The Master of the House

Luke 16

Main Idea: The good steward who is shrewd, faithful, and obedient will receive the reward of God.

1. God’s Stewards Must Be Shrewd (16:1-9).
2. God’s Stewards Must Be Faithful (16:10-13).
   1. The character (16:10)
   2. The consequences (16:11-12)
   3. The challenge (16:13)
3. God’s Stewards Must Be Obedient (16:14-18).
   1. You can’t fool God (16:15a).
   2. God doesn’t love what you love (16:15b).
   3. God’s commands are what stand (16:16-17).
   4. God must be obeyed (16:18).
4. God’s Stewards Will Be Rewarded (16:19-31).
   1. Two persons (16:19-21)
   2. Two places (16:22-23)
   3. Two petitions (16:24,27-28)
   4. Two problems (16:25-26,29-31)

We don’t read our Bibles just to gain “Bible facts.” The main aim of reading the Bible is to get to know the Lord. God reveals himself most clearly and most reliably in the Bible through his Son, Jesus Christ. In the Bible God speaks to us and reveals himself to us.

Because the Lord is wise, he may speak to us in various ways about his character and actions in the world. Sometimes he simply states things about himself or the world in simple facts or propositions. But often the Lord teaches us what he and the Father are like by using pictures, symbols, and images in stories. In John 10 he tells us that he is “the good shepherd.” In John 6 the Lord says he is “the bread of life.” In John 15 he portrays himself as “the true vine.”

In all these images we learn not only what the Lord is like but also what our relationship with God is like. As the shepherd he cares for us. As the bread of life he feeds and nourishes us. As the true vine he supports our branches and gives us sap for life.

One image that’s not as popular as the good shepherd, the bread of life, or the true vine is the “master of the house.” Luke uses that image multiple times in his Gospel. This image teaches us that the Lord owns a house and all that’s in it. We find the image in 12:35-40, where Jesus tells a story about a master of the house who goes away for a while and will return at a day and time that no one knows. The Lord uses the master-of-the-house image again in Luke 14:16-24, where he tells the story of an owner of a house who throws a great banquet but no one comes.

In these stories Christ is the owner of the house and all that’s in it. The writer of Hebrews compares the Lord to the prophet Moses:

Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future. But Christ was faithful as a Son over his household. And we are that household if we hold on to our confidence and the hope in which we boast. (Heb 3:5-6)

So not only does the image of master of the house teach us about the Lord’s ownership, it also teaches us about our stewardship. Those who serve God are stewards or servants in the house, not owners.

That idea of stewardship runs throughout Luke 16. The Lord’s ownership is assumed. We relate to him as servants relate to the owner of a mansion. Luke 12:42 asks, “Who then is the faithful and sensible manager [or steward] his master will put in charge of his household servants to give them their allotted food at the proper time?” The Lord Jesus gives an answer in Luke 16.

God’s Steward Must Be Shrewd

Luke 16:1-9

Jesus tells a story to his disciples (v. 1). A disciple is one who follows Jesus and lives by Jesus’s teaching. God is “the rich man” in this story. The “manager” or steward represents the disciples.

Parables are stories intended to teach one main point. Here’s the point of the parable: God’s stewards must be shrewd. We must be shrewd in a certain way: by using the wealth of this world to get a home in the world to come. Let’s look at the parable together. Consider the flow of the story.

First, there’s the screwup (v. 1-2). The steward faces the charge of wasting the rich man’s possessions. In fact, the steward has failed to properly manage two things: (1) the rich man’s possessions as well as (2) his own reputation as a steward. In verse 2 the rich man “called the manager in and asked, ‘What is this I hear about you?’” That’s the steward’s reputation. He was known to mismanage the rich man’s possessions. He has screwed up.

Second, there’s the “hook up.” What does the steward do? He’s gotten too soft in his stewardship (v. 3). He’s “not strong enough to dig; [he’s] ashamed to beg.” He’s the kind of man with manicured hands, too good to work and too proud to panhandle. He apparently used his master’s wealth to indulge his own appetites. Verse 4 gives us his goal: He’s trying to figure out a way to live at other people’s expense. He’s a freeloader. So he hooks up the people who are in debt to the rich man so they’ll hook him up when he gets fired. He discounts their debt so that they are in debt to him.

