Luke 16:1-31

Luke’s Good News

Luke

Hilda Bright

Chapter 16

The *parable of the unjust manager 16:1-8

v1 Jesus said to his *disciples, ‘A rich man had a servant who managed his property. The rich man heard that his manager was wasting his goods. v2 So the rich man called his manager and said, “What is this that I hear about you? Give me a complete account of how you have dealt with my property. Because you cannot be my manager any longer”. v3 The manager thought, “My master is going to remove me from my job. What shall I do? I am not strong enough to dig. I am too proud to ask people for money and food. v4 I have decided what to do! Then, when I have lost my job, I shall have friends. They will invite me into their homes”. v5 So he called all the people who were in debt to his master. He asked the first one, “How much do you owe my master?” v6 “One hundred barrels of oil”, he answered. “Here is your account”, the manager told him. “Sit down and write 50 barrels”. v7 Then he asked another one, “And how much do you owe?” “A hundred sacks of wheat”, he answered. “Here is your account”, the manager told him. “Write 80 sacks”. v8 The manager was not honest. But the master praised him because he did such a sensible thing. For the people of this world manage their affairs in a more sensible way than people who belong to the *kingdom of God do’.

Verses 1-2 The manager had wasted his master’s goods. He had been careless as he did his duties. He may have been guilty because he used his master’s goods for himself. The master asked him to hand in his accounts before he lost his job.

Verse 3 The manager thought hard about how he could live in the future.

Verses 5-7 The people that he called may have owed rent to the master. They paid in goods rather than money. Perhaps they had bought goods from his master’s lands and promised to pay for them. The people in debt may have believed that the manager had persuaded his master to reduce the amount. They would be very grateful. It is more likely, however, that the manager had involved them in a wrong business deal. They would be willing to give him a home. Or perhaps they could not refuse to help him. He could accuse them of doing something wrong unless they helped him.

Verse 8 The master praised the manager. He knew that the manager was not honest. He did not praise him for that reason. But he praised him because he had been very sensible. He had thought about his future and made plans.

Jesus points out four lessons from the story 16:8-13

Lesson 1 16:8

v8 ‘The manager was not honest. But the master praised him because he did such a sensible thing. For the people of this world manage their affairs in a more sensible way than people who belong to the *kingdom of God do’.

Verse 8 People who are not Christians often manage their affairs with care. And they are sensible when they plan their future. Christians do not always show as much care when they think about God’s work and their own *eternal life.

Lesson 2 16:9

v9 Jesus went on to say, ‘So I tell you, use the wealth of this world to make friends for *yourselves. Then, when money is no longer any good to you, they will welcome you in heaven’.

Verse 9 *Disciples should use their wealth to help people who have a need. Then the people that they have helped will welcome them into their home in heaven.

Lesson 3 16:10-12

v10 ‘Whoever is responsible in small matters will be responsible in large ones. v11 Perhaps you have not been responsible, as you manage material wealth. Then no one can trust you with *spiritual riches. v12 And if you have not been responsible with someone else’s property, no one will trust you with true wealth’.

Verses 10-12 If people are responsible in small matters, they will be responsible in large ones. A *disciple uses goods that belong to God, not to him. He needs to show that he is responsible. God can then trust him to look after other people’s *spiritual needs. And then God can trust him with the riches of heaven.

Lesson 4 16:13

v13 ‘No servant can serve two masters. He will hate one and love the other. Or he will be loyal to one. Then he will think that the other one has no value. You cannot be the servant of both God and money’.

Verse 13 Nobody can serve two masters. He can be completely loyal to only one master. Nobody can have money as his master and *worship God at the same time.

