Luke 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.
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? 13 No servant can serve two masters: for either
he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous,
heard all these things: and they derided him. 15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which
justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is
highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. 16 The law and the prophets were until
John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth
into it. 17 And it is easier for heaven
and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. 18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth
another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her
husband committeth adultery.
Jesus has finished
talking about the joy in Heaven over repentance and return.
First, before I give my
general thoughts on this passage, let me define a steward and a debt and
what they can mean beyond the literal.
The elder, whether it
be a pastor/teacher, a bishop, which is what we call a pastor today, a deacon
or some other function in the church, is called a steward of the mysteries of God.
They must handle God’s word, not deceitfully, or for gain, to make
merchandise of the church, but faithfully.
1Corinthians 4:1 ¶ Let a
man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the
mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is
required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
In literal terms, a
steward is a manager of a house, what we might today call a butler or, if they
had more responsibility, even an estate agent, as the one in this parable.
A debt cannot only
refer to a financial obligation it can refer to sin debt, the debt one owes God
that they can never repay and the debt one owes to a person they’ve sinned
against. See the example of prayer Jesus gave on two separate occasions.
Matthew 6:12 And forgive us
our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Luke 11:4 And forgive us
our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.
The steward here had
wasted his master’s goods, not stolen them. He is not in prison but being terminated
in his employment. The coins that Jesus used were Roman. This passage
represents the non-monetary part of this society which we have seen all through
the Bible where wealth was measured in goods and produce. Throughout history,
from the serfs of the Medieval world to the sharecroppers of the Southern
United States rents were often paid at least partly in produce and goods made.
A current Turbotax
website makes this pertinent statement regarding taxes; “Most landowners
contract with farmers under a crop-share arrangement, in which ‘rent' is paid
in crops or livestock produced by the farmer. Form 4835 only recognizes income
to a landowner in the year that these crop or livestock shares are converted to
cash.”
The master demands that the steward make an accounting, to
see the books so to speak. He apparently is not getting the rents he expects
and the steward has failed in his job. The steward, being afraid of what will
become of him, knowing he’s too old to do common labor and doesn’t want to be
reduced to the level of a beggar, thinks to forgive some of his master’s debt
to get at least partial rents in, hoping to not only please his master but to
perhaps have one of the tenants hire him out of appreciation.
Jesus says in verse 9 to forgive the sin debt to you and to
God as this failure of a steward has done. A friend of mammon, the mammon of
unrighteousness, or the unrighteous mammon knows how to handle it. Jesus’
Jewish followers under the Law have spiritual wealth to dispense, forgiveness,
and to collect, the repentance of the wayward Jew who has not been forthcoming
in his responsibilities to the Lord who created him. Those you have forgiven of
the sin debt owed to you and to the Lord, and we all know that the person who
truly forgives receives less from the debtor than he deserves to receive but is
willing to accept what he gets, but those who have been forgiven by the Jew are
a currency that prepared the Jew for eternal life. Forgiveness is very important
to Christ. In this passage He is starting with a worldly scene and transforming
it into a spiritual meaning.
Forgiveness was essential to salvation, as far as Jesus was
concerned. How can you be faithful in great spiritual matters when you are faithless
in such a basic component to obedience to Christ as forgiveness? There is also
a warning here to be diligent in worldly matters. How can a Jew who is careless
with worldly wealth be trusted to handle spiritual wealth? Be liberal and free
with your money in dispensing it to those in need and do not be covetous. Be
faithful in your obligations and handle money wisely. Do not worship mammon but
use it rather in the way God would approve.
The insertion of the verse on putting away one’s wife is not
the context of the same thought in Matthew, chapters 5 and 19 and Mark 10 as
they are about marriage and divorce specifically. God doesn’t value the things
we do in the way we do. But He does value forgiveness and unjustly divorcing
one’s spouse is included in this passage to give us a personal reference. Let
us remember Paul’s admonition.
Colossians
3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and be
not bitter against them.
There was a school of the Pharisees, according to some
sources, that believed you could divorce your wife for any reason as the Romans
did. Our representation of Christ, our expression of faith, begins at home. If
we cannot be trusted to show Christ in our most intimate relationships we
cannot be trusted with His spiritual riches in public. For instance, a man who
is cruel at home, unyielding, implacable, unmerciful in speech or deed at home,
is a roaring hypocrite when he smiles and shakes hands at church with a pious
grin on his face in the love of the brethren.
Think about this when you absentmindedly purchase a pack of
gum at the convenience store. Are you as free with God’s spiritual wealth such
as forgiveness as you are in how you use money? You think nothing of making an
impulse purchase, some doo-dad you want, but how miserly you are with
forgiveness and mercy to those closest to you.
Of course, there are many sermons to be made out of this
regarding faithfulness with money as all of what you own is God’s etc. etc.
