Luke 16 I have found this parable to be very challenging especially when I see how the main idea of the parable seems to be lost and remain undeclared by teachers of the Word. This is the challenge we all have and it is what motivates the child of God, not out of fear but out of love and of total trust in the Lord for wisdom; To analyze the truth of the Word, if the Lord wills, and see if He would lead us into truth. In this study, for brevity's sake, we have furnished the necessary information, namely the Strongs numbers from the Strongs Concordance, for your use if necessary; in helping you study further, and check out our conclusions, and see if we have been faithful to the Word of God. I'm very glad to be able to share this with whomsoever the Lord wills.To Him Be All The Glory.
Luke 16:1-181 ¶ 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.
When we read or study this great parable, we are intrigued to find out how very rich it is. We can really see how God, if He will allow us, to see the coherent and consistent message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Verse 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.
As Jesus was talking to His disciples we must ask the question: WHO IS THE RICH MAN? There are 28 references in the New Testament to the phrase "rich man". Generally, the reference is to those who have attained worldly riches. This reference also points to someone who had many riches. However , the similarity stops there. The concept of the rich man having riches that are wasted signifies a couple of key elements. First, the riches being talked about must be very very precious. Secondly, There seems to be an implication of a reference to time a wasting, something that is generally only important to mankind, and not to God. Thirdly, is the obvious glaring contradiction that a steward who was appointed by the rich man does not measure up to the task that he was hired for. The question we ask is what kind of a rich man, with all his resources, etc., that does not hire the best to be a caretaker of his precious goods? Very strange. These are some of the questions we could already be thinking when we read this first verse. Let us first determine who the rich man could be.
4145 plousioj plousios ploo'-see-os
from 4149; TDNT - 6:318,873; adj
AV - rich 28; 28
We see an account pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ as being rich in 2Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich <4145>, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. The point is made that if Christ did not become a man, down from His glory, no one would be saved. We see a reaffirmation from Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich <4145> in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, This deals with the same theme of how immense the grace of God is. We can never understand the nature of God's grace and yet the world do not appreciate it. God not only created all things in the world but also mankind and yet His just righteousness could not be circumvented in that God still had to lower Himself as a man to save sinners as we see in James 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich <4145> in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
There can be no question who the rich man is. God through Christ that created everything is the rich man. The picture that God is painting in this verse points to Christ whose faith the believers acquire as we see in these verses. God through Christ who is rich in mercies, and the Shepherd of the sheep, is depicted by the rich man as He is the possessor of all that is in the world. We could be quite comfortable that God, who is the giver of every good and perfect gift is the rich man. The first point we asked was what is the precious riches? By these verses we see it as the "faith of Christ" that is the faith whereby all those that believe become saved. Secondly we asked, there seems to be a reference of wasting time yet God is not predicated by time. However, even though that God is outside of time, He has set everything up on a schedule that only Him knows and such is the case with the second coming of Jesus for instance. More importantly, we see the urgency that God wants us to follow Jesus in bringing the gospel in Luke 9:59-62: And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. 61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. 62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
There is nothing more important than to be engaged in being a witness. Thirdly we asked, How can such a rich man, especially if He is a picture of God (God forbid) not know that whom He chose to be His steward was not honest and trustworthy. Well, this is exactly the condition that God found us in before we are saved. We were not chosen because we were smart or have some innate quality that qualified us to be stewards. As a matter of fact we are nothing when God found us as we read in 1Corinthians 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
The steward " was accused unto him.". This statement declares that the steward was accused unto the rich man, and if the rich man is Christ, we ask what accused the steward. We have to conclude that the Word accused the steward to his master. . Who is qualified to accuse us of anything good or bad? The Bible which is the Word of God will accuse or reaffirm any action we have done in our lives. The Bible is the reference book for the believer and the same is accusing the unjust steward of his sin of not being a witness, but he could not be a witness unless he becomes saved.
Verse 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.
3623 oikonomoj oikonomos oy-kon-om'-os
AV - steward 8, chamberlain 1, governor 1; 10
WHO IS THE STEWARD? Jesus before His death and resurretion He commanded His disciples to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. The believer is also likewise commanded as we see in Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward <3623>, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? The significance of this command is that Christ will require an account of our stewardship as we see in 1Corinthians 4:1-2 ¶ Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards <3623> of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards <3623>, that a man be found faithful. This is the sin of the steward of God because he was not found faithful. We see the refrences to the word "steward" as someone who is entrusted with the "mysteries of God" as we see in 1Corinthians 4:1. The stewards are the shepherds of the sheep as wew see in 1Peter 4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. They are a picture of a believer in charge of bringing the Gospel. How can a believer be accused of wasting his master's goods? Before we became saved we were yet in our sins just like the unsaved of the world. Yet we see the mercy of God as we read Ephesians 2:4-5 ¶ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) We can better understand this verse then from that perspective. As elects of God, yet unsaved, had the mercy of God. But how can an elect of God, who at this point has not yet become saved become saved? Well, that is the essence of the Gospel. We read in Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. It through the revelations of God by the Word, that gives us the faith to believe. The Spirit of God gives us the understanding of the Bible. That is what made the steward realized his needful situation. His sin is being pointed out by the Bible. What sin is that? Well, the fact that he may be put out of the stewardship;{The believers are the stewards of the Gospel; that is if we are not bringing the Gospel it means we have not been saved.) Therefore the steward appears to be going to hell because of his sins.(This is hypothetically of course because the steward is a picture of an unsaved elect of God whom God will lead to salvation. However God is pointing out His sovereignty through His election that even though that His elects are yet unsaved, yet only in His mercy according to election will anyone be saved. We can see this in Romans 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) } Realizing his awful situation, he seeks action as anyone else who is drawn by God .Nothing else would give us that knowledge unless we read His Word. That is the situation the steward faced when he read the Bible.The question here is: HOW DID THE RICH MAN CALL THE STEWARD? Let us look at the word " called" we see it as:as we look at the next verse.
