Reflective Bible Study

As we continue moving through Luke’s gospel, we arrive at a parable Jesus shared that I am fascinated by. However, unlike most of Jesus’ other parables, the hero of this parable, if you could call this character a hero, displays some very dishonest characteristics.

However, in spite of this character not being a positive role model, Jesus shared this parable for a very specific purpose, and Luke shares Jesus’ explanation for why after the parable itself ends.

Let’s read this parable, and unpack some big truths we can learn from what Jesus taught and why.

Our passage for this episode is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 16, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 1:

¹ Jesus also said to his followers, “Once there was a rich man who had a manager to take care of his business. This manager was accused of cheating him. ² So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give me a report of what you have done with my money, because you can’t be my manager any longer.’ ³ The manager thought to himself, ‘What will I do since my master is taking my job away from me? I am not strong enough to dig ditches, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that when I lose my job people will welcome me into their homes.’

⁵ “So the manager called in everyone who owed the master any money. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe?’ ⁶ He answered, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write four hundred gallons.’ ⁷ Then the manager asked another one, ‘How much do you owe?’ He answered, ‘One thousand bushels of wheat.’ Then the manager said to him, ‘Take your bill and write eight hundred bushels.’ ⁸ So, the master praised the dishonest manager for being clever. Yes, worldly people are more clever with their own kind than spiritual people are.

In this parable, we discover a manager who is accused of cheating a rich man. It is worth noting that this manager is simply accused, however he has not been tried or found guilty of cheating. However, the accusation against him is significant enough to warrant the rich man deciding to fire this manager.

It also doesn’t help the manager’s case that when given the opportunity to present the record of the debts owed to this rich man, the manager clearly displays dishonesty. This makes me think that whatever the case was against the manager’s integrity was likely valid.

However, while the master praises the manager for being clever, there is nothing in this passage to indicate that the manager got away with his deception. The master simply needed to find out from one honest person what had happened and the dishonest manager’s plot would be foiled.

Actually, the manager likely knew his trick wouldn’t actually change any true debt that was owed. Instead, this trick simply opens the door to friendships, even if these friendships were formed on dishonesty. The trick is brilliant because while it looks like it is against the master because it deprives him of a percentage of his wealth, it is really a trick for quickly making friends.

However, with this manager’s dishonesty being shown now to every one of the people he is seeking friendships with, his reputation is gone if there was any reputation present before. Someone who is dishonest in one area is more likely to be dishonest in many areas than someone who is honest in every situation.

So why then did Jesus share this parable?

While the dishonest manager is praised for being clever, Jesus continues in verse 9 by telling those present:

⁹ “I tell you, make friends for yourselves using worldly riches so that when those riches are gone, you will be welcomed in those homes that continue forever. ¹⁰ Whoever can be trusted with a little can also be trusted with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with a little is dishonest with a lot. ¹¹ If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, then who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you cannot be trusted with things that belong to someone else, who will give you things of your own?

¹³ “No servant can serve two masters. The servant will hate one master and love the other, or will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly riches.”

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money, were listening to all these things and made fun of Jesus. ¹⁵ He said to them, “You make yourselves look good in front of people, but God knows what is really in your hearts. What is important to people is hateful in God’s sight.

¹⁶ “The law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were preached until John came. Since then the Good News about the kingdom of God is being told, and everyone tries to enter it by force. ¹⁷ It would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter in the law to be changed.

¹⁸ “If a man divorces his wife and marries another woman, he is guilty of adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman is also guilty of adultery.”

In the verses that follow Jesus’ controversial parable, we discover that God values honesty and integrity more than we might realize. Nowhere is this dishonest manager presented as someone to model our lives after. Instead, his dishonesty is actually criticized by Jesus in the following verses.

Instead, Jesus used this parable to challenge honest people to use their money and wealth to build friendships and relationships so that when the money is gone or the budget is extra tight, we will be welcomed and helped by friends God has placed into our lives. I can say that a friendship my wife and I had while we were moving between homes was very valuable, because these friends opened their home to us for us to live with them for a few weeks while we were technically homeless while finalizing the purchase of our new home.

I suspect this is what Jesus was referring to in this parable. Nothing in our friendship was purchased, dishonest, or lacked integrity. However, the friendship wasn’t entirely free either. We have spent money doing things together and creating shared memories.

Jesus challenged the religious leaders regarding their focus. Many of the religious leaders had placed their focus on looking good and on building wealth. Having money was seen as a sign that God was blessing them.

However, Jesus pushes the religious leaders by saying that a focus on God and a focus on relationships are both more important than a focus on money. There is no way to buy your way into God’s kingdom.

Jesus finishes our passage looking at how God’s law is constant. Jesus did not come to change God’s law. Instead of changing God’s law, Jesus came to fulfill it and to draw God’s people back towards focusing on the things that God wants His people to focus on.

