Luke 16 Devotional: Explore the Parable of the Shrewd Manager and the account of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Understand Jesus’ teachings on the stewardship of worldly wealth and the eternal reality of heaven and hell.
Dear brothers and sisters, peace in Christ. Welcome to Luke Chapter 16. Today, Jesus speaks to us with great urgency. He pulls back the curtain on the spiritual consequences of our earthly choices, challenging us to look past our bank accounts and into eternity. Let us listen with open hearts, asking the Holy Spirit to align our priorities with the values of the Kingdom.
Stewardship and the Great Chasm
Luke 16 contains two of Jesus’ most famous and challenging teachings. First, the Parable of the Shrewd Manager, which encourages us to use our temporary resources for eternal purposes. Second, the account of the Rich Man and Lazarus, which provides a vivid description of the afterlife. Jesus makes it clear that we cannot serve two masters; our hearts cannot be devoted to both God and Money.
What can we learn from this today? In this chapter, we see the finality of eternity. As your Statement of Faith affirms, we believe in the bodily resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous—the saved to eternal life with God and the lost to eternal separation from Him. Jesus warns us that our time on earth is a temporary stewardship. The rich man in the story didn't go to torment because he was wealthy, but because his wealth had blinded him to the needs of others and the reality of God's Word. This chapter serves as a wake-up call: our status in this world does not determine our standing in the next. We are saved by grace through faith, but a heart truly transformed by that grace will always show itself through compassion and a right handling of worldly things.
16 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
10 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.
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
13 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.
14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
15 And he said unto them, 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 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters." As we enter into prayer, let us ask the Lord to help us surrender our "treasures" to Him so that He alone sits on the throne of our hearts.
Dear Heavenly Father, We acknowledge You as the Creator and sovereign Lord of all things. Everything we have—our time, our talents, and our resources—belongs to You. We believe that Your Word is the final authority for our lives, and we take to heart the serious warnings Jesus gives in Luke 16.
Lord, forgive me for the times I have allowed the "cares of this world" and the pursuit of wealth to distract me from Your Kingdom. Help me to be a shrewd manager of the gifts You have entrusted to me. Give me eyes to see the "Lazarus" at my own gate—the people in need of Your love and Your provision. I thank You for the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, and I ask that the Holy Spirit would keep my heart fixed on things above rather than things on the earth.
We pray for our local church, that we would be a community known for its generosity and its care for the poor. We lift up those who are struggling financially today; may they experience Your miraculous provision and find their true security in You. We also pray for those who are wealthy in this world but poor toward You; soften their hearts to hear the testimony of the Scriptures before it is too late. We ask that the Church would be a faithful witness of the reality of heaven and hell, pointing a lost world to the only way of salvation. Amen.
Jesus taught that "whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much." What is one "small" resource or responsibility you have today that you can use specifically to honor God or serve someone else?
Does the Parable of the Shrewd Manager mean Jesus condones dishonesty? No. Jesus is not praising the manager's ethics, but his foresight. He is telling believers to be as diligent about their eternal future as worldly people are about their earthly future.
Is the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus a parable? While scholars debate this, many note that Jesus uses a specific name (Lazarus), which He doesn't do in other parables. Regardless, the spiritual truths are literal: there is a conscious existence after death and a "great chasm" that cannot be crossed.
What does "Mammon" mean? In many translations, this word refers to wealth or property, often personified as a false god. Jesus uses it to show that money can easily become an idol that demands our worship.
Thank you for joining us for this sobering and vital study of Luke 16. May you go out today with an eternal perspective, holding the things of this world loosely and the things of God tightly. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow for Luke Chapter 17.
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