Commendation of the Unrighteous Steward (Luke 16:1-14)

1900

Hard Problems of Scripture

Apparent Inaccuracies and Inconsistencies Exploited and Explained

Written for The Ram's Horn by R. A. Torrey, Superintendent, Moody Bible Institute

One of the most puzzling passages in the Bible to many is the story of the Unrighteous Steward, in Luke 16, 1-14. A lady told me yesterday that she had about made up her mind not to teach that lesson. She said: "The three points of difficulty are: First, that Jesus should hold this dishonest scoundrel up for our imitation; second, that the Lord should commend the unrighteous steward; and, third, that Jesus should command His disciples to make themselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness." Let us take these three points up in order and look right at them. We will soon see that in each point, if we adhere strictly to what Jesus said all difficulty will disappear and the incident, instead of staggering us, will be found to be profoundly instructive.

Why did Jesus hold this dishonest scoundrel up for the imitation of his disciples? He did not hold him up for imitation. He held him up in the first place as a warning of what would overtake unfaithful stewards, how they would be called to give account of their stewardship and their stewardships be taken from them. Having taught this solemn lesson, one much needed today, Jesus goes on to show how the "sons of this world are for their generation wiser than the sons of light." (R. V.) They are wiser on this point. They use their utmost ingenuity and put forth their utmost effort to make present opportunities count for the hour of future need.

"The Sons of Light" oftentimes do not do that. Indeed, how many present day "sons of light," who profess to believe that eternity is all and time is nothing in comparison, are using their utmost ingenuity and putting forth their utmost efforts to make the opportunity of the present life count for the needs of the great eternity?

Jesus does not point to the steward's dishonesty to stir our emulation. That Jesus plainly rebukes. But Jesus points to his good sense in using the opportunity of the present to provide for the necessity of the future. And, even then, He carefully guards His statement by saying that he "is wiser for his generation." He knows only the life that now is and from that narrow and imperfect standpoint he is wiser than is "the son of light" from his broad and true standpoint of knowing eternity, an eternity for which he is not wise enough to wholly live.

There are other utterances of our Savior where wicked or selfish men are held up by way of contrast to show how much more godly men, or even God Himself may be expected to act in the way suggested. (See e. g. Luke 18. 6, 7: 11. 5-8: Matt. 12, 11, 12.) The first difficulty then in the passage has disappeared. We will pass on to the second.

Why did the Lord commend the unrighteous steward? The Lord Jesus did not commend him. If any one will look up the revised version of verse 8, where it is said, "the lord commended the unjust steward" he will find it reads "his lord (i.e. the steward's lord) commended the unrighteous steward." And he only commended his shrewdness. Jesus, so far from commending him, flatly calls him the "unrighteous steward" and, furthermore, just below warns against unfaithfulness in stewardship (vs. 10, 11.) So the second difficulty has entirely disappeared.

But why does Jesus command His disciples to make to themselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness? This difficulty disappears when we get a correct Biblical definition of the terms used. First of all, what does "mammon of unrighteousness" mean? It means nothing more nor less than "money." Money is called "mammon of unrighteousness" because money is such a constant minister to sin and selfishness (as for example in the case of the scoundrel above mentioned) and because "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (1 Ti. 6. 9, 10, 11, R. V.)

Jesus in passing would lift a warning note against the perils of money. He often packed a whole sermon into a single phrase. What does "of" mean? Exactly what the revised version translates it, "by means of." Then what Jesus bade His disciples do was to make themselves friends by means of money, i.e. to so use the money God entrusted to them that they would make friends for themselves by their use of it, and (as the context shows) to make these friends among God's poor and needy ones who would go to "the eternal habitations" and be ready to give us, their benefactors, a royal welcome when our life has ended and so our money failed.

In other words, Jesus simply puts into a new and striking form His oft repeated teaching, not to keep our money, but to spend it in doing good, and so invest it in heavenly and abiding securities (cf. Matt. 19. 21; 25, 35-40; I Tim. 6, 17-19; Prov. 19, 17.)

That this teaching of Jesus was clearly understood by His hearers is evidenced by verse 14, where it is said, "the Pharisees who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they scoffed at Him" (R. V.) So the third and last difficulty has disappeared and this passage stands out in glorious light, teaching with great force a lesson that our day greatly needs to learn, that money is a stewardship and that he who seeks to enjoy it in the brief present and not rather to expend it so that it will bring us interest for all eternity, is a great fool and even the petty shrewdness of the sons of this world rebukes him.

—The Ram's Horn, Nov. 17, 1900, p. 8.