Verse 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.
5455 fwnew phoneo fo-neh'-o
AV - call 23, crow 12, cry 5, call for 2; 42
We see a similar parable in Luke 19:15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called <5455> unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. In this parable we see the nobleman that went away for a while to obtain a kingdom. On his return he calls his servants; of whom he gave the command to go and trade, to find out how much have they profited. This is parallel in nature to the steward in this parable. He is required to give a report of how he fared. We also read in Luke 23:46 And when Jesus had cried <5455> with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. In Luke 23 we see an implication of how the word call is used. As Jesus was on the cross He cried out giving notice to His Father announcing His coming there in spirit. The common theme that we see is that of the judgment of God. We do not call out during time of fair weather. It is a gesture to indicate a significant recognition of a great need. This is like the call on judgment day. So it is understanding from the Bible whereby the steward was called.As we have determined in this parable that the rich man is a picture of God who calls us through His Word to obey Him. He give us a new heart that supplants our will for His, giving us the desire to obey. Therefore when the steward was called, he was required to give a report of how he fared. Everything we know about God is from His Word. This is the source that reveals to us any sin that we may have committed. It even tells us about our standing with God. as far as whether we are saved or not. It is the believers instruction manual for his life. The steward on the other hand has dicovered, from the Word of God as he reads the Bible, that he has wasted his masters goods (not bringing the opportunity for others for salvation) as he is commanded as in 1Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
A preacher is not a preacher by name alone. He is a preacher because he is preaching. We can not just simply call ourselves as something without doing that type of work whether we are a doctor or lawyer etc., except perhaps we are retired. Likewise the steward; when he sees this he realises that he is not being faithful and because of that he is going to be likely to be put out of the stewardship. The Bible will emphasize further that if this day was judgement day he would have to face the wrath of God as an unsaved person. So then we will see what it means to "give an account" of our stewardship.Verse 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.
3056 logoj logos log'-os
AV - word 218, saying 50, account 8, speech 8, Word (Christ) 7, thing 5, not tr 2, misc 32; 330
The account of the steward given in the parable is true of all of us before we were saved. The essence of this verse is that the judgment scenario is being portrayed here as if it would on judgment day. It is a picture of what would happen to the unsaved if they are noe an elect of God and therefore remain unsaved. We see an example in Matthew 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account <3056> thereof in the day of judgment. We see another similar parable of a king and his servants in Matthew 18:23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account <3056> of his servants. We are starting to see a familiar pattern throughout these parables as we will find out now the reason why the servants are being called. We see from Romans 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account <3056>of himself to God. This is the language of Judgement day as we see also the same in account 2Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. This is what will happen to all those who do not become saved. Fortunately, because God leads us, if we are His children, and inclines our hearts to read His word we will not have this happen because we are His elects. When we read the Bible God is talking to us. He inclines our hearts and minds to understand His Word so that His will would be made known to us. He reveals Himself to us through the Bible which is the source of our comfort in His salvation as we read Psalm 119:50 ¶ This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.
Therefore, when we read the Bible it shows us our present condition and how desperate we are according to God's justice and judgment. By this we realize that we need a saviour for our sins and God, through His Word also provides a solution to our most desperate situation: That all mankind is heading for hell because of their sins if they remain unsaved. What has this to do with the steward? This is a sticking point for many because a steward of God (child of God) will not face judgement.What does this mean then? There are seemingly, a couple of sticking points from this verse that seem to contradict the fundamental principles of salvation as we as we will examine:
1. A child of God being judged on Judgement day?
2. A child of God can lose his salvation?.
This verse strikes at the core of God's election plan. God, from before the foundation of the world elected some of us unto salvation and those He did not will end up in hell. We see this in Isaiah 45:4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. Evidentially, God tells us who decided such to be Romans 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. So we ask when did God do all this. We find a revealing statement from 2Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, These are the fundamental precepts of the Word of God. God predestinated those that He would save. What seems confusing is how could God then take that away? Well not likely, in this case, the steward (is not yet saved ) and is not becoming a steward of the kingdom of God because he is yet to come to the knowledge of the Word.1Corinthians 4:1 ¶ Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards <3623> of the mysteries of God. He is in violation of his status, being an elect of God but not becoming a witness. Every believer's number one job is to be a witness, to bring the Gospel into the world; but the steward can't do that until he's saved. The evidence here is that God will not violate His own Word so we look at this as a warning to those elects that are yet unsaved. If they were to die unsaved ( this will not happen as God is Sovereign) they could face judgement. Those that are in charge of bringing the Gospel those that god commanded as He did in Genesis 46:32 And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. We see the mandate that God is setting up, as He ordains the work of every child of His. Our job is to feed the cattle, in this case cattle represents the elects of God. We find another confirmation as we read Jeremiah 23:4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. However, if we are not saved, He will not have us, be shepherds and stewards of His flock. Exactly the case we see with the unjust steward that we find here in Ezekiel 34:9-10 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
Throughout the Bible there is evidence upon evidence we find of how God demands this of those He sends as we are commanded to bring the Gospel Matthew 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.This is the main theme in the parable of the lost coin, or the one lost sheep in Matthew 18:12 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?
