LukeChapter 16

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He also said to the disciples: "There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this manager was squandering his master's possessions.

So he called him in and said, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you can no longer be manager.'

The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do? My master is taking the management away from me. I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.

I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from my position people will welcome me into their homes.'

So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'

'A hundred baths of olive oil,' he answered. He said to him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.'

Then he asked another, 'And how much do you owe?' 'A hundred kors of wheat,' he said. He told him, 'Take your bill and write eighty.'

And the master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the children of this age are shrewder in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.

And I tell you: make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it is gone they may welcome you into the eternal dwellings.

Whoever is faithful in the smallest matter is also faithful in much, and whoever is dishonest in the smallest matter is also dishonest in much.

So if you have not been faithful with unrighteous wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?

And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?

No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and sneered at him.

He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly prized among men is detestable in God's sight.

The Law and the Prophets were until John. Since then the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone forces his way into it.

But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fall.

Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and the man who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

"There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted in splendor every day.

At his gate lay a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores

and longing to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

Then the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.

In Hades,* where he was in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus at his side. [*Hades: the realm of the dead]

So he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'

But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. Now he is comforted here, and you are in agony.

And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross from there to us.'

He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house,

for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

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Summary2

Chapter 16

Main Theme: Jesus teaches about the proper use of wealth and warns against greed through two parables.

Content: The chapter begins with the parable of the dishonest manager, who uses his master's resources wisely to secure his future—Jesus encourages disciples to use worldly resources for eternal purposes. He emphasizes that one cannot serve both God and Mammon. The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, mocked him. Jesus concludes with the story of the rich man and Lazarus, showing that earthly wealth does not guarantee eternal salvation, and that God's word (Moses and the prophets) is sufficient guidance for salvation.

Key Words/Images:

Mammon (μαμωνᾶς): An Aramaic term for wealth or money—Jesus warns against letting material values become one's master.
Abraham's bosom (κόλπον Ἀβραάμ): A picture of the blessed rest and fellowship with the faithful fathers after death.
The great chasm (χάσμα μέγα): Symbolizes the insurmountable divide between salvation and destruction—the choice must be made in this life.
Moses and the prophets: God's revealed word, which is sufficient to lead people to repentance.

Historical context

Historical and Cultural Context for Luke 16

Characters

Lazarus (Λάζαρος) is the only named person in all of Jesus' parables. The name is the Greek form of the Hebrew "Eleasar" (אֶלְעָזָר), which means "God helps." This choice of name is likely intentional and underscores the theological point of the parable: the poor man who received no help from humans was helped by God. The rich man remains unnamed, creating an ironic contrast—he who had everything in life has nothing to identify him in eternity.

Abraham appears in the parable as an authority figure in the afterlife. In Jewish tradition, "Abraham's bosom" (κόλπος Ἀβραάμ) was a picture of the place of honor beside the patriarch in paradise, corresponding to the most distinguished seat at a meal. This expression also occurs in rabbinic literature as a description of the state of the righteous after death.

Events and Customs

The stewardship system (οἰκονομία) described in the parable of the dishonest manager reflects common practice in the Roman-Hellenistic society. Wealthy landowners often hired stewards (οἰκονόμος) to administer their estates. These stewards had considerable authority to enter into contracts on behalf of the owner. The bills of debt (γράμματα) were legal documents specifying rental obligations, often paid in kind. The measures mentioned—100 baths of oil (about 3,400–3,900 liters) and 100 cors of wheat (about 36,000 liters)—represent large values and indicate that this concerned significant tenancy agreements.

Divorce practices (v. 18) were a controversial topic in that time. Jewish law permitted divorce based on Deuteronomy 24:1, but there was disagreement over its interpretation. The school of Hillel allowed divorce for almost any reason, while the school of Shammai accepted only adultery. Jesus' teaching here is stricter than both and must be seen in connection with his broader criticism of religious leaders who circumvented the intent of the law.

Key Terms

Mammon (μαμωνᾶς) is an Aramaic loanword (ממון) meaning "wealth" or "property." When Jesus calls it "unrighteous mammon" (μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας), he likely refers to the tendency of wealth to be acquired or used in unjust ways. The personification of mammon as a rival to God (v. 13) was a powerful rhetorical device that portrayed wealth as an idol.

Hades (ᾅδης) is used in v. 23 for the abode of the dead. In Greco-Roman thought, Hades was the realm of the underworld, while in the Septuagint it translates the Hebrew "Sheol." In this parable, Hades is portrayed as a place of torment (βάσανος), separated from the dwelling place of the righteous by an insurmountable chasm. This reflects a development in Jewish eschatology during the intertestamental period, where Sheol came to be understood as divided into different compartments for the righteous and the unrighteous.

Purple and fine linen (πορφύραν καὶ βύσσον) were the most expensive textiles in antiquity. Purple was extracted from rare snails and was so costly that it was reserved for kings and the very wealthiest. Fine Egyptian linen (βύσσος) was likewise a luxury product. The fact that the rich man dressed this way "every day" (καθʼ ἡμέραν) emphasizes his extravagant lifestyle.

Chapter-Specific Findings

Archaeological discoveries of debt bills and economic documents from the first century, particularly from the Judean desert and Egypt, confirm the details in the parable of the steward. These documents show how lease contracts and debt relationships were administered, and how stewards had authority to alter terms. Papyrus finds also reveal standard forms for such documents, with space to specify quantities—just as the manager asks the debtors to write new figures.

People4

John1 Lazarus4 Abraham6 Moses2

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