Through this parable that seems to highlight dishonesty, Jesus teaches that God values integrity more than we might realize, nothing that Jesus came to do would change God’s law, and that God wants His people to use money as a tool to grow genuine relationships with others. While friendships in this world are great, the best friendships are ones that will extend into eternity, and that only happens when we share Jesus with those God has brought into our lives, and help them realize the amazing gift Jesus offers to all of us through His death on the cross!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, continue to seek God first in your life and place Him first. Choose to obey God’s law and to live your life with integrity. Don’t model the dishonest manager. Instead, use the wealth God has given you to develop genuine friendships with others so that when the opportunity is right, you can share Jesus with them.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow personally closer to God. Through a personal relationship with Jesus, discover how you can open your heart, mind, and life to the Holy Spirit. Don’t let your relationship with God be dependent on others. Choose to personally grow towards God through personal study and personal prayer!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or stray away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we move through some of the darkest parts of Biblical prophecy, we arrive at a prophecy related to how Jesus would be treated during the trial leading to His crucifixion. While the crucifixion would be the climax of this torturous 24 hours of Jesus’ time on earth, leading up to being nailed to the cross was not much better.

To predict what would take place, and also what the Messiah’s response would be, we can turn to the Old Testament book of Isaiah for a brief description of what would happen. In Isaiah, chapter 50, and reading from the New American Standard Bible translation, Isaiah writes starting in verse 4:

⁴ The Lord God has given Me the tongue of disciples,
That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
⁵ The Lord God has opened My ear;
And I was not disobedient
Nor did I turn back.
⁶ I gave My back to those who strike Me,
And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;
I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

In this prophecy, we discover that the Messiah would not turn back from His mission, and that He would let Himself be beaten on the back, let His beard be ripped from His face, and that He would not cover His face from being humiliated or spat on.

While the gospel writers don’t include all the details present in this prophecy in their account of Jesus’ treatment leading up to His death, we get the picture from what is included that Jesus’ path to the cross does fulfill what Isaiah wrote.

In Matthew, chapter 26, starting in verse 65, we learn that near the end of Jesus’ trial before the religious leaders:

⁶⁵ [Then] the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; ⁶⁶ what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!”

⁶⁷ Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, ⁶⁸ and said, “Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

Moving forward into Matthew, chapter 27, and starting in verse 27, when describing Jesus’ punishment at the hands of the Romans prior to being led to the site of His crucifixion, Matthew tells us:

²⁷ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. ²⁸ They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. ²⁹ And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰ They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. ³¹ After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

Throughout all that the gospels tell us about Jesus’ time in the hands of the religious leaders and the Romans, the most amazing detail that is tucked under the surface of this event is that Jesus did not turn back. While some might say that what happened to Jesus was out of His control, that thought does not acknowledge the divine power Jesus had available to Him, as well as a clear historical record of escaping death and entrapment likely more times than the gospel writers had room to include. There is a clear precedent set for us to conclude that Jesus could have escaped this torture and death if He wanted to.

However, the prophecy we just read states that the Messiah would not turn back from His mission. When Jesus faced some of the worst torture ever imagined by the human race, He did not back down, buckle, or cave with the intention of avoiding pain. Jesus spent close to 24 hours in pain and agony that would be unimaginable for someone living today. Starting with the emotional torment that He faced in the garden, moving through the abuse of the religious leaders and the Romans, and culminating with His time hanging on the cross, Jesus’ time on earth leading up to His crucifixion is nothing short of remarkable.

Within Isaiah’s prophecy, we find the description that the Messiah’s beard would be given to those who pluck out the beard. While none of the gospel writers draw attention to that detail of the prophecy being fulfilled, I don’t think I could imagine many feelings worse than facial hair being ripped off my face. This is one reason I don’t have any desire to have parts of my body waxed.

However, if we are to understand this detail of the prophecy being fulfilled, even if it isn’t expressly stated, Jesus subjected Himself to the pain of having His beard ripped off of His face, in addition to all the other beating, abuse, and torture those in the first century had imagined and implemented.

And all this Jesus chose to do because Jesus’ mission was bigger than the pain He faced during that moment. While there is the cliché saying for those who exercise regularly that no pain equals no gain, in Jesus’ mission to this world, this saying takes on a new meaning. The pain Jesus experienced ultimately resulted in the gain of salvation for God’s people. Jesus paid the punishment we deserved which allowed us to take part in the life He deserved.

While this is a theme that the next several podcast episodes will also include, I don’t know of a better, more relevant, theme for Jesus’ life. Jesus offers to trade lives with us. Trading lives with Jesus allows Him to take our punishment, while we receive His reward. This is the great news of the gospel, and it is the essence of God’s love for His people. Will we accept Jesus’ gift, and the rewards He offers us?

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open by challenging you, intentionally seek God first in your life and accept the gift Jesus made possible for us through His death on the cross. Thank Jesus for facing some of the worst torture imaginable and for not backing down from His mission when life became difficult.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself, to discover just how much God loves you and just how much Jesus was willing to go through to redeem you and me from sin. While technically we are not responsible for our world being infected with sin, we also are not the place where a solution was provided. Jesus provided the solution for sin, and it is up to us to accept His sacrifice as our ultimate way out of sin. Through what Jesus did for us, we can outlive pain, disease, sin, and even death when we place our faith, hope, belief, and trust in Jesus.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or back down from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!