By the fourth century the parable of the unjust manager ..... which we read today ...... and the parable of the prodigal son were separated by ..... a chapter division.
If the monks who established those divisions ...... had kept the two parables in the same chapter, ....... The entire history of the interpretation of this parable ..... I believe.... would be different.
This Parable and the Prodigal Son both have a noble master who demonstrates extraordinary grace to one who has become wayward.
Both stories contain an ignoble son or manager ..... who wastes the master's resources.
In both cases the son or manager ..... unknowingly or knowingly ..... throws himself ..... on the mercy of the noble master.
These parallels suggest ..... that the parable of the unjust manager needs to be examined in light of the three parables that proceed it. The Lost Sheep---The Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son.
I am convinced that this story continues to discuss ...... the theological theme ..... that appears in the parable of the prodigal son.
The subject is........ God, ... sin, .... grace and salvation... It is Not honesty when dealing ..... with money.
Superficially, .... the parable appears to present the story of a manager .....who cheats his master .... and is commended by Jesus for being a liar and a thief.
This parable is deeply embedded in Middle Eastern tradition and culture, ...... and it is to that culture ..... that interpreters should turn.
(Slow) How would Jesus' listeners ..... have heard this parable?
How would they have responded to it?
The scene states,
BIBLE "That a rich man had a manager... and charges were made against the manager for wasting the rich man's goods." END
Who brought these charges?
We are not told, ...... but the natural assumption is that the masters friends in the community told him ..... Not to trust his manager.
If the reports were from other servants, ..... the master would most certainly have investigated further.
Clearly, ..... the reports are from sources that the master ..... considers very reliable.
Now.... If the rich man had been a scoundrel, ...... the community would not have bothered to report ..... the managers wrongful activities.
The first line of the parable reveals three kinds of people: the manager, .... his master ..... and the community.
To grasp the parable's thrust, ..... the character of each ...... needs to be understood.
In this parable the community is just offstage .....but is still an important part of what happens .... on stage.
In all the parables of Jesus, ..... when there are two major characters: .... one is ignoble, and the other is always noble.
Both are never evil.
In this case, the manager is a liar and a thief, ...... but there is No Hint that the master is dishonest.
In addition,..... the reader must decide whether the story is about bankers .... or a story about farmers.
The language clearly presupposes a farming scene.
It focuses on rents to be paid by tenant's ...... and the rents are in the form of agricultural produce.... Not money.
The Greek word oikonomos (Oy-ka-no- mos) translated manager in this parable ..... can mean a manager of a farm or ...... a banker's agent.
Middle Eastern .... Arabic, Syriac and Coptic versions of this parable, ..... have consistently translated this keyword as: "estate manager" not as "banker."
After being informed of the managers dishonesty, the owner summons the manager and asks, ..... "What is this I hear about you?"
This question ...is a classic Middle Eastern opener... that is used before .... such a confrontation.
The manager does not know what information has reached the master, ..... and if he panics on hearing this question ... it will no doubt give the master ..... A great deal of insight.
But this particular manager ..... is too clever.
Indeed, ..... the master has probably used this same technique with his other servants.
What is this I hear of you?
The manager knows the game ..... and refuses to play.
He responds to this direct order ... with complete silence.
After a few tense moments, ... the master realizes that he cannot extract any new information from the manager, .......
But he already has enough reliable information ..... to fire him.
Accordingly, the master continues, BIBLE "Give me an accounting of your management,... You cannot be my manager any longer." END
The Greek word translated "accounting" has a distinct article attached to it .... which means ..... "the account books."
The manager is not asked to "balance the books" but to "turn them in."
In short, ...... he is fired on the spot.
Under Rabbinic Law at the time:
The appointment and powers of an agent may be revoked at any time with or without good cause, ........
And whatever the agent does after being removed is not binding on the principle.
In the story the master fires the agent in person, and from that point onward .........anything the manager does in the name of the estate is illegal.
The manager has been told to relinquish the account books.
Yet they are still in his hands .....and the account books ..... represent power.
From this point on in the parable.... the manager is an ex-manager ..... who has been fired ..... but still has the account books .
These two facts are critical to the rest of the story.
What would Jesus listeners of this parable .... expect this manager to do after being fired?
In a traditional setting in the Middle East, ..... a person in authority does not dismiss ......an ordinary servant, ..... let alone a manager, ..... without days of negotiation.
As a first response the manager could have said:"Bring in these liars who have told you I am stealing. ........ Let me confront them, ..... and we will see if the cowards have the courage to repeat their lives in front of me!"
But The manager does nothing .... He keeps silent.
In the East silence is consent ...... and in this parable silence ....... is a confession of guilt.
The managers silent acceptance of dismissal would be ...... stunning .... to the listeners.
It is not the tradition .... in the Middle East for an underling when dismissed, ....... to walk out of the room...... without pleading to be reinstated.
(Slow) It just does not happen ..... in this culture.
Now..... The next scene is a monologue by the manager ..... who has been fired.
On his way to collect the account books, the manager says to himself,
BIBLE "What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me?" He goes on, "I am not strong enough to dig." He continues, "I am ashamed to beg." END
He knows that he lacks the qualifications for begging that the community accepts : blindness, a broken back, a loss of a limb.
In the middle of reflecting on his "outcast state".... a light suddenly dawns... a new idea comes to mind.
His murmurings continue: ....
BIBLE "I know what I will do, so that when I am dismissed as manager people may welcomed me into their homes." END
This phrase is a saying that appears in other early Greek works .... and it means ....."to get another job."
He wants to manage someone else's estate, (Slow) but how can he achieve such a goal?
