Luke 16:8 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Luke 16:8

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Something very strange happens as a result. The lord – that is to say in the parable, the landlord, the owner – commended the unjust, the crooked steward, ‘because he had done wisely.’ The KJV says ‘wisely’, but this is clearly wisdom that behaves dishonestly, and therefore we may translate ‘shrewdly’. Now here is the most perplexing part of this parable. How could the steward be commended for something so dishonest? How could he be commended by his master for swindling his master, and in effect stealing his goods? The Lord Jesus doesn’t finish the parable and doesn't tell us what happened. So we are left to assume that, while the landlord commended the unjust steward for his shrewd conduct, he still fired him. We can be sure he did. If he had already found him dishonest, he wouldn't keep him on when he proved doubly dishonest. This is not the lord changing his mind. It is that, being a worldly man, he appreciates what his steward is doing, even though it is at his expense. He has been swindled in the process, but he says, ‘ That is pretty shrewd of you.’ We can imagine him calling the steward into his office, and saying, ‘You know, you are a very shrewd fellow. You'll get on well outside my employment.’ He was amazed that he had found a way to work for his own advantage when in such a tight corner. It was a highly imaginative scheme. But he is still called an unjust steward, even though he is commended. He is not being commended for doing what is right, but for doing what is shrewd and cunning. It is at this point that we read the Lord Jesus’ comment on the conduct of the steward: ‘for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.’ This very important. It is his very clear notification that this steward is not to be imitated exactly in what he has done. There is a clear disconnect between what he has done, and the lesson that Christ’s disciples should learn from the parable. He belongs to this world and has the value system and the wisdom of this world, but the children of light must behave in a very different way. And yet, once we make allowance for the fact that he was a sinful man who behaved according to the standards of this world, and once we find the equivalent behaviour of the children of light, the parable has something very important to teach us. This is Christ’s way of explaining how he can use an evil deed as an example of a righteous deed. His comment that the sons of this world are wiser, or shrewder, in their generation than the sons of light, is intended to help deliver us from pressing the parallel too far.

Application

What the steward did with his master’s good was dishonest and underhand. What we may learn from him is that he takes some action; he is shrewd in what he does; he faces the certain prospect of losing his job; and he acts so as to secure his future after he is no longer working; he does so by making friends using the only thing that is available to him. Obviously, what we are not to imitate is his refusal to come clean to his master about his unfaithfulness as a steward, his striking a dishonest bargain with his master’s debtors, and his abusing of his master’s property and wealth. These factors in the parable are to be regarded as scaffolding which is necessary to setup the parable, and to bring before us the lessons that it is intended to teach.

There was something brilliant about the way this man solved his problem, and we are being taught to think how we should act in our predicament as fallen human beings. Just as he was accountable, so we are accountable to God, and must give an account of our lives at the judgment seat of Christ. The way people solve their problems, says the Lord Jesus, shows that the children of this world are very ingenious in their own generation, figuring out what they're going to do. But when it comes to the soul there is no provision at all. When it comes to the soul the natural thing with us is to behave as though there is no day of account. There is nothing to think about; nothing to be done. Here we are: the children of this world. We make endless insurance policies – not to criticize anything along those lines – and all kinds of intricate provisions in case this happens, and in case that happens. But nothing for the soul. What about when the last hour comes? What about the hour when we are summoned out of this life, and we launch into eternity? We are very astute when it comes to providing for earthly things, but there is no provision at all when it comes to the soul. That is the message of this parable.

‘For the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.’ They are wiser and demonstrate greater shrewdness in worldly affairs. But the children of light count this world as passing away, and they make provision chiefly for the world to come. The children of this world give little thought to that. Let a man not be so foolish as to think that this life is all there is.

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Luke 16:8 Commentary and Bible Study