And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
The verse shows the steward asking the first debtor what he owes, learning it is a hundred measures of oil, and telling him to take his bill and sit down quickly and write fifty, cutting the debt in half. Having been discharged and facing labor, begging, or starving with his master's goods still in his hands, he dishonestly uses his master's property and authority to benefit the debtor and place him under obligation to receive him as a friend after he loses his position. His worldly sharpness is commended by the rich man, but his dishonesty is not praised by God, and the lesson is not to imitate his dishonesty but to live not for selfish interests. The entrusted goods represent gifts from God intrusted for benevolent purposes and for the blessing of others, which His stewards had used to enrich and exalt themselves instead of for His glory. Earthly possessions are lent by God and belong to another, and only by turning from gathering for self to imparting freely for the good of others now can stewards use them to God's glory, lay up treasure in Heaven, and be received into everlasting habitations when earthly possessions fail.
Parable Story and Meaning
The first debtor is called forward and asked what is owed, and the answer is a hundred measures of oil, whereupon he is told to take his account, sit down at once, and rewrite it as fifty, halving the debt. The order to act quickly is part of the transaction, cutting the oil bill from one hundred to fifty by a stroke of the pen. The steward does this after his dismissal confronts him with only labor he cannot do, begging of which he is ashamed, and starving as the alternative. He has betrayed a sacred trust and will soon have nothing of his own, yet his master's goods are still in his hands, and he carries out his resolve upon a new plan to secure himself against future want.
With that property and authority he dishonestly benefits the debtor in order to bind him by gratitude. By reducing the amount and having the account quickly altered, he makes the debtor a sharer in his dishonesty and lays him under obligation to receive the steward as a friend into his house when the stewardship is lost. This worldly sharpness and shrewd calculation draws commendation from the rich master, but the dishonesty itself is not praised or commended by God. What is held up for approval is living not for selfish interests, and the lesson is not to imitate his dishonesty but to turn from gathering for self to imparting to others.
The story is modeled on a case among the publicans, who saw in the reduction of a recorded obligation their own dishonest practices. Their recognition of themselves in it helped some to learn the spiritual lesson intended. Christ gave this teaching at a time of intense worldliness, when men subordinated the eternal to the temporal and the claims of the future to the affairs of the present. They mistook phantoms for realities and realities for phantoms because they did not by faith behold the unseen world, but gave heed to the things of this life presented as all-attractive and all-absorbing. He gave it to change this order, to break the spell by which men were infatuated and ensnared, to adjust the claims of heaven and earth, and to turn thoughts from pursuit of the things of time to provision for eternity.
The entrusted goods at stake represent gifts from God, intrusted for benevolent purposes and for the benefit of others, but used for self with thought only of the present and no provision for the future. Israel and the Pharisees stand in the same place as that steward. God chose the seed of Abraham, delivered them from bondage in Egypt, and made them depositaries of sacred truth, intrusting to them the living oracles to communicate light for the blessing of the world, but His stewards used these gifts to enrich and exalt themselves instead of using them for His glory.
Faithful Use and Warning
Luke 16:6 belongs to teaching about faithful use of earthly means, where earthly possessions are the least, the unrighteous mammon, lent by God and belonging to another, while the true riches and the immortal inheritance purchased by Jesus are the much and that which is one's own. Using means to God's glory here by imparting freely to advance His cause lays up treasure in Heaven, so that when earthly possessions fail the faithful are received by Jesus and angels into everlasting habitations. Faithfulness in earthly possessions proves true to profession and worthy of eternal life, so that God can then intrust the immortal inheritance, while withholding from God what He has lent proves unjust and unfaithful in the things of God in every respect and will never receive it, for no one can serve God and mammon, and if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him.
The steward uses his master's goods to secure help for his future by reducing the oil debt and having the debtor quickly change the account, for the goods had been entrusted for others' benefit and benevolent purposes but he had used them for himself and thought only of the present with no provision for the future. Facing loss of stewardship with nothing of his own left yet with his master's goods still in his hands, he carries out a new plan to secure himself against future want, changing course from gathering for self to imparting to others and lessening debts to secure friends who will receive him when cast out. The lesson applied to the Pharisees and to God's stewards whose stewardship is soon to be taken from them is that Israel and the Pharisees stand in the same place, for God chose the seed of Abraham, delivered them from bondage in Egypt, and made them depositaries of sacred truth intrusted with the living oracles to communicate light for the blessing of the world, but His stewards used these gifts to enrich and exalt themselves. They are called to provide for the future by using entrusted gifts for the good of others now rather than for themselves, for only by seeking the good of others and imparting God's gifts in the present life can they benefit themselves and provide for eternity. Its application calls for earnest attention to how earthly means are used, so that people do not keep or spend entrusted means and wealth for selfish purposes while others suffer, but use money entrusted by God to advance His cause and the gospel and the salvation of others, rather than waste it on display, speculation, or buildings that do not advance His work.
