12 The Unjust Steward | Advent Productions

We really don’t have any background to this parable this time. Jesus simply launches into the parable. So let’s start by reading Luke 16.

Luke 16:1-2
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.

There was a rich man who had some people that worked for him. And he comes to one of them and hears that he has been wasting his goods. So what does he do?
He calls him in and asks him to give an account of all that he has done and performs an investigation on his stewardship, confirms the matter and then basically fires him.
He gives him a few days’ notice as any good boss would do.

How does this steward react? What does he say to himself?

Luke 16:3
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.
He sees three paths before him. Either he is to dig, meaning he will have to work hard to support himself, or he has to beg, or he will starve.
But he says he cannot dig, and he is ashamed to beg.
What does he mean by that? Is he really not able to dig? Is he disabled? Absolutely not!
I cannot dig – he is lazy.
- It’s not that he couldn’t, but that he didn’t want to. He had been living the high life all this time and was not used to the hard labour.
To beg I am ashamed – he has too much pride to beg. So we get a sense of the character of this steward. He really is not a good person at all.

So what does he end up doing? Let’s continue reading.

Luke 16:4-7
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.
So what happens after the steward hears that he is fired?
He begins to call every one of his lord’s debtors. He calls every single one! He leaves no debtor out. He makes sure he contacts each and every one of them. He is not so lazy after all but quite thorough.
But why is he calling them?
He is collecting the debt that these people owe to the master.
Take note – he is not collecting it and running away. What does he do when he meets each debtor?
- You owe 100 measures of oil. Quickly, just give me 50. What did he do with the first one? He gave him 50% discount!
- The second he owed 100 measures of wheat. Quickly, take your bill and write me 80 measures. He gave the second 20% discount!
This unjust steward is planning his exit strategy. Giving all his lord’s debtors a discount.
Remember, he is not running away with all that he is collecting. Not only would he be in trouble with his master but also in trouble with the law. But he is trying to write himself into the good books of all the debtors. He’s trying to make friends with them by giving them this discount so that they would owe him a favour.
He took advantage of his masters debtors, and by accepting this discount from him they place themselves under obligation to have to receive him as a friend into their house after he was let go from his stewardship.

Now let’s continue reading.

Luke 16:8-9
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.
So the lord actually hears what the unjust steward has done, giving HIS debtors a discount, and he praises the unjust steward!
The master makes this statement – he had done wisely, for the children of the world are wiser than the children of light. Why? This man made friends of the rich people in the world who were unrighteous (the word mammon just means riches) so that when he failed they would receive him into their care! They now owed him a favour because he was the one that had given the discount. He had made plans for his future when he knew that his stewardship was going to end.
The comparison is made between the children of the world and the children of light.
Somehow the children of the world are wiser. Jesus is certainly not condoning the behaviour of this unjust steward. Remember this is just a parable. God is not commending this sort of behaviour.
But why is this comparison made? What lesson is Jesus trying to teach from this parable?

Well, who are the children of the world?

They are the worldly people. Those that cheat, lie, aren’t honest at their jobs or school. Just like this unjust steward. Those that don’t care anything about God or the church at all.

And who are the children of the light?

They are the Christians, the followers of Jesus.

But what was the reason the lord praised the unjust steward?

Because the unjust steward was thinking about his future security.
He was wise enough to realize that when the lord found out he was dishonest, he went out to make sure of his own financial security before he lost his job by giving reduction of the debt owed so that he would have friends to take care of him when he was kicked out.
He planned his worldly life on this earth more than the children of the light who had an eternity to look forward to.
You see, people on the earth, they work hard, they study hard, they plan, they do all sorts of things to secure their futures for a life that is just so short.
How does the Bible describe our lives?
James 4:14
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Our lives are short. How fast our lives just pass.
Just like mist. As soon as the sun comes up and warms the earth it disappears away.
When viewed in the light of eternity we don’t actually spend much time on this earth. Yet to many people this is all the life that they have and they work so hard to plan for it to ensure that they have a comfortable and successful life.

But why the comparison?

You see, the Israelites had been blessed with being a steward for God. God had chosen this nation to represent Him on the earth and He had poured out so much blessings upon them.
- They had inherited Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey.
- When you look at the days of the kings when God’s people were faithful, not only did He bless them with wisdom, but also with riches and much abundance!
- God had worked amazing miracles and fought for them.
- No other nation had God visit them in the flesh and come to minister to each of them so personally.
They were truly blessed beyond measure and above any nation on the earth.

And what was the instruction that God gave to them, the receiver of all His blessings?