Third, there’s the “big ups.” Verse 8 can be a confusing verse. The rich man actually praises the “unrighteous manager” for being shrewd. He gives him “big ups.” Why does the owner praise this dishonest servant?

In the second part of Verse 8 the Lord steps out of the story to interpret it for us. The rich man praised the dishonest manager because “the children of this age are more shrewd than the children of light in dealing with their own people.” The “children of this age” refers to people who are not disciples, who are not Christians. “The children of light” refers to Christian disciples. When it comes to worldly things, the world tends to be wiser about being the world than the Christian does. The world does worldliness far better than the saints. Which, incidentally, is why the church should never attract the world using worldly methods. We look like poor imitations of something we do not understand. So the parable, in praising the steward, does not encourage us to mimic the world in its worldliness.

Verse 9 gives us the punch line. Here’s what the Christian disciple or the steward of God’s possessions needs to do. We need to use “worldly wealth”—the money and possessions of the world—to make friends. The wealth is going to fail. Our money will fail us; it is not an adequate god to worship. So we need friends who outlive our wealth. In fact, we need friends who outlive our world. These need to be friends who can “welcome you into eternal dwellings.” These need to be friends who can give us homes with them that last forever.

What friends can do that? Only God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Any man who has God for a friend has a home without end. The Christian who stewards this world’s wealth to do God’s work God’s way will have God as a friend and heaven as home. Money in this world is for getting a home in the next world.

We are not good stewards if we cannot see beyond earthly dwellings and possessions to the home that is coming in the kingdom. So we must ask ourselves some questions. Do we recognize that all that we have belongs to God? He is the owner; we are merely the stewards, the caretakers. Do we use what we have in a way that pleases God or cheats God? Are we storing up for ourselves treasures in heaven, or are we trusting the world’s riches that will surely fail?

God’s stewards must be shrewd in how we handle his possessions. We need to handle them in a way that gets us an eternal home.

God’s Steward Must Be Faithful

Luke 16:10-13

You can be wise and still be unfaithful. That was the problem with the dishonest manager in the parable. He was crafty, he was shrewd, but he wasn’t faithful or true. He didn’t handle his master’s business correctly. So here the Lord emphasizes faithfulness.

The Character (16:10)

We discern the difference between the faithful steward and the unrighteous steward by considering what they do with “very little.” We can predict what people will do with great responsibilities by looking at how they handle small responsibilities (v. 10). Faithful in little, faithful in much. Unrighteous in little, unrighteous in much.

This isn’t simply a matter of ability; it’s a matter of character. That’s why the terms “faithful” and “unrighteous” are used. We’re looking at the character of the disciple. Character separates the good steward from the bad one. The Lord doesn’t say in verse 10 “unskilled in little;” the Lord says “unrighteous in little.” When the disciple fails to be a good steward, it is like promising God to take care of his things but then not doing it. It’s cheating the Lord.

The Consequences (16:11-12)

Verse 11 relates the consequences of this difference in character. If we can’t be trusted to be honest and faithful with “worldly wealth,” we can’t be trusted with “genuine” riches. The genuine riches are the treasures and glories of heaven. How we manage money in this life determines whether we receive the blessings or riches of the life to come.

If we can’t manage someone else’s property, why will the Lord trust us with our own property in heaven? That’s the point of verse 12. In heaven we move from being stewards to being owners together with God. We become heirs and coheirs with Christ (Rom 8:17), owners together of a kingdom God has promised to us. But we can’t be good owners if we can’t first be good stewards.

The Challenge (16:13)

Now here’s the real challenge: We cannot serve two masters. We cannot worship two gods. We must make up our minds. Will we serve the false god of money and possessions—which is idolatry—or will we serve the one living and true God who owns all things?

That’s really what determines whether we’re faithful or dishonest stewards. Who are we serving—God or money? We cannot be devoted to both. To be devoted to one is to hate the other. There are no two ways about it. Stewardship is worship. We declare who our God is every time we make a money decision. Either our money is Lord or Christ is Lord.

God’s steward must be faithful. Verses 10-13 define “faithful” as keeping good character, keeping consequences in mind, and keeping God first and only as Lord.

While I was writing this, the Lord began to address me about my own stewardship. He exposed weaknesses in my own thinking and behavior as a disciple. It left me with questions that I’ll now share with you.