Luke 16:19 ¶ There was a
certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared
sumptuously every day: 20 And there was
a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the
crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked
his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that
the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich
man also died, and was buried; 23 And in
hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and
Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried
and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip
the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this
flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son,
remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there
is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot;
neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father,
that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify
unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and
the prophets; let them hear them. 30 And
he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they
will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If
they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though
one rose from the dead.
Jumping right from the
story of the steward and the link to putting away one’s wife Jesus goes into
the effects of a hard heart. Also though, Jesus, continuing with the sin of
covetousness and greed the Pharisees were apparently known for, describes the
end destination for those who would depend on and worship their wealth. It is a
warning to those who would listen. In this passage it is clear that Hell is a
real place of suffering. Hell is spoken of as a place of fire early on.
Deuteronomy 32:22 For a
fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with
her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
It is commonly
understood among conservative Christians that before Christ’s resurrection that
Hell, the place of suffering, was next to Paradise, the place of joy and peace.
Here, it is said that there was an unbridgeable gap between them. The Greeks,
who were represented as traders and mercenaries throughout the Ancient Near
East from the earliest times and even fought on the side of Nebuchadnezzar and
Pharaoh Necho at Carchemish as mentioned in Jeremiah 46:2, were often the hired men of Jeremiah 46:21. They
took many slaves as spoils of war including many Jews.
Joel 3:6 The children also
of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye
might remove them far from their border.
It is very possible
that Greek versions of Hades, their word for Hell, were formed by what they
heard from their Hebrew captives just as later Greek writers would say, during
the Christian era, that Greek mythical heroes were amalgamations of Bible
characters. For example, Hercules may be a combination of Samson and Jonah due
to the experiences he supposedly endured some have thought. Even Herodotus, the
ancient Greek historian who lived hundreds of years before Christ supposed that
the Greeks lifted their mythologies from Egypt. Archaeologists, linguists, and
mythographers have concluded that the Greeks got their mythologies from the
Ancient Near East, which the Bible confirms in part. The Greek view of Hades as a place that
contained not only suffering but a place of joy and rest confirms this view.
Hel, in Norse
mythology, is not a good point to start with as virtually all we know about the
Norse gods was written by Christian writers during the 13th century
and beyond, presumably from older sources but who can say for certain. It has
been noted that early writers said even their mythology came from the Near
East.
We have the Bible,
given by inspiration of God to its writers and copyists and translators which
is wisdom and understanding rather than word-for-word dictation as I have
explained and referenced previously from Job 32:8; 2Peter 3:15; and 2Timothy
3:16 with the original autographs not ranked as high as the words we have to
read. See Jeremiah 36:32. It is the doctrine of preservation from Psalm 12:6, 7
and Psalm 119:89 that works alongside of the doctrine of inspiration to give us
the Bible we have today.
Hell is in the heart of
the earth but Paradise, like the ark of God, has been removed to the New
Jerusalem after Christ preached to the spirits there.
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas
was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man
be three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth.
Luke 23:43 And Jesus said
unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
1Peter 3:18 ¶ For Christ
also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring
us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19
By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when
once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a
preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
2Corinthians 12:4 How that
he was caught up into paradise,
and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Revelation 2:7 He that hath
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that
overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the
paradise of God.
Revelation 11:19 And the
temple of God was opened in
heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and
thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
Here, in this passage,
just as the rich man wants to enforce the social status he enjoyed over Lazarus
during life in Hell, so Abraham foretells that the wicked will not be
influenced by Christ’s resurrection and even His preaching to them in their
deplorable and abhorrent state will not impact their evil-focused minds. This
is the result of a hard heart.
I want to address
another issue having to do with words in the Bible. In Hebrew the word Sheol is translated as either the grave
or Hell, based on the context. In the New Testament, the suffering of Hell can
be expressed by the Greek word Hades.
With a million words in English we can be very specific in our naming of
things. And yet, words like love and hate are often used with many different
definitions understood by the context as in, “I love my mother,” versus, “I
love pizza.” In Hebrew and Greek the meaning of a word, too, is dependent upon
the context. Do not be deluded by skeptics who criticize the word Hell from Sheol or Hades. It would
make no sense for God to start a fire in the lowest grave as per the verse
quoted above from Deuteronomy or to mix Hades,
where torment or joy could be experienced, with Hell, a place of only torment until the final Lake of Fire consumes
those who have rejected God’s mercy. The words those people had were used to
describe things God put on their minds.
A similar mistake is made
by modernists who take compound words like Theopneustos
in 2Timothy 3:16 and transliterate it as God-breathed rather than the correct given by inspiration which I’ve defined previously. Compound words
mean more than their component parts run together. You would say you were going
home to watch football on your television, not your far-off seeing, now wouldn’t you?
Luke, chapter 17
Luke 17:1 ¶ Then said he
unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto
him, through whom they come! 2 It
were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast
into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother
trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times
in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou
shalt forgive him. 5 And the apostles
said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. 6
And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might
say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou
planted in the sea; and it should obey you. 7
But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say
unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
8 And will not rather say unto him, Make
ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten
and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the
things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are
commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was
our duty to do.