Genesis 12:2-3
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
- God wanted them to be a blessing to everyone else around them.
Just like how this steward was using his masters debt to his advantage to ensure his survival, this is what God wants us to do with all His blessings that He has bestowed on each of us. The steward had been enriched in his stewardship, and though we are not to follow the unjust example of what he did in cheating the master, his actions were commendable in being a blessing to everyone else.
This is what God wants for us to do today as well with all that we have been blessed with and with all that God has enriched us with. We need to be that blessing.
Luke 12:33
Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
- We should sell that we have and give alms. What is alms? It is a compassionate act to the poor. Yes, we need to be a blessings in physical terms to everyone as well.
1 Timothy 6:18
That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
- We need to be rich in good work and ready to distribute and to communicate the blessings that God has given to each of us.
Luke 14:13
But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
Isaiah 58:6-7, 10
6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
- Let’s be a blessing to those that are less unfortunate.
God has blessed many people out there with much means, much wealth, much physical and material blessing. But this question begs an answer. What are you doing with the monetary and material blessings that God has given to you?
No one is ever too poor to be a blessing. The widows mite demonstrates that. She gave all that she had, even though it was so little in comparison to those that were around her. But calculated in terms of percentage, she gave the most.
The only reason why we may feel that we are not able to give as much as the rich is because many of the poor desire to live like the rich. We don’t live within our means. And so many of us come to the end of each month not able to give anything to God and we expect that He should understand that we are poor, we don’t earn much and so we are not able to heed the command above to be ready to distribute.
I think we deceive ourselves when we do that, when we sell ourselves short and excuse ourselves out of being a blessing to the world.
We need to learn to economise and not try to live up to our means. At the same time, let’s not only learn to save but use some of those savings to be that blessing.

However, this does not only apply to the physical needs of people out there.

Mark 16:15
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
- The greatest blessing that we can be to people in the world is to share the precious jewel of the gospel, to give to the world Jesus Christ and His word.
- He is that hidden treasure in the field. He is the pearl of great price.
God has blessed us with much knowledge and truth, and we should not just hoard this truth to ourselves and be content to allow others to do the work of sharing the gospel to others. Whether it is the pastor or bible worker that is paid that is in your midst, we should not allow others to steal the blessing that God has given to each of us to BE that blessing!
To everyone has been entrusted a work. To everyone has been given a sphere of influence.
Everyone has been called to share the riches of the gospel among the Gentiles.

Christ made the comparison to show how earnest people in the world are to secure their futures, whilst the professed followers of Christ are so lackadaisical in sharing the gospel to the world and securing to themselves the eternal life that God has promised to them.

Please don’t misunderstand, we cannot work our way to heaven. Sharing the gospel or giving money to the poor or helping those in need does not ensure us eternal life.
But a lack of such works in our lives does give us a clear indication of a lack of the Holy Spirit or a lack of Christ living in our hearts. For if the love of Christ is burning within us, these works would be evident.
Whilst a person is not saved by good works, it would be impossible for a Christian to be saved without an evidence of such works.
It will require effort. It will require planning to live within our means, to live frugally, to deny ourselves of certain pleasures on this earth just so that we can be that blessing. Some of us may need to start keeping a budget. Maybe you might need to sell that car that is costing you too much to maintain. Or move out of that accommodation that you are in and cannot afford to keep.
And on the other hand, if we wish to share the gospel and be that blessing to our neighbours spiritually, that will also require effort. We will need to study our Bibles.
- It’s time to pay attention to the sermon that is being preached and take notes so that we can share it to others. Our devotional lives must go beyond just a mere reading of the Bible, a perusal of a few chapters of His word.
- It’s time to build out our commentaries.
- It’s time to start praying on our knees that God would give us someone to minister to.
And along that journey of digging deeper and praying longer, God will begin to give us a passion for the lost, a passion for the work of the ministry, a passion for souls ensnared in sin and wicked devices.

And so we now come to the conclusion of the parable.

Luke 16:10-12
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?
We must learn to be faithful in that which is least.
What is the least that this parable is referring to? It is just our earthly, normal, everyday life. How we conduct ourselves with the riches that God has given to us to be stewards over.
How are you living your life today? Are you faithful in those little things?
- Things like getting to work on time. Working the stipulated hours.
- Are you faithful in your tithe and offering, in returning back to God?
- Are you faithful in how you manage your money? Or are you going into debt every month or living at your means and not being able to save even a little?
- Are you faithful in your chores and cleaning after yourself even to the smallest of things?
We must learn to be faithful in that which is little. If we are not faithful in what we have here on this earth and learn to give it back to God, He cannot commit to us His eternal treasures.
How can we be faithful in these little things?
Just as the unjust steward used his position and his lord’s name to benefit those that owed money, so we are to use the possessions that God has given to us to the benefit and saving of others. Learn to work for the poor and the sinners.

May God help us all to be faithful on this earth in all the small and big things of life.