Alright as was announced, our text this morning is the gospel of Luke chapter 16. And this morning, we’re going to look at the first nine verses alright- the first nine verses of Luke chapter 16. So let me now read these verses. Luke chapter 16, beginning in verse 1. “He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So 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.’ “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.

I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.”

Alright so this is the parable, and this is one of those problematic parables or one of the most difficult parables to understand. So let me begin by telling you about the title. Now I entitled this parable as “The Shrewd Steward”. Now if you look at your own Bible, I think if you have a Bible with sub-headings, you would see the title for this section. I’ve looked at a number of Bibles alright. And in all the Bibles that I’ve looked at, the subtitle or the title for this section is “The Dishonest Manager”. A steward is a manager. So the title for many is “The Dishonest Manager”.

But I have a little contention here alright. I feel that perhaps that might be a little misleading because that gave us the impression that this parable (this section of the Bible) is about dishonesty. It’s about that dishonest man or dishonest manager. Now my contention is that that is not what this parable is about. That is not the point alright- that is not the point. So it is important as we study the parable to identify the point of the parable. Now just give you another example to illustrate. Now you look back in Luke and chapter 10. Luke chapter 10, and here we have another parable alright- another parable. Here in Luke chapter 10 beginning in verse 25, we have the parable of the good Samaritan.

Now again we want to ask: Now what is the point of this parable? Now for many people, they think that the point of the parable of the good Samaritan is the goodness of the Samaritan. That’s why it is called the good Samaritan. They think that this parable about the good Samaritan is to teach us to be good, to teach us to be kind, kind to our neighbour. But that is not the point of that parable. Although that may be the motive of that parable, but that is not the “motive” of the parable alright. Now to understand that parable and see what Jesus was teaching or the point of our Lord Jesus Christ in that parable is to look at the context. Now why did Jesus tell that parable? 

The answer? In verse 25, Luke chapter 10: “Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?””. So remember that the parable of the good Samaritan is Jesus’ response to that question. And that question is not about goodness. That question is about salvation. Master, he says, or Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? So to correctly understand that parable is to see that Jesus is giving an answer to that question. It’s to tell this man the way of salvation. So it’s about salvation. And so the point of that parable (the parable of the Samaritan) is in verse 37. So he said: “He who showed mercy on him”, that was the Samaritan’s response because Jesus asked him: So who do you think was neighbour to him who fell among the thieves?”.

The answer? He said: “He who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.””, now giving an impression that that is Jesus’ point. Be good. Go and be like the Samaritan. But no, you see. Jesus is saying that salvation is impossible with men because for this lawyer or scribe to do what this Samaritan did here in this parable is an impossibility because for the Jews, they will never do good to you know or to someone. Alright you see for a Samaritan to do good to a Jew is also an impossibility. But you see, just do the impossible as it were if you can. And so it is about salvation in that parable.

And so back to this parable in Luke chapter 16. So again we want to ask the question: So what is this parable about? What is it about? I say it is about the shrewdness of the steward, not about the unrighteousness or the unjustness or the dishonesty about the manager or the steward alright because we see that in verse 8 alright. In verse 8, it says here when the master realises how unjust or dishonest this manager of his was, he said: “So the master commended the unjust (or dishonest) manager because he had dealt shrewdly.”. So it is the shrewdness that caught his attention. He’s a shrewd person. And so this parable is really about shrewdness, the shrewdness of the steward. And that is what makes this parable a difficult parable. You mean Jesus is saying what? Ask us to be like this manager?

So people struggle with that you know as if we are asked to be like the bad guy. Now to understand this parable alright- this difficult parable, so that’s what we’re going to do this morning. So we are first going to look at the context or the people to whom this parable was addressed alright. The people or the recipient of this parable. And secondly, we are going to look at the parable itself alright, the story itself. And then, we’re going to look at the point alright. So look at the people to whom this parable was addressed, then the parable itself, and then the point of the parable. So let’s begin with the people to whom this was addressed. Now we see that in verse 1, it says here: He also said to His disciples”.

Now earlier on in the previous parable alright in chapter 15, now Jesus was addressing a different group of people because if you look at chapter 15 and verse 3: “and He spoke this parable to them”. So who are the “them”? The “them” are not the disciples alright. The “them” are the people in verse 2: “And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.””. So they were grumbling and complaining that Jesus was mixing and eating and fellowshipping with the tax collector and the prostitutes. And so they were complaining. So Jesus looked at them and said okay, let Me tell you a story alright. So He was addressing. He was speaking to the Pharisees and the scribe. But when we come to chapter 16, remember exchange. Now Jesus is now no longer speaking to the Pharisees and the scribes.