• Where would you say you’re strongest as a steward: in character, in considering consequences, or in worshiping God alone?
• Where would you say you need to ask God for more grace and sanctification: character, consequences, or the challenge to worship God alone?
• Practically speaking, what decisions about money and possessions do you need to make differently in order to demonstrate your devotion to God?

The Lord’s teaching about discipleship as stewardship brings our faith down to real life. The rubber of discipleship meets the road of practical decisions about money and possessions. The Lord teaches us that we display our relationship with God in our decisions and actions as caretakers of his possessions.

God’s Steward Must Be Obedient

Luke 16:14-18

Verse 1 says Jesus began telling these stories to his disciples, but verse 14 tells us the audience changed. When it says, “The Pharisees . . . were lovers of money,” it means that they did not love and serve God (see v. 13). Money was their master, not God. They were devoted to riches and possessions, not God’s will. When they heard Jesus teaching stewardship, they rejected his teaching and they scoffed at him. They made fun of the God who came to save them.

The Lord says four things to these religious people who did not truly love God.

You Can’t Fool God (16:15a)

The Pharisees were good at convincing people that they were holy, that they were God’s people. They were good at convincing people that they were the ones who truly obeyed God’s law. They were so good at convincing people that they eventually brought people under the yoke of their traditions. They emphasized their outward show of piety and religiosity. They seem to have reached the point where they believed their own hype.

Here’s the difference between the Pharisees, the people, and God—“Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). They could fool men, but they couldn’t fool God. God knows their hearts.

What’s striking about verse 15 is how often you hear people saying “God knows my heart” as a way of excusing their sin. It’s their way of saying, “God will be OK with me. God understands and accepts my sin.” But when Jesus talks about God knowing our hearts it’s to make it plain that we can’t fool God. His judgment will be perfect. He will see our thoughts, our motives, our desires, our feelings, and everything else that is under the surface of all our pretending. We should tremble when we read, “God knows your hearts.” It’s the very knowledge of our hearts that creates the crisis with God! This is why we don’t want to treat our hearts as the best guide to life. Our problem is our heart. As Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?” We may fool ourselves and others, but we will not fool God. God knows who we are all the way down to the bottom of our souls. How foolish it is, then, to risk heaven and hell with a weak appeal to “God knows my heart.”

God Doesn’t Love What You Love (16:15b)

“For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight.” People tend to think others love what they love. We should not make the mistake of thinking God values something because we value it. God’s ways and thoughts are not like ours; his ways and thoughts are higher (Isa 55:8-9).

If we love a thing like money to the point that it rivals God, then it becomes an idol. If we should not trust our hearts, then we should not trust our loves either. We should test our loves by God’s Word as well. We must be careful to ensure we love what God loves and that the things we love are not revolting in his sight.

Men have a tendency to worship their possessions. That’s what’s going on with these Pharisees. They’re like the rich young ruler. That’s the man who went away from Jesus sad because Jesus told him to sell all he had and give to the poor (18:18-23). The man had a lot of things, and those things had a hold on his heart. Whenever we exalt things before God, God calls them revolting! God hates idols. He views them as unclean. The heart that loves money loves an abomination that God hates.

God’s Commands Are What Stand (16:16-17)

The Pharisees preferred their own way of life based on the love of money. They rejected the teaching of Jesus and laughed at it. When they did that, they were rejecting the very commands of God. That’s why our Lord says about the Bible in verses 16-17,

“The Law and the Prophets [the Old Testament] were until John [the beginning of the new covenant]; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urgently invited to enter it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to drop out.”

Nothing God has ever said and written in his Word has an expiration date. No requirement of God for his people has “void” written on it as if it were a cancelled check.

God’s Word continues in force. Christ fulfills it, but that does not give us warrant to conclude, “That’s the Old Testament; it does not apply.” Or, “That’s something in New Testament times, and times have changed, so we don’t have to obey it.” Those are terrible ways of looking at God’s Word. God’s Word will stand—every jot and tittle—until it is all fulfilled and Christ returns. The Word of God obligates us until the return of Christ. By the Word of God we come to understand how Christians should manage God’s house as stewards.

God Must Be Obeyed (16:18)

This seems like it comes out of nowhere. How does Jesus go from discussing stewardship and possessions to talking about divorce and adultery?

