LUKE - CHAPTER 16
A
Bible Study - Commentary by Jim Melough
Copyright
2001 James Melough
16:1.
“And he said 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.”
The rich man is God, and the
dishonest steward the human race represented first by Adam, and then by each
one of us. As the rich man had entrusted the steward with charge of his
estate, so did God entrust man (Adam), not only with the management of his own
life, but with the government of the earth also, and man has shown himself to
be as untrustworthy as the deceitful steward. The time and talents that
should be used for God’s glory, man has squandered in the gratification of his
own lusts.
We who are believers have also
been made stewards by God, see 1 Pe 4:10 “As every man hath received the gift,
even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold
grace of God.”
16:2.
“And 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.”
Unlike the earthly master, God
has no need of another’s report to inform Him of man’s dereliction. He Who
discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart is fully aware of man’s evil
doings. Yet He will call man to give an account of his stewardship, believers
rendering that account at the Bema; unbelievers, at the great white throne.
Following the Bema, each believer will receive a reward proportionate to the
faithfulness of his stewardship, to be enjoyed in heaven eternally. Following
the great white throne, each unbeliever will receive a measure of punishment
proportionate to his sin, that punishment to be endured for ever in the lake
of fire.
16:3.
“Then 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.”
Faced with the loss of his
position, the steward began to make plans for his future, and in this God
would teach all men the necessity of planning for the inevitable day when
their stewardship will end - when they will go out into eternity, to the bliss
of heaven, or the torment of hell. Nor should we fail to note that the lesson
applies to believer and unbeliever alike. The believer’s preparation consists
of rendering a willing, wholehearted service that will prove worthy of the
Lord’s commendation; the unbeliever’s, in making sure that he obtains God’s
gift of eternal life, by confessing himself a sinner, and trusting in the Lord
Jesus Christ as his Savior.
His inability to dig is the
symbolic warning that men cannot work their way to heaven. They can’t be
saved by good works. His being ashamed to beg is the symbolic announcement
that we don’t have to beg for salvation. It is God Who is pleading with men
to accept His gift of eternal life.
16:4.
“I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they
may receive me into their houses.”
In the man’s resolve to
prepare for his impending dismissal from the stewardship, we find the proof
that almost invariably men are wiser relative to earthly things than they are
in regard to those that are spiritual. The steward took more trouble to
secure his acceptance into a house on earth than most do relative to securing
themselves a place in heaven. The sad truth, in fact, is that most give
virtually all their time and attention to earthly things, and practically none
to the things that are eternal.
16:5.
“So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the
first, How much owest thou unto my lord?”
The spiritual significance of
this is to be understood against the background of what was custom in those
days. The law forbade the lending of money at usury, see Le 25:35-37, but in
this as in all things, man’s evil ingenuity circumvented the law by a simple
expedient. The borrower (undoubtedly reluctantly) and the lender (undoubtedly
cheerfully) agreed that the loan was really a joint business venture, and that
the lender would be paid a percentage of what ever the borrower gained from
the use of the loan. Some wealthy men left the management of their estates in
the hands of a steward, the decision to make the loan and to set the interest
being left to his discretion. It is generally agreed that the amount deducted
here from each bill was the interest that had been charged on the loan. The
steward therefore in remitting the interest accomplished two ends: he bought
the goodwill of each debtor, and left his master without recourse, for any
attempt of the master attempt to enforce payment of the interest would have
exposed him to the charge of breaking the law. Well indeed might he commend,
not the dishonesty, but the sagacity of the steward; and the lesson God would
have us learn is that he is a wise man who displays the same wisdom relative
to securing the salvation of his soul.
16:6.
“And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, take thy
bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.”
Since oil is one of the
symbols of the Holy Spirit, the lesson of the remitted interest may be that He
is given freely by God to seal and enlighten everyone who trusts in the Lord
Jesus Christ as Savior, as we read in Isa 55:1, “Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat; yea,
come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye
spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which
satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good,
and let your soul delight itself in fatness.”
