THE FIRST sentence of Luke, chapter 16, begins as follows: "And he said also unto the disciples...." This statement seems to connect that which follows with the preceding chapter. In 15:1,2 we see that Jesus addressed the three parables recorded therein to the Pharisees and the scribes, who had been murmuring against Him and criticizing Him because He had been receiving sinners and taxgatherers. After addressing the Pharisees and scribes in the three parables of chapter 15, He then spoke "also unto the disciples," giving the parable of the unjust steward, and the account of the rich man and Lazarus.

The gist of the parable is as follows: There was a certain rich man who had a steward that was accused to him of wasting his master's goods. The employer believed the reports which came to his ears and demanded a reckoning from him. This unjust steward began to think about the future immediately and reasoned something like this: What shall I do when I loose my position? I am not physically able to dig and do manual labor; I cannot afford, through pride, to go out and become a beggar. And yet I have no resources. How shall I make my livelihood? Then the idea came to his mind that he ingratiate himself into the favor of the debtors of his master. He therefore called to him the first one and asked, "How much do you owe?" This one said that he owed one hundred measures of oil. Then the steward said to him, "Take your bill, sit down and write fifty." Upon his doing this, he would alter the account on the books accordingly. To the second one he addressed the same question, "How much do you owe my lord?" His reply was, "A hundred measures of wheat." The unrighteous steward told him to take his bond and write out a statement for eighty. Thus he cut the debt by twenty per cent.

The employer in this parable commended the unrighteous, unjust steward for his wisdom in looking forward toward the future. By his having reduced the amount owing to his master, the unjust steward won the favor of the debtors, who naturally would be very kind and considerate of the man who had favored them. The idea of using one's present position and earthly goods in order to secure the future, or something of the future, is indeed, from the standpoint of the world, a wise, prudent act. The steward's master therefore commended the man's prudence, but not his unrighteousness. In no passage of scripture are unrighteousness and injustice of any kind commended. On the contrary, it is always reproved and condemned. Since verse 8 is such an important one in the understanding of the passage, I wish to quote it: "And his lord commended the unrighteous steward because he had done wisely: for the sons of this world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of the light." Jesus is simply calling attention to things that pertain to this life, wherein "the sons of this world are for their own generation [only] wiser than the sons of the light."

The reasoning of Jesus runs something like this: If men will have foresight and will make provision for the future in matters pertaining to this life, how much more important it is for them to look forward toward the future life and make preparation for it, using the things which they have here, and which will aid them in making provision for the eternal future. Jesus proceeds to make the application by saying: "Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles" (vs. 9). This language, as all students recognize, is the figure of paronomasia. We dare not take it literally, because such an interpretation would contradict the plain teaching of the Word of God. It is clearly a play on words, as is evident by a glance at the context. Just as men use the material, physical means which they have in life, as did this unjust steward, in order to secure their future years of life from want, so should men use the material substances which God entrusts to them in making secure the eternal habitations.

Men are saved by the grace of God, on the divine side; through faith, on the human side. Our salvation is a matter of God's pure sovereign grace. After we are regenerated, saved, we become "…his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God afore prepared that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10). We labor for the Master and use in His cause the material possessions which He entrusts to us. For such service God will reward us according to our works.

Jesus then calls attention to the general principle expressed in verse 10: "He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much…;" and on the contrary, "… he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much." Character manifests itself all the time. If a person has not been faithful with the mammon of unrighteousness, material possessions, he will not be faithful in the spiritual things--which are the great things, the eternal verities. If one, therefore, is unfaithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to him the true riches? Such a one will be incapable of administering the true riches. Jesus intends to teach that, if we are unfaithful with what He entrusts to us here and now, when we get over on the other side in the future, we shall lack the essential qualifications and capacities that will be demanded of those who are to be invested with authority and power regarding the true realities, the eternal riches.

This is a most serious, sobering thought. If an individual cannot be trusted when working for one person, he cannot be trusted when working for another. If he is unfaithful in small matters, he will be unfaithful in large and important affairs. O Lord, help us to be loyal, faithful, and true to Thee!

To be more explicit, let me say that the present time--the span of our earthly lives--is the training period, the time of preparation. Part of our teaching, training, and discipline consists of the correct use and proper handling of the mammon of unrighteousness--money, material goods, and the time allotted us to attain the heights of spiritual development, all of which belong to God, but which He entrusts to us to manage, control, and invest for Him. If we use these things as belonging to Him, consider ourselves as being simply His stewards and stewardesses--His bondslaves and yet His freedmen--and manage His goods faithfully, honestly and conscientiously, we shall develop the qualities and capabilities that are indispensable for the handling of the eternal riches, which Jesus here calls our own. Those who have not thus voluntarily and faithfully trained themselves during life will not be qualified to fill the positions of trust, responsibility, and glory mentioned here by the Saviour.

As I observe from day to day, and as I have various experiences, my very soul shudders to think that many people are unfaithful in the positions which they occupy and in the trust which is reposed in them. Though they may be saved, having been born again (John 3:5), yet they cannot be trusted with the eternal verities. The matter of using our time, talents, opportunities, and the things entrusted to us for the glory of God is one of the most serious problems about which we can think. May God help each one of us to be faithful and true to the trust reposed in us!

That the taxgatherers were money grabbers, who took advantage, as a rule, of every citizen and extorted from him all possible taxes, was a fact that was well know to every Jew. Thus the mention of the taxgatherers, or publicans as they are sometimes called, aroused most unpleasant recollections. Since Jesus had uttered the three parables of Luke, chapter 15, in answering the false charge of the scribes and Pharisees concerning His association with sinners and taxgatherers, and since the material in chapter 16 is the outgrowth of these considerations, it becomes abundantly clear why Jesus discussed upon this occasion, the love of money and the abuse of riches. The Lord Jesus Christ knew that even His people, the born-again ones, can easily fall prey to the abuse of wealth. He therefore showed the great perils of riches.

The taxgatherers were not the only ones who were lovers of money. Even many of the most pious of the Pharisees, as we learn in Luke 16:14, were lovers of money. When they heard Jesus condemning the practice of loving money and doing everything for it, they scoffed at Him. He then turned to them and declared, "Ye are they that justify yourselves in the sight of men; but God knoweth your hearts...." Though they might present their case in a favorable light to men, God knows their hearts and can not be deceived by any formal presentation of their case before Him. Moreover, the Lord Jesus called attention to the fact that that which is exalted among men is simply an abomination in God's sight, this principle being especially true since the old law dispensation was actually and literally passing out of existence and the dawn of the new age of grace and glory was beginning to appear on the eastern horizon. This fact is seen from His statement that the "law and the prophets were until John; from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man entereth violently into it." This statement was given to the Pharisees to awaken them from their spiritual slumber, and to cause them to realize that a new era was about to dawn. At the same time the Lord Jesus warns them that it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away "than for one tittle of the law to fall." In view of the unalterable character of the Word of God, the Lord Jesus urged the Pharisees, these lovers of money, to be wise and prudent and to turn from their money-loving and pleasure-seeking ways.

Very abruptly Jesus turns from the discussion of the love of money and, in a clear, categorical manner, states the matter of divorce and remarriage in verse 18: "Every one that putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery; and he that marrieth one that is put away from a husband committeth adultery." Why He injected this thought into His discourse at this time, the context does not show. It is altogether possible that, realizing that money is the basis of many marriages and divorces, He therefore threw in a warning at this particular point.