( We see in a similar picture in 1Kings 5 the historical story in the life of the Syrian general Naaman who took captive a little girl, a child of God, who through her witnessing, 1King 5:3; And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. This resulted in the healing of the leprosy of Naaman (leprosy being a picture of our unforgiven sins.) Interestingly, we find also when Naaman was healed he offered gift to Elisha for payment or gesture as having been cleansed of the leprosy. Elisha refused to accept them. Namman on the other hand after comparing the rivers in country with river Jordan 2 Kings 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. When Naaman finally came around and did as he was told by the prophet Elisha he became clean. What a change, from being the proud military general of a big and powerful army to a humble child-like request we see in 2 Kings 5:17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD. We ask why did he ask for two mules burden with earth when before he was cleaned he did not obey Elisha's command to dip seven times in the river Jordan? It is God that works in the life of a believer. God humbled him and the "burden of earth" represents him wanting to serve God also.)
This is the essence of verse 2 is that the Bible reveals to us that if we are not - saved, (to use the language of verse 2 - "no longer be steward" ) - we will not be in the kingdom of God. Before we became children of the rich man; i.e. saved, we were unsaved and under the wrath of God. So the end result of having read the Bible we become desperate and start to call out to God for mercy as we read the next verse:
Verse 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.
We see this verse as the steward internalizes as to what will happen to him in the event that he would "my Lord taketh away the stewardship" remain unsaved. This is an exchange that would occur in the life of someone who is becoming aware of the fact that he is a sinner heading for hell; which is the case at this point in his life.We read in Psalm 38:3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. This is the understanding that comes to the elect of God; the knowledge of the wrath of God because of his sins. Realizing his situation he would call out as God orchestrates his actions like we find in Psalm 119:116 ¶ Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope. Similarly we find in Psalm 119:154 Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word. Could this be the cry of the poor as we see in Job 34:28 So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted. At His mercy and grace He will hears as we see in Proverbs 21:13 ¶ Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard. What a merciful God that would be mindful of such wretched sinners as we all are. Can we imagine God crying? He aches for His children to cry out to Him. Knowing this how can we ever want to be far from Him and still remain in our disobedience? One thing we can remember that the Bible contains the will of God as we read in Psalm 119:160 ¶ Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
Further we look at the phrases " I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. " and we find in Luke 6:48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged <4626> deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. Who is doing the digging? Is it the man or the rock. We can better understand this if we compare the same work: If the man digs in the sand he would excert the same effort as if he would on a rock, and yet the house on the rock is more solid than on the sand. Is it his work that secured his house? No it's the knowledge of where it was better to build. Well, who gives that knowledge? Yes it is God Himself through His Word to understand. So when we did by ourselves it is useless but if Christ is our Rock then we are secure. Likewise when we bring the Gospel, if it is without Christ we might as well be on the sand because it would not save anyone. We see a similar verse in Luke 13:8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig <4626> about it, and dung it: This is our ministry as believers to dig about and dung it with the Word of God so that it may bring salvation to those of whom God chose. This is a perfect example of what happens when we read the Bible (This doesn't happen to everyone that reads the Bible because not everyone that reads it understands it; but when God reveals truth to us, we can see and find out for ourselves His will ) Luke 6 tells us of a man that builds a house on a rock. This is a picture of a believer as he serves the Lord; the rock being Christ. We build our hope believing in Christ our Saviour. Luke 13 is a picture of a good steward as he brings the Gospel by doing the work of a witness. In this verse the steward realizes that he will die.(go to hell) He can not do anything himself to live (*cannot do anything to be saved - Salvation is not of works) when the stewardship is taken away; i.e. remain unsaved. In his clear desperation, he says " * I cannot dig" He know in order to survive he has to dig in order to live - saved spiritually; - life everlasting. He realizes if he digs; i.e.try to get saved on his own he will not be able to do it. To become saved, Christ has to do the digging but that will not happen if he is taken out of the stewardship. i.e. be saved by works. Interestingly enough, an elect only can recognize this. Those who are not will be snared and will believe that they could work for their salvation. Here is the fundamental picture of salvation: that it is not of works. We can not be saved by any work that we do. We see in Amos 9:2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: or the account in Exodus 21:33-34: pertaining to the covering that Christ provides for His elects typified by ox or ass: And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein; 34 The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.
To illustrate the point further we see the account of Cain in Genesis 4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. Abel, we know made an offering that was accepted by God where Cain did not. (Notice the consistency of how God can use conceptual imagery to solidify a point: as we saw in Psalm 23 who the shepherd is and how that theme was continued from Genesis 2 here as Abel a shepherd - type of Christ) Cain was a tiller of the ground - He digged for his livelihood. Cain was not a child of God and was not saved. He is the picture, again, of those who work for their salvation.
The next statement by the steward was that he said " to beg I am ashamed. Two thing here: To beg and being ashamed. The concept of begging is a picture of a humble heart. The steward has yet to be broken by God so that he will humble himself in the sight of God: Exodus 10:3 And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me. Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
1Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: True humility is when God humbles us we are truly His to do as He pleases. True humility is not necessarily just showing a humble demeanor; true humility is when our will is surrendered to God. In other words our will is subservient to God's. There are people who appear humble or timid on the outside but have no desire to surrender their will to God and we know in spite of their outer disposition, they are heading for hell.(If we try to be humble by our own selves or appear humble without God doing it, we are doing our own thing by our own strength and not to the will of God) When we are humbled then we will lose all shame in the Gospel because God has given us a new heart to love Him as we see next: Psalm 119:6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. Psalm 119:46 I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. When we are a child of God, we declare His message of salvation without being ashamed. This is a condition that the matured child of God experiences. Acknowledging our humility before God we obey His will by being witnesses of Christ.