The *Pharisees and the law 16:14-18

v14 When the *Pharisees heard all this, they laughed at Jesus. They laughed at him because they loved money. v15 Jesus said to them, ‘You are the ones who make *yourselves look good to other people. But God knows what you are really like. The things that people admire are worth nothing to God. v16 What is written in the Law of Moses and the *prophets had authority until the time of John the *Baptist. Since then, people have been hearing the good news about the *kingdom of God. Everyone tries hard to get into it. v17 But it is less difficult for heaven and earth to disappear than for one tiny detail of the law to lose its meaning.

v18 A man might divorce his wife and marry another woman. If he does that, he *sins against God’s law. A man marries a woman whom her husband has divorced. That man *sins against God’s law’.

Verse 14 The *Pharisees believed that wealth was God’s reward for their goodness. But Jesus contrasted love for God and love for money. This did not please the *Pharisees.

Verse 15 What some people admired in the *Pharisees disgusted God. He knew that their ‘good’ behaviour was a false show.

Verse 16 The Law of Moses means the first five books of the *Old Testament. The *prophets form the second part of the *Hebrew *Old Testament. A new period in *Jewish history began when Jesus came. People wanted to accept Jesus as king. They certainly wanted to enter his *kingdom. They were different from the *Pharisees, who did not use their opportunity.

Verse 17 The Law had not ended. The tiny detail was the small extra mark on a *Hebrew letter that distinguished it from another letter. The Law would come true even to the very smallest detail. When Jesus taught, he explained what the Law meant.

Verse 18 There were two opinions about divorce, a strict one and a very easy one. The *Pharisees accepted the easy opinion. A man could divorce his wife if she burnt his dinner. Or if he saw someone who was prettier. But Jesus said that marriage was a permanent relationship. He spoke again about divorce, where he made the one exception. They could divorce if either the husband or the wife was not loyal to the other (Matthew 5:31-32). That *sin against God’s law breaks one of the Ten *Commandments (Exodus 20:14).

The rich man and Lazarus 16:19-31

v19 ‘There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes. He lived in great luxury every day. v20 There was also a poor man. His name was Lazarus. He had *sores all over his body. Someone used to bring him to the rich man’s gate. v21 Bits of food fell from the rich man’s table. Lazarus hoped that he would be able to eat them. Even the wild *dogs came and tasted his *sores. v22 The poor man died. The *angels carried him to sit next to Abraham at the great dinner in heaven. The rich man died, and people buried him. v23 And in *Hades he was in great pain. He looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus at his side. v24 So he called out, “Father Abraham! Please pity me. Send Lazarus to put the end of his finger in water and make my tongue cool. For I am in great pain in this fire!” v25 But Abraham said, “My son, remember this. You received all the good things while you lived on earth. Lazarus had all the bad things. Now he is happy, and you have pain. v26 Anyway, there is a very wide gap between us. That stops people who want to cross from here to you. Neither can anyone cross over from you to where we are”. v27 The rich man said, “Father Abraham, please send Lazarus to my father’s house. v28 Because I have five brothers. Let him go and warn them. Then they will not have to come to this place of pain”. v29 Abraham said, “Your brothers have a warning in what Moses and the *prophets wrote. Your brothers should listen to what they say”. v30 The rich man answered, “That is not enough, father Abraham. But if someone were to rise from death. If they were to go to them, then they would turn to God”. v31 But Abraham said, “If they will not listen to God’s word, they will not turn to him. Not even if someone did rise from the dead” ’.

Verse 19 The rich man wore purple outer clothes. Kings wore that colour. Underneath he wore the best quality clothes. He ate splendid meals every day.

Verse 20 The name ‘Lazarus’ means ‘God is my help’. He suffered from disease. Someone had to carry him to the rich man’s gate.

Verse 21 He was very hungry. He hoped to eat the bread that the guests threw. They had wiped their hands on it first. He was so weak that he could not even push away the *dogs in the street. The *dogs were a nuisance.

Verse 22 Abraham was the host at the great dinner in heaven. After Lazarus died, he was in a place of honour next to Abraham. Lazarus was very happy there. People gave the rich man a funeral. But the story does not mention whether Lazarus had a funeral.