So Luke tells us now He turns His attention to His disciples. So the people to whom this parable was addressed were the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, here Jesus is speaking to His followers, to the believers. In other words, to all of us. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, now Jesus is speaking to you alright. He is speaking to you, and He has something to say to you, His followers alright- His disciples. And so, so that’s the first thing to note. So the people. So we have settled that. Now let us look at the parable itself alright- the parable itself. So what did Jesus tell His disciples?

Well, He says again in the second part of verse 1. He said: There was a certain rich man who had a steward”. So there was a certain rich man, He says. In fact, Luke likes to tell you know, record stories about rich people. You heard him talking about rich people in chapter 12 alright, Jesus told a parable about the rich man who had much alright and then he tears down his barn alright and so on. And then here he talked about the rich man. In fact, Luke chapter 16 may be called the rich man’s chapter alright. We have the Word chapter, the faith chapter, the love chapter, and here we have the rich man’s chapter because he told two parables. Because later on, he tells another parable in verse 19. And then he said: “And there was a certain rich man”.

We all love to hear stories about rich men alright. So next week, you come back again, I’ll tell you another story about rich men alright. So here is a story about a rich man. So there was a certain rich man, and this man was really very rich. If you read the story, you can kind of detect that just now that he owned a huge business. And therefore, he has to employ a manager alright, a steward to run his business. And so he owns a huge business, and then he employs (we are told here) a steward or the manager. So he had a steward or a manager to run his business. Now, what is a steward or a manager here?

Now if you’d flip over to the Old Testament with me to Genesis chapter 39. Genesis chapter 39, now we have the story of another steward. Genesis 39. So here we have the story of Joseph. And here in verse 4, we are told: “So Joseph found favour in his sight, and served him. And he (that is his master) made him overseer (and that is a steward)- overseer (or manager) of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.”. And then verse 6: “Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.”. Now that is beside the point alright. The point here is that he was a faithful steward. So he’s appointed as a steward.

Now steward here is the kind of manager. I think, so we have different understanding of what a manager is. We have junior managers, senior managers, and so on. But this is a senior manager. This is more than senior manager in our, you know today’s terminology. He is the managing director. He’s the chief. He’s the head manager alright, the chief manager alright. Today we call it the chief executive officer alright. So that is what a steward here. That’s the picture here. That’s the story here that Jesus is telling in Luke 16 alright. So Joseph was that. And Joseph gave us the understanding that was his role is. He’s in charge of everything alright in the master’s home or business. And so this man in Luke 16, so he’s that kind of person.

But he’s different from Joseph because Joseph was a good steward. Joseph was a faithful steward. And as a steward, you see the owner he doesn’t even bother with his possession or his affair in the business. He just leaves completely into the hands of this steward. And so that can spell trouble if you do not have a man like Joseph, a faithful, trustworthy man like Joseph. And so the steward that Jesus mentioned here tells us here in Luke 16 is one that is not like Joseph because this guy is not a trustworthy person. He is an unjust, dishonest person. And so along the way we are told later part, the third part of verse 1 that “an accusation (or charges) was brought against him (to the master) that this man (this steward, this chief manager of his) was wasting (or squandering)”.

The word ‘wasting’ is the same word alright as squandering in chapter 15. And so he was squandering the owners or his master’s possessions or goods here. And so we do not know what that squandering means. Maybe he was stealing money or diverting funds or mismanagement, but he was not a good steward and now he is being found out alright. So he’s guilty. We know that that happens every you know, every now and then you know where there’s disaccountability even in the government service and so on. There’s the AG’s report, and then they realise millions of Ringgit is being you know disappearing from the account. And so who’s in charge alright? The chief secretary or something like that alright. And then maybe they’ll be called to account. And so that is the picture here.

So this man is now being called into account. And so we are told in verse 2 so the man, I mean the boss alright or the owner called him and said to him: What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you are fired. Now that is to read Donald Trump’s translation alright. But our translation, now you no longer can be a steward alright. But that is the same meaning alright that this manager is now fired. He doesn’t have his job anymore. So he’s given notice to leave. Now of course this man realises that he is in trouble. Alright he as a chief manager alright or steward of his boss, being in charge of all his boss’s possession (which I mentioned earlier on) seems to be much alright.

