Luke 16

Luke 16:1

Surprising as it may be, Jesus said more about money than about any other single subject. Fully one-sixth of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke deal with moneyas do twelve of the thirty-eight parables. Why? A study several years ago revealed that the average American adult male spends 50 percent of his time dealing with money-related mattershow to make more, how to spend less, what to do with what he has. No wonder, then, that Jesus had so much to say about money. The longest chapter in the Bible, Psalms 119, deals with the Word. But the second longest, Numbers 7, is all about the giving of money. I find this to be significant. Here in our text, Jesus weighs in on the matter… There was an interesting story in the news concerning a mysterious shooting spree in downtown Los Angeles, wherein a large number of windows in commercial buildings were blown out by a muted shotgun. There were no injuries or robberiesjust a lot of broken glass. For a few weeks detectives were at a loss to explain the motive until the perpetrator was apprehendedthe owner of a plate glass company. Jesus tells of an incident not unlike this concerning a steward who was trying to beat the system. Stewards were business managers for wealthy households. This particular steward was accused of cheating his employer.

Luke 16:3

Realizing his days of employment were numbered, the steward devised a plan whereby he cut in half the debts of those who owed his employer money, knowing they would return the favor by taking care of him when he was out of work.

Luke 16:8

When the master discovered what his steward had done, far from chastising him for his dishonesty, he commended him for his ingenuity. How true. The people in the world are on the phone talking to their investment counselors, checking figures on their calculators, shrewdly and carefully planning for their future. Not so the children of light. We are not as aggressive or as wise in preparing for our eternal future as our worldly colleagues are in preparing for their temporal future. This ought not be. After using the incident of the shrewd unjust servant as an example of one who is preparing and planning for the future, Jesus plunges into a discourse about the believer and money in which He will identify four benefits of giving…

Luke 16:9

Giving rewards us in eternity. Asked how much money his father left when he died, Andrew Carnegie’s son gave a classic answer when he shrugged his shoulders and simply said, “Everything.” How true. The old adage is correct: You can’t take it with you. But equally true is the fact that you can send it ahead. The money you give to the Lord is sent ahead, waiting for you in heaven. I may not know exactly what Jesus meant when he said the money we send ahead to heaven will be waiting with a habitation for me to dwell in. But this I do know: When we get to heaven, not one person will say, “Is this all there is? I wish I had spent the money I gave to the Lord on a new VCR or blender.” No! We’re going to say, “Wow! What a deal! I traded in that junk for this glory!” In the early 1800s, Prussia’s King Friedrich Wilhelm III was involved in battles against other European countries that bled his bank account. In desperate need of funds to keep his war machine going, he asked the women of his empire to donate their gold jewelry to the war effort. In exchange, they were given chunks of iron fashioned into crosses and were made members of the Order of the Iron Crossan Order that would go on to impact history. Unlike King Friedrich Wilhelm III, our King isn’t bankrupt. On the contrary, He says, “Give Me your chunks of iron, and I’ll give you gold and silver in return. Trade in the stuff you’re wasting, and see what I will bless you with in the kingdom to come.”

Luke 16:10

Giving releases us in ministry. I might not be able to sing; you might not be able to preach. But one thing is common to everyone in this room: money. Therefore, the Lord uses money as the ultimate test to see if He can entrust to us even greater ministry. This is why D. L. Moody said, “I can see more about the spirituality of a man by reading through his checkbook than I can by reading through his prayer book.” Anyone can write flowery phrases, but giving is the true barometer of where one is at spiritually. “I don’t make hardly any money,” you say. Oh, but if you make even fifteen thousand dollars a year between the ages of twenty and sixty, you will have been entrusted with more than half a million dollars in your lifetime. “What are you going to do with it?” asks Jesus. “If I can trust you with the least, with unrighteous mammon, I can open up doors of other ministry for you proportionately. But if you are unfaithful with money, I cannot commit to you the true riches of a fuller, more impacting ministry.”

