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by Sandy Shaw
Luke Chapter 16 is not an easy passage either, and the more we read this book we find there are very few easy passages. Most are most challenging in different ways.
The theme of Luke Chapter 16 is money. Jesus said a lot about money, because money says a lot about us. Money plays such an important part in our lives. We talk about money so much. Money features prominently in all kinds of ways, and has been the topic of various conversations over these past months.
So do not be surprised when we learn that Jesus Christ said more about money than any other one subject. There is more from the lips of Jesus about money than prayer. That may surprise many people.
These verses confront us with a challenge as to how we use our money, and they follow right on from Chapter 15. It is the same setting - the lost sheep - the lost coin - the two lost boys - lost outside and inside. The two sons had lots of money but appeared to have very few friends.
One day we are all going to have no money. Once our life on earth is over we will not possess a single penny. That could alarm lots of people too. One minute after we die we will be penniless, and this is what Jesus is getting at here - will we have any friends on that day? On that day will we possess true riches? What a passage! It is such a relevant theme.
Jesus turns round and speaks to His disciples, "There was a rich man, and this rich man had a manager, a factor, looking after his affairs, and it was brought to the rich man's notice that the manager was squandering the money. He was on the make. He was fiddling the books. He was corrupt."
Corruption is not something new. Bribery is an ancient sin. Jesus was aware that people were diddling others, and He speaks about it.
The rich man tells his manager, "I want to see what is going on, I would like to examine the accounts. Let me see how you are handling my affairs, and if I find things to be in a mess, then you will be sacked." The manager said to himself, "What will I do? I'll lose my job, and I'm not strong enough to do manual work, and I'm too proud to beg. What I am going to do is make sure I've got somewhere to go when I'm sacked.”
He is shrewd. That is not bad thinking.
He sees his predicament, and he seeks to be as prudent as he can, and there is a way out, but it is totally immoral! He calls in all those who owed his master money.
How much do you owe? £1,000. There’s the invoice - make it only £500.
Next man - how much do you owe? £1,000. Let's settle for £800, eh?
And so it went on - they were all rogues.
Verse 8. When the master meets his manager he commends him for being so smart and clever and shrewd. This shows that the master was a bit twisted in his dealings too.
Now, this is Jesus Christ telling this account of how some business people deal.
Jesus Christ knows more about what is going on than many give him credit! Jesus knows all about what going on in financial deals - in the market place - in those high-powered board room negotiations. Jesus sees and knows. One day it will all be revealed. Much has been revealed over these past six months regarding financial affairs which many people thought would be kept hidden. Jesus permits certain things just now.
Jesus says to His Disciples, “The children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind, than the children of light”.
Lesson one - not all are children of light.
Lesson two - sometimes children of light can learn from the ways of the children of the world.
Sometimes, the world is more sensible than Christians, but Jesus says that they are only more sensible so long as they are alive. Christians can very often learn from the world in its ways.
Now, in no sense is Jesus commending immorality in any form. All He is saying is - watch the world at times. Observe them. There may be one or two lessons which you can learn from them.
When this manager finally got the sack, he would at least have some friends he could go on to say, "Look, I did something for you. Will you see me out of this spot of trouble?"
Jesus is commending this man - not for his morality or lack of it - but for his common sense.
1. Jesus is teaching His disciples here that it is more important to have friends than money.
2. Jesus is teaching His disciples that it is more important to prepare for the future than just to live for the present.
Making friends is more important than making money. People are more important than things. The future matters more than the present.
The manager was only interested in looking after himself for this life, and in verse 9, Jesus takes the whole scene into a new dimension. We all need to move into this dimension at some point.
Jesus is saying - USE YOUR MONEY TO MAKE FRIENDS, and when you fail - when you die - you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Now, only disciples of Jesus will see this - to people outside of Christ this must sound crazy.
We will study the consequences of this parable next week.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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