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Luke 16

Chapter Text

The Parable of the Unjust Steward

The Law and the Kingdom

The Rich Man and Lazarus

Summary

Jesus tells the parable of the unjust steward, who, about to be dismissed, shrewdly reduces the debts owed to his master in order to secure his future. Jesus commends the steward's prudence, not his dishonesty, and teaches about faithfulness in the use of worldly wealth.

The Pharisees, who love money, ridicule Jesus. He tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man lives in luxury while Lazarus, a beggar at his gate, suffers. After death, their fortunes are reversed: Lazarus rests in Abraham's bosom while the rich man is tormented. The rich man's plea for Lazarus to warn his brothers is denied.

Meaning

The parable of the unjust steward teaches that believers should be at least as shrewd in using worldly resources for eternal purposes as worldly people are in securing their temporal interests. The principle is that faithfulness in small things, including money, reveals the character that God will trust with true spiritual riches.

The story of the rich man and Lazarus reveals that earthly circumstances do not determine eternal destiny, but one's response to God's Word does. The rich man's failure was not his wealth but his callous indifference to the suffering at his own gate. Abraham's refusal to send Lazarus back from the dead warns that those who reject Scripture will not be persuaded even by a miracle.

Background

The unjust steward managed his master's estate and had authority to adjust accounts. His action of reducing debts may have involved removing his own commission, which would have been a more ethical interpretation of his shrewdness.

Lazarus is the only named character in any of Jesus' parables, which has led some scholars to view this as a historical account rather than a parable. The name means God helps. Abraham's bosom was a Jewish expression for the place of blessedness after death.

Chapter Outline

  1. vv. 1-9Parable of the Unjust Steward
  2. vv. 10-13Faithfulness and the Two Masters
  3. vv. 14-15Rebuke of the Covetous Pharisees
  4. vv. 16-18The Law, the Kingdom, and Marriage
  5. vv. 19-21The Rich Man and Lazarus Introduced
  6. vv. 22-26Death and the Great Gulf Fixed
  7. vv. 27-31Moses, the Prophets, and Unbelief

Key Verses

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.16:10

A foundational principle of Christian stewardship and integrity, teaching that small faithfulness reveals true character and qualifies one for greater trust.

No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.16:13

One of Jesus' most quoted sayings on divided loyalty, exposing the impossibility of serving both God and wealth as ultimate masters.

Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.16:15

A piercing rebuke of religious self-justification, contrasting human applause with divine evaluation of the heart.

If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.16:31

A sobering verdict on unbelief, foreshadowing that even Christ's resurrection would not convince those who reject Scripture's witness.

People & Places

People

  • JesusThe teacher addressing both disciples and Pharisees with parables on stewardship and eternal destiny.
  • The Unjust StewardA dishonest manager in Jesus' parable who shrewdly secures his future by reducing his master's debtors' bills.
  • The PhariseesReligious leaders described as covetous, who deride Jesus' teaching on money.
  • John the BaptistReferenced as marking the transition from the era of the Law and Prophets to the proclamation of the kingdom.
  • The Rich ManAn unnamed wealthy man in the second parable who lives in luxury and ends in torment after death.
  • LazarusA diseased beggar who dies and is carried by angels to Abraham's bosom.
  • AbrahamThe patriarch who, from paradise, converses with the rich man and refuses his pleas across the great gulf.
  • MosesCited alongside the prophets as the sufficient witness of Scripture that the rich man's brothers must heed.

Places

  • Abraham's bosomA place of comfort for the righteous dead, where Lazarus is carried by angels.
  • HellThe place of conscious torment where the rich man lifts up his eyes after death, separated by a great gulf from paradise.

Prophecy & Fulfillment

Verse 16 marks a pivotal redemptive-historical claim: 'The law and the prophets were until John,' identifying John the Baptist as the hinge between the old covenant era and the inbreaking kingdom of God. Verse 17 affirms the abiding authority of the law down to the smallest 'tittle.' Most strikingly, verse 31 carries a veiled prophecy of Christ's own resurrection — Jesus foretells that those who reject Moses and the prophets will likewise reject one risen from the dead, anticipating the unbelief that would follow His own rising and the namesake Lazarus of John 11.

Devotional

Luke 16 confronts us with the question of what truly masters our hearts. Jesus does not condemn possessions but exposes how easily they possess us, urging shrewd, generous use of wealth for eternal ends rather than fleeting comfort.

The parable of Lazarus and the rich man shocks us awake: indifference to suffering at our gate is not neutral — it is a verdict on our souls. Today, ask whether your private use of money, time, and attention matches your public profession.

Faithfulness in small, hidden things is the proving ground for everything God may yet entrust to you.

Literary Style

Narrative gospel teaching dominated by two parables framing didactic sayings. Features vivid dialogue, sharp antitheses (rich/poor, faithful/unjust, God/mammon), and an apocalyptic vision of the afterlife employing reversal, irony, and proverbial wisdom in classic Lukan form.