Luke 16:12

Giving replenishes us financially. We have been entrusted with that which is Another’s. That is, specifically, though not exclusively, the Lord has given to us the first-fruits that are His (Lev_23:10). What are first-fruits? First-fruits are the tithe. The word “tithe” simply means “tenth.” Therefore, the first tenth of everything we make is the Lord’s. When the offering plate is passed in front of us, I’m sure none of us is tempted to reach in and take a handful of money to keep for ourselves. Yet when I don’t tithe I am doing just that. I am robbing God of what is His (Mal_3:8). To those who protest that the concept of tithing being prescribed in the law is no longer relevant to those who live under grace, I point out the following: Tithing is seen prior to the law when Abraham tithed to Melchizedek (Gen_14:20). Tithing was commended by Jesus when He told the Pharisees that, although they should remember justice and mercy, they should not cease to tithe (Luk_11:42). Tithing was taught by the apostle Paul when he told the Corinthians to give according to how God had prospered them (1Co_16:2)which the early church took to mean tithing, as seen in the writings of Jerome and Chrysostom. Tithing precedes the law, is spoken of by the Lord, and is seen in the Epistles. Therefore, to say tithing is not applicable in this dispensation is, I believe, a failure to understand the full counsel of Scripture and church history. And what is the result of this failure? Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.Mal_3:9 We’re cursed with a curse. What curse? Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.Hag_1:9 You bring home your paycheck, but where does it go? The Lord says, “I blew on it and it scattered. It’s cursed because you’ve robbed Me. What could have been, what should have been, what would have been can’t be because the blessing is removed.” Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.Mal_3:10 This is the only place in all of Scripture where God says, “Prove Me.” And if we do, we’ll see three things happen… Reward. The Lord will open the windows of heaven and bless us in ways we can’t possibly imagine. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.Mal_3:11 Rebuke. Satan is a destroyer, a murderer, a devourer. If you can recall times when you’ve robbed God and things started happeningrefrigerators burned out, cars broke downand you wondered what was going on, it could be that you removed yourself from the promise of covering; that you made yourself vulnerable to the devouring of the Enemy. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.Mal_3:12 Revival. When we tithe, fruitfulness will reign in our lives once again to such a degree that even those around us will notice it.

Luke 16:13

“The love of money is the root of all evil,” Paul declared (see 1Ti_6:10). How can mere paper or copper or silver be the root of all evil? Just as the simple clay idols of Baal, Ashteroth, Moloch, and other Old Testament entities had spirits behind them, mammon is a powerful spiritual force behind the money in our pockets that seeks to dominate, defile, and destroy us. Thus, either the spirit of mammon and Madison Avenue will control us, or the Spirit of God will. But we can’t serve both. Abraham, the friend of God, had just rescued his nephew, Lot, from captivity. On his way home, he was met by Melchizedek, the king of Salem, who was, I believe, a preincarnate appearance of Jesus. After being presented with bread and wine, Abraham fell down and worshiped Melchizedek, giving tithes to him of all he had taken. In the next verse, guess who came slithering up to Abraham? The king of Sodom. “Thanks, Abraham, for what you’ve done,” he said. “You can keep all the goods that you took.” But Abraham looked at the king of Sodom, the prince of perversity, and said, “I will not take one shoelace from you,” refusing to take from Sodom the goods of the world (Genesis 14). What gave Abraham power over the pull of the world? Giving tithes to the Prince of Peace. That’s what tithing does. The world tempts me; advertisers scream at me, people tell me, “You need this. You must have that. Why not buy the other?” I’m vulnerableand so are you. The king of Sodom has our number. He knows exactly what bauble, what trinket to wave in front of us to get us caught up in the foolish and vain pursuit of the latest fad. How can we overcome him? Tithe. Every time I tithe, even as Abraham did, I give away part of my greediness, my covetousness, my selfishness. Tithing changes my personality because I’m not a giver by nature. I’m a hoarder, a collector, a keeper. Not so my Father. God is a Giver (Joh_3:16; Jas_1:17). And He wants me to be like Him. In putting money in the basket, you give away part of your carnality. That is why our Father lovingly says, “Give to Menot because I need the money, but because you need to be set free.”

Luke 16:14

Covetousness is simply wanting more of anything of which one already has enough.

Luke 16:15

The Pharisees taught that the more godly one was, the more money he would have. The original practitioners of Prosperity Theology, they pointed to their riches as a mark of their spirituality. Those who have money are esteemed highly presently. But God says such standards are an abomination to Him. Therefore, when we get to heaven, there will be some big surprises when things are turned inside out, when the people who are looked down upon as being poor or ugly or social misfits will, because they love the Lord, be those who are wealthy and highly esteemed in eternity. For seventy or eighty years people look on the outside and analyze one another by how they dress, what car they drive, or how big their house is.

But for the next zillion years, those things will not matter one whit. That’s why Paul pleads with us to run so as to win a prize that is not material, not monetary but spiritual (1Co_9:24). To make sure the Pharisees didn’t think He was calling the law an abomination, Jesus goes on to clarify His statement…

Luke 16:16

Paul tells us the purpose of the law was to be a schoolmaster to point out our sin and drive us to Jesus Christ as our Savior. Therefore, in context of the entire chapter, Jesus is saying, “I’m not talking about the law. I’m talking about your covetousness, your misuse of money.” And just to show them He’s not trying to undermine the law, He refers to the then-controversial principle of divorce…

Luke 16:18

I find it interesting that in talking about money and the law, Jesus used divorce as an illustration because divorce and money often go hand in hand. Divorce is costly not just emotionally or relationally but financially. No wonder the Lord hates divorce (Mal_2:16). He doesn’t hate the people going through the tragedy, but He hates the concept of divorce because it bankrupts people emotionally and financially.

Luke 16:19

The rich man would have been on the cover of People magazine. Lazarus? No one would have even known his name. But in the economy of eternity, it is Lazarus who we know and the rich man who is nameless.

