Parable of the crafty steward

[fin]

Luke 16:1-13

I know it’s just a parable. But when the crafty steward reduce the amount of debts his master’s debtors had, surely the master himself was keeping track of the amount of debts his debtors had right? Didn’t the steward think that his master might find that out?

 

[GEddie]

Luke 16:1-13

I know it’s just a parable. But when the crafty steward reduce the amount of debts his master’s debtors had, surely the master himself was keeping track of the amount of debts his debtors had right? Didn’t the steward think that his master might find that out?

True, I always thought that this plan would not have worked.

But our LORD’s parables are just that, parables. They are less sensible descriptions of normal events than they are illustrations of spiritual truth. And in this instance, the truth is obvious: we should be as assiduous in preparing for the life everlasting as the steward in preparing for the next part of his own life.

ICXC NIKA

 

[JRKH]

It is a bit tricky, but consider how the matter proceeded. And Remember the core Christian principle of Love…

The Steward, concerned for his position could have proceeded in one of two ways. He could have become harsh with the debtors in an effort to bring payment. This might have provided a short term gain for his master’s treasury of mammon but at a very high cost in long term trust and good will.
Instead, he proceeded to reduce the debts owed. This provided a double good effect. The debtors were “beholding” to the steward for this so, as pointed out in the parable, he would be welcome in their houses. But remember also the debtors become beholding to the steward’s master for this generosity. The steward was still acting as agent for his master and his benevolent gesture reflects on his master.

So - if we become lax and grow concerned for state of the accounts of our stewardship, let us act in the same manner. Forgiving debts that others owe to us so that, through us, great credit is reflected on our master.

Peace
James

 

[fin]

Thanks for the explanations. By the way does anyone know where I can read about the explanations of the parables online? Like this parable, some other parables are difficult to understand. Thank you in advance!

 

[TimothyH]

Parables are typically used in the Bible when one wants to condemn someone or is about to accuse someone. Isaiah was especially fond of this practice and the prophet Nathan spoke to David in a parable when he was about to accuse David of sinning with Bathsheba.

Jesus speaks in parables about the kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God in Matthew 13 as he prepares to condemn the pharisees, priests and scribes. My favorite parable is the parable of the mustard seed, because it explains how the Church will start, grow and expand.

Another parable he put before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32)

In the Bible, plants and especially trees often represented strong nations. The “Cedar’s of Lebanon” was a euphamism for the Assyrians and Philistines who lived to the North of Israel, and the psalms speak of a “Palm tree planted beside the river” meaning Egypt.

Jesus tells us that the Church will start off like a mustard seed. Mustard seeds are almost microscopic, little bigger than particles of dust or fine sand. Jesus tells us that the Church will start hidden and small like a mustard seed but that it will grow into a large plant and then into a tree - the Church will become a strong nation.

Birds in the Old Testament were often used to represent the Gentiles. Jesus tells us that this strong nation will be a place where the Gentiles - non Jews - make their home.

Jesus speak in parables here because he is getting ready to end the old Kingdom and establish his new kingdom.

-Tim-

 

[bmonk]

Luke 16:1-13

I know it’s just a parable. But when the crafty steward reduce the amount of debts his master’s debtors had, surely the master himself was keeping track of the amount of debts his debtors had right? Didn’t the steward think that his master might find that out?

I don’t think that’s the point of the parable. The Master might have had records, but by having the debtors write new promissory notes and take back the old ones, there was little the master could do–these were legal documents, like IOUs or loan agreements, and if they said the fellow owed 50 bushels of wheat, that’s what he owed. And then there’s the fact that the steward did have access to the master’s books, and could make the entries match. Just as a bookkeeper these days is ideally situated to embezzle from the business.

Second, the steward didn’t really care. He probably knew the master would find out–but he was getting fired anyway. What more could the master do? Rather he acted to save what he could from disaster: if he was to have no more access to his master’s wealth, at least he could have friends to provide for him.

 

[sherimarie]

I think th@t is right to s@y th@t the cr@fty Stew@rd w@s protecting himself by lowering their debt, but i think the owner did know wh@t he w@s up to, it s@ys l@ter th@t the owner commended him for his forw@rd thinking. The stew@rd didn’t c@re bec@use he knew he would be fired @nyw@y, but t@ken c@re of by his new “friends”.

 

[Gorgias]

I don’t think that’s the point of the parable.

And then there’s the fact that the steward did have access to the master’s books, and could make the entries match. Just as a bookkeeper these days is ideally situated to embezzle from the business.

This doesn’t seem to be the point of the parable, either. It isn’t that the steward embezzled once he knew he was on the way out – if that were the case, then you’d be stuck explaining why the master (and Jesus) praised the steward for embezzling from his master.

This parable has caused many to scratch their heads. Some commentators suggest that, by lowering the amounts due, the steward was simply foregoing the profit he would have seen from the debts; therefore, he was both getting the money back for his master, and making new friends (as James has pointed out).

 

[JRKH]

This doesn’t seem to be the point of the parable, either. It isn’t that the steward embezzled once he knew he was on the way out – if that were the case, then you’d be stuck explaining why the master (and Jesus) praised the steward for embezzling from his master.

