The Gospels · Chapter 16 of 24

Luke 16

Jesus teaches on money and eternity. He tells the parable of a shrewd steward who, facing dismissal, secures his future by reducing his master's debtors. Jesus draws out lessons on faithfulness with worldly wealth, warns that no one can serve God and mammon, rebukes covetous Pharisees, and closes with the rich man and Lazarus, where earthly comfort and neglect are reversed forever.

What happens in Luke 16

A rich man's steward, accused of wasting goods, is called to give account. Facing unemployment, he calls his master's debtors and reduces their bills to win their favor. Surprisingly, the master commends his shrewdness. Jesus urges disciples to use the mammon of unrighteousness to make eternal friends, insisting that faithfulness in little proves faithfulness in much, and that no servant can serve two masters, God and money. The covetous Pharisees deride him, but Jesus answers that what men exalt God abhors, and affirms the enduring authority of the law even as the kingdom is now preached.

He then tells of a rich man clothed in purple who ignored the beggar Lazarus at his gate. Both die; Lazarus rests in Abraham's bosom while the rich man suffers torment. Across a fixed gulf, Abraham refuses his plea, saying his brothers have Moses and the prophets to heed.

Luke 16 in context

Luke 16 continues Jesus' teaching on the road to Jerusalem, following the parables of the lost in chapter 15. Luke, writing to Theophilus, gives special weight to Jesus' concern for the poor and his warnings to the wealthy.

The Pharisees, described as covetous, are a recurring foil. The chapter pairs two teachings about riches, framing possessions as a stewardship answerable to God and a test of the heart's true master.

Main themes of Luke 16

Luke 16 (KJV)

1And 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. 2And 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. 3Then 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. 4I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7Then 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. 8And 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. 9And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10He 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. 11If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own? 13No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 14And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. 15And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. 16The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. 17And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. 18Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery. 19There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24And 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 tormented in this flame. 25But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Verses to carry from Luke 16

“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.”Luke 16:10

“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”Luke 16:13

“And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”Luke 16:31

Reflection

Where does your money quietly reveal your true master? Jesus does not condemn wealth itself, but the divided heart and the closed hand. Consider one person, like Lazarus, whom God has laid at your gate. Faithfulness begins in small things today, before any gulf is fixed.

A prayer from Luke 16