He’s a very wealthy boss because later on from the debtors alright we can see that this guy is really a big boss alright. And so he probably was being paid very well. He has a, you know good lifestyle, enjoying his life. And now suddenly, he realises that he is in trouble. And so verse 3: “Then the steward (or the manager) said within himself”. This is what we call a soliloquy alright when a person talks to himself alright. And he said: “What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.”. So, I’m in trouble. So he kind of panic. Alright anxiety begins to fill him alright, kind of grip him alright.

But he is although a bad manager as far as his integrity is concerned, but he is a good manager as far as his smartness is concerned alright. But this combination is very little alright. We have a lot of smart people, but they are very dishonest people alright. Come together, that’s what we have here. And so he had the quick thinking. So he quickly thought to himself, he said to himself: Okay, he said. This is what I shall do alright. You see, I’m in trouble because I… like what’s going to happen to me? Now you see, you can imagine the thought process in this man’s mind. So what’s going to happen to me? How am I going to survive? Then he looked at his family and said: I still need to feed my family. My children still young, schooling.

Then looked at his twelve houses that he has bought alright. But I need to pay instalment for all these houses that I’ve bought. And look at his fleet of cars, you see. Well, very soon to be repossession of my cars. And so he kept thinking and he is worried. Another thing about his concern is this. It’s that maybe he thought to himself: I’ve been in this job all my life. That’s the only thing I know how to do alright. I can’t do any other thing. You ask me to dig, he say I cannot dig. Look at my muscle. He said I’ve got no muscle, cannot dig. You ask me to carry brick also cannot alright. Ask me to go up you know the high rise, I panic you know. I’ll be shivering there. I might drop down alright.

So as he thought to himself this cannot, that cannot, he said what can I do? He said what can I do? He said I can’t do anything. Then he says: Well, maybe there are a lot of people you know. Maybe there’s something I can do. I can go to Texas Chicken and I can serve as a waiter there you know at the counter or McDonald’s. But then he thought to himself: You know my former employee may come and then say, hey boss. May I have French fries please alright? That’s why I’m ashamed alright. I’m ashamed to beg. I’m ashamed to do other jobs. So the more he thought about his situation, the more he realises his trouble. I can’t do anything. So what should I do? What should I do?

Then he said in verse 4: “I have resolved (alright in my translation)” or “I have decided”. I’ve determined, he said. Now I know what I should do. I have resolved to do that “when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses”. I’m going to make people obligated to me alright. So I’ve got a plan while I still got opportunity. You see when he was fired, he was not immediately removed of his job. It was still a period of time alright, kind of he was given a period. And so he says that while I still have the opportunity, let me do something. Clever man, really can think alright. Given the opportunity, he knows what to do with that.

And so he said in, we are told in verse 5: “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him (I don’t know how many debtors, maybe a lot alright just two are mentioned here), and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’”. How cunning this guy is. It’s not like how much do you owe me alright. How much do you owe my master alright? And then he said: “a hundred measures of oil”. And according to my reading alright my understanding, this is actually a huge amount alright- a huge amount. A hundred measures of oil. And so he said to him: Take down, take your bill. Sit down quickly and I give you fifty percent discount alright. Just write fifty.

And then he said to another in verse 7: “how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him”, I give you twenty percent discount. So write eighty, and so on. I don’t know how many other debtor he did. So one by one he did that and made these people kind of obligated to him. And so that is the story alright- that is the story. So what did the boss say to this steward? Of course the boss finally discovered that. He looked at all the accounts, all changed. Now, what would you expect the boss to react? What was the reaction alright the expected reaction? Now some of you may be thinking as you read you know, then you come to verse 8.

Now the boss you know, his first face turned red alright. And you know he comes after this steward, now how dare you! How dare you! That would probably be you know a very natural reaction of anyone. You get infuriated and angry with this guy. You’re so crooked. You’re already squandering alright. You’re already mismanagement. You’re already stealing a lot of money, and now worse. This is before you leave and you do that to me! Now the boss could be very angry with this man. But surprise, surprise because when we come to verse 8, this is what the boss said: “And the master”. Of course, there is a debate here as to the master refers to who, whether it refers to the Lord Jesus or whether it refers to the boss. Now my understanding is that this refers to the boss alright.

