Unjust Steward

The Unjust Steward, Luke 16:1-8

<!-- /#content-header --> <table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top">Now He was also saying to the disciples, 'There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and this steward was reported to him as squandering
his possessions.</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">
And he called him and said to him, "What is this I hear about you?

Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward."</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">and 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.</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">
I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the stewardship, they will receive me into their homes."
</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">And he summoned each one of his master's debtors, and he began saying to the first, "How much more do you owe my master?" And he said, "A hundred measures of oil." And he said to him, "Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty."
</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">Then he said to another, "And how much do you owe?" And he said, "A hundred measures of wheat." He said to him, "Take your bill, and write eighty."
</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">And his master praised the unrighteous steward because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the
sons of light.
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
Many commentators agree that this parable is the most difficult of all the parables to interpret. In fact, it is interesting to note that there are other "unsavory" characters in Jesus" parables: The unjust judge, the neighbor who does not want to be bothered in the night, and the man who pockets someone else's treasure by buying his field.

The seeming incongruity of a story that praises a scoundrel has been an embarrassment to the Church at least since Julian the Apostate used the parable to assert the inferiority of the Christian faith and its founder. We need a more precise understanding of the culture that affects this text.

The disciples are the primary audience, but the Pharisees are also included (v. 14).
Questions to ask:

1. Is the master assumed to be an honorable man, or is he a partner-in-crime with his steward?
2. Has the steward obliged the renters to sign bills for amounts greater than the actual debts?
3. Is his reduction of the debts merely a surrender of his dishonest cut?
4. Is the steward an estate manager dealing with land rentals or is he an authorized agent for a moneylender?

The most probable cultural setting for the parable is that of a large estate consisting of land divided into portions, where the steward is entrusted with carrying the business of that estate. The debtors are most likely renters who had agreed to pay a fixed amount of produce for the yearly rent. The steward was no doubt making extras "under the table," but these amounts were not reflected in the signed bills. He was a salaried official who, in addition, was paid a specific fee by the renter for each contract. The master was a man of noble character respected in the community who cared enough about his own wealth to fire a wasteful manager, and this is the key to understanding this parable.

Mishnah, a Hebrew term meaning "repetition" or "study," is the name given to the oldest postbiblical codification of Jewish Oral Law. Together with the Gemara (later commentaries on the Mishnah itself), it forms the TALMUD. Between 400 BC and the beginning of the Christian Era, the biblical laws (see TORAH) were intensively studied, applied to new situations, and supplemented by traditions of popular observance and by precedents established by prominent leaders. This material, long transmitted by word of mouth and known as the Oral Torah, defined the meaning of biblical laws.

After the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, the Jewish scholars and teachers called tannaim continued to elaborate and systematize the Oral Torah. About AD 200, Rabbi JUDAH HA-NASI promulgated a collection of the most reliable traditions. This work, the Mishnah, became the official text out of which further Jewish legal development occurred.

<table class="carm-table-with-border" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top">1. Now He was also saying to the disciples, 'There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and this steward was reported to him as squandering his possessions.</td> <td valign="top">Someone apparently cared enough about the master to tell him something was wrong.
Often tenants disliked the landowners and would not voluntarily help him.</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">2. And he called him and said to him, "What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward."</td> <td valign="top">The servant does not know how much the master knows and may be frightened into divulging information the master does not have. So, he remains silent.</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">3. and 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.</td> <td valign="top">The steward remained silent. He does not defend himself. In the culture of the time, this is almost an admission of guilt. He thinks of a way to cover himself after he has been let go.
It is not known if the steward is fired now or later? Is he asked to get the books now or get them ready to be examined?</td> </tr> <tr> <td>4. I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the stewardship, they will receive me into their homes."</td> <td>The steward acts as though he is not yet fired: he says, "when I am removed..."; yet, earlier, the landowner had said, "you can no longer be steward," present tense. So, it is most likely that he was fired on the spot. But, the word apparently isn't out yet.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>5. And he summoned each one of his master's debtors, and he began saying to the first, "How much more do you owe my master?"</td> <td valign="top">The steward does not say "Hello" or "Friend." He is in a hurry.</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">6. And he said, "A hundred measures of oil." And he said to him, "Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty."</td> <td>If the renters know that the steward has been fired and they agree to the deal they would risk being thrown off the land by the landowner, not to mention sinning in their dishonesty. The relationship between the owner of the land and his renters is a significant personal and economic relationship. "Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty" is an attempt by the steward to finish before the master finds out what is going on.</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">7. Then he said to another, "And how much do you owe?" And he said, "A hundred measures of wheat." He said to him, "Take your bill, and write eighty."</td> <td>If the renters did not think that the steward was acting with the approval of the landowner they would not have agreed; the risk would be too great.
In this account, the steward receives credit for having arranged such a good deal between the landowner and the renters.
The renters, would be very appreciative and indebted to the steward.
Generally, reductions of rent were expected if the conditions warranted it: a dried spring, fruit trees drying, drought, etc. But the renters would have to ask for the reduction and then proceed to haggle. Here, though, the reduction is unsolicited.
</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">8. And his master praised the unrighteous steward because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.</td> <td valign="top">Why does the landowner praise the unjust steward?
It would be quite safe to assume that there is some sort of celebrating occurring in the homes of the renters as they rejoice in, what they think is, the generosity of the landowner.</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
Soon the whole community would be aware of the kind heartedness of the landowner and would be happy with the renters as well as thinking honorably of the generous landowner.

