Verses 1-9: Shrewd Stewardship for Eternal Ends

¹ He also said to his disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager. An accusation was made to him that this man was wasting his possessions. ² He called him, and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ ³ “The manager said within himself, ‘What will I do, seeing that my lord is taking away the management position from me? I don’t have strength to dig. I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from management, they may receive me into their houses.’ ⁵ Calling each one of his lord’s debtors to him, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe to my lord?’ ⁶ He said, ‘A hundred batos of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred cors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸ “His lord commended the dishonest manager because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children of the light. ⁹ I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents.

• God calls every steward to account for entrusted goods:

  The manager must “Give an accounting of your management,” underscoring that human beings are not ultimate owners but entrusted caretakers. Life, opportunity, influence, and possessions are received and must be answered for; this supports a shared Christian conviction that accountability before God is real and moral, not merely social.

• Eternal-minded wisdom uses temporary resources for lasting good:

  The manager’s conduct is condemned as “dishonest,” yet his foresight is noted as “wisely,” which highlights the specific point Jesus draws: many are energetic and strategic about short-term security, while “the children of the light” can be slower to act with eternity in view. Jesus’ directive, “make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon,” teaches that money—though bound up with a fallen world—can be directed toward mercy, mission, and service that echoes into “the eternal tents.” This does not praise fraud; it presses disciples toward purposeful generosity and urgency.

Verses 10-13: Faithfulness, True Riches, and Undivided Worship

¹⁰ He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. ¹¹ If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? ¹² If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will 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 one, and despise the other. You aren’t able to serve God and Mammon.”

• Small obedience reveals the direction of the heart:

  Jesus links character across scales: “faithful in a very little” tends toward faithfulness “in much,” and likewise dishonesty multiplies. This teaches that daily decisions—often unseen—matter spiritually, because they express what the heart loves and whom it trusts.

• God entrusts “true riches” to those whom He forms through faithful stewardship:

  Jesus contrasts “unrighteous mammon” with “the true riches,” implying that spiritual responsibilities and eternal treasures are weightier than financial assets. The question “who will commit to your trust the true riches?” frames stewardship as a training ground: God forms his people through faithful handling of lesser, external things, and in his wise governance he entrusts greater responsibilities in keeping with that maturity.

• Serving God requires exclusive allegiance, not divided mastery:

  “You aren’t able to serve God and Mammon” states a theological incompatibility: money can function as a rival lord. The issue is not merely possessing wealth but being possessed by it; devotion must be whole, because worship cannot be shared between competing masters.

Verses 14-18: Heart Religion, the Kingdom Proclaimed, the Law Honored, Covenant Faithfulness

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him. ¹⁵ He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. ¹⁶ The law and the prophets were until John. From that time the Good News of God’s Kingdom is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. ¹⁷ But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tiny stroke of a pen in the law to fall. ¹⁸ Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. He who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.

• God judges beyond appearances, exposing self-justification:

  The Pharisees “scoffed” while being “lovers of money,” and Jesus diagnoses the deeper problem: “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts.” This teaches that outward respectability and public approval cannot establish righteousness before God; what society “exalted” may be “an abomination” to God when it masks pride, greed, or unbelief.

• The Kingdom is proclaimed with urgency while God’s revelation stands firm:

  Jesus situates John the Baptist as a turning point: “From that time the Good News of God’s Kingdom is preached,” portraying an intensified public announcement of God’s reign. Yet this new phase does not discard prior revelation, because “it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tiny stroke of a pen in the law to fall.” Theologically, the Church can affirm both the forward movement of redemptive history and the enduring truthfulness and authority of God’s Word.

• Marriage is a covenant with moral seriousness before God:

  Jesus’ words treat divorce-and-remarriage in these stated cases as “adultery,” underscoring that marriage is not a merely private arrangement but a covenant reality with ethical weight. Across Christian traditions, this presses believers toward fidelity, careful pastoral discernment, and a reverent view of marital vows under God.

Verses 19-31: The Great Reversal, the Fixed Gulf, and the Sufficiency of Scripture

¹⁹ “Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. ²⁰ A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was taken to his gate, full of sores, ²¹ and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² The beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. ²³ In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom. ²⁴ He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.’ ²⁵ “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But here he is now comforted, and you are in anguish. ²⁶ Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that no one may cross over from there to us.’ ²⁷ “He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house; ²⁸ for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.’ ²⁹ “But Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ ³⁰ “He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ “He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’ ”

• Earthly prosperity is not proof of God’s approval, and earthly suffering is not proof of God’s rejection:

  The rich man lives “in luxury every day” while Lazarus suffers at his gate; yet after death Lazarus is “comforted” and the rich man is “in torment.” The passage warns against reading eternal standing directly off present circumstances. Wealth can conceal spiritual poverty; affliction can coexist with God’s care. What matters is not the illusion of control created by “purple and fine linen,” but a heart responsive to God and neighbor.

• Death introduces conscious accountability and irreversible outcomes:

  Both men die, yet the narrative depicts awareness and consequence: the rich man is “being in torment” and “in anguish,” while Lazarus is at “Abraham’s bosom.” The “great gulf fixed” teaches that the state after death is not a place for negotiating a new moral outcome; it is the unveiling and sealing of what one has embraced or refused in this life.

• Mercy neglected becomes judgment endured:

  The rich man’s request for relief comes too late, and Abraham’s reply calls him to “remember” his lifetime. The text presses the moral seriousness of ignoring the needy at one’s gate. It is not that riches automatically condemn, but that a life insulated from compassion and repentance is spiritually deadly, especially when it coexists with religious familiarity (“Father Abraham”).

• God’s Word is a sufficient and authoritative witness calling for repentance:

  Abraham’s counsel is not to wait for spectacle but to heed revelation: “They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.” The rich man insists on a resurrection-sign, but the answer stands: “If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.” Theologically, this anchors repentance and faith in God’s spoken testimony; miracles may accompany, but they do not replace the summons of Scripture to humble listening.

• Human responsibility to “listen” is real, and God’s saving work must be received rather than resisted:

  The repeated call—“Let them listen to them”—presents genuine moral responsibility: people must hear, heed, and turn. At the same time, the sobering line “neither will they be persuaded” shows that resistance can run deep; persuasion is not merely informational but spiritual. This keeps the Church balanced: proclaiming the Word urgently to all, calling for repentance sincerely, and recognizing that true reception involves God’s gracious work in the heart rather than mere exposure to extraordinary evidence. This sufficiency of Scripture, rightly heard and heeded, stands against the assumption that only extraordinary signs can move the human will toward God.

Conclusion: Luke 16 confronts the believer with a unified vision: God will call his stewards to account, money cannot be a second master, outward religion without inward repentance is exposed, God’s Word remains unbroken, covenant faithfulness matters, and eternal realities are fixed beyond death. The chapter therefore calls the Church to practical mercy, integrity in the smallest things, humble listening to Scripture, and wholehearted service to God with eternity clearly in view.