So his boss “commended the unjust (or dishonest manager) or steward because he had dealt shrewdly.” You see, the boss instead of focusing on the dishonesty of this man, he dwelt on the shrewdness. This clever guy. Maybe his boss you know, we’re all businessman you know, we all think alike. See, you know it’s my kind, you see. Now you see, his boss commended him. The boss knows how to you see. I think the same is in our world today alright where that guy praise these kinds of things about the bad guys alright. And so that’s what the boss said. So he was commended by his boss alright. That’s how the story ended. So that now begs the question: So what is Jesus trying to tell us here? So this is the story. Now that is the parable.

So we have noted the people, that is to the disciples. And the disciples were scratching their heads, said: Lord, what are You trying to say to us? We praise this bad guy, good? The same thing for us this morning like the disciples. Maybe we are scratching our heads. See, this is how the story ends. And so what are we to make of it? Maybe we think now that is what Jesus is saying. Well, this should be our counsel you know for, our advice for our younger generation alright, now parents telling their children you know children, listen. This is what the Lord said. Look at these people in the world. And then we point them to these examples. Here is a good example. Jho Low alright, be like him. Now be crooked and never caught alright.

If you can be as smart as Jho Low, you’ll be the best. A good guy alright. You’ll be good alright. You’ll do well in life. But is that what Jesus is telling us? Is that the kind of advice that we are telling our children alright be like all these crooked people in the world? And we have many of them. And we have many like this guy you know. They were crooked, but they’re never caught. They may be in court, and they may have squandered you know millions and millions of dollars, but they are just so clever, you see. They’re just so clever, so shrewd like this man. Is what Jesus saying to His disciples be shrewd and you will do well alright in your life on earth?

No, you see if we understand it that way. That’s why people find it very difficult alright to understand this parable. So let us now come to the point alright so to see what Jesus is actually saying here and what He is actually teaching from this story. So the point of the parable. Now the point of the parable or the point that Jesus was making is this. It is in the second half of verse 8. Now in verse 8 the second half, now Jesus said: “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.”.

Now the first part of verse 8 is the commendation of the boss. But the second half of verse 8 is Jesus’ own comment alright or remark about this whole situation. And what Jesus said is this. The sons of this world, the people of this world, they are more shrewd. You see, it is the shrewdness that is the focus here, the point here. The manager, the boss saw the shrewdness of this steward. And Jesus talks about the shrewdness. It’s the shrewdness. The sons of this world is most shrewd, smarter, more shrewd than the sons of light. What do you mean by sons of this world and sons of light? Now, in other words, Jesus is saying, look. In this world there are two kinds of people. There are people of the world, and He calls them the sons of the world.

They are the earthlings. They are the children of darkness. They are the sons of the devil. They are the citizens of the world. They are the unbelievers. They are not My disciples. Now on the other hand, they are the sons of light. These are the people not of this world but of the world to come. They are the children of light. They are the sons of God. They are the citizens of heaven. They are the believers. They are My disciples. And Jesus, remember, was speaking to the disciples, the sons of light, the citizens of heaven. And He said: Look, the people of this world or of this age. The people of this world are those who want the things of this world, and that is completely understandable. They want this world. They belong here.

So what do the people of the world want? You see in chapter 8 of Luke and verse 14. Chapter 8 of Luke and verse 14, and Jesus said here in another parable: “Now the ones who fell among the thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, and riches, and the pleasures of life”. They are those people. They are concerned in these lives are the cares of this life, the concerns of this life, the pleasures of this life. That is what the people of the world are after. Or as what John writes in his first letter in First John chapter 2 alright- First John chapter 2, and John writes this. 1 John 2:15-16, and John tells the sons of light, the Christians.

He said: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”. Now Jesus is saying that there are people who are called sons of this world. They are going after this world. They love this world. They love this world. For all these, Jesus said, the Gentiles seek. Now all these the Gentiles or the people of the world seek.

Now then there are the people of God. They are the sons of light. They are the people of the world to come. So that begs the question: So what about us? So what do we want? What are we after? What are we after? The same thing? The same thing? Now you see, Jesus is forcing the issue here. He’s speaking to His people. He’s speaking to His disciples. Remember in this parable is to His disciples. He’s saying that here are the people of the world like this crooked man. These are the kind of things they are after. Now ask yourself: What are you after in this life? What are you after in this life? Philippians chapter 3. Philippians 3:13, now listen to the Apostle Paul here speaking of himself.