But the borrower was still
responsible to repay the fifty measures, and in this we are being taught that
there is a price to be paid by those who would benefit from the indwelling
Holy Spirit: we must be obedient, and obedience entails giving up the world,
for disobedience cuts us off from His enlightenment, power, guidance, and
comfort.
16:7.
“Then 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.”
Wheat is one of the symbols of
the written Word (which is itself the revelation of the Living Word), so the
lesson appears to be that Scripture, which is the spiritual food to nurture
spiritual life, is also given freely by God to every believer.
But as with the Holy Spirit,
so also with the Scriptures: a price has to be paid if we would understand the
written Word, and enjoy its comfort and guidance. Time must be taken to study
it, meditate upon it, and obey it, and again this entails giving up the world.
16:8.
“And 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.”
As noted above, the master’s
commendation was obviously not of the steward’s dishonesty, but of his
sagacity in planning so shrewdly for his approaching time of need, and in that
commendation we learn the lesson that it is true wisdom for men to prepare for
their supreme need: fitness to go from time into eternity, from earth to
heaven, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The truth of the Lord’s
observation concerning the wisdom of unbelievers relative to earthly things,
and their foolishness in regard to things eternal, is too obvious to require
comment: they will lose their souls, the Lord’s rhetorical question being,
“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his
own soul?” Mk 8:36.
The sad truth, however, is that
believers also, for the most part, by their diligence in connection with
earthly matters, and their sloth relative to those things which are eternal,
diminish the amount of the reward that will be given at the Bema for faithful
service rendered on earth.
16:9.
“And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of
unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting
habitations.”
The KJ translation is ambiguous
here. The Lord’s advice is not that we should make friends of those who are
unrighteous, but that we should use our money (mammon) wisely, for the spread
of the gospel, winning men to the Savior, they becoming our true friends, so
that when we “fail” (come to the end of life’s journey), those of them who may
have preceded us, will welcome us into our eternal home in heaven.
What folly, then, to be
squandering on ourselves, the money with which the Lord has entrusted us as
stewards, for the spread of the gospel! The realization that we must soon
render an account of our stewardship should make us think very carefully about
how we spend the money which the Lord has committed to our trust. We should
never forget that it is His, not ours, just as we ourselves are not our own,
but His, as it is written, “Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a
price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are
God’s,” 1 Co 6:19-20.
16:10.
“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.”
He who is trustworthy in small
matters can be trusted with the important, and vice versa. His reaction to
temptation reveals the true state of a man’s heart. When God tests us in
regard to small matters it isn’t to reveal to Him, but to us, the state of our
hearts, which He already knows. He is a very great fool who thus discovers
that he is untrustworthy, and yet continues to be dishonest. How can we
expect God to entrust us with anything, if for example, we can’t be trusted to
give Him the proper amount of our weekly offering, or if we give to the things
of this world time that should be given to worship, prayer, study, meditation,
spreading the gospel, ministering to other believers, etc.?
16:11.
“If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will
commit to your trust the true riches?”
The lesson is clear. If we fail
to use for Him the money with which He has entrusted us, how can we expect Him
to entrust us with anything that would enrich us eternally?
16:12.
“And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall
give you that which is your own?”
If we have been unfaithful with
what God has entrusted to our care, how can we expect Him to entrust us with
what would be profitable for us eternally? “... that which is your own” is
the reward given by God for faithful service. How can we expect Him to give
us what we have rejected by our failure to serve Him during our earthly lives?
16:13.
“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 (money).”
The two masters are God, and
Satan who uses money to entice men to neglect the welfare of their souls.
The natural man, because he
lacks spiritual life, has neither desire nor ability to serve God. It is very
different, however, with the believer: he does have the ability to serve God,
and in addition is free to choose whom he will serve, so that when he serves
Satan his offense is aggravated by the fact that he has not only deliberately
chosen to do so, but by that choice has deliberately refused to serve God.
This puts the believer’s disobedience in a far more serious light than many of
us are willing even to consider. And here a suggestion is offered that may
help in making the right decisions relative to our stewardship. When it comes
to using the money with which God has entrusted us we should ask ourselves
relative to every expenditure of it, Is what I wish to buy, necessary? Why do
I choose an expensive garment, car, house, etc., when a less expensive one
would do just as well? Will the expenditure of this money glorify the Lord
and make me a better servant?
