First let me tell you – that you will only find this parable in Luke.
Then allow me to tell you that for 2,000 years – preachers have found this text difficult (at best) to preach upon.
It obviously has a “stewardship theme” to it.
It obviously is making a “wisdom” kind of statement.
It cautions us that while we live and breathe and have our being in this world – we are really people of God’s kingdom.
So, we kind of have a leg in both worlds.
Be careful. Be wise. Be cautious. Be smart. Do not be cynical. In all things – be open to God!
We also know that more than any other gospel, Luke confronts the issues of “money and wealth.”
In the first century of the Common Era a person’s wealth was connected to their honor. In fact, wealth was not necessarily an end in itself, but rather it was “a means” to “get” honor.
Money could “buy” respect or so it was thought. Money could “buy” position or power. Money “brought with it” – prestige!
A person could be “dishonored” for any number of things…but two of them included “having an unscrupulous servant,” and “taking back a gift.”
So, Jesus tells us a story that included both!
It is interesting – because in the beginning Jesus is speaking only to the disciples – but we get the idea that the Pharisees and the Scribes are over-hearing his every word!
So, who is he REALLY speaking to? I think, he is speaking to us!
If you remember, this whole discussion started a whole chapter before with the Scribes and the Pharisees “grumbling” – because Jesus “hung out” with tax collectors and other sinners.
People are always grumbling about this thing or that. Do people ever stop grumbling? I wonder!
“They are” or can be a negative lot – and Jesus is reacting to their negativity… While “they” would “exclude” certain people – Jesus is all about “inclusion.”
At its basics: this is a story about forgiveness. Jesus was all about forgiving debts. Forgiving sins. Restoring relationships … which have eternal implications… And Jesus is saying to the disciples, “I want YOU to do the same.”
Forgiveness will get you a lot further along in this life – including forgiving sinners and tax collectors…
Do not ever withhold forgiveness – when given the opportunity…
You cannot serve God and money, and it is certainly better to serve God, so forgive one another from your hearts!
Love, mercy and forgiveness are the keys! Use them!
We further know that the Pharisees were considered to be “lovers of money” and they overheard all of these things…and so they ridiculed him further.
In the first century world, the “rich man” was probably a Greek or a Roman who lived in luxury in Jerusalem. His steward would likely have been “a slave” or “a freedman.”
The “debt burden” of the poor was “a major social problem” in the first century Palestine – a problem that had been steadily getting worse and one that was met with utter indifference by the “powers that be.”
If you could not pay your debts – so much the better… They confiscated your land. If you did not have any land left … they would take your livestock or your daughters or your sons.
The steward hit upon “what he considered to be” an ingenious solution. He called the masters debtors and has them re-write their bill, whittling them down so that they might possibly be repaid. That was because the bill had to be in the debtor’s own handwriting in order to be considered “authentic!”
The “suddenly popular servant” had friends galore. The master actually had to commend the steward publicly for his “wise dealings.”
The master could not go back on his word, because he would lose honor and his word would be considered useless.
And, the master “was still” getting the greater bulk of his money back.
It was a win-win situation. And the servant would find that people were indebted to him for a long time.
Be wise! Be courageous!
Be smart! Be a little cagey, if need be!
Use the gifts that God has given to YOU make life better for all those around you! But above all, let mercy, forgiveness and love reign over YOUR HEARTS – every single day of YOUR life!