Verse 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
1097 ginwskw ginosko ghin-oce'-ko
AV - know 196, perceive 9, understand 8, misc 10; 223
The word resolve is also the word used as know or perceive or understand. As we see its application in Matthew 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know <1097> the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. When the steward says "I am resolved" we can only see this being brought about by reading the Bible. We don't see an account of the steward reading a Bible or scripture of any kind but we ask the question; What is it that reveals to us our sins? Who is it that gives us the understanding as to our lives if we are His elects? The first answer is the Bible, the second is God. God through the Bible leads us to do His will as we read in Ezekiel 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. We read further in Matthew 22:18 But Jesus perceived <1097> their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Here is a the same word as "percieved" by Jesus indicating that what the steward was coming in to knowledge of. It was not some kind of unfound suspicion. This is having a firm understanding of ones condition as is the wickedness of the Pharisees percieved by Jesus. We see another affirmation of the same word in John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth <1097> him: but ye know <1097> him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. It is clear that this word refers to our spiritual understanding when we read the word of God. This is the condition we find ourselves when we have been broken by God. When we read the Bible we became resolved because God has opened our spiritual eyes to see His call in our lives. The statement "when I am put out of the stewardship" is a hypothetical situation. The elects of God will never put out of the stewardship because they are elects and are on their way to being saved in God's time. Their main responsibility is to be stewards of the Gospel. The statement, however, introduces what will happen to the unsaved because they are not chosen of God.
Verse 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?
4341 proskaleomai proskaleomai pros-kal-eh'-om-ahee
AV - call unto 20, call 7, call for 2, call to 1; 30
Let us examine the meaning of the call as we look at Matthew 15:10 ¶ And he called <4341> the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Here we see Jesus preaching to the crowd, an example of what believers are to do. We see this example being taught to His disciples as we read Mark 6:7 ¶ And he called <4341> unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; Again we're given a demonstration of how a believer is to witness by bringing the Gospel. However we are also seeing another example of how a recipient of the Gospel as God open their eyes in knowing that onle the oil of the Gospel could bring about their salvation in James 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call <4341> for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: This is what we do in order that God may use our witnessing to save His elects.
When did we call anyone about the Gospel? This simply means we are becoming witnesses or becoming His ambassadors in the world. The debtors are the elect of God. And because we do not know who they are we just indiscriminently bring the Gospel. However God knows who they are and He uses our witnessing to draw His elects to Himself. " How much owest thou unto my lord?" is not a question we ask when we bring the Gospel, but it is a question that is made known to when we read the Bible. It tells us that we owe a payment for our sins. When we bring the Gospel and preach His Word we are making known the justice and judgments of God. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We must stand in judgment for our sins: But God who is rich in mercy has given us a stand-in for our sins if we are His elect; Leviticus 16:30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. This is the action that the next verse portrays
Verse 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
1540 ekaton hekaton hek-at-on'
AV - hundred 15, hundredfold 2; 17
This is the language that points to us as we bring the Gospel. We will now see what these numbers refer to. God throughout the Bible uses numbers to emphasize or confirms a point. It helps us tremendously as we look for the Gospel message in view. Therefore when we check out the number hundred, we find it is mostly associated with the completeness that the Gospel brings. It is a number to indicate the will of God toward the redemptiom of our sins by Christ as prescribed by His law. The elects must be restored in full, and the "hundred" represents the completion of His salvation plan that God has ordained for all those that are saved as we will see in Revelation 14. In Matthew 18 we see the use in how God illustrates to us what debt that's owed and the need for it to be paid as the king has commanded full restitution or the penalty for the unpaid debt as we read the following account of Matthew 18: 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. Here is an example of the payment that is demanded by the righteous law of God. And yet we saw that the payment was forgiven pointing to the sacrifice Jesus did on the cross. The servant that was forgiven did not do likewise as he insisted to be paid regardless of the favor shown him. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred <1540> pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. Here is a picture of God and the His elects. The terms, in this parable "ten thousand" signifies the tremendous debt that we owe God for our sins. He was merciful to forgive us and we are told in Matthew 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. And yet we do not see this command of God carried out by the sevant who only owed "one hundred" compared to his debt of "ten thousand" The debt of our brother signified by a "hundred" (not as much) we should forgive as God has foregiven our "ten thousand".(much more than our brother.) We have to say that the number "hundred" symbolises the debt of all mankind that will be forgiven when we bring the Gospel, of which the steward is guilty of. The next reference will give us a clearer picture as to how that same debt that we are commanded to watch over the "hundred" sheep for in Luke 15:4 What man of you, having an hundred <1540> sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? The one lost sheep represent the one missing link to make complete the one "hundred" sheep of the fold in our care. If any one sheep is lost we are left only with 99. The parable of the lost sheep tells us the significance of that one sheep. Unless we have it back in the fold we are commanded to leave the 99 and go and find the one that is lost. Let us look at the number "one" which can further help illustrate our point.
1520 eij heis hice
AV - one 229, a 9, other 6, some 6, not tr 4, misc 18; 272
Why does the number "one" have any significance in this case? Well, every word in God's Word is important. This concept is fresh in our thinking as we may have already read this passage numerous times and not understand this as we are about to divulge into it's depth. (Thanks be to God as He gives us knowledge to declare His truths) We read from Matthew 25:31-40 the parable of the sheep and goats:
31 ¶ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one <1520> of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
As stewards of the Gospel we are commanded to bring the Gospel to the world. Here in this parable the King, which is Jesus Christ Himself has given us the inheritance of His kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world. Specifically why is that? Verse 40 tells us that that "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one <1520> of the least of these my brethren," The picture that's painted is that because we have done the good work to "one" of the least, not because we have done it to a greater number. The emphasis is on the number "one". The focus on the number one collaborates our theory. In reality we do not know who is saved when we witness because that is God's business. We are told to go into the world and preach the Gospel. The rest is up to God. We saw the account of the one lost sheep in the parable in Luke 15:4 :The whole Gospel is predicated in our going out and find that one lost sheep. Unless we find it our job is not done. This one lost sheep can only be found with the Gospel, if the Lord will. This is the essence of the number "hundred" as we see it as the same as the hundred measure of oil. If we do not bring the Gospel the "hundred" measures of oil is still owed Because the steward has not been faithful in being a good steward the debt owed by those that are not saved, who are elects of God, is still owed.Therefore as we see the debt owed of a "hundred measures of oil is being forgiven (write fifty) because they have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore their owed penalty are paid by His going to the cross. Our job then becomes finding that one sheep that will add to the 99 in order to completes the total required as the number we are supposed to keep as good stewards. Christ commanded us to find that lost sheep as we see in Matthew 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The lost sheep represent the totality of our stewardship. We could sum it up as all we are looking for is that one lost sheep. If we find it we have the "hundred" as we see in the case of a "hundred" measure of oil.On the other hand, we see the number of those that have been redeemed in Revelation 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred <1540> and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. The number that is required for full redemption is "hundred" and forty four. Here we don't have the exact number "hundred" instead God uses the same word for "hundred" in the same application as "hundred" and forty and four to indicate a number representative of the number of those redeemed. This in effect supports our examination of what the number "hundred" means to God when we refer to the hundred measure of oil again as the number that is required by God signifying full redemption owed if we do not bring the Gospel. This then is how the Gospel is to go out into the world. (Our understanding from God as He uses numbers to collaborate our conclusions, gives us reassurance that this is what God has in mind as He gives us the understanding to declare it.)