Luke 16:22

In Pro_22:2 it says the rich and the poor meet together before the Lord for He hath created them both. In death, these two men from the opposite ends of the social spectrum meet.

Luke 16:23

In hell the rich man finally saw “afar off.” Presently, the world says, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” because they only see what is in front of them. In hell they’ll finally see afar off; they’ll finally see the big picture of eternity. But it will be too late…

Luke 16:24

Although people mistakenly believe that, at best, when they die they will cease to exist, the fact is that not only will they continue to existbut they will be able to remember the good things they received on earththe blessings God poured out upon them, the patience God showed to them, the manifold opportunities He gave them to turn to Him. Therefore, I suggest that one of the most horrendous aspects of hell is the memory people will have of the times they could have received the free gift of salvation, but chose to harden their hearts instead.

Luke 16:26

The Hebrew word translated “hell” is sheol, which simply means “the place of the grave.” Everyone who died before Jesus was crucified to pay for the sins of mankind went to sheol, which was divided into two compartments, separated by a great divide. One side was filled with fire and torment. The other side was a place called “Abraham’s bosom” or “paradise.” Those who loved God would go to the paradise, or Abraham’s bosom side of sheol. The reason they couldn’t go directly to heaven is because the blood of Christ had not yet been shed. So paradise was simply a waiting room. And Abraham, the Father of Faith, the Friend of God, would greet them there.

Those who did not believe in God went to the torment side of sheol. And although there was a great gulf between the two, as seen in this passage, those on both sides could call out to one anotherwhich would make the flaming side even more hellish. Eph_4:8-9 tells us that before Jesus ascended into heaven, He first descended into the lower parts of the earth and led those in Abraham’s bosom up to heaven. That is why Abraham’s bosom no longer exists today. Hell is not the final destiny of the unbeliever, but rather only a temporary holding tank until after the Great White Throne Judgment when he will be cast into Gehenna, or outer darkness (Revelation 20). Contrary to popular belief, hell is not going to be one big New Year’s Eve party. Gehenna is a place of heat without light, of eternal isolation, of interminable torment. In the context of this chapter, the rich man’s sin was not that he hated Lazarus, but simply that he neglected him. The Bible says there are sins of commissionthings we do that are wrongand sins of omissionfailing to do that which is right (Jas_4:17). There was a person in need at the rich man’s gate, but he didn’t offer to help. And that was his sinindicative that because he cared not about the man at his gate, he had not the love of God in his heart (1Jn_3:17).

Luke 16:27

“If Lazarus can’t come over here, send him back from the dead to tell my family that this place exists,” begged the rich man. I find it interesting that the rich man realized the power of a testimony. He didn’t say, “Send a theologian, a Bible teacher, or a commentary.” He said, “Send the one who, although he was poor and covered with sores, believed in God and is now in His presencethat he may share his testimony.” If you haven’t already, you will hear Satan whisper in your ear, “You can’t witness because you don’t know enough about the Bible; you’re not that solid in your own walk; your understanding of theology is too elementary.” Not true! The most powerful thing you can share is your own testimony. After he was cornered by the Pharisees, the once-blind man simply said, “I can’t answer all of your questions concerning the nature and Person of Jesus. But this I do know: Once I was blind, but now I see.” And none could deny it (Joh_9:25). So, too, the most powerful thing you can tell your unsaved parents or a lost neighbor is simply what the Lord has done for you.

Luke 16:29

“Even though they’re not listening to the Word, if someone comes back from the dead, surely they will listen and repent,” reasoned the rich man. In hell people finally realize the need to repentnot to believe in theology, but to repent from iniquity. Tragically, there will be those who believe in the existence of Jesus and in the inspiration of Scripture who will be lost eternally because of their refusal to repent, to change direction, to follow Jesus. The devils and demons believe, James tells us (Jas_2:19), but they’re not saved because their belief is based on intellectual acknowledgment rather than humble, personal repentance.

Luke 16:31

When Lazarus did indeed come back from the dead, were the religious leaders persuaded to listen and repent? On the contrary, they were determined to put him to death (Joh_12:10). Living sumptuously with no compassion for people and no thought of eternity caused the rich man to end up in a real place called hell. On the basis of Job_3:17, the Jehovah’s Witnesses falsely propagate that when they die, wicked people simply cease to exist, that hell is nothing more than a scare tactic of Fundamentalist preachers. Turn them to Job 38, where God asks Job if he knows what lies beyondthe answer being “No” (verse Job_38:17). The Christian Scientist takes it a step further when he says not only is there no hell, but there is no pain at all. Not so. Jesus said hell is real indeed. Because God desires none should perish (2Pe_3:9), He will not send anyone to hell. “In fact,” Jesus says, “if you insist upon going there, you will have to do so over My dead body.” In considering this passage, may we be renewed in our compassion for the lost and our commitment to share what the Lord has given us; may we be reminded of the big picture of eternity and the power of a testimony. In other words, in considering hell, may we become more mindful of heaven.