There is no video this week...but we do have more coming!
Text: This week we’re
covering Luke 16:1-18 dealing with one
of Jesus’ most misunderstood parables and related teachings about faithfulness,
divided love, and money. Try to look for the thematic unity that ties these
different elements of this passage together.
Other passages to read: We
encourage you to read "horizontally" in these passages that are
parallel or provide background information to our text from Luke:
·
Parable of the Dishonest Manager: Unique to Luke. Re-read
Luke 12:42-48; See also 1 Cor. 9:17-18; 1 Chronicles 29:14 & 16 for
stewardship concepts.
·
Faithful in a little: Matthew 25:21,23; Luke 19:17; Psalm
33:4; Proverbs 14:21-23
·
Two Masters: Matthew 6:19-24; 1 Timothy 6:6-10;
Deut. 6:4-7.
·
Divorce: Matthew 5:31-32; 19:9-12; Mark 10:2-11;
Malachi 2:15-17; 1 Cor. 7:11-14
·
Law & the Kingdom of God: Matthew 11:12-13;
5:17-20; 1 Chr. 28:9; Deut. 4:28-30; Psalm 105:3-5.
Points to ponder: In your
study this week, you might want to think about one of these questions:
·
How is this parable connected to the parable of the
Lost Son which immediately precedes it in 15:
·
Why
doesn’t the master in the parable annul the illegal transactions that defraud
him?
·
Why
does the master commend the dishonest manager?
·
How do we see the justice and mercy of God
demonstrated in this parable?
·
In this passage we see a several pairs of
contrasting terms. What are they and how do they define each other?
·
How do the themes in verse 15 relate to the rest of
chapters 14-16?
·
Why is this apparently random verse about divorce
(v.18) included here?
We try to answer these questions on the
Jesus4Everyone blog in the next week’s post.
Questions to ask ourselves: The
following questions are intended to help us move towards greater application of
what we learn about Jesus…
- When you think about what
you have, is your default setting to think of it as your or as God’s?
- In what ways do you use the
assets entrusted to you to invest in others?
- List at least seven things
we know to be true about God’s character (especially as revealed in Christ
Jesus) that we have seen since we began this series.
- Should our knowledge of
the character of God effect how we use his resources? If so, how?
- Do we have a willingness to act on our deepest beliefs about God’s character? If so, how will we do so this week? Write down at least one way specifically.
Pastor
Randy’s Sermon Notes: The
Shrewd Steward Who Acted Swiftly(16:1-16)
Stewardship
= God is the owner of everything that I
have and all that I am.
·
We need to realize the only money we have is the Master's money.
·
One day our money will be gone, and we’ll
be gone from our money, so invest it wisely.
2. Faithfulness is revealed in the little things – because trustworthiness has to start somewhere. (v.10)
3. There is a correlation between how you handle money and how you handle people. (v.11-12)
4. You can worship your money or worship with your money? (v. 13-16)
Quotes & Commentary:
“From a parable about money, Luke
moves us to actual teaching about money; the chapter will end with another
parable in which money is both part of the story and part of the point. This
passage contains some of Jesus’ strongest and most explicit warnings about the
dangers of wealth, and experience suggests that neither the church nor the
world has taken these warnings sufficiently to heart. Somewhere along the line
serious repentance, and a renewed determination to hear and obey Jesus’ clear
teaching, seems called for.” (N.T. Wright, Luke
for Everyone, 196)
v. 7 The steward knew the gracious character of
the Master, yet chose to serve money. In
context, what does this say about the Pharisees (v.14)?
v.8 Jesus means to say that he cites
this example of shrewdness because it illustrates the point. "This is the
moral of the whole parable. Men of the world in their dealings with men like
themselves are more prudent than the children of light in their intercourse
with one another" (Plummer). We all know how stupid Christians can be in their
cooperative work in the kingdom of God, to go no further. (Robertson's WPNT)
Superficially, the parable appears to present
a story of a steward who cheats his master and is commended by Jesus for being
a liar and a thief. (Bailey, JTMEE, p. 333)
This parable needs to be
examined in light of what precedes it. Bailey is
convinced that this parable continues to discuss theological themes that appear
in the parable of the prodigal son. The subject is God, sin, grace, and
salvation—not honesty in dealing with money. (T.W. Manson, writes, “[It] may
almost be regarded as an appendix to the parable of the Prodigal Son.”) Bailey
p. 332
v. 10-13 Several lessons here: 1)
No servant can serve two masters. (Possessions press for mastery. Seeks to
usurp God’s place in human life.); 2) If you have not been faithful in
unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the truth to you? ; and 3) If you are not
faithful in what is another’s, then who will give you what is your own?
Make sure to read the related devotional journaling
(SOAP) post at http://b4lukejournal.blogspot.com.
Previously on Ponderables:
·
To whom are these parables
spoken?
There are at least two audiences. The first audience seems to be the Pharisees
and scribes. These stories are told to them. The second audience is made up of
tax collectors and sinners they get to listen in on the confrontation as Jesus
answers the Pharisees in parables. There is also a potential third audience
though they are not mentioned…Jesus’ disciples. How does that
shade our interpretation? We need to put ourselves into their sandals.
How would a Pharisee have heard these parables? Like the older brother in
15:25-32. But we should not lose sight of the other audience
·
If we read these parables from
a Trinitarian perspective, where do we find the Trinity and what can we learn
about God—as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? We might see Jesus the Good
Shepherd seeking the lost sheep, rejoicing over it, and carrying it back to the
flock; the illuminating and cleansing Holy Spirit in the parable of the coin;
the loving Heavenly Father in the parable of the Lost Son. God seeks the lost,
he celebrates over sinners that repent and he welcomes us by lavish grace into
honored fellowship with Him.
·
How right is it to leave the 99
sheep to go and find the one lost sheep? Is there an ethical challenge in this
parable?
Not really. There are two factors in play here. First, with a flock this size
there would be other shepherds to watch over the sheep left behind. Secondly, If
we look carefully at the text the sheep were left “in the open country” (v.4)
where they would be safe from lurking predators, hidden thieves, and dangerous
falls.
·
Remember, as we study the
Bible, the question we should ask is always what does the Bible say? What did
the author intend it to say to the original audience in its original context?
This is what it means. The question is not, “What does it mean to you?” So,
what is the clear, simple, challenging message of each of these parables? God
rejoices over repentant sinners…will we enter into his celebration? To the
second audience, “Will we come to our senses, repent, stop wasting our lives as
slaves and return to the Father as sons?” As the third audience, will we seek
the lost as long as it takes, with whatever effort is required and fully accept
the repentant sinner into the family?
·
What does “prodigal” mean and
what are two ways it could be used in the parable of the Lost Sons? It
means someone who spends recklessly or wastefully. In this parable the younger
son does this with his inheritance. But what we don’t see is the Father’s
prodigal love and grace! He crosses the line of cultural acceptability at least
three times: when he gives the son his inheritance, when he runs to meet the
returning son and fully restores him, and when he goes out to entreat the older
son to enter into his joy!
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