These verses so far points out our responsibilities as His children. We see the relativity of what we do and what happen if we don't. It makes us bring to mind the events of the last day in judgment and the redemptive action by the Lord Jesus Christ. The work that Christ did was preordained from the creation of the world in 2Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, and as an obedient servant Jesus declares in. John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. As Christ therefore who obeyed God, His head, we also as His stewards must obey Christ, our head, in that we are to bring the Gospel. This is our only mandate as His stewards. God tells us that His justice must be served and that if we are not saved we will end up in hell to pay the penalty of our sins, the hundred measure, unless we have a saviour The oil therefore as we have in viewed already is similar to how God uses the word talent in Matthew 18:24. When we check out the word oil we see it as a the substance that brings about healing.
1637 elaion elaion el'-ah-yon
AV - oil 11; 11
Matthew 25:3-4 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil <1637> with them: 4 But the wise took oil <1637> in their vessels with their lamps. The oil representing the Gospel as indicated by the wise virgins, which are those that are presently engaged in bringing the Gospel. The foolish virgins, like the unjust steward, are not bringing the Gospel and God is contrasting the nature of the two types of virgins. We see also this in Mark 6:13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil <1637> many that were sick, and healed them. We see also in this case the sick being healed with the anointing of the oil. The Gospel, if God pleases, would heal us from our sin sick souls. This is the purpose of the Gospel. as we also see further evidence in Luke 10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil <1637> and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. . It is therefore not the healed bodies that take us to heaven; it is the healed soul of all our sins as is the sole reason for our witnessing. What then do we make of the statement :"sit down"?
2523 kaqizw kathizo kath-id'-zo
AV - sit 26, sit down 14, set 2, be set 2, be set down 2, continue 1, tarry 1; 48
Here we will examine what significance this phrase may have. There is no insignificant phrase or even a word from God. Every word is God-breathed as we look at Matthew 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit <2523> in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit <2523> upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. It is hereby written that Christ shall sit on the throne of glory judging the unsaved. This is what we see here Christ reigning with the believers. It has already been written and it's as good as done, but until that time we have to get there. Nevertheless, what's written can not be changed. We also see the usage of this word as reigning as in Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit <2523> upon the throne of his glory: We read further in Revelation 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit <2523> with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down <2523> with my Father in his throne. Presently Jesus the Christ is sitting at the right hand of God the Father indicating that the things we are commanded to do have already been pre-ordained by God namely the atonement and all those to whom salvation is to come. God has designed and has written everything in His law so that at the appropriate moments, all would be fulfilled. We are not treading any new passages. God has everything set up already as it is written in His laws.
All this then is pointing to the fact that Christ has done the work of Salvation an is presently "reigning" sitting at the right hand of God the Father.Everything is done according to the will of the Father in John 18:9 That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. Upon sitting down quickly write…, we see the application of the word quickly What can we find out by the phrase "quickly" write?"5030 tacewj tacheos takh-eh'-oce
AV - shortly 4, quickly 2, soon 2, hastily 1, suddenly 1; 10
As in Luke 14:21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly <5030> into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. Our performance must be done quickly as throughout the Bible God uses this language as in 2Timothy 4:9 Do thy diligence to come shortly <5030> unto me: Quickly is a reference to how we bring the Gospel. There is an urgency that God commands us to bring the Gospel. We see this in a parable in Luke 9:57-62. What do we make of the word "WRITE"? The reference is to the writings of the prophets of old determinate the will of God. He has already ordained the redemption of the sins of the elects through the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world: that is Christ the Saviour of His people.
03789 btk kathab kaw-thab'
AV - write 210, describe 7, subscribe 4, recorded 1, write up 1; 223
From the Old Testament a reference to the word write as it indicates the writing of the law of God. Exodus 24:4 And Moses wrote <03789> all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Here God is telling us that He commanded His servant Moses to write His law and all that he required of him. We see the same account in Deuteronomy 31:9 ¶ And Moses wrote <03789> this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel. This is very clear to us as we also see the same account in the New Testament being collaborated when the use of the word write indicates the law of God has been written as we saw in the use of the word "hundred"
1125 grafw grapho graf'-o
AV - write 206, writing 1, describe 1, vr write 1; 209
Romans 9:33 As it is written <1125>, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. All thing have been written and pre-ordained by God for the fulfillment in the New Testament times of Christ. We in Romans 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written <1125>, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: the full embodiment of the promise of God to His people through the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written <1125>, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. All that is written in the Word of God came to pass. There can be no doubt that the reference here indicates that the atonement for our sins, if we are saved have been fulfilled in Christ. It is written in the law of God (Bible) and therefore we can count on it for our salvation. When Christ was on the cross we see His utterance before He actually gave up the Ghost in John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. Finally, all that was written has come to a Godly end as we yet await Christ's second coming in which the rest of the Bible has already prescribed.