Enjoying religious blessings while living for self and neglecting the claims of God is guilt that brings surprise condemnation, for loving to hear the gospel preached and enjoying religious services does not make one a Christian while life is spent caring for self. Those who do this think open sinners like the blasphemer, murderer, and adulterer deserve punishment but feel no wrong in themselves, and like the Jews they mistake the enjoyment of blessings for the use they should make of them, and will be as surprised as the unfaithful servant to hear the sentence to take the talent from him. The steward's quick action cutting the debt to save himself from ruin shows that worldly men in financial embarrassment work hard to escape utter ruin while those in peril of being put out of stewardship by God do not realize their danger, and those in such spiritual danger should see their peril and change the order of things. A selfish grasping of riches and selfish use of them proves unfaithful to trust and disqualifies for higher trusts, since unfaithfulness in little things means unfaithfulness in larger matters, and all are on trial to prove whether worldly ambition, greed, and selfish grasping of every advantage for self alone will characterize their lives.
The dishonest reduction from a hundred measures of oil to fifty rebukes selfishness and avarice in serving mammon instead of making mammon serve the interests of God's kingdom, exposing the scribes and Pharisees and the impenitence, pride, and covetousness of the Jewish nation. Tampering with dishonest practices only advances in evil, and the familiar case is a warning that a first step in wrongdoing can lead to greater dishonesty and crime, while riches obtained by robbery and unjust dealing bring no lasting gain. The steward's entrusted goods were meant for benevolent purposes but used for his own advantage, and Christ used the case as a lesson to make wise provision for the future. Men may be so deceived as to suppose that gain is godliness and that wealth is evidence of favor with God, but those who want to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into foolish and hurtful lusts that drown men in destruction and perdition, the love of money is the root of all evil by which some err from the faith and pierce themselves with many sorrows, and those rich in this world must not be high-minded nor trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, doing good and being rich in good works and ready to give in order to lay hold on eternal life.
The verse shows the steward asking the first debtor what he owes, learning it is a hundred measures of oil, and telling him to take his bill and sit down quickly and write fifty, cutting the debt in half. Having been discharged and facing labor, begging, or starving with his master's goods still in his hands, he dishonestly uses his master's property and authority to benefit the debtor and place him under obligation to receive him as a friend after he loses his position. His worldly sharpness is commended by the rich man, but his dishonesty is not praised by God, and the lesson is not to imitate his dishonesty but to live not for selfish interests. The entrusted goods represent gifts from God intrusted for benevolent purposes and for the blessing of others, which His stewards had used to enrich and exalt themselves instead of for His glory. Earthly possessions are lent by God and belong to another, and only by turning from gathering for self to imparting freely for the good of others now can stewards use them to God's glory, lay up treasure in Heaven, and be received into everlasting habitations when earthly possessions fail.
Parable Story and Meaning
The first debtor is called forward and asked what is owed, and the answer is a hundred measures of oil, whereupon he is told to take his account, sit down at once, and rewrite it as fifty, halving the debt. The order to act quickly is part of the transaction, cutting the oil bill from one hundred to fifty by a stroke of the pen. The steward does this after his dismissal confronts him with only labor he cannot do, begging of which he is ashamed, and starving as the alternative. He has betrayed a sacred trust and will soon have nothing of his own, yet his master's goods are still in his hands, and he carries out his resolve upon a new plan to secure himself against future want.
With that property and authority he dishonestly benefits the debtor in order to bind him by gratitude. By reducing the amount and having the account quickly altered, he makes the debtor a sharer in his dishonesty and lays him under obligation to receive the steward as a friend into his house when the stewardship is lost. This worldly sharpness and shrewd calculation draws commendation from the rich master, but the dishonesty itself is not praised or commended by God. What is held up for approval is living not for selfish interests, and the lesson is not to imitate his dishonesty but to turn from gathering for self to imparting to others.
The story is modeled on a case among the publicans, who saw in the reduction of a recorded obligation their own dishonest practices. Their recognition of themselves in it helped some to learn the spiritual lesson intended. Christ gave this teaching at a time of intense worldliness, when men subordinated the eternal to the temporal and the claims of the future to the affairs of the present. They mistook phantoms for realities and realities for phantoms because they did not by faith behold the unseen world, but gave heed to the things of this life presented as all-attractive and all-absorbing. He gave it to change this order, to break the spell by which men were infatuated and ensnared, to adjust the claims of heaven and earth, and to turn thoughts from pursuit of the things of time to provision for eternity.