Verse 23 The rich man went to ‘*Hades’. This was the *Greek word for the *Hebrew name ‘sheol’. It just meant the place for all dead people. However, in this verse, it seems to mean the same as ‘hell’. Hell is the place of punishment or pain.

Verse 24 The rich man spoke to ‘father’ Abraham. Perhaps he wanted to emphasise that he came from *Israel. That was the nation that God had chosen. The rich man had done nothing for Lazarus. Now he wanted Lazarus to act as his servant.

Verse 25 Abraham answered him. It was fair that Lazarus should be happy. He had suffered through no fault of his own. The rich man had enjoyed his life and had not thought about Lazarus.

Verse 26 Moreover, the rich man had made an impossible request. After a person had died, their situation was permanent.

Verses 27-28 The rich man requested that Lazarus should warn his brothers. But the rich man was also making an excuse for himself. He did not think that he had received sufficient warning. He would not be in *Hades if someone had warned him.

Verse 29 The books of Moses and of the *prophets contain frequent *warnings. They told people to care for the poor. His brothers could listen to those words in the *synagogue every week.

Verse 30 The rich man then asked Abraham to send some special evidence to warn them.

Verse 31 God’s word had already warned them, and they had paid no attention. Abraham said that even astonishing evidence would not help. Not even if a dead person became alive. This was true. Martha and Mary’s brother died and Jesus raised him from death. However, people did not believe in Jesus. Instead, they plotted to kill him (John 11:1-53). The *Jews still refused to believe in Jesus, even after his *resurrection (Matthew 28:11-15).

The *parable showed the rich *Sadducees that there is a life after death. They did not believe this. Moreover, a person’s life after death depends on what he did in his life. The man in the story was guilty, but not because he was rich. Abraham himself was a rich man (Genesis 13:2). The man was guilty because he had a selfish attitude. He only thought about his own satisfaction. He did not think about what the poor man needed.

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words)

parable ~ a story with a moral meaning.
disciple ~ one who follows another and learns from him; a person who believes in Jesus; a person who follows the things that he teaches.
kingdom ~ land that a king rules.
eternal ~ without beginning or end.
yourselves ~ more than one ‘yourself’.
disciple ~ one who follows another and learns from him; a person who believes in Jesus; a person who follows the things that he teaches.
spiritual ~ belonging to the spirit.
spirit ~ the part of a person which is alive, which we cannot see. It can speak to other spirits and the soul.
soul ~ the part of a person that we cannot see, that is in us during our life on earth. It continues to live after the body dies.
worship ~ show honour and respect to God and praise him.
Pharisees ~ group of Jews who were very strict about the law of Moses.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
prophet ~ one who tells God’s messages.
Baptist ~ a person who baptises people (John the Baptist).

baptise/baptism ~ to put a person into water to show that he wants to obey God.

'sin/sinner ~ when people do things against God or other people.
Hebrew ~ language of the Jews and of the *Old Testament.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything to do with a Jew.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
commandment ~ a rule that God gave.
sore ~ a bad place on your body.
dog ~ an animal that some people have in their houses.
angel ~ God’s servant and messenger in heaven.
messenger ~ person who gives a message.
Hades ~ Greek name for place of dead people.
Greek ~ language of the *New Testament. Many people spoke Greek in *New Testament times.
Greek ~ language of the *New Testament. Many people spoke Greek in *New Testament times.'Israel, Israelites ~ all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
warning ~ when we warn someone. We say that we are giving them a warning.
synagogue ~ a building where Jews gather to pray and to study the *Old Testament.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
resurrection ~ to come back to life after death.
Sadducees ~ group of Jews who did not believe in life after death.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

Luke: The Man Christ Jesus

Jesus on his way from Galilee to Jerusalem

Luke 9:51-19

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 16

The wise manager – Luke 16:1-18

v1 Jesus also told the *disciples, ‘There was a rich man who had a manager. But someone told him that his manager was wasting the rich man’s possessions. v2 So, he called his manager in. He said to him, “I have heard about you. Give to me an account of all that you have done. You cannot continue as my manager.”