Now..... the staff is not aware ..... that he has been fired.
He was dismissed in private ...... yet the books are still in his possession.
He discovers that he has one last card that he can play ... and with daring ..... he proceeds to play it.
If he is simply fired for corruption, ..... no one will hire him.
But..... Being a clever scoundrel ... he dreams up a cunning scheme.
Beloved..... Remember this spiritual truth ...... Without repentance ...... sin begets sin.
After the servant was caught stealing ..... he should repent ..... and reform his life.
Instead he decides to steal more.
Following his preconceived plan, .....He does not go to his master's debtors.
He summons them to come to him ...... and is careful to talk to them individually.
The debtors receive their summons and respond ...... by going to the manager's office.
They would not dream of appearing ..... if they knew ..... that he had been fired ..... from his post.
It is not harvest time.
So.... The summons can only mean that the master has some important information ..... that he wants the manager ..... to communicate to them.
And these are precisely the assumptions that the manager .....wants the wealthy debtors to have.
On the debtors arrival, ..... the manager conducts private interviews, ..... not a group meeting.
Private interviews can be tailored to fit the various individuals, ...... while a group meeting might spin out of control.
The Manager wants to maintain control.
Take your bill, he states.... sit down quickly .....and write 50.
Each conversation is private, ...... and without witnesses, ..... who can prove what was said?
The manager knows exactly what he is doing.
The reason for haste is obvious.
These little deals will not be possible ..... once the manager surrenders the books.
The depths ......in the reductions ..... are enormous.
Fifty measures of oil was worth about 500 denarii, ...... which was the wage for a farm worker ...... for a year and a half.
The second debtor also receives an enormous reduction ..... even though the percentage is different..... it too is worth about 500 denarrii.
The manager wants the changes in their handwriting.
Why? .... so that anyone looking at the accounts will First...(1 Finger) recognize the handwriting
And secondly (2 Fingers) know that the renters have been contacted ...... and have accepted the terms in writing.
Each debtor makes the change in his rental agreement ...... and returns to the village to share the good news with family and friends.
As word spreads in the village ...... a festive mood breaks out in honor ..... of the most generous man ..... that ever rented land .... in the history of the village.
And also in praise .... of his manager ....... who convinced the master .......to make such huge reductions ..... in their rents.
When the interviews are finished, ...... the manager gathers the altered accounts ..... and probably with a smile ...... surrenders them to the master.
The master takes the accounts, ..... notes the changes recorded in the handwriting of his closest business associates ...... and quickly considers his options.
The Master is faced with two choices.
First, ...... legally he can go to the village and explain that the reductions were not authorize,
The manager had been fired at the time he made these deals, ...... he had no legal right to do anything in his name, ...... so the original amounts must be paid in full.
But such an action would turn ..... the festivities in progress ..... into a day of much sadness and despair.
Or, second, the master can remain quiet, ..... pay the price of This clever scoundrel .....and continue to enjoy his reputation ..... as a generous man.
A reputation which ...... was enhanced by this ruse of the manager ..... (Slow) not created by it.
The master is known in the community as a good and generous man.
In addition.....The Master is a generous because he dismissed the manager ...... but did not jail him.
Furthermore, ..... The Master is generous ...... for he could have sold the manager and his family as slaves to recoup his losses, ..... yet he did not.
His generous nature .... The Nature of the Master..... led him to refrain ..... from both actions.
The listeners of this story ..... would have known this ..... and would have understood the extraordinary grace of the master.
Even In light of this extraordinary grace , ....... the manager decides to risk everything on this one scheme ..... on this one roll of the dice.
The Manager builds this plan.... on the basis of his unshakable awareness.... of the generous nature ..... (Slow) of this Master.
Did the manager manipulate the Master to get his way?
No.... quite the opposite. He could not manipulate Mater to change his nature.
The listeners of this parable would have clearly understood.
Beloved...... We serve a God of Grace.
He is the same yesterday today and forever.
This Manager is an example of what the Scripture state we should not do...... and He ... " Sins .... that grace might abound."
The Master..... Does condemned him .... for his actions
Yet also praised him fully knowing and understanding .... The master's nature ..... of grace.
The community will discover the details ..... and will be amazed at the managers intelligence and daring.
They will not trust him ..... but will nonetheless employ him.
On the basis ...... that such a clever fellow.... "must work for us.... (Point to the other side) and not for them."
The master again ..... pays the price ..... of the managers salvation.
"The master commended the dishonored manager for his resourcefulness.
BIBLE "For the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light." END
Both The manager and the master become... heroes of the community. Yet for very different reasons.
Having procured a huge economic windfall for the village, ..... the community will find a place where the manager can be employed....... And watched!
Beloved.... There is a difference between I applaud the dishonored manager because he acted cleverly
And I applaud the clever manager because he acted dishonestly.
This was a fraud, but it was a most clever and ingenious fraud.
The manager is a scoundrel, ..... but he is indeed a clever scoundrel.
Jesus calls him "a son of this age .... A son of this world".
His morals are deplorable.
Yet ... The Manager is smart enough to know that his only hope ..... his only salvation.......is to put his entire trust in the unqualified mercy and grace .... Of the master.
Beloved, .... Jesus wants ..... "those in the light" ..... those that know him as Savior and Lord ... to be resourceful .... To step out in faith.
To trust completely ..... in the mercy ...... in grace of Our Master .....
To trust him completely ..... for our salvation.
Beloved .... You can Trust in the Grace of our Master.
For he is the same Yesterday... Today... and Forever....
Amen and Amen!
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Much of this Message is from a Book by Kenneth E. Bailey Titled "Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes" I commend it to you.
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