Daily Bible Reading (Friday, March 23rd)

10

Luke 16 (ESV)

 

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures[a] of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures[b] of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world[c] are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth,[d] so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? 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.”

The Law and the Kingdom of God

14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.[e] 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.

Divorce and Remarriage

18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side.[f] The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 16:6 About 875 gallons or 3,200 liters
  2. Luke 16:7 Between 1,000 and 1,200 bushels or 37,000 to 45,000 liters
  3. Luke 16:8 Greek age
  4. Luke 16:9 Greek mammon, a Semitic word for money or possessions; also verse 11; rendered money in verse 13
  5. Luke 16:16 Or everyone is forcefully urged into it
  6. Luke 16:22 Greek bosom; also verse 23

10 Comments

10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. " I love this verse. I feel it can apply to many other things. It's so helpful to remember how much one "little" sin can affect.

One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

Thinking on what I possess, how I use it. How I will use it when I start working full time, and secure a better salary. How I will manage a household one day, and be a steward with the gifts of family. Thinking how though I have yet to start at my new salary, yet to recieve a wife from the Lord, yet to have responsibility over these; how I can be faithful with the (little haha, except it's still not little in comparison to worldwide wealth, time etc.) that I do have. I commit to being a faithful steward by God's grace and pray for my treasure always to be eternal, always the pearl of great price, always my Savior.

The main theme of this chapter was the heart and it's affections. I think it really highlighted what we talked about on Sunday: investing in Christ supremely. If we're not investing in Christ supremely we are replacing God with someone or something else... which is idolatry. Thus, our heart and it's affections are a big deal. Is God supreme in my heart? Or am I letting other things take His place? So much to reflect on!

"For the sons of this world[c] are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light." I have always been fascinated by this statement. People in the world are generally much better at advancing their message and securing followers than the church. We can be very inefficient and the Lord is the one who made this comparison. Praying that we would be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves like the Lord calls us to in advancing the gospel (Matthew 10:16).

I think too many times we don't fully appreciate the power of God's Word. The rich man thought his brothers would listen if Lazarus rose from the dead, but Abraham says that God's Word is a much more powerful testimony.

I pray that I would be faithful with all the earthly treasures that God has blessed me with, in order that I would store up treasures in heaven. I can’t even imagine all of the treasures that our Lord has in store for his faithful followers in heaven.

Our time, money and possessions require proper stewardship and we need to realize they come from God. We must examine our hearts and make sure we are faithful in even the little things. On another note, the rich man in Hades was still so prideful that he wanted the lowliest of the low to serve him there. We must pray that we not be blinded by any pride, but be humble to all people, as they too, are made in the image of God.

Verse 13 -- you cannot serve two masters. Jesus keeps reminding us that we cannot have God and the world. A true believer is one who has chosen Jesus over the world. The struggle is to live that choice out in our daily lives. I pray we will all live like Jesus is our greatest joy, our deepest love, our greatest satisfaction!

The rich man and Lazarus is one of my favorite parables. I cant believe how much pain the rich man had to be in. Also he just asked for a drop of water to cool his tongue.

It is a good thing to use my money to gain righteous friends. We were watching a game show called “The Wall“ last night as a family, and Carilyn couldn’t understand why this lady was crying over a decision on a gamble for a safe bet of money or the risk a complete loss -vs- a large sum of money. I told her if all you cared about and loved was money, you would cry over this decision, but if you love God, you will cry over eternal things. v24: Eternal annihilation is not biblical. If this rich man is in flames here but is not annihilated, God can (and will) do the same thing in the lake of fire.

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