Luke 16:1
A plain-spoken deep dive on this verse. Read the chapter →
Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
PARABLES OF THE UNJUST STEWARD AND OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS, OR, THE RIGHT USE OF MONEY. (Luke 16:1-31) steward--manager of his estate. accused--informed upon. had wasted--rather, "was wasting."
Open source ↗We mistake if we imagine that the design of Christ's doctrine and holy religion was either to amuse us with notions of divine mysteries or to entertain us with notions of divine mercies. No, the divine revelation of both these in the gospel is intended to engage and quicken us to the practice of Christian duties, and, as much as any one thing, to the duty of beneficence and doing good to those who stand in need of any thing that either we have or can do for them. This our Saviour is here pressing us to, by reminding us that we are but stewards of the manifold grace of God; and since we have in divers instances been unfaithful, and have forfeited the favour of our Lord, it is our wisdom to think how we may, some other way, make what we have in the world turn to a good account. Parables must not be forced beyond their primary intention, and therefore we must not hence infer that any one can befriend us if we lie under the displeasure of our Lord, but that, in the general, we must so lay out what we have in works of piety and charity as that we may meet it again with comfort on the other side death and the grave. If we would act wisely, we must be diligent and industrious to employ our riches in the acts of piety and charity, in order to promote our future and eternal welfare, as worldly men are in laying them out to the greatest temporal profit, in making to themselves friends with them, and securing other secular interests. So Dr. Clarke. Now let us consider, I. The parable itself, in which all the children of men are represented as stewards of what they have in this world, and we are but stewards. Whatever we have, the property of it is God's; we have only the use of it, and that according to the direction of our great Lord, and for his honour. Rabbi Kimchi, quoted by D…
Open source ↗16:1 a certain rich man who had a manager: Wealthy landowners commonly put managers over their estates.
Open source ↗Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.
And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?
And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.
But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living.
Then another servant came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have laid away in a piece of cloth.
Whoever is slothful in his work is brother to him who destroys.
Joanna the wife of Herod’s household manager Chuza, Susanna, and many others. These women were ministering to them out of their own means.
Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.