v3 The manager thought, “I must do something. My master has taken my job from me. I am not strong enough to dig. And I am ashamed to ask people for money or food. v4 I know what I will do. Then, when I lose my job, I will have friends. They will receive me into their homes.”

v5 Then he called in each person who was in debt to his master. He asked the first one, “How much do you owe to my master?”

v6 And he replied, “100 *baths of oil.” The manager told him, “Sit down quickly. Take the statement of your account. Change the amount to 50 *baths.”

v7 Then the manager asked another person, “How much do you owe?” And he replied, “100 *cors of wheat.” The manager said to him, “Take the statement of your account. Change the amount to 80 *cors.”

v8 The manager was not an honest man. But the master praised him because he had been wise. People who care only about this world show great wisdom among themselves. Often, they deal with their wealth more wisely than the people who know God. v9 I tell you, use the wealth of this world to make friends for yourselves. When your wealth has gone, they will receive you into *eternal homes.

v10 Whoever you can trust with a little, you can trust with a lot. Whoever is not honest with a small amount will not be honest with a large amount. v11 If you have not been honest with this world’s wealth, nobody will trust you with true wealth. v12 If you are not honest with somebody else’s property, nobody will give to you property of your own.

v13 No servant can serve two masters. He will hate one and he will love the other one. Or he will be loyal to one and he will dislike the other one. You cannot serve God and wealth.’

v14 The *Pharisees loved money. They heard what Jesus said. And they laughed at him. v15 Jesus said to them, ‘You make yourselves to seem so good to other people. But God knows your hearts and minds. God hates that which people make important.

v16 The law and the *prophets were until John. Since that time we *preach the good news of the *kingdom of God. And everyone is pressing into it. v17 But the smallest detail cannot drop out of the law. It would be easier for heaven and earth to disappear than that.

v18 Suppose that a man divorces his wife. If he marries another woman, he is guilty of *adultery. If another man marries that wife then he is guilty of *adultery.’

Verses 1-2 Jesus told this story to his *disciples. The *disciples here probably included those people who followed Jesus and not just the 12 *disciples. Jesus spoke about a rich man who had a manager. A manager was often a slave but here this manager was not a slave. He was responsible for all the financial affairs of his master. He had the authority to make legal agreements on behalf of his master.

Someone told the master that his manager was wasting the rich man’s possessions. The master took the job from the manager before he looked at the evidence. The manager may not have been guilty but he could not defend himself. But he had time to act while he prepared the accounts.

Verses 3-4 There was no hope of another job like this one. He was not strong enough for hard labour. He would not ask people for money. He had to find another way to live. He decided to get friends who would provide for him.

Verses 5-7 The manager spoke to each person who owed money to the master. He told them to bring the records of their debts. Then he told them to reduce the amounts. He was able to do this because he still had the authority as the manager.

A bath was about 5 gallons (22 litres) of liquid goods. A cor was about 220 litres of dry goods.

In those days people returned kindness because of any kindness that they had received. In this act, the manager obliged these persons to do something for him. When he left his job, they would receive him into their homes.

Verse 8-9 The manager was not an honest man. The word for ‘not honest’ could mean ‘of this world’. The manager was a man of the world and not one who believed in Jesus.

Maybe the manager should not have changed the agreements. Perhaps in this, he had done what was wrong. He had reduced the amount that the master expected to receive. But the master praised him because he had been wise.

Clearly, the master had lost money. He did not praise the manager because of this. He praised him because he had been clever. People would imagine that the master was a generous man. And they would consider the manager to be their friend.

Of course, really the master did not approve of these reductions. However, he could not now complain. Because of these reductions, people thought well of him; he would not want to change that. He would seem very foolish if anyone discovered the truth about this matter. For that reason, it would now be very hard for him to remove the manager from his job.

People who do not believe in Jesus use their possessions for their own benefit. With wisdom, they try to increase their wealth. They seem to be more eager to achieve their purpose than Christians are to achieve theirs.