Philippians 3:13, he said: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead”. I’m pressing on to better things. I’m pressing on to things ahead. Why? Verse 20: “For our citizenship is in heaven” because we are not the citizens ultimately of this world because we belong there. We seek after things there. I press on to those things- those things. And therefore when he wrote to the Colossian Christians, he tells them this in Colossians 3:1-2.

Verses 1 and 2: “If then you were raised with Christ”, if you are a Christian, if you have been resurrected with Christ, then seek those things which are above “where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. And set your mind on things above, and not on things on the earth.”. Can you not understand, Jesus said, that you are the sons of light? You belong to a different world. You ought to set your minds on things above, not on things on the earth. And then the writer to the Hebrews tells us in Hebrews chapter 11. Now some of you have studied this chapter quite thoroughly I suppose, but listen to these verses here. Hebrews 11:13, what these patriarchs, what did they want? What were they looking forward to?

Verse 13: “All these died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off”. They saw something in the distance. They saw something in the future, and they were fixing their minds on those things, things above. And we are told and therefore they “embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth”. We are only a passing through. This is not our final destination. This is not where we belong finally. There is somewhere else they were looking forward. Verse 14: “For those who say such things declare plainly they seek a homeland.”. They were looking forward to something, something better. For, verse 15: “For truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.”.

If they were still thinking about their old world, the country that they left, they could have returned. But no, verse 16: “But now they desire a better, and that is, a heavenly country.”. They desire a better place, not this place, not this world where we cannot go out and go shopping. We have to wear face mask. What kind of world do you want to live? A more free world, well without virus? You see, these people have better things in mind, the things in their heart. They said we’re looking for something better. Better. You see what Jesus is saying to the disciples? Now, then this is what Jesus is saying. Now once you realise Jesus’ point here alright focus here, then this is what He’s saying.

So the point of the parable then is this. The point of the parable is to show to His disciples, is to show to us all Christians who are disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ how resourceful and astute and determined and resolved and clever as it were this man was in dealing with the affairs of this life. When coming to pursuing money, possession, and gaining the things of this world, the people in the world, they are just clever. They are real smart. Look at the people in the world and how they accumulate you know their wealth. Their shrewdness. Now businessmen are really clever. They really know how to make money- really know how to make money. But not just really know, but the resolve, the much thinking they put into that.

And Jesus, therefore, is saying that people, like him like this man show more resolve for worldly things than the sons of light for eternal things. So back to verse 8 again and see what Jesus is therefore saying. That is His point. That is His point in Luke 16:8, the second part: “For the sons of this world”. Look at the people of the world. They are more shrewd compared to Christians in chasing after spiritual things. How much energy, how much thinking have we put into our spiritual life to make sure that we are okay spiritually, to make sure that we are storing up treasures in heaven? How much, compared with the people of the world?

How much time do they invest in pursuing the things of this world? How much time and money do they invest in pursuing the education of the world? And how much time and money we invest in pursuing the education, spiritual education in the Word of God? Nothing by comparison. We are being put to shame, that’s what Jesus said. So often we are being put to shame. We look at the people of the world, just all around us. Look at our neighbour, how energetic, how determined, how clever they are in chasing after the things of the world.

In the words of William Hendriksen, he said: “In worldly matters, worldly people often show more astuteness or shrewdness than God’s children do in matters affecting their everlasting salvation.”. Don’t we see, or can’t we see that the things that we are after are so much more precious, so much more valuable like those patriarchs as mentioned in Hebrews 11? For they seek a homeland, a better place, and they do so with that kind of energy, determination, resolve, and sacrifices. That is the point of this parable. That is the point of this parable. So the question as we look at the parable is to ask ourselves that question: Is what Jesus saying here a rebuke to me and Jesus says the sons of the earth or the world putting us to shame? Let us pray.

“Our Father in heaven, we come to Your Word and we pray that You might help us see that so often we are put to shame by the people, by our friends, by our neighbours, even by our non-Christian relatives how they pursue their lives on earth with such energy and resolve and how little we put into our own spiritual life. And we can only pray and ask for forgiveness and pray Lord that You might help us once again to see- to see our Christian life anew, to see the blessings of God in a new way, to see that these are precious things, things that deserve our attention, our energy, and our time. For these, we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen”.

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.