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The Gospels · New Testament

Luke 16

Luke 16: the unjust steward, mammon, and the rich man and Lazarus

General context

Jesus tells his disciples of a rich man whose steward is accused of wasting his goods and is called to give an account. The steward reasons with himself that he cannot dig and is ashamed to beg, and calls in his lord's debtors, cutting a hundred measures of oil to fifty and a hundred measures of wheat to fourscore, so that they will receive him into their houses. The lord commends the unjust steward for having done wisely. Sayings follow about the mammon of unrighteousness, about faithfulness in least and in much, and about not serving two masters. The Pharisees, whom the narrator calls covetous, hear this and deride him, and he answers about justifying themselves before men, about the law and the prophets until John, about one tittle of the law, and about putting away a wife. He then tells of a rich man clothed in purple and fine linen and a beggar named Lazarus laid at his gate full of sores. Both die. Lazarus is carried into Abraham's bosom and the rich man is in torments; he asks Abraham to send Lazarus with water, then to send him to his five brethren, and Abraham answers that they have Moses and the prophets.

Cited passages: Luke 16:1, Luke 16:2, Luke 16:3, Luke 16:4, Luke 16:5, Luke 16:6, Luke 16:7, Luke 16:8, Luke 16:9, Luke 16:10, Luke 16:11, Luke 16:12, Luke 16:13, Luke 16:14, Luke 16:15, Luke 16:16, Luke 16:17, Luke 16:18, Luke 16:19, Luke 16:20, Luke 16:21, Luke 16:22, Luke 16:23, Luke 16:24, Luke 16:25, Luke 16:26, Luke 16:27, Luke 16:28, Luke 16:29, Luke 16:31

Luke 16 (KJV)

1And 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.

2And 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.

3Then 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.

4I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.

5So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?

6And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.

7Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.

8And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

9And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

10He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

11If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

12And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?

13No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

14And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.

15And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

16The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

17And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

18Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.

19There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

27Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:

28For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

29Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

30And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

31And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

Lazarus here is a figure inside a story Jesus tells, and the chapter connects him with no one outside that story. Neither of the two stories in this chapter is called a parable in the printed text. The rich man of the second is not named, and neither is the rich man of the first or his steward. Verse 8 is ambiguous in the printed text: the lord who commends the unjust steward can be read as the master within the parable, and the following verse begins with a separate speaker formula, so the chapter does not settle where the story ends and Jesus' own comment begins. The note that the Pharisees were covetous belongs to the narrator, while the reply about justifying yourselves is Jesus' speech. Abraham's answers are speech inside the second story, not narration about the dead. No date, place or occasion is given for the teaching.

Cited passages: Luke 16:1, Luke 16:2, Luke 16:8, Luke 16:9, Luke 16:13, Luke 16:14, Luke 16:15, Luke 16:19, Luke 16:20, Luke 16:22, Luke 16:23, Luke 16:25, Luke 16:29, Luke 16:30, Luke 16:31

Literary context

Two long stories about rich men and money stand at either end of the chapter, with short sayings packed between them. The first turns on being received: the steward acts so that people will receive him into their houses, and the saying that follows speaks of being received into everlasting habitations. The second story reverses positions after death, so that the man who desired crumbs is comforted