Luke 16:1-5

Luke 16:1 (KJB)
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.

We segue from the parable of the Prodigal Son right into the parable of the unjust steward. This parable Jesus spoke to His disciples. The steward in this parable is probably one that is a household or estate manager who had access to the owner’s money and goods. His position probably went to his head and started pilfering the master’s goods. The word “wasted” here is the same word used in the parable of the Prodigal Son. It carries with it the meaning of “scatter, disperse, or winnow.” This steward also had a propensity toward some type of riotous living and was taking his master’s goods and wasting them or winnowing them in frivolity. Well he was finally found out and now he had to come face to face with his sin.

Luke 16:2 (KJB)
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.

Just like in the case of the prodigal son, there always comes an end to the “wasting.” (Heb 11:25 KJV) Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; There is pleasure in sin for a season but the bills come due eventually and for this steward, the bill has now come due. He is summoned to give an account of his stewardship and because his master knows the situation is true, the steward is about to be fired. (1 Cor 4:2 KJV) Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. It is the responsibility of all Christians that they are to be wise and faithful stewards.

Luke 16:3 (KJB)
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.

Just like the prodigal son came to himself, the steward is contemplating a similar situation. He knows that because of his firing for pilfering, he realizes that he will never get another position like the one he had, so he had to do something. He was probably a person who had soft jobs all his life and was out of shape for a job like digging or construction, in other words, manual labor was out. Then the other alternative to work was to beg and since he held a high position, he would be ashamed to beg, especially if the others in that same position would see him. So he was in a dilemma.

Luke 16:4 (KJB)
I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.

Then in a moment of time, the steward realized what he had to do. This would be a choice that would affect him for the rest of his life. He had come to a decision that he knew would get him to be accepted by others. It was a plan which would benefit those he would be trying to impress so they would offer him similar employment. According to this verse, he was still in the stewardship position which would come to an end soon, so he knew that whatever plan he was enacting, it must be done in haste before the word spread that he was fired.

Luke 16:5 (KJB)
So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?

From this verse, we can easily see that the steward had called upon every one of his lord’s debtors. The Lord Jesus Christ only gave details about two of those debtors instead of all of them which could have been many if the man was businessman with large clientele. The steward then begins to ask each debtor, how much do you owe my lord?

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