God’s people should use their resources better to bring people into the *kingdom of God. At death, a Christian will lose whatever wealth he has in this world. But he will receive a warm welcome to his *eternal home in heaven. That welcome may be from those people whom he had helped into the *kingdom.

Verses 10-13 A person who is honest in small matters will be honest in large matters. You would not give responsibility for large matters to a person who is not honest. Jesus contrasts this world’s wealth with ‘true wealth’, in other words, the wealth of heaven that only God can give. God expects his people to be responsible with the money that he has given to them in this world. If they want God to give them responsibility for great things, they must first be responsible with small things. They must be responsible in the use of their money and other possessions.

We may think that we own our possessions. But all that we have is as a loan from God (1 Chronicles 29:14). We are like managers of what God has put in our care. When we die, we can take nothing with us. Then God will give rewards to those people who trust in him.

Those people to whom wealth is of first importance in effect make wealth their god. It has become their master. Nobody can be the servant of two masters. He will serve one master better than he serves the other master. Although we may have both God and money, we cannot serve them both.

Verses 14-15 The *Pharisees heard what Jesus had said. They laughed at it because it was true about them. They appeared to be loyal to God and to serve him. But many *Pharisees loved money. The love of money is a cause of much evil (1 Timothy 6:10). They tried to serve both money and God.

We see the outside of a person but God knows the heart. Much that people consider important, God hates.

Verses 16-17 Until the time of John the *Baptist, God spoke to his people by the law and the *prophets. The law and the *prophets mean the whole of the *Old Testament. But from that time, God has spoken by Jesus who is his Son (Hebrews 1:1-2). Jesus *preached about the *kingdom of God. The good news is that, by belief and trust in Christ, people can enter the *kingdom. The *kingdom is the rule of God in the lives of those people who believe.

Crowds of people were eager to hear Jesus. They tried to get into the *kingdom by various means. The *Pharisees tried to stop them because the *Pharisees opposed the good news. They thought that Jesus *preached against the law and the *prophets.

Jesus told them that every detail of the law was permanent. The whole law was as permanent as the earth and heaven. What Jesus taught was in no way against the law.

Verses 18 God introduced marriage so that the man and the woman should become as one. God intended marriage to be a union for life.

The law allowed men to divorce their wives because of some causes (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). The causes are where the woman has not been loyal to the marriage (Matthew 5:31-32; Matthew 19:8-9). The *Pharisees and their traditions made it much easier to divorce a wife. They had many small reasons that they accepted for divorce.

The man, who divorced his wife, should not marry again. If he did, he would be guilty of *adultery. If a man marries a woman after her divorce, he is also guilty of *adultery.

The rich man and Lazarus – Luke 16:19-31

v19 ‘There was a rich man who always dressed in the finest and most expensive clothes. He lived in luxury every day. v20 Also there was a very poor man whose name was Lazarus. He had sore places all over his body. He lay at the gate of the rich man. v21 Lazarus desired to eat the bits of food that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and they wiped their tongues over his sore places.

v22 One day the poor man died. The *angels carried him to Abraham’s side. Also, the rich man died and people buried him. v23 In hell, where he suffered, the rich man looked up. He saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus at Abraham’s side. v24 So, he called out, “Father Abraham, pity me. Send Lazarus to put his finger in some water and to make my tongue cool with it. I am in great pain in this fire.”

v25 But Abraham replied, “Son, remember. When you were alive, you had everything good. But for Lazarus, everything was bad. Now he has comfort here, but you are suffering. v26 In addition to that, there is a great gap between us. Nobody can cross that gap to come to us. And nobody from here can cross that gap to come to you.”

v27 The rich man answered, “Then I ask you, father Abraham, to send Lazarus back to my father's house. v28 I have 5 brothers. Let him warn them so that they will not come to this place of pain.”

v29 Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the *prophets. Let them listen to them.”

v30 But he said, “No, father Abraham. But if a dead person goes to them, then they would *repent.”

v31 Abraham said to him, “They do not listen to Moses and the *prophets. So, they would not believe even if a dead person comes back to life.” ’

Verses 19-26 Jesus told this story of a rich man and a poor man. The rich man lived in luxury. The poor man lay at the gate of the rich man. The rich man had more than enough. The poor man had nothing. He was starving and he had many sore places on his body.

