their viewpoint and not from God's viewpoint. They would receive the believer who has failed financially as if they were receiving him into everlasting habitations. This is total acceptance. Christ is referring to their generous hospitality, not to an absolute time period.