Exactly.
And in struggling with this very issue, we illustrate how we are still thinking “in the world” instead of thinking, “in the kingdom of God”

This parable has caused many to scratch their heads. Some commentators suggest that, by lowering the amounts due, the steward was simply foregoing the profit he would have seen from the debts; therefore, he was both getting the money back for his master, and making new friends (as James has pointed out).

Since what we see the Steward doing is “forgiving debt”, it strikes me that this ties in nicely with the Lords Prayer…“And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors…” (Mt 6:12 RSV).
Also, Look at verse 9 in the Parable:
“And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations.”
By forgiving parts of the debt - probably the “interest” on the debt - the Steward, “made friends”, would receive him into their habitations if need be.

This “forgiving debt” would tend to go against the worldly view. The worldly view would be for he Steward to put pressure on the debtors to pay up so that he could show his master full store houses and a heavy treasury of mammon.
Look at the Parable above in connection with another Parable related in Mt 18:23-35 and how the differently the servants acted and the reaction of their Master to their very different acts.
He who forgave the debtors was rewarded. The one who refused to forgive was punished.

Peace
James

 

[nordskoven]

I think the crafty steward was being very shrewd and serving the interests of both his present and potentially future masters. Having outstanding receivables is not a good thing. People owe the business money. So you put the debt on sale, so to speak, and get something now instead of more and more and more nothing; and you create good will with future employers. That cash on hand is now able to be put to goooooood use, one would hope, and capitalize more investments that would lead to more profit, offsetting any potential loss from couponizing the debt.

I’m guessing we could all see it clearly if we had a “crafty realtor” who decided to lower the price of a house that had been languishing on the market. Maybe, as suggested, that meant cutting their own commission. But having that asset liquidated is puh-lenty important, more so than getting what one imagined as the full asking price. Getting that cash to work n-o-w could be more important than the full asking price later…maybe never. And may we truly be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Plan B coming to fruition is better than a plan A that never gets off the ground, to paraphrase Joyce Meyers. One business consultant flatly said doing something today imperfectly is better than doing nothing waiting for that perfect time, place, person or circumstance. Or as Larry the Cable Guy says, “Get 'r done!”

 

[bogeydogg]

Luke 16:1-13

I know it’s just a parable. But when the crafty steward reduce the amount of debts his master’s debtors had, surely the master himself was keeping track of the amount of debts his debtors had right? Didn’t the steward think that his master might find that out?

The thing that has always struck me about this parable is that the master commends the servant who has just robbed him. I think the steward was lazy and wasteful and this was the first productive thing the master had ever seen him do. Clearly I think we are to forgive debts, but remember Jesus is telling this parable to pharisees and the point is that the steward is fired and the master is going to his job to someone else.

Jesus is telling the Church to not be consumed with worldly things but use them as God’s gifts and we will be rewarded by the Master in this life and the next.

God Bless

 

[PJM]

=fin;9046020]Luke 16:1-13

I know it’s just a parable. But when the crafty steward reduce the amount of debts his master’s debtors had, surely the master himself was keeping track of the amount of debts his debtors had right? Didn’t the steward think that his master might find that out?

ONLY bu “chance”.

The benefactors of the fraud would have had to either tell the “master” or possibly brag about it and it could have gotten back to the master. The Stewart was a DESPERTAE man who felt he had everyting [possibly] to gain and nothing to lose.

The interestering part for me how ever is that Jesus seems to admire his shredness. BUT then goes on to expalin that the “worldly” are good at “worldy things”

God Bless,
Pat

 

[bmonk]

This doesn’t seem to be the point of the parable, either. It isn’t that the steward embezzled once he knew he was on the way out – if that were the case, then you’d be stuck explaining why the master (and Jesus) praised the steward for embezzling from his master.

This parable has caused many to scratch their heads. Some commentators suggest that, by lowering the amounts due, the steward was simply foregoing the profit he would have seen from the debts; therefore, he was both getting the money back for his master, and making new friends (as James has pointed out).

On the other hand, all of the parables has something going sideways. Bankers (or Kings) who forgive $100,000,000 debts, Farmers who throw seed all over the place, Mustard seeds that grow big enough and sturdy enough to hold bird nests, a corrupt judge who fears a widow might come and beat him up, and so on.

If that’s what’s going on here, the master might praise the corrupt steward–for being more on-the-ball (“enterprising”) than he was. After all, the master knew the steward was corrupt: he was firing him for just that reason. And he failed to keep an eye on him, so it’s his own fault he was cheated. Anyway, that’s my reading.

 

[Abu]

Just as Christ’s parable of the Talents most strikingly acknowledges Christ’s respect for the work of business, so does the parable of the Dishonest Steward – the steward is dishonest, “but the nature of his work is not. In fact by praising his shrewdness, Christ admires his opportunism. While the steward abuses the trust his master extends to him, it must be recognised that the nature of the work that is entrusted to him is fundamentally good. The sin of the steward is his misuse of his master’s business, not the work of business itself.” Entrepreneurship in the Catholic Tradition, Fr Anthony G Percy, Lexington Books, 2010, p 47].