Mammon was the ancient god of
money, and it must be realized that money is one of Satan’s most successful
tools for keeping sinners from trusting Christ, and for distracting saints
from His service.
16:14.
“And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they
derided him.”
These were the religious leaders
of the people, and things have changed but little since then, for their modern
day counterparts are as greedy of money as they, and as ready as they to
deride those who do seek to obey the Lord. It is little wonder that with such
an example the people are more interested in the things of this world than in
what pertains to the kingdom of heaven. But we’re missing the lesson if this
doesn’t lead us to consider whether we ourselves are equally covetous of this
world’s goods. Do we, for example, give to a job or business, to family or
house, to pleasure, etc., time and energy that would be more spiritually
profitable if given to spiritual things that would advance Christ’s kingdom?
It is frequently an eyeopening experience to keep a record for just one week
of what we do with our time.
16:15.
“And 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.”
Their righteousness was outward,
to deceive men, but what God saw in their hearts was loathsome, for few things
are more disgusting to God and men than hypocrisy. But again, if what the
Lord said of the Pharisees doesn’t lead us to examine our own lives, we have
missed the message.
16:16.
“The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God
is preached, and every man presseth into it.”
The prophets had foretold the
coming of the Messiah, and the setting up of His millennial kingdom following
His atoning death and resurrection, and had called upon men to repent so that
they might enter that kingdom, but Israel’s continued rejection of the
prophets had brought the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, followed by what
have come to be called “the four hundred silent years,” that is, the four
centuries before the Lord’s birth, during which time there was no message from
God.
But the ministry of John broke
that long silence, by declaring again the coming of the Messiah, and by
calling upon men to repent and trust in Him so that they might enter the
millennial kingdom. (As has been noted frequently in our studies, Israel
could have had the millennial kingdom following the crucifixion and
resurrection of Christ, followed by the judgments of the seven year
Tribulation, which He would have ended by His return in power and glory to
inaugurate that kingdom).
The result of John’s preaching
was that multitudes believed, repented, and were baptized; but with a few
exceptions, the leaders of Israel refused to listen, as their fathers had
refused to listen to the earlier prophets. Nor did the sins of the fathers
stop at rejection of the prophets’ message: they killed God’s messengers; and
now their sons were about to crown that wickedness by crucifying God’s Son!
“... presseth” is connected with
the idea of struggle or violence, and the thought appears to be that those who
would enter the kingdom would be they who would overcome all the obstacles
that keep men out of it, e.g., the claims of religious systems in which they
have been reared; the appeal of the world with its offer of wealth and
pleasure; the opposition of family and friends; the mockery and rejection of
men; the need to live in separation from the world, and to be witnesses for
Christ.
16:17.
“And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to
fail.”
The law here refers, not just to
the Mosaic law, but to the whole OT, while tittle refers to such minor things
as the dotting of an “i” or the crossing of a “t.” The truth being declared
is that not one small detail of that Word will go unfulfilled.
At first glance it seems as
though this has no connection with what has preceded, but it has a
connection. Israel’s crucifixion of the Messiah is clearly foretold in those
same Scriptures, as are the results of that atrocity; and the Jewish leaders
who professed to be exponents of those Scriptures were therefore, without
excuse, for they ought to have known all this. This generation is missing the
lesson, however, if it fails to realize that that same Word will also condemn
it for its rejection of Christ, and the attendant eternal results are also
declared in it. Believers too, are without excuse, for the same Word declares
also the eternal results that will attend our manner of life here on earth.
16:18.
“Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery:
and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth
adultery.”
At first glance it is difficult
to see what relationship this has to the fact that many of the common people
were crowding into the kingdom of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
but a more careful look reveals an essential truth. The wife in Scripture
represents the expression of a man’s spiritual life: the godly wife portraying
the expression of true spiritual life; the ungodly, the expression of what
passes with the natural man for spiritual life. The putting away of the wife
therefore represents rejection of the spiritual life offered as God’s
priceless gift to every repentant sinner, and the marrying of another portrays
the folly of seeking justification by any means other than faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, e.g., through moral reformation, church membership, religious
works, philanthropy, etc.