Think about where your thoughts have gone while reading this. Chances are, at the mention of “stewardship” you began to think about your own money and spending decisions. Then, there’s a good chance you began to think not just about yourself but about your family—their needs, limitations, and desires. So eventually the mind focuses on our relationships. Here the Lord calls to mind the most intimate and fundamental of relationships. He views marriage as a stewardship. How we manage or care for that relationship matters to God.

So in the context of obedient stewardship as required by God’s Word, it makes perfect sense that Jesus should speak against adultery to a religious people who believed you could get a divorce for almost any reason. Some rabbis in ancient Judaism supported divorce for “offenses” as minor as a woman burning her husband’s food or the husband simply finding her displeasing in some way. Sinful humanity has had a low view of marriage from the time that Adam blamed Eve for eating the fruit down to our day of no-fault divorce.

Jesus speaks into that culture to remind us that we don’t steward only possessions, but we steward relationships as well. Though we live in a fallen world where marriages end for all kinds of reasons—sometimes good ones and sometimes despite the best effort of one spouse—God intends our marriages to be lifelong. He intends us to steward that relationship until the very end, the way Christ cares for his bride until the end. If we won’t steward the blessing of marriage but live adulterously, then we shouldn’t think we can steward the blessing of riches and live faithfully. We should not convince ourselves that we will be faithful to our covenant with God if we express covenant disloyalty in relationship with our spouse.

We can’t fool God. God doesn’t love what we love. His Word stands forever. So all who call themselves “Christians,” “disciples,” or “stewards” must obey God.

Is there any area of your life where you trick others into thinking you’re religious but the truth is something different? Have you soberly considered that God knows your heart and can’t be fooled? Is there an area of our life where we think God must be pleased with us or with something we’re doing simply because it pleases us? Have we considered that that area or thing, if it’s contrary to God’s Word, is revolting in God’s sight? Have we been thinking God’s commands no longer apply to our life or that we do not have to obey God? Let us be suspicious of any notion that it’s okay to disobey God. Finally, how are you stewarding your relationships in your home, in the church, and in the community? Do we manage our relationships in a way that demonstrates we are God’s servants?

God’s Stewards Will Be Rewarded

Luke 16:19-31

Two Persons (16:19-21)

The story features a “rich man” and “a poor man named Lazarus” (vv. 19-20). The rich man remains anonymous, but the poor man is named, perhaps a hint at God’s particular care for the poor and oppressed. The rich man was clothed in “purple and fine linen”; Lazarus was “covered with sores.” The rich man was “feasting lavishly”; Lazarus begged to be fed with crumbs from the rich man’s table. The lives of these two persons couldn’t have been more different.

Two Places (16:22-23)

Both the rich man and the poor man die (v. 22), but they go to two different places. “The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side”—which is a way of referring to heaven. The rich man “was buried. And being in torment in Hades.” Hades refers to hell. The Lord tells us here that his people are very often and more likely the poor and outcast rather than those who live for riches. If we’re getting to know Jesus, we must recognize that Jesus believes in a real heaven and a real hell. The person who dies will go to one of these two places. There is no in-between, no purgatory, no do-overs or mulligans. God appoints a person to die once, and after that comes judgment (Heb 9:27).

Two Petitions (16:24,27-28)

Lazarus never speaks in this story. He is named, but he is silent. The rich man speaks twice. He pleads with Abraham for two things. First, he is in hell crying out for mercy. He wants just a drop of water to cool his tongue because he is “in agony in [the] flame” of hell. He’s gone from feasting sumptuously to thirsting in anguish. Verse 24 gives us a picture of the desperation of hell, of the agony of conscious torment in God’s condemnation.

Second, the rich man pleads for his family—but only after he pleads for himself. Sinners remain selfish even in hell. “‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house—because I have five brothers—to warn them, so they won’t also come to this place of torment’” (v. 27). Even in hell, this rich man thinks Lazarus should serve him. He’s unrepentant of his selfishness and his lack of love for the poor.

The rich man remains fully conscious of his suffering and torment. Hell is not a dream or a place without feeling. The Bible does not present the afterlife as sleep or as annihilation without suffering. It’s a place of intense suffering because God has removed even that common grace that we so much enjoyed in this life even if we are not Christians. Being utterly removed from grace leaves only misery and sorrow. We cannot imagine what horrible, horrible suffering is the removal of God’s love and mercy.

