Teaching on stewardship and the rich man and Lazarus

Luke 16 warns that money is a temporary trust from God, and the way a person uses it reveals where his heart truly is. Jesus teaches that wealth must be handled with foresight, faithfulness, and obedience to Scripture, because no one can serve both God and money. Those who ignore God’s Word, justify themselves before others, and neglect the needy face real and irreversible judgment.

Jesus shows that money is not morally neutral. It reveals whether a person is serving God or serving wealth. Those who use what they have with faithful, future-minded obedience show wisdom. Those who cling to money, ignore Scripture, and harden themselves toward the needy are moving toward judgment.

Luke 16 is one unified warning about wealth, the heart, and accountability before God. The chapter begins with Jesus speaking to His disciples, but the Pharisees soon enter the scene, and Jesus then exposes them directly. The repeated emphasis on riches, money, debt, stewardship, luxury, and poverty ties the whole chapter together.

In the opening section, Jesus tells a parable about a rich man and his manager. The manager has been wasting his master’s possessions, so he is called to give an account and told he will lose his position. Knowing that judgment is coming, he acts quickly. He reduces what others owe his master so they will later receive him into their homes. The man is explicitly called dishonest, so Jesus is not approving his wrongdoing. The point is narrower: the manager acted shrewdly. He understood that his present situation was ending, and he used the little time he had left to prepare for what was ahead.

That is the lesson Jesus presses. People of this world often show more practical foresight in pursuing their goals than God’s people do in preparing for eternity. So Jesus tells His hearers to use worldly wealth in a way that fits eternal realities. This does not mean that money can buy salvation. It means money belongs to this fallen age and must be treated as a temporary tool, not a lasting treasure. Believers are to use it wisely and mercifully for ends that matter before God, so that when earthly wealth fails, its use will prove fitting for those headed to eternal dwellings.

Jesus then states the principle even more plainly. Faithfulness in small things reveals what a person will be like in greater things. If someone cannot be trusted with ordinary money, that person is not fit to be entrusted with true spiritual riches. If someone is unfaithful with what belongs to another, he shows he is not ready for a greater trust. Money is not the highest thing, but it is a real test of stewardship because it exposes the heart.

This leads to the controlling statement for the whole section: no servant can serve two masters. A person cannot serve both God and money. Jesus leaves no middle ground. Wealth becomes spiritually dangerous when it takes the place of lordship in a person’s life. The issue, then, is not merely whether a person has money, but whether money has the person.

At that point the Pharisees respond. Luke tells us plainly that they loved money, and they ridicule Jesus. Their mockery confirms the very problem He has been exposing. Jesus answers by saying that they justify themselves before men, but God knows their hearts. Public reputation, religious appearance, and social approval do not deceive Him. What people highly esteem may be detestable in God’s sight.

Jesus then says that the Law and the Prophets were until John, and since then the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed. The wording is compressed and has been much discussed, but the main point is clear: with the proclamation of the kingdom, a new stage in God’s redemptive plan has arrived. Yet this does not mean God’s earlier revelation has been set aside. Jesus immediately adds that it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of the Law to fail. The kingdom proclamation does not weaken God’s truth or relax His moral will.

That is why the saying about divorce is not random. It gives a concrete example of how the Pharisees could appear religious while quietly sidestepping God’s commands. By treating divorce and remarriage lightly, they could maintain a public image while violating God’s moral standard. Jesus’ point is that self-justification often hides real disobedience.

The final account of the rich man and Lazarus shows where this path leads. The rich man lives in luxury every day. Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores, lies at his gate longing for scraps. The rich man’s sin is not described as open violence. The emphasis falls on his hard, comfortable indifference to obvious suffering right in front of him. He had the means to help and did not. Lazarus, though ignored by society, is not ignored by God. This is underscored by the fact that Lazarus is named.

After death, their situations are reversed. Lazarus is carried to Abraham’s side, a picture of comfort, honor, and belonging with the righteous. The rich man is in torment. The story teaches real judgment after death, and the division is final. The great chasm is fixed, and no one can cross it. The point is not to provide a full map of the unseen world, but it does clearly teach that judgment after death is real, conscious, just, and irreversible.

The rich man asks for relief, but none is given. He then asks that Lazarus be sent to warn his brothers. Abraham replies that they already have Moses and the Prophets. In other words, they already have the written Word of God, which sufficiently warns them and calls them to repentance. It also means the rich man and his brothers were not ignorant. They already had covenant revelation speaking to righteousness, repentance, and care for the needy. The rich man thinks a messenger from the dead would succeed where Scripture has not. Abraham answers that if they will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.

That ending gathers the whole chapter into one urgent warning. The deepest problem is not lack of evidence but hardness of heart. The Pharisees loved money, sought the praise of men, and refused to hear Scripture rightly. The rich man stands as the end of that same posture. His Abrahamic identity does not save him. His wealth does not save him. His concern after death cannot undo his refusal to listen during life. Jesus’ warning is therefore clear and urgent: hear God’s Word now, use money as a trust from God, care for the needy placed before you, and do not imagine that outward religion can cover a heart ruled by mammon.