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 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 “‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.
16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it. 17 It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.
18 “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises 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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