The rich man does not want those he loves to join him in Hades. If our loved ones who died apart from Jesus could speak to us, they would tell us to repent, follow Jesus, and not come to hell. Many are tempted to leave the faith or reject Christianity because they cannot stomach the doctrine of hell. The sad irony is they would be doing the very opposite of what their loved ones in misery would encourage them to do!

When I think of the doctrine of hell, I can’t help but think of my father. Unless my father repented and placed his faith in Christ at a time I’m unaware of, he is now the rich man in Hades. He would, because he loved me, urge me not to turn from Christ. He would warn me against coming there. He would tell me not to be troubled by him but to rest in Christ. Certainly don’t flee the only path of salvation, which is faith in the Son of God crucified, buried, and resurrected to rob hell of its victims. He would call me to be wiser, humbler, and more clear-eyed than him by trusting Christ as Lord and Savior.

Beloved, perhaps you have a loved one who died apart from Christ and it troubles your soul. I understand that pain. But your loved ones would not have their departure keep you from heaven and the love of God. They would have you confess your sins to God, turn away from sin, and trust in Christ as your Savior.

Two Problems (16:25-26,29-31)

But there are two problems. Lazarus had a lifetime of suffering (v. 25). Now it’s his turn to enjoy the comfort of being with God. All our suffering will be turned to comfort in the presence of God. Suffering will give way to glory. The first will be last, and the last will be first. No one who trusts Christ will face shame in eternity. Lazarus sits with Abraham—a picture of fellowship with God—and it will never be taken from him.

There will be no changing things after we die. There’s a great chasm firmly in place so that no one can pass from hell to heaven or from heaven to hell. Once you’re in heaven, you’re in heaven. Once you’re in hell, you’re in hell. There can be no change of address.

There’s a second problem. People who will not believe God’s Word will not believe even a great miracle like someone coming back from the dead (vv. 29-31). The Old Testament (“Moses and the prophets”) is enough to get someone saved from hell and into heaven, provided they believe it. The rich man’s family had enough gospel in those Scriptures to come to God and be saved. A person who will not believe the Bible and repent of sin will not believe and repent even with a resurrection. How many mock the good news of the resurrection!

There are some who hear “the good news of the kingdom of God” proclaimed and urgently “enter it” (v. 16). This urgency begins with turning away from sin, away from their desires, and away from the world in order to follow Jesus wherever he leads as Lord and Savior. This urgency to enter the kingdom continues with obedience to Christ and growing in holiness. The reward will be the comfort and joy of being with God in glory.

Don’t be like this rich man. The Lord said in Verse 9 that riches will fail. It’s certain. This man discovered that, didn’t he? He lived a great life with fancy clothes and lavish feasting, but his money couldn’t buy him heaven. He could not escape hell once there. He couldn’t even warn others. The gospel is only good news to us if we respond in time. We must repent and believe before we die so that we might have Christ as our friend and an eternal dwelling with him.

Conclusion

How will you steward your one soul? How will you steward the good news of Jesus Christ? Will you use this life to take hold of eternal life, or will you waste this life and suffer forever in hell? Be a good steward. Use what you have heard to gain what you have not yet seen.

Christian, what a great stewardship we have. What an amazing thing God has done in making even our ordinary stewardship decisions foretastes of the faithful reward we will receive from God. We are but stewards now; but if we prove faithful, we will be coheirs of all in the kingdom, and our hearts will be filled with his glory.

Reflect and Discuss

1. Do we recognize that all that we have belongs to God?
2. Do we use what we have in a way that pleases God or cheats God?
3. Are we storing up2s for ourselves treasures in heaven, or are we trusting the world’s riches that will fail?
4. Where would you say you’re strongest as a steward: in character, in considering consequences, or in worshiping God alone?
5. Where would you say you need to ask God for more grace and sanctification: character, consequences, or the challenge to worship God alone?
6. Very practically: What decisions about money and possessions do you need to make differently in order to demonstrate your devotion to God?
7. Is there any area of your life where you trick others into thinking you’re religious but the truth is something different? Have you considered that God knows your heart?
8. Is there an area of our life where we think God must be pleased with us or something we’re doing simply because it pleases us? Have we considered that area or thing might be revolting in God’s sight?
9. Have we been thinking God’s commands no longer apply to our life or that we do not have to obey God?
10. How do you feel about the doctrine and reality of hell? How does the rich man’s testimony from Hades affect your understanding of hell and what those there would desire for those still living?