The lesson being taught in God’s
forbidding a man to marry a divorced woman is that salvation is a thing of
unsullied purity, as represented by a virgin. It is unique in that it cannot
be received from another, e.g., a child can’t be saved by the faith of a
believing parent; nor an unbelieving husband by the faith of his wife.
16:19.
“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and
fared sumptuously every day:”
It is reasonably certain that
the Lord had the scribes and Pharisees in mind when He spoke of the rich man,
but this doesn’t alter the fact that the application is to all who live for
the things of this world, and neglect the things that belong to the kingdom of
God.
The purple speaks of royalty,
and therefore of rule, while the fine linen speaks of righteousness; and the
sumptuous fare, of abundance of this world’s goods, so that the picture is of
one who possesses wealth and power, and who has an outward from of
righteousness, but no right relationship with God. Such were the Jewish
leaders, and so are many in the religious world today.
16:20.
“And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at this gate,
full of sores,”
Because the beggar is named,
many believe that this is not a parable, but actual fact. If therefore the
rich man represents the Jewish leaders, then Lazarus, meaning God is helper,
seems to represent the publicans and sinners whom the scribes and Pharisees
despised, but who obeyed the gospel and crowded into the kingdom. His being
full of sores announces symbolically that he represents those who made no
claim to righteousness, but repentantly acknowledged themselves to be sinners
who needed a Savior. He represents all who are willing to make the same
acknowledgment, and display the same repentant spirit.
16:21.
“And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table:
moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.”
This continues to portray the
outcasts of Israel who desired to have what the leaders considered of no
value: pardon for their sins. The self-righteous leaders, believing
themselves to be in no need of God’s pardon, despised the Savior and His
sin-atoning blood.
Inasmuch as the Gentiles were
commonly referred to as dogs, the reference here may be to the fact that the
Gentiles had more compassion for these outcasts than did the Jewish leaders.
16:22.
“And 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;”
Irrespective of state, all must
die (except that generation of believers who will be raptured from the earth
at the Lord’s coming for His Church); but what transformation death brought to
those two! The former beggar went to paradise; the former rich man, to hell.
And so is it with all men. At death believers enter heaven; unbelievers,
hell.
The beggar’s being carried “into
Abraham’s bosom” conveys the idea of his reclining beside Abraham at the
heavenly feast where every believer will dine with Christ.
It is interesting to note that
burial isn’t mentioned in connection with Lazarus, though assuredly he also
was buried, and in this omission God would emphasize how little power death
has over the believer. It can only cause his body to sleep until the
resurrection of life. A corpse is buried; a sleeping person, just covered
until he awakes.
16:23.
“And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar
off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
It is to be noted that prior to
the Lord’s resurrection, hell (Gr., Hades; Heb., Sheol) was in the heart of
the earth (Eph 4:9), and consisted of a place of torment, which was separated
from paradise by a great impassable gulf. Hell now consists only of the place
of torment, for at His resurrection the Lord took with Him the souls in the
paradise section (Eph 4:8), that place of bliss since then being located in
heaven.
Hell is to be distinguished from
the lake of fire in that only the souls of unbelievers go to hell,
while their bodies lie in the grave, to await the resurrection of damnation (Jn
5:29), which will be followed by the judgment of the great white throne, from
which the unbeliever - body, soul, and spirit - will be cast into the eternal
torment of the lake of fire (Re 20:11-15). Hell too, is a place of flame and
torment, see verse 24, and Mk 9:43-48.
What remorse must have gripped
the rich man as he remembered all the times on earth when he had “fared
sumptuously,” sharing with the beggar at his gate only the left over scraps
that were being thrown to the dogs! Now he himself is infinitely and
eternally worse off than Lazarus had ever been during the few years of his
earthly life.
16:24.
“And 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.”
