“Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty” (Luke 16:6).

This parable concerns a rich man who accused his servant of wasting his goods and demanded an accounting from him. The outcome would determine the steward’s future. After considering the alternatives, the steward decided to at least recoup a portion of what was owed to his master (verses 5­7). As a result, the rich man commended the steward because he had “done wisely.”

A PARABLE OF THE JEWISH HARVEST

It seems curious that Matthew focuses on Second Advent parables while Luke focuses on First Advent parables. This is a reasonable assessment if indeed Paul was instrumental in encouraging Luke to write his Gospel. Paul was focusing on the changes from the Jewish Age into the Gospel Age.

For “The Mammon Parable” in Luke 16 there is “room for dispute” even in the parable’s name. It has been titled the “Unrighteous (unjust) Steward;” the “Shrewd Steward;” and the “Prodigal Steward.” However, all these names miss the point, because, in the end, the steward is victorious — at least in a certain sense. Jesus complimented the steward by calling him “shrewd.” (See English Standard Version for verse 8.)

Context means a great deal, and in the larger context there are four parables prior to this one and one which follows. Each parable focuses on the Jewish harvest. Jesus is making several points regarding the Jewish harvest, the change from one method of dealing to another. The harvest was a tremendously significant event and in some respects affects the Gospel Age itself. This is one of the lessons of this parable.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PARABLES

There are historic parables, focusing on past events; prophetic parables, focusing primarily on future events; and parables that teach specific concepts. This parable fits the first two categories, as it deals with both Jewish history and the Jewish harvest. It is a lesson for Israel, which was about to be rejected.

By this parable Jesus was saying to Israel, “if you could only have done it this way, you would have been successfully transplanted from the House of Servants to the House of Sons.” But, for the most part, Israel was not listening and was therefore being rejected.

From Luke 16:1 we find this parable addressed to the disciples. However, Luke 16:14 says, “And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.” So, while this parable was addressed to disciples, it was overheard by the Pharisees. This distinction is important because, in reality, it was about the Pharisees, but was also told for the benefit of the disciples. This stressed the fact that they were entering a new age, focusing on Spiritual Israel. Our Lord’s message to the disciples was, “I do not want you to make the same mistake that caused Israel to lose the stewardship.”

THREE REASONS FOR THE PARABLE

This parable holds three lessons. It explains: (1) the reason for Fleshly Israel’s failure, (2) the change of atti­tude needed for those desiring to overcome where Fleshly Israel failed, and (3) the required behavior of the Saints during the Gospel Age. This third point may be the primary lesson. Jesus was saying, “I am telling you what the Jews did that was displeasing to God. I am telling the Jews how they can be faithful in the new age, but most of all I am telling those living in the new age not to repeat what caused Israel’s failure as the stewards of God’s goods.”

Jesus explains the problem in Luke 16:1­2. There was a certain rich man who had a steward who was reported as squandering the rich man’s possessions. He called him and said, “What is this I hear about you? Give an account for your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.”

The solution is found in Luke 16:3­7 when the steward said to himself, “What shall I do since my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that when I am removed from the stewardship, they will receive me into their houses.”

He then met with each one of his master’s debtors and began saying to the first, “How much do you owe my master?” And the debtor said, “One hundred measures of oil.” And the steward said to him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly and write 50.”

Then he said to another, “And how much do you owe?” The answer was “100 measures of wheat.” He said to him, “Take your bill and write 80.”

The master praised the unrighteous steward because he had acted shrewdly.

In Luke 16:8­13 Jesus explains that the sons of this age are shrewder in relation to their own welfare than the sons of light. He adds, “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in unrighteous mammon who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.”

The Pharisees were lovers of money. They were listening to all these things and scoffed at Jesus. He said to them, “You are those who justify themselves, but God knows your heart. For that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were proclaimed until John. Since then, the gospel of the Kingdom of God is preached and everyone is forcing his way into it, but it is easier for heaven and earth pass away then for the stroke of a letter of the law to fail” (verses 14­17).

SPIRITUAL FRUITAGE NECESSARY

The disciples needed to know why the Law Age was ending so they would not repeat the problem in the Gospel Age. Spiritual Babylon did not learn this lesson and did repeat the problem during the Gospel Age. The lesson to true disciples says, “If you want to avoid the Babylonian attitude, this is what you need to learn.”

“Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.”