When the debtor was told to write fifty what are we to make of that?
4004 penthkonta pentekonta pen-tay'-kon-tah
AV - fifty 7; 7
Here we see a picture in the feeding of the five thousand in Luke 9:14 For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties <4004> in a company. We can see God emphasizing the number 50 and 5000; multiples of the number five. The picture God is pointing out here is the multiplication of the Gospel. Jesus is demonstrating by feeding the 5000, the feeding of the sheep by bringing the Gospel. Notice how Jesus told His disciples to make them sit down by fifties. Do we see a similarity here with our text? Of course, the number 50 represents those who will be saved as the Gospel is preached, as they are being fed with the Word of God. This is the result of what happens if God blesses our witnessing. We see a significant use of the word in John 8:57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty <4004> years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Unbeknown to the Jews who asked Jesus the question but God is using this same incident to tell us more about the number 50. Their unbelief made them question the salvation of Jesus indicating the use of the number 50, because they do not believe that Jesus is God Himself. In our examination therefore we find that whenever the word five is used, it points to either those who are saved as we see the reference to the five wise virgins. In as much as God does that He sometimes uses it also to a group that are not going to be saved as we observe the five foolish virgins. With this in mind we examine our passage and pick up the application:" and write fifty" to mean that the atonement price paid by Christ was sufficient to satisfy the penalty required by the law of God for our sins. We see the number half a shekel or .5 of a shekel being featured in Exodus 30 (note also the use of the word numbered: [referring to His elects] - used 5 times The number of times used has no significance just a co-incidence, I believe ) when we read Exodus 30:11-16 11 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. 13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD. 14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls. 16 And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
Clearly we see .5 as "an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls ". The picture God is painting here is that our sins are many but the ransom that was paid by Christ is sufficient for payment to satisfy the justice of the judgment of God if we are under His grace.Therefore we are confident that "write fifty" has to refer to the price Christ paid for our sins at the cross. Christ had to pay the penalty for our sins.This is the picture that the use of the number .5, 5, 50, 500 etc gives the account of the atonement our ransom that was paid by Christ for His elect,
Verse 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.
Similarly we see God repeats the same theme in the use of a hundred measure of wheat. We have discussed the term hundred in which the application here is the same. But what do we make of the reference to wheat?
4621 sitoj sitos see'-tos, plural irregular neuter sita sita see'-tah
AV - wheat 12, corn 2; 14
We read in Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat <4621> into my barn. Corn here points to the Gospel as we saw in the use of the oil in the last verse. We see a similar application in Mark 4:28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn <4621> in the ear. This referring to the result of our witnessing in the hope that it may bring salvation, if the Lord wills, as we continue in it. Luke 3:17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat <4621> into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. God will bless our work if He so chooses. Not everyone that hears our witnessing will be saved. This is clear when we read this verse. It is God that purges His threshing floors.
Therefore when we witness, we sow of the fields of the wheat and the harvesting is that of God as He draws those He will to salvation. When we bring the Gospel we do not know whom God will save and we do not say so and so is worthy and so and so is not worthy, no we just preach it without anxiety because God knows whom He will save. We see another example of the Gospel that also point to Christ in that He had to die in order for His believers to be saved John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat <4621> fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. This is the wheat of the Gospel that we spread or sometimes referred to as sowed.
What do we make of the number fourscore? This is the number 80. Generally God uses multiples of a number for a purpose as in 8,80, 800 etc.The references we find associated with this number is Salvation. circumcision in the Old Testament is the same as baptism in the New Testament and it a sign of those that are set aside for salvation. This is a number that indicates the intent of God we see in Genesis 21:4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. God commanded all the males in the house of Israel in Leviticus 12:3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. In the flood we see the account of all those that were saved in 2Peter 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; We can only use these means to deduce what God is putting forth to try and understand what the underlying message: In both cases the eight people were saved from the flood which points to those who are saved. The circumcision was a command of God but it is only a shadow that points to those who will become saved. Therefore we can adjudicate this to mean that the price of redemption paid by Christ is sufficient for the penalty of our sins as the law of God had deemed it sufficient.
Verse 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.
1867 epainew epaineo ep-ahee-neh'-o
AV - praise 4, laud 1, commend 1; 6
Romans 15:11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud <1867> him, all ye people. The world will not give praise to God unless God has saved them by opening their spiritual eyes so that they could recognize God. 1Corinthians 11:2 Now I praise <1867> you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. This can only be if God has done the work in our lives. Then we ask the question WAS THE COMMENDATION DUE TO OUR GOOD WORK? Hardly, our works is not what gets us saved. It is because God has saved us. That's the commendation. We see the joy of the seventy returning from their witnessing when Jesus told them in Luke 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. This is the mercy of God that we should rejoice in. He has inclined our hearts to serve Him as we have found out already in the previous verses. God shows us our condition from His word and has humbled us, through Christ, that we want to serve Him. In short we could surmise that: Not every preaching saves; unless there is Christ in our preaching or witnessing we cannot be used to save souls. We look at the phrase: because he had done "wisely": What do we make of this word? We see in Job 12:16 With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. The reference here is toward God as the personification of all wisdom. Even the most craftiest of craftiest, has no match. We can see this similar concept in Proverb 21:30 ¶ There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD. The epitome of all understanding and wisdom is God. We can also point out in Psalm 104:24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. When we bring the gospel of Jesus Christ who is God, there is no power or deceiver that could stand against Him. This is the wisdom that enables us to conquer those that are in the kingdom of Satan. This is the implication of the steward "having done wisely". That is the wisdom of our preaching that saves. The rest of the verse says that if we are by ourselves, the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. That is without Christ, we cannot convert anyone because the children of this world would be wiser, (and therefore wouldn't be converted) than the children of light. Our work is unfruitful if we do not do the will of God. Therefore the steward is being commended because he brought the Gospel wisely, i.e. through Christ as Christ is the epitome of wisdom itself an that is the reason of the commendation and not because we have preached the gospel well. We can see this clearly when we compare this with Matthew 7: 21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. This preaching is unwise because they do not bring Christ of whom the will of the Father declares as the only name whereby we may be saved. Even though they preach they preach in vain by glorifying man and not God. We are to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. This verse is the key to the the effectiveness of any witnessing.