There is nothing to indicate
that while on earth he had ever thought of needing mercy - or, for that
matter, of showing mercy - but the truth is that he was as much in need of it
then as in his present torment, and this is true of all men. Furthermore, it
was on earth that mercy was available, but having left earth, he had passed
for ever beyond hope of mercy, as does every man after death. It is by his
own choice made on earth that a man enjoys mercy, or suffers torment
eternally. Change of state is impossible in eternity.
As to the reality of hell, those
who deny it make Christ a liar, and His death unnecessary; and the same is
true of those who attempt to minimize the reality of the torment to be
suffered for ever by all who die without having been born again through faith
in His death and resurrection. It is interesting, in fact, that those who
deny the reality of hell, but maintain the reality of heaven, ignore the
biblical references to the lake of fire, and never offer any explanation as to
where those unfit for heaven will be eternally.
His addressing Abraham as
father, and Abraham’s calling him son, reminds us that while he may have been
able to claim physical descent from Abraham, he was not of the line of faith
descended through Isaac, as it is written, “For they are not all Israel, which
are of Israel: neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all
children: but, in Isaac shall they seed be called. That is, They which are
the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children
of the promise are counted for the seed,” Ro 9:6-8.
16:25.
“But 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.”
As the rich man was told to
remember, so will all who find themselves in that awful place of torment. And
what will they remember? Their indifference to, or mockery of the gospel,
their contempt of those who tried to warn them, their eager pursuit of wealth
and pleasure, will certainly be among their bitter memories. They who on
earth had no time to think about their souls, will have all eternity to bewail
their folly, first in the torment of hell, and eternally in the torment of the
lake of fire.
How different it will be with
those who were willing to be mocked for their testimony in the gospel, who
were willing to forego the pursuit of wealth and pleasure, so that they might
devote themselves to the service of their Savior! Like Lazarus, they will be
comforted for what they were willing to endure on earth for His sake, and in
addition will enjoy the pleasures and wealth of heaven for ever.
16:26.
“And 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.”
That great gulf separating the
place of torment and the place of bliss (both of them located in hell prior to
Christ’s resurrection) couldn’t be crossed , and with paradise now in heaven
the distance separating the two is even greater. Man on earth chooses his
eternal dwelling place. There is no choice after death. The myth of
purgatory is not to be found in Scripture.
16:27.
“Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to
my father’s house:”
16:28.
“For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come
into this place of torment.”
He who on earth had apparently
given little or no thought to spiritual things, in a lost eternity had no
other concern, and so is it with the multitudes in hell. Now too late, they
are all believers!
Since five is the number of
responsibility, his having five brothers reminds us that it was his
responsibility to think about his own soul and theirs also, while he was on
earth. We have similar responsibility to warn unsaved relatives, friends,
coworkers, neighbors - all, in fact, with whom we have any opportunity to
communicate. Tomorrow there may be no opportunity to warn anyone and declare
the good news of the Gospel.
It continues to be emphasized
that hell is a place of dreadful torment, and that knowledge ought to impel
every believer to greater diligence in proclaiming the Gospel.
16:29.
“Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets: let them hear them.”
Moses was the term used by the
Jews when referring to the Pentateuch (the first five books of the OT), so
what Abraham was saying was that the five brethren, in common with all men,
ought to give heed to what is written in Scripture, for it is there that men
are warned repeatedly, and exhorted to save themselves from hell by believing
in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
16:30.
“And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead,
they will repent.”
16:31.
“And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”
There is no other way to be
saved than by believing the Scriptures; and the truth of Abraham’s statement
that they wouldn’t repent even if one rose from the dead, is declared in the
fact that the Jews, not once, but three times, had been presented with just
such a miracle as the rich man was suggesting, for the Lord had raised at
least three people from the dead, one of whom was also named Lazarus, but the
response of the Jewish leaders was to seek to kill the Lord and the
resurrected Lazarus, see Jn 12:9-10. And even after He Himself had risen from
the dead, they refused to believe, and instead sought to kill those who were
witnesses of His resurrection, Ac 5:33; yet belief in His resurrection is an
essential part of saving faith, as it is written, “That if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Ro 10:9).
[Luke 17]