Loving God & Neighbor Series

"Loving God & Neighbor"

Luke 16:1-13

A sermon for 4/30/23

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Pastor John Bright

Luke 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. 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.’ 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. 4 I know what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So he contacted his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 The man replied, ‘100 measures of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The second man replied, ‘100 measures of wheat.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write 80.’ 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. 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.

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. 11 If then you haven’t been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches? 12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you 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.” New English Translation

Pause right there. Why are you listening to this? Do you want to become more like Jesus? The power of the Holy Spirit is available to you right now – right here! Do you want to become more like Jesus? It’s a question only you can answer.

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This week I am returning to Luke. We left off right before chapter 16. This chapter has 2 parables, but the second one is more of a teaching. Sandwiched in the middle is some description of the Kingdom of God that informs both parables. We see here a discussion about money and compassion that should challenge every last person listening to this sermon… as well as the guy who is preaching it!

Listen to two more verses of chapter 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. 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.” This is the center, the lynch pin, of the whole chapter. Jesus is telling the religious leaders that there are two ages:

• First was the Law & Prophets

• Then came the Kingdom of God

Things are going to be different in the Kingdom – especially when it comes to money and how we treat others.

There is a story about a newly married couple. The husband thought he had been ignored by his wife for several days, so he confronted her with what he perceived as the problem. “Come on, admit it,' he told her, 'You only married me because my granddad left me a million dollars, didn't you?'

So, she replied, “You really are silly, I couldn't care less WHO left it to you.” 😊

The Parable of the Clever Steward, v. 1-9

This parable of the dishonest manager is a tough one. It has to be looked at from the view of what is Jesus trying to teach about the Kingdom. The story begins with a man who handles the accounts of a rich man. This man is getting fired. That means he must come clean with all of his accounts. We are not told what the manager is accused of, but Luke uses the same Greek word for “wasting his assets” that was used in the last parable – The Prodigal Son – for how “he squandered his wealth.” (15:13) This manager has operated like a tax collector and added his cut on top of what was owed to the rich man. He feels that he has no other option than to make folks like him and that is accomplished by reducing the total bill for those who owe the rich man.