Verse 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.
5384 filoj philos fee'-los
AV - friend 29; 29
Another way we look at our stewardship is by making friends as we find in John 15:14-15 Ye are my friends <5384>, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends <5384>; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Our job is to make friends, that is to bring the Gospel to the unsaved world. These are our marching orders if we are children of God. We are to make friends of the mammon; that is we are to bring the gospel to the world. The mammon refers to the riches of the world. Simply, anything that takes us away from God is our worldly treasure, in this case all those that are in the world that are not saved. Our hope is that when we bring the Gospel wisely (with Christ) the unrighteousness will fail - those of the mammon will fail and consequently become saved because God the Father will start working in those He so chooses, to bring them into salvation through Jesus Christ the Saviour. Those that will receive them is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself with those in heaven as we see in John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. Further we see that Christ himself receives us as in 2 Corinthians 5:8; We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. It is then when God has blessed us with hearing His Word we are commanded hereby as in 2Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, This whom will receive us; The Lord Jesus Christ. What other reassurance that we could need? Jesus Himself is going to received us with those that are with Him in heaven.
Verse 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.
4183 poluj polus pol-oos'
AV - many 210, much 73, great 59, misc 23; 365
How does God mean when He uses this word? We see in Matthew 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much <4183> more clothe you, O ye of little faith? This could be simply referring to worldly goods or material things. However even though that these things are important I don't think this is the essence of this verse as our most great need is salvation. In John 14:2 In my Father's house are many <4183> mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
This is the first picture gallery in this parable. First thing we need to determine is what does it mean least? We see in Luke 12 25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? This is a question that was addressed by Jesus toward His disciples concerning the preoccupation of humankind with the accumulation of worldly treasurers - Where does the child of God stand with respect to desiring wealth and the maintenance thereof? This passage is clear as with the parable preceding it in verses 13-21 of Luke 12. It is the desire of man to increase his stature. Spiritually speaking, when we hear the Gospel it is our desire to become saved. But are we going to be saved by worrying about it? The answer is no. Jesus is giving us the admonition that no amount of worrying is going to accomplish that. The clincher is the next verse in Luke 12:26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least <1646>, why take ye thought for the rest? To follow the language of the verse: The least, which we can do and be faithful toward is bringing the Gospel; this we're physically able to do can be a transition to being faithful in much (salvation) if we bring it wisely (in the name of Christ). However the real scenario is that unless we are saved we will not bring the Gospel God's way; in other words unless we have much (salvation) we will not do the least (bring the Gospel). Therefore the sense of this verse is of that which we find in 1 Corinthians 14: 37-38 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. 38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. Here our work is spelled out for us. Simply we are to just bring the Gospel. We are not to try and change people. That is not our job; that job is God's. We don't try to do His job because only He knows His elects; those of whose hearts he changes. In other words when Christ is our Saviour we will do the work commanded of us.Because we cannot do the "much" (i.e. save people) therefore we should do that which we are able" least". Let look at this word "least"1646 elacistoj elachistos el-akh'-is-tos
AV - least 9, very small 2, smallest 1, very little 1; 13
We see the usage in 1Corintians 15:9 For I am the least <1646> of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God indicating that the apostle Paul referred to himself at the least being that of an apostle of the Gospel. Therefore we become faithful in the least because we are faithful in much. (or more accurately, Christ has been faithful for us in much, we should be faithful in the least.) Conversely, if we remain unsaved we will be unfaithful in the least because we do not have much and will remain so until judgment day.
Verse 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
This is the second picture gallery in this parable. This verse just reiterates what was discussed in the previous one. If we are unfaithful in bringing the Gospel to the world, we will not be trusted with the riches of salvation. The reference to the unrighteous mammon is the bringing of the Gospel to those that are unsaved. If we are not faithful to do that for others, who then can be faithful to bring the Gospel to us for our salvation? This is why bringing the Gospel is important. Someone had to bring the Gospel to us. When we are saved we also have the same mandate to bring it to others. (NOTE: Let me make an observation here to clarify what salvation is with reference to this passage: We do not do anything to obtain or become saved. This parable seem to, perhaps, say that. That is not the teaching of the Bible. As always, we compare scripture with scripture to see how it compares with fundamental and credible issues already established throughout the Bible. The reason this parable appears confusing to some is that we are not to disregard what the rest of the Bible teaches; again, namely that we do not do anything to become save. The proper teaching is that we do the work because we already have been saved, it's the opposite of what seems to be said in this verse. So we find how God uses these parable to speak to the believers and not to unbelievers whom will not understand. This is the reason that the child of God be forever thankful that he is blessed with Godly wisdom in rightly dividing the truth)
Verse 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
This is the third picture gallery in this parable. As we have already touched on it in the last verse; if we do not bring the Gospel where others could be saved how could others be faithful to bring us the Gospel? Our desire is to have the highest stature as in Luke 12:25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? We desire that for ourselves. If we were able to work for our own salvation, Do you think we would be concern about others? We are commanded in James 2:8 ¶ If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: Perhaps God knows our selfish nature too well if He was not in charge of our salvation. In salvation, God breaks our hard hearts as we read in Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. This is the reason that we can do the will of God. If He saved us then it is easier for us to obey Him because He leads us in our lives as we read in Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.The end result is that, again, because we have been saved we will be faithful in another man's salvation by us becoming witnesses because God through someone else's witnessing, saved us. It is Christ who is faithful in making sure that the salvation of His elects is intact That is the sense of this verse also.