The poor man’s name was Lazarus. Lazarus means ‘God has helped’. It was a common name. Probably Jesus used it in this story because of what it meant.

Both of these men died. The people buried the rich man probably in his own special grave. There would have been a great funeral for him. The story does not say that anyone buried Lazarus. If he did have a funeral, it would have been very poor. *Angels took Lazarus to be with Abraham. But the rich man went to hell.

By ‘hell’, Jesus meant the place of punishment. He described a place where the fire burned like the valley called Gehenna. Gehenna was where people burned the rubbish outside Jerusalem.

From that place of punishment, the rich man could see Abraham and Lazarus. They were a long way off. Lazarus lay close to Abraham. This could mean that they were eating a meal together. The rich man called out to Abraham. He called Abraham ‘father’. He supposed that as a *Jew he belonged to the family of Abraham. He asked Abraham to pity him. But he did not pity Lazarus when they were on earth. Then he asked Abraham to send Lazarus with a drop of water to cool his tongue.

Abraham would not do what the rich man had requested. He gave to him two reasons. The rich man had so much wealth when he was alive on earth. But he had been a proud and selfish man. He had not been a good manager of his wealth; he did not use his money responsibly. The second reason was that there was a gap between the two places. It was not possible for anyone to cross over that gap. As for Lazarus, he had a poor experience while he was alive on earth. Now he was happy with Abraham in the best place.

The rich man did not suffer because he was rich. Abraham too was a rich man. The difference was in their attitude to God and to other people.

Verses 27-31 The rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus to his 5 brothers. But Abraham would not do it. All that they needed to warn them was in Moses and the *prophets. They should listen to and they should obey the words of the *Old Testament. Even if some dead person came to live again, they would not believe.

Jesus told this story to the people and especially to the *Pharisees. Many of the *Pharisees were showing the same attitudes as the rich man’s brothers in the story. They believed in life after death and in a future judgement. They thought that as the family of Abraham, they would be safe. They had the *Old Testament but they did not obey it. They loved money and they loved to receive honour from the people. They would not help the poor people. Even when Jesus came to life again after his death, many *Pharisees would not believe in him.

disciple ~ a person who follows a leader, especially the 12 men that Jesus chose to be with him.
bath ~ a liquid measurement equal to about 5 gallons (22 litres).
cor ~ a dry measurement equal to about 50 gallons (220 litres).
eternal ~ something that will always be and will never end.
Pharisees ~ a group of Jews who tried to obey all God’s rules. Many of them did not approve of Jesus.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the families of their children.
prophet ~ person who speaks on behalf of God. A prophet can sometimes say what will happen in the future.
preach ~ to speak out the message from God and to teach his word.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules. In the New Testament, this is nearly always the people over whom the king rules and not a territory on earth.

New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus on earth.
adultery ~ sex with a person who is not one’s wife or husband.
Baptist ~ the title that we use for John, whom God sent to prepare people for the Christ’s arrival.
Christ ~ the Christ is the name for the person whom God would send to be the Saviour of his people. Jesus is the Christ and he was called Christ.
Saviour ~ a title for Jesus, who saves his people from their sins.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God.

'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible; the holy things that the writers wrote before Jesus’ birth.
angel ~ a special servant of God from heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages. So, angels are God’s servants from heaven. But there are evil angels who opposed God. These evil angels now serve the devil.'repent / repentance ~ to change one’s mind and heart. To turn away from sin and turn to God. To turn one’s mind and heart away from sin is to repent.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God.
angel ~ a special servant of God from heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages. So, angels are God’s servants from heaven. But there are evil angels who opposed God. These evil angels now serve the devil.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the families of their children.