The entrusted goods at stake represent gifts from God, intrusted for benevolent purposes and for the benefit of others, but used for self with thought only of the present and no provision for the future. Israel and the Pharisees stand in the same place as that steward. God chose the seed of Abraham, delivered them from bondage in Egypt, and made them depositaries of sacred truth, intrusting to them the living oracles to communicate light for the blessing of the world, but His stewards used these gifts to enrich and exalt themselves instead of using them for His glory.
Faithful Use and Warning
Luke 16:6 belongs to teaching about faithful use of earthly means, where earthly possessions are the least, the unrighteous mammon, lent by God and belonging to another, while the true riches and the immortal inheritance purchased by Jesus are the much and that which is one's own. Using means to God's glory here by imparting freely to advance His cause lays up treasure in Heaven, so that when earthly possessions fail the faithful are received by Jesus and angels into everlasting habitations. Faithfulness in earthly possessions proves true to profession and worthy of eternal life, so that God can then intrust the immortal inheritance, while withholding from God what He has lent proves unjust and unfaithful in the things of God in every respect and will never receive it, for no one can serve God and mammon, and if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him.
The steward uses his master's goods to secure help for his future by reducing the oil debt and having the debtor quickly change the account, for the goods had been entrusted for others' benefit and benevolent purposes but he had used them for himself and thought only of the present with no provision for the future. Facing loss of stewardship with nothing of his own left yet with his master's goods still in his hands, he carries out a new plan to secure himself against future want, changing course from gathering for self to imparting to others and lessening debts to secure friends who will receive him when cast out. The lesson applied to the Pharisees and to God's stewards whose stewardship is soon to be taken from them is that Israel and the Pharisees stand in the same place, for God chose the seed of Abraham, delivered them from bondage in Egypt, and made them depositaries of sacred truth intrusted with the living oracles to communicate light for the blessing of the world, but His stewards used these gifts to enrich and exalt themselves. They are called to provide for the future by using entrusted gifts for the good of others now rather than for themselves, for only by seeking the good of others and imparting God's gifts in the present life can they benefit themselves and provide for eternity. Its application calls for earnest attention to how earthly means are used, so that people do not keep or spend entrusted means and wealth for selfish purposes while others suffer, but use money entrusted by God to advance His cause and the gospel and the salvation of others, rather than waste it on display, speculation, or buildings that do not advance His work.
Enjoying religious blessings while living for self and neglecting the claims of God is guilt that brings surprise condemnation, for loving to hear the gospel preached and enjoying religious services does not make one a Christian while life is spent caring for self. Those who do this think open sinners like the blasphemer, murderer, and adulterer deserve punishment but feel no wrong in themselves, and like the Jews they mistake the enjoyment of blessings for the use they should make of them, and will be as surprised as the unfaithful servant to hear the sentence to take the talent from him. The steward's quick action cutting the debt to save himself from ruin shows that worldly men in financial embarrassment work hard to escape utter ruin while those in peril of being put out of stewardship by God do not realize their danger, and those in such spiritual danger should see their peril and change the order of things. A selfish grasping of riches and selfish use of them proves unfaithful to trust and disqualifies for higher trusts, since unfaithfulness in little things means unfaithfulness in larger matters, and all are on trial to prove whether worldly ambition, greed, and selfish grasping of every advantage for self alone will characterize their lives.
The dishonest reduction from a hundred measures of oil to fifty rebukes selfishness and avarice in serving mammon instead of making mammon serve the interests of God's kingdom, exposing the scribes and Pharisees and the impenitence, pride, and covetousness of the Jewish nation. Tampering with dishonest practices only advances in evil, and the familiar case is a warning that a first step in wrongdoing can lead to greater dishonesty and crime, while riches obtained by robbery and unjust dealing bring no lasting gain. The steward's entrusted goods were meant for benevolent purposes but used for his own advantage, and Christ used the case as a lesson to make wise provision for the future. Men may be so deceived as to suppose that gain is godliness and that wealth is evidence of favor with God, but those who want to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into foolish and hurtful lusts that drown men in destruction and perdition, the love of money is the root of all evil by which some err from the faith and pierce themselves with many sorrows, and those rich in this world must not be high-minded nor trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, doing good and being rich in good works and ready to give in order to lay hold on eternal life.