Verse 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.
This is the basis of our faithfulness. We can never truly serve God if we desire other gods in the world like the mammon. This is a fundamental command from Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me We see this further in Deuteronomy 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. This we must do always as He continues in verses 6-9 as how we are to observe this 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. God knows our substance and the inclination of our hearts. It is impossible to serve God as a duopoly. We must single-mindedly serve Him alone. Fortunately, He gives us this ability if we are saved because He guides all our steps. He does not want to share our hearts with anyone or anything else. WHY IS THIS DO WE ASK? Well, we see in Exodus 34:14 about God; For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: WHY IS THIS DO WE ASK, ISN'T JEALOUSY BAD? We read in 2Corinthians 11:2 what Exodus 34:14 means For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. Our proper perspective is that in Matthew 22: 37-40; 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. This is the command to every believer: Because we are able to observe the former, we can therefore obey the latter. It is because we love the Lord first that we observe the latter; which is our job description- to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world so those that God chooses to saved will become saved.Verse 14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
We see a normal reaction from the Pharisees, who typifies those that appear saved but are not. The words of Jesus pierce to their hearts because they are a picture of those who want God and mammon. We see an example of those that are like the Pharisees in 2Timothy 3:2-7 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous <5366>, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. The words of Jesus do not promote the Pharisees agenda and they will seek a way to disregard Him, which is a natural reaction of someone who is not a child of God.Verse 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.
We know we are in trouble when we are adulated by men. Here is a condition we need not to be in. Any glory is to be given to God. We are not be to men pleasers:1Thesalonians 2:4 But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. Our condition should be of Luke 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. We are to be humble in the sight of God. We read in Matthew 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. The example of those who are humble is of the kingdom of God:
The example that Jesus points out for the ideal believer is that of Matthew 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Enough said. Unfortunately, again, these verses seem to say that we should do this or that: We on our own cannot do this or that. The truth is we cannot humble ourselves the way God commands us to.The bottom line is unless we are saved we cannot do any of the things commanded of us. This is the mystery of the Gospel. It is written exactly the way it is so God could keep the truth from those to whom God does not want to understand and subsequently they will not understand.
Verse 16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
3551 nomoj nomos nom'-os
AV - law 197; 197
We find out the purpose of the law in 1Timothy 1:8-9 But we know that the law <3551> is good, if a man use it lawfully; :9 Knowing this, that the law <3551> is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, However in Christ that law is commuted as we read in Hebrews 7:16 Who is made, not after the law <3551> of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. This is Christ who has power of life everlasting because He kept the law perfectly. Hebrews 7:19 For the law <3551> made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
The scriptures; the law of God was written for a purpose.
1. To make known the will of God to mankind.
2. To make God be known to His creation.
3. To show forth the One to whom the law and prophet was pointing.
4. The make known the Atonement by Christ.
5. To give the believers a handbook where he would live by.
6. So God's elect may know the message of salvation and be saved thereby
The historical perspective will be fulfilled in it's final ending.The Bible was written for the purposes hereby stated, however, the world did not know who the Messiah that was to come until John the Baptist declared in John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Finally after all the writings and the predictions throughout the Old Testament, Jesus was not declared and proclaimed as it is until this time. This is the importance of this declaration that now finally salvation is revealed and is in the world and the preaching of the Gospel is now commanded unto all men as we witnessed on the day of Pentecost.
Verse 17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
In case we didn't already know this: The WORD of God is His living will to mankind. We can get a good idea about God's word by reading Psalm 119, However we see in Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. We see further in Hebrew 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.Verse 18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
We wonder why this verse is in this context. Well, we can thoroughly understand verse 13 if we look at the spiritual meaning of this verse. (That is not to say we ignore the physical application of this verse to whom it is applicable.) Our relationship with our wives is liken to that of Christ and the church. The commentary on this is found in Ephesians 5: 21-25 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. 22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;We see the perfect use of language by God here. "Whosoever putteth away his wife" Let's look at this in it's spiritual application: If Christ put away His wife and marries another; it means that we could lose our salvation because our husband (Christ) has married another. Can we comprehend the sense of that? It is impossible for Christ to do that. But let's look at the hypothesis, it means we could loose our salvation. We know that if a man does that, the Bible says that man commits adultery. Let ask the impossible question: Would Christ give up one of His Brides to marry another? The answer is absolutely not. What this means is that once we are saved (married to Christ) He will not put us away (divorce us) That is why there is to be no divorce in the life of the child of God as we follow the footstep of Christ our Lord and Saviour. This is why this verse is here that we are to serve God only and not commit adultery by loving anything else other than Christ, which is a true indication in the life of a child of God.
Summary What have we learned in this study? We have learned some fundamental issues here. We have discovered here that, the mandate of the child of God, is to be a witness. This is the underlying message of this parable. It is our responsibility in the divine economy of God. The Bible is riddled with account after account of this command; some direct and some not so direct. This is the mystery of the Word of God. It means that it is God that giveth understanding; to award it as He sees fit.
- God will elected those He chose for salvation.
- God will open their spiritual eyes to understand His Word.
- God will save them in His time.
- God will send them out to the world to be His ambassadors.
- God will make them love Him with all their hearts.
- God will make them keep His commandments
- God is in author and finisher of His salvation plan.
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