He has two alternatives: First, he could gather the renters and tell them that the reductions were unauthorized and thereby showing his stinginess and risking ridicule from them and the community. Second, he can keep silent, accept the praise that is even now being showered on him, and allow the clever steward to get away with the scheme.
Obviously, the steward knew the master was a generous person, otherwise he would not have taken such a risk; after all, he wasn't jailed to begin with.

In verse 9 Jesus is not praising the dishonesty, but the ability of the steward to recognize the generosity of his master, see what was coming, and use what he had at the time to obtain something far greater: self preservation.

This is significant. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom. God can condemn you to eternal damnation. It is wise to seek a way out of that. In fact, the judgment of damnation is so terrible, that praise is offered to the one who, in desperation, seeks a way out of it.
If the unrighteous steward was praised for trusting the master, how much more will you be rewarded if you trust the true and holy Master, the Lord Himself.

Jesus uses the rabbinic principle of showing "how much more." That is, if the widow got what she wanted from the judge (18:1-9), how much more you and God? If the man got bread in the night from his neighbor (11:5-7), how much more you from God?
What, then, does the parable typify?

1. God (the master) is a God of judgment and mercy.
2. Because of his evil, man (the steward) is caught in the crisis of the coming of the kingdom.
3. Excuses will avail the steward nothing.
4. Man's only option is to entrust everything to the unfailing mercy of his generous master who, he can be confident, will accept to pay the price for man's salvation.

The steward was vindicated because he completely trusted the master to be generous, to be good. He was right in doing so!!!
This parable is an appeal to people to understand the nature of God.

1. The nature of God: He is merciful
2. The predicament of man: he is sinful
3. The ground for salvation: complete trust in God.
4. How much more dishonest to God are we?
5. How much more deceitful are we?
6. How much more do we owe to God?
7. How much more merciful is God than the rich man?

God (the master) is a God of judgment and mercy. Because of the steward's evil behavior, he is found out. This is representative of the coming kingdom of God and its associated judgment. Excuses will avail the steward nothing. Man's only option is to entrust everything to the unfailing mercy of his generous master who, he can be confident, will accept to pay the price for man's salvation. This clever scoundrel was wise enough to place his total trust in the quality of mercy experienced at the beginning of the story. That trust was vindicated. Christians need the same kind of wisdom.

Who is God to you?
What do you think of Him?
How do you perceive Him?
Is He mean? Loving? Kind? Impatient? Judgmental?
How you perceive God will determineHow much more merciful is God than the rich man?

article source: carm.org

Hello Chad.
I hope you do not mind, but I have a different view to the unjust steward.
My words in blue.
16:1 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.
satan had a manager, managing the world, and he was accused of wasting satan's fuel/energy.

2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’
If you can not manage the world, you are no longer in my service.

3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.
What can I do since I am no longer of service to satan? I am too proud to be humble and meek.

4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’
he decided to manage the world for himself in hope of gaining approval from the world.

5 So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
So he seeks those who are in debt to satan.

6 He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
So he provides false testimony of his own, so he can feed off their debt (fears) and leave the rest of the debt (fears) to satan.

7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
(Since fear is conditional and not self-sustaining) Greed takes over and seeks forever an unquenchable hunger for fear. Fear feeding of the fear of others.

8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.
satan commended the dishonest manager for his deceptive abilities. The followers (the untrue) of this world (fear) feed of this world (fear) , and are unable to feed of the truth (fearless faith of God/Truth is self-sustaining [creative] energy).

This is what I learnt from the steward parable:

[1] The rich man refers to my Father in Heaven.
[2] The steward refers to my being or any other human.
[3] The stewardship refers to life that was given to me by my Father in Heaven.
[4] Ending of this stewardship refers to the death of my flesh.
[5] The goods of which the steward is responsible refer to whatever God gave me in this life.
[6] The lord’s debtors refer to all other human beings I may meet or know
[7] The mammon of unrighteousness refers to what I have in life since ‘it is not mine’ in the first place. I mean if I have any worldly thing really, I would be able keeping it forever. But, as it happened to the steward in this parable, I will also lose, sooner or later, all my living flesh has.

I hope you know now why Jesus goes on saying:
“And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely”.
And,
“Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness“.

So, thanks to this simple, but crucial, hint, I try my best to be like this unjust steward and be generous (as possible/practical) by using goods that God let me be responsible of in this life (though claimed being mine according to men's justice), till my stewardship reaches its end at the death of my flesh.

I hope I didn’t go too far in presenting what I personally learnt from this parable. It happens that I apply it continuously in my daily life.

On the other hand, I believe that many people (here and in the world) have likely different, if not opposite, views from what I learnt, and they surely have their good reasons to have them.

Hi All,

Isn’t it amazing that, so far, there are 3 very different interpretations of the same parable (I posted one of them).
How could this happen? And which one is true?

The realistic answer is that each of them is true to the person who sees it so. This explains the ‘natural’ fact that, for the same message (teachings), there are always different groups of humans and each of them claims having a better understanding of it.

On my side, I don’t belong to any group (civil, religious or political) so that I can live God’s Unconditional Love towards everyone I may meet (good or evil) without being accused of treason.

For instance, it was out of question for Jesus to get married because a real/good marriage forces a man to submit to a certain religious (or civil) ruling system in order to get the right (and the blessing, if you like) to live with a woman (a wife). I said this because this is also out of question for me; otherwise, I would fool myself and others whenever I say I am an independent student of Jesus (as you know, Jesus, on the cross, forgave even His killers and no one had a good reason to blame Him for doing it). Anyway, I am fortunate that my earthly father wasn’t like me and didn't mind submitting to the Roman Catholic Church to marry my mother.

Kerim