Again from the
importance of forgiveness to the effects of a hard heart to the victory through
faith and just how little and how reasonable what God is asking that we do
Jesus proceeds to illuminate.
An offence is something
that causes someone to stumble in confusion or their faith, that harms their
faith.
As the Jewish rejection
of Christ caused their confusion;
1Peter 2:8 And a stone of
stumbling, and a rock of offence,
even to them which stumble at the word, being
disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
Which is an allusion to
the passage in Isaiah;
Isaiah 8:13 Sanctify the
LORD of hosts himself; and let
him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he
shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of
offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many
among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
So, see that an offence
can cause one to stumble, to fall, to be broken, and snared, and captured. This
is what happens with unbelief, one falls into the snare set by the king of
terrors himself.
2Timothy 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out
of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Someone who belongs to
God, who is mature in His care, and loves His word should never experience such
a thing.
Psalm 119:165 Great peace
have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
In the Early Modern
English of the era of the King James translators to offend could mean, not just to displease or insult someone, but to
injure one’s conscience, to deceive them, to commit a wrong, to cause damage
to, and an offence was a crime, a
sin, or a trespass, an injury done to someone.
Offences against God
and humans will come, they will happen. It is the nature of things in this
dispensation. But, woe to that man or woman through whom they come, who permits
themselves willingly to be a vehicle for sin against God and their fellow men
and women.
Little ones can be a
reference, of course, to children.
Matthew 18:1 ¶ At the same
time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little
child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be
converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom
of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall
humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of
heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one
such little child in my name receiveth me. 6
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it
were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of
the sea.
7 ¶ Woe unto the world because of offences! for
it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence
cometh! 8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy
foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them
from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than
having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out,
and cast it from thee: it is
better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to
be cast into hell fire. 10 Take heed
that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in
heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
11 For the Son of man is come to save
that which was lost. 12 How think ye? if
a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave
the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is
gone astray? 13 And if so be
that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine
which went not astray. 14 Even so it is
not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones
should perish.
But, in this context, in
this particular sermon given by Christ, He seems to be saying that offences
must come but it is a sad day for the person through whom they come. Do not
give cause or reason for a new believer, a little one in the faith, to stumble
and fall, and to forgive graciously and abundantly if your brother or sister
repents of their deed against you. Do not feel a sense of self-righteousness by
your getting out of your comfort zone and doing what Christ has commanded in
the realm of forgiveness but accept it as the least you can do considering what
He has endured and what He has done for you.
Luke 11:4 And forgive us
our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.
Peter and Christ had
this interaction;
Matthew 18:21 ¶ Then came
Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I
forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus
saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy
times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom
of heaven likened unto a
certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was
brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord
commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that
he had, and payment to be made. 26
The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have
patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him,
and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same
servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred
pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet,
and besought him, saying, Have patience with me,
and I will pay thee all. 30
And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay
the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants
saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all
that was done. 32 Then his lord, after
that he had called
him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that
debt, because thou desiredst me: 33
Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even
as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord
was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was
due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my
heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one
his brother their trespasses.
Next to trusting God in
the painful circumstances of life for which we are given no explanation, like Job,
forgiving is the hardest thing for a Christian to do. Some of the great causes
of mental illness are a refusing to forgive and a refusing to be forgiven.
Refusing to forgive as Christ commanded can be the source of great offence to
the faith of not only another but yourself. Discouragement is a powerful tool
of Satan.
2Corinthians 2:10 To whom
ye forgive any thing, I forgive
also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave
I it in the person of Christ; 11
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his
devices.
I suspect there are
many out there who cannot find it within themselves to forgive one who has
caused offence to you or to forgive yourself; perhaps even just for failure in
this life to meet the expectations of your youth. But, forgiving is a
fundamental of the Christian faith, of far more importance than your political
or historical beliefs. Keep in mind that it is called for when the other party
is repentant and is not only sorry for their sin against you but has turned
from it, the meaning of repentance. Sometimes it takes time to forgive because
we need to see that repentance is real. These are the facts of living.
Paul gave a warning
about offending weak brothers and sisters. Read Romans 14. With regard to
forgiveness, there may be a person in your life; a parent, a spouse, a friend,
who regrets what they did to you and, if that is so, it is incumbent upon you
to forgive them. You, too, have regrets for what you’ve done. You are sorry for
your sin against God. Receive His forgiveness. Do not remember what God has
forgotten.
Another take on this
passage is that it represents a few of the sayings of Christ for which we would
have to cross-reference to uncover the more complete doctrine the sayings are
referring to. For instance, there is verse 2 opened up by the passage in
Matthew 18:1-14. There is verse 4 further explained by Matthew 18:21-35. Verses
5 and 6 are further illuminated by Matthew 17:14-21 if you take this tack on
the passage. But, I don’t think it is
correct to do that particularly. I believe that this passage represents a
coherent message given by Christ in its entirety to be understood by the
context in which it is written, cross-referencing for contrast and
understanding.
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