The Dishonest Steward

(Lk 16:1-12)

Lu 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.

Lu 16:2 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.

Lu 16:3 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.

Lu 16:4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.

Lu 16:5 So he called every one of his lord’s debtors [unto him], and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?

Lu 16:6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.

Lu 16:7 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.

Lu 16:8 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.

Lu 16:9 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.

Lu 16:10 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.

Lu 16:11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true [riches]?

Lu 16:12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?

∞ The parable of the unjust servant is troubling because normally moral imperative is sought. Perhaps that is not what is being taught at all.

Using the methods described in other questions called 'sensus plenior' let's see how this parable might be unpacked.

1. The keys to the kingdom (teaching) are the pictures of the cross.

There are several suggestive points:

v2. The servant would no longer be a servant. Christ had come to serve and ceased to serve in the flesh on the cross.

v3. The Hebrew word for 'beg' כרה also means 'trade'. Jesus could not get relief from the cross by trade; he alone would suffice.

v3. The Hebrew word for dig שאל also means 'ask'. Jesus asked for the cup to be removed, but obtained no relief. He was figuratively ashamed of his work on earth (increase for God ש-אל( because he would die alone; unfruitful. This is the language of riddle and does not attribute literal shame to Christ in this matter.

4. v4. Only after his stewardship is ended (the cross) will they receive him into their houses; tabernacles.

2. After the event of the cross is identified in the riddle, look for things that happen before and after the cross. Before the cross:

v5. He asks the debtors to confess their debt. In close reading we would expect the bookkeeper to know what they owed. He is asking for a confession, just as Jesus taught them to repent.

3. Identify key elements in Hebrew translating back from the Greek:

Mammon - the believing ones.(1)

wisdom - From ancient times it has been understood that wisdom was hidden in riddle. Ezekiek equates riddles and parables. and God says that the literal history would be a parable. THe proverb also connects wisdom to understanding riddles.

generation - The word in Genesis for generation is toledoth תולדות which also means 'record' as in the written history.

4. Work out some riddles, synonyms, etc, so they become familiar.

unjust - we might say 'merciful' from the context, and it does not contradict unjust.

mammon of unrighteousness - the ones believing in unrighteousness, or the ones believing in grace; sinners.

the true - the righteous; there are none righteous.

5. Make a first pass at a restatement with Christ at the center.

v1. There was God who had a servant (Christ) who was accused of not being productive.

v2 "Give an account of your life, it will end soon."

v3 "I will die, I cannot trade the task. I cannot ask. I have no increase"

v4 "I am resolved to do what I must so that they will receive me after my death"

v5 He called everyone to repentance and asked for confessions.

v8 God commended his merciful servant because he had hidden a riddle (wisdom) in his literal history. For the children of the world write the wisdom of God with their literal histories as parables. The children of holiness speak plainly.

Now fill in the gaps with deeper digging:

100 - the church. By taking 'half' they are joined 50-50 like a marriage. It is a symbol of taking the church as his bride.

80-20 - When Joseph stored grain to save the people of the earth, he took 20%. This is a picture of the servant becoming the savior.

The last of the parable is an admonition to Jesus himself. If he is not faithful to the sinners, he will have no reward since there are no righteous.

The last line is silly if read literally. Everyone will give you your own. But Jesus must be faithful to the enemies of God, in order for them to become his own.

(1) See Deut 1:32, and Is 28:16 . You cannot serve God and self.