The Parable of the Unjust Servant
Luke 16:1-13
This morning, we are studying one of Jesus’s parables. A parable is basically an illustration which is used to help understand an idea. This morning, we are studying the Parable of the Unjust Steward from Luke 16? What does Jesus want us to understand from this parable. Certainly, Jesus is not primarily concerned that one should be a faithful and accountable worker in one’s secular job. It is true that as Christians, we must strive to be both accountable and competent to our secular bosses. But this parable speaks to a higher accountability.
The parable begins with Jesus referring to “a certain rich man.” With the exception of the following parable of Lazarus and the Rich man in which Lazarus is named, parables always use the indefinite. the characters are not named. This does not mean that the parables Jesus taught use fictitious characters. This is up for debate among scholars. but just because Jesus does not name the characters as is typical of parables does not mean that Jesus has a certain person in mind when he spoke the parable. Perhaps this person was one of the people who heard the parable. We can look at the Old Testament where Nathan the Prophet told a parable about a certain rich man who stole a poor man’s only ewe lamb to Kind David. Then after David responds with indignation, Nathan cries out: “Thou are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7). The “certain man” also causes us to replace the “certain man” with someone we know, maybe even ourselves. This is meant to personally draw us into the parable itself.
The steward is also unnamed. He is accused of wasting his master’s goods. This does not necessarily say that he was dishonest and embezzled funds. It is possible that he was lazy and incompetent. But one could say that incompetence and laziness are in a sense a type of theft. At any rate, this steward’s reaction to the idea that he was about to fail an audit was crooked.
You can see the slothfulness of the steward in that he considered himself too good to have to resort to the plight of a common laborer. Neither did he wish to have to beg. This man was proud of his sloth. He had to come up with another solution. So he called his creditors in and asked them how much they owed. Did not the steward know how much they owed? The first owed a hundred measures of oil. He told that man to scrap that invoice and write down 50. The next man owed a hundred measures of wheat. His bill was reduced to eighty. By doing this, he hoped that one of them might offer him a job when he got fired.
The question I would ask is why these two creditors would hire such a manager. There is a truth that the one who steals for you will also steal from you. But this parable isn’t about these two men.
There is even a more puzzling question as to why the steward's current boss would commend such a dishonest and slothful steward for his cleverness. In English, one might condemn rather than commend because the words are similar in spelling, and a quick read might have one substitute for the word. What did the owner of the business see in this wretch? Perhaps he saw himself. Perhaps he had used trickery and dishonesty to rise to the position he did. The world has a different understanding of value. Perhaps he saw that he could blackmail this servant by telling him that from now on this man would be dishonest for him rather than against him. If he did not obey, he could be put into debtor's prison or to public shaming which this servant greatly feared.
But, again, this does not seem to be Jesus’ main point. What is the parable illustrating? One possibility is to illustrate the words: “Make friends of the unrighteous mammon so that when you are thrust out, they will receive you into everlasting habitations.” This everlasting habitation will obviously not be heaven. This is not he type of steward Jesus wants in His kingdom. What Jesus expects is faithfulness to the smallest detail. There is no room for sloppy service and wasting the goods that the believer has been entrusted with. In the Parable of the talents, Jesus expected his Servants to trade and profit from the money He had given them. The one who was given the least did absolutely nothing with his talent and was condemned for his fear and slothfulness. He was faithless in the small amount he was given. If he had been given more, he would have wasted more. True is the statement Jesus makes here when He says that the one who is faithless in lesser things is faithless and the one who is a little unjust will be greatly unjust if opportunity was given. Perhaps this is why the lord only gave the one man a single talent in the first place.
The other statement that this parable illustrates is the idea that one man can only serve a single master. The choice here lies between serving God or serving unrighteous mammon (money). This means that when we work for a paycheck for this world, are we working for an earthly boss and a worldly system, or are we really working for God. If we are working for God, then we must perform our work according to God’s expectations without worrying about getting ahead in the world. Many people in the workplace use unscrupulous means to get ahead. They will put their coworkers down or steal their ideas. Others sleep with the boss. The workplace can be a jungle. Bosses, too, can be unfair as well. there is no guarantee that honesty and integrity will get you promoted. I know someone whose boss wanted the accounting report for the company fudged so that he could trick an investor to invest in his company. This person got fired when she refused to do so. Of course, if the investor caught the cheat on an audit, the boss would have blamed her. We all know how the world works.
So how does a Christian get along in the workplace? First of all, some bosses applaud and promote hard work, loyalty, and integrity. Whosoever finds himself in a company like this should count himself blessed. But many have mean bosses in the workplace. Yet the same integrity and faithfulness to the Lord is expected here, even if it is not rewarded. Perhaps we should look at the following verses:
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1 Peter 2:18–20 NKJV
Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.
There is that word “commend” again.
I might also add that if one is competent and honest in his work, that it will still be noticed, even by bad bosses. You might not get a promotion. You might even be subject to ridicule. But if you are the only one that knows how to do the job, they have to find a way to keep you around anyway. But what is more important is that it is the Lord who will promote you, even if is the most unexpected of ways. Perhaps you will get a better offer from somewhere else. Perhaps your witness for Jesus will change hearts where you currently work. Whatever the case, we must trust the Lord to guide our paths, even in great difficulties.
The Lord will take care of those who cleave to the unrighteous mammon also. He has an everlasting habitation for the unrepentant sinner. How awful it would be to use unjust and worldly means to gain the world only to lose one’s soul in hell. Who shall warn them? Perhaps God has placed you in your current workplace for such a time as this. (See Esther 4:13-14) We think of the dangers that Esther faced with a very unpredictable king. But the king held out the scepter to her and all went well, and the Jews were saved from the intrigues of Haman.
Verse 14 tells us one extra piece of information. There were Pharisees in the crowd, and they were indignant. It also says they were covetous. Now we see the “who” of the parable. The Pharisees were an example of wanting to serve two masters. they loved money. they loved prestige. They were the slothful stewards. But instead of repenting, they made a deal with the world. the Pharisees were the target of the Parables of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Lost Son in the previous chapter, and they would be addressed in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus which follows.
So, we should be warned about remaining faithful to God. We should not trade on our Christian reputation as a means of getting ahead. This is rapidly becoming less of a problem in today’s society. It wasn’t too long ago that anyone running for public office had to at least appear to be a Christian. Today, being a Christian would disqualify that person. The desire to get ahead for those in the ministry can be a snare also. So many clergy are already looking for a promotion in their next appointment. The same worldly means to get ahead are employed in Christian service. We must submit to the will of God. If He chooses to promote us, so be it. If He keeps us where we are, sobeit. God is able to make us come into favor with others as well as to fall from faithful.
So in whatever calling we find ourselves, let us trust fully in the Lord and perform our work in a competent, diligent manner, that we might bear a good witness to Christ.