The steward of the parable describes the Pharisees, the high priest, and anyone responsible for helping Israel obey the Law. Yet, the steward in this parable is fictitious. He is a character Jesus created to teach the lesson. This character represents what should have happened in those who wanted to successfully make the transition from the Jewish Age to the Gospel Age. The steward squandered his master’s possessions. In other words, he wasted the lessons of the Law.

THE PRECEDING PARABLE

The parable of the unrighteous steward immediately follows the parable of the prodigal son. Jesus is engaging in a little bit of irony when he gives the prodigal son parable. Rather than the Pharisees being the ones wasteful of God’s goods, the prodigal son represents the tax collectors and prostitutes who were spiritually wasteful. The parable of the unrighteous steward simply completes the story. Jesus is saying to those in charge of Israel, “You too are in the prodigal son parable. You are the elder son who resented the return of his younger brother. You are just as prodigal and wasteful, but in a different way!” There is a wonderful irony here because Jesus is now including the rulers and not merely addressing those who had abandoned the Law.

When John the Baptist saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming, he said to them, “You brood of vipers. Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7). Being removed from their stewardship is equivalent to John’s statement that they would experience the “wrath to come.” Their responsibility did not end because their stewardship was taken away. Being leaders during the Jewish harvest contains an implied question, “Did you do anything to create fruitage?” The Scribes and Pharisees probably knew that they did not bring forth fruitage, but were self­ serving. Israel under the Law had been a failure. So, from the language of the parable, they could not give a good account of their stewardship since there was no fruitage from their efforts.

WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?

In the parable, the steward said to himself, “What shall I do since my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig. I am ashamed to beg.”

If the Pharisees had asked themselves a similar question, they would have had the opportunity to be transferred into the new age, for this would have constituted repentance. This was the very purpose of John’s baptism. But they were not repentant. They did not perceive what action was required of them. They were not as shrewd as the steward of the parable. On the other hand, the Apostle Paul did follow the example of the steward. Paul was a Pharisee of the Pharisees, but when Jesus manifested himself to Paul on the road to Damascus, he reevaluated his life. Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus may also have demonstrated the wisdom of the steward.

There is a relevant contemporary saying. “I am in too deep to dig myself out.” This describes the sentiment of the steward. Evaluating his position, he said, “I cannot dig.” For the leaders of Israel this described their inability to keep the works of the Law. “Works were not working!”

He also said, “To beg I am ashamed.” Being a beggar in Israel was a visible admission that one was not even trying to keep the Law, because if they were, the Law said they would be “blessed in basket and store” (Deuteronomy 28:5). This parable is a wake­up call that things were changing.

REPENTANCE

The marginal reading of Luke 16:4 says, “I have come to the knowledge of what I shall do.” In other words, the steward had determined a course of action. Jesus was saying, “If you were to see a reason to change your course of action, this attitude could bring you into a favorable relationship with God in the new age.” In the New Testament, houses represent covenants. The Scribes and Pharisees needed to be transferred from the House of Moses to the House of Sons. The House of Sons was the new house that the steward wanted to be received into and he determined how that could be done. John the Baptist and Jesus helped the remnant of Israel understand and accept their need of repentance.

To demonstrate the meaning of this verse, the steward says, “I have finally acknowledged to myself what is happening. Jesus is Messiah and he is opening a new age. I am going to entirely change my old ways of doing and thinking. Then, perhaps, I will be received into the fellowship of the incoming age.”

GOD DESIRES THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW

None of us can keep the letter of the Law. But God’s desire is to the spirit of the Law. The debtors of the parable could not fully pay what they owed, but the amount they could pay represents the spirit. Hence, this is what the steward asked of them. According to Jesus, this was shrewd. In the Gospel Age, the concept of faithfulness to the spirit is what we are asked to live by. No one is expected to pay in full, but only what they are able.

The oil is the holy Spirit, or the spirit of the Law, and the lesson is this. Give your oil. Do not withhold any you have. It is the spirit of the Law that must be paid. So yes, we are let out from paying the letter of the Law. But, we are not let out from paying the spirit of the Law. The lesson here is to give all of everything we have. The Lord’s acceptance of this constitutes mercy, they give the master everything he wants, not what he deserves. That is why in Luke 16:8 the master offers praise for the unrighteous steward because he had acted shrewdly, or “wisely” as King James translates it.

At all times we need to say, “Lord, what can I do?”

He says, “Sit down quickly, and write 50!” The spirit of this is potent and is the lesson of the Gospel. We must respond quickly and agree and pay. This is the standard of consecration. Consecration is all we have. Not all we owe!

— Excerpted and adapted from a discourse by
Br. David Doran (May 2017)

 

---

Download PDF