Teaching on stewardship and the rich man and Lazarus

16:1 Jesus also said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who was informed of accusations that his manager was wasting his assets. 16:2 So he called the manager in and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Turn in the account of your administration, because you can no longer be my manager.' 16:3 Then the manager said to himself, 'What should I do, since my master is taking my position away from me? I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm too ashamed to beg. 16:4 I know what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.' 16:5 So he contacted his master's debtors one by one. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' 16:6 The man replied, 'A hundred measures of olive oil.' The manager said to him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.' 16:7 Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' The second man replied, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' The manager said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' 16:8 The master commended the dishonest manager because he acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries than the people of light. 16:9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, so that when it runs out you will be welcomed into the eternal homes. 16:10 "The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 16:11 If then you haven't been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches? 16:12 And if you haven't been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you your own? 16:13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." 16:14 The Pharisees (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed him. 16:15 But Jesus said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in men's eyes, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized among men is utterly detestable in God's sight. 16:16 "The law and the prophets were in force until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it. 16:17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter in the law to become void. 16:18 "Everyone who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. 16:19 "There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 16:20 But at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores, 16:21 who longed to eat what fell from the rich man's table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores. 16:22 "Now the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 16:23 And in hell, as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. 16:24 So he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in this fire.' 16:25 But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. 16:26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.' 16:27 So the rich man said, 'Then I beg you, father - send Lazarus to my father's house 16:28 (for I have five brothers) to warn them so that they don't come into this place of torment.' 16:29 But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them.' 16:30 Then the rich man said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 16:31 He replied to him, 'If they do not respond to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

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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.

• The dishonest manager is praised for foresight, not for dishonesty. - Money is a temporary trust, and its use reveals the heart. - Faithfulness in small things matters because it shows readiness for greater trust. - No one can serve both God and money. - God’s kingdom message does not cancel the truth and moral authority of His Law. - The rich man’s guilt is tied to hardhearted neglect and refusal to hear Scripture, not to wealth alone. - Judgment after death is real, just, and irreversible. - God’s written Word is sufficient to call people to repentance.

• Do not read the parable of the manager as approval of fraud. - Do not think Jesus teaches that money can buy salvation or eternal acceptance. - Do not treat the rich man and Lazarus as a full map of the afterlife
• its main purpose is warning. - Do not reduce the chapter to a simple condemnation of wealth itself
• the issue is money-love and unfaithful stewardship. - Do not assume dramatic miracles will overcome unbelief when a person refuses God’s Word.

Luke 16 assumes a covenantal world in which wealth is managed before God and the poor are protected by commands already written in Moses and the Prophets. The rich man and Lazarus uses familiar reversal imagery not to satisfy curiosity about the unseen world but to sharpen the warning. Across the chapter, the same disorder keeps surfacing: money is used for security, status, and self-defense rather than under God's claim, and that refusal of Scripture hardens into irreversible loss.

- Use money as something entrusted to you by God, not as your master. - Treat everyday financial faithfulness as spiritually important. - Care for needy people whom God has placed plainly before you. - Do not seek human approval while ignoring what God says about the heart. - Respond now to the Scriptures you already have instead of waiting for some dramatic sign. - Reject divided loyalty; when gain conflicts with obedience, choose God over money.

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