St Jerome understands Christ’s intent:
“Why, even shopkeepers who are particularly frugal, and slaves who are not wasteful, and the care-takers who made our childhood a burden to us and even thieves when they are particularly clever, we speak of as diligent; and so the conduct of the unjust steward in the Gospel is spoken of as wise.” [St Jerome, Jerome’s apology for himself against the book of Rufinus, Book 1, 24, in: Schaff, Theodoret, Jerome, 495].

 

[mercytruth]

The question that maybe we should be asking is what did Jesus mean when he said to his disciples “make friends of the mammon of iniquity, that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings.”?

If the wise steward was reducing the debtors debts owed to his master in order to be received into the debtors’ homes if the steward should lose his stewardship…how does this apply to the disciples of Jesus Christ?

As disciples of Jesus Christ they are stewards of the gospel. They are commissioned to bring the good news to those of the mammon of iniquity and become their friends. How do they become their friends? By advising them to give 50% or 80% of their wealth to the poor in the name of Jesus Christ. After all, all that they have belongs to our Master in heaven. And as the scriptures say, “Love, or charity covers a multitude of sins”.

 

[fred_conty]

The point of the parable is not about justice, or employer/employee relations, but about forgiveness. If we expect to receive forgiveness, then we must forgive others their debt or reduce it. “forgive us our traspasses as we forgive others”. Homes are heavenly palaces where we will be welcomed among them because we forgave.

Just a thought.

 

[Abu]

“If the import of the parable is that Christians should have the ‘shrewdness to recognise and seize the opportunity that exists’ in the person of Christ, then clearly the work and work and remedial action of the steward is foundational to the functioning of the parable. [Joseph a Fitzmyer, *The Gospel According to Luke: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, The Anchor Bible, Doubleday, 1985, 1098]. The steward, his work and his remedial action – his shrewdness and opportune behaviour – is clearly most fitting to highlight the way the believer should act in relation to Christ.” Entrepreneurship in the Catholic Tradition, Fr Anthony G Percy, Lexington Books, 2010, p 47].

“Our Lord does not condemn the possession of wealth absolutely, but demands that in this as in all else a man should regard himself as a steward for God.” A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, Ed. Dom Bernard Orchard, Nelson, 1951].

 

[mercytruth]

The point of the parable is not about justice, or employer/employee relations, but about forgiveness. If we expect to receive forgiveness, then we must forgive others their debt or reduce it. “forgive us our traspasses as we forgive others”. Homes are heavenly palaces where we will be welcomed among them because we forgave.

Just a thought.

This seems to be a possible explanation, but I can not help but think of the example of our Lord Jesus Christ who made friends with Zacheus, a chief publican and a man of the mammon of unrighteousness.

For Jesus tells him to make haste and come down from the tree, because Jesus must abide in his house. When Zacheus came down from the tree, the Lord received him with joy. (They who saw this murmured, that Jesus was making himself a guest of a sinner).

What did Zacheus decide to do right then and there? He said, Lord, I will give half ****of my goods (50%) to the poor and I will give fourfold to any I have wronged.

I think this is what he was trying to explain to his disciples with the parable. Make friends of those of the mammon of iniquity, as he did with Zacheus.

Luke 19:1-10.

 

[fred_conty]

This seems to be a possible explanation, but I can not help but think of the example of our Lord Jesus Christ who made friends with Zacheus, a chief publican and a man of the mammon of unrighteousness.

For Jesus tells him to make haste and come down from the tree, because Jesus must abide in his house. When Zacheus came down from the tree, the Lord received him with joy. (They who saw this murmured, that Jesus was making himself a guest of a sinner).

What did Zacheus decide to do right then and there? He said, Lord, I will give half ****of my goods (50%) to the poor and I will give fourfold to any I have wronged.

I think this is what he was trying to explain to his disciples with the parable. Make friends of those of the mammon of iniquity, as he did with Zacheus.

Luke 19:1-10.

This true story is about making God a friend thru paying back debt, Lazarus’ response to love.

The other parable is about making people friends thru forgiving debt, their response to love.

Both are stories about having a change of heart in response to love.

Just a thought and best wishes.

 

[Gorgias]

The point of the parable is not about justice, or employer/employee relations, but about forgiveness. If we expect to receive forgiveness, then we must forgive others their debt or reduce it. “forgive us our traspasses as we forgive others”. Homes are heavenly palaces where we will be welcomed among them because we forgave.

Fred,

That’s an interesting take on the parable, but I’m not seeing where you’re getting that from. I mean, the “or reduce it” part fits the parable, but doesn’t seem to fit Jesus’ teaching (after all, it’s not “forgive us our trespasses as we reduce others”!).

In the parable, we don’t see any forgiveness of debt, either on the part of the master or the steward. I can see where you’d like the parable to say that, but it doesn’t. The “heavenly palaces”… will they welcome us because we reduced but didn’t forgive? After all, that’s the example of the steward…!

The reason that this parable is such a difficult one is that we would expect to take the lesson you propose from it… but it doesn’t even offer that possibility to us! Instead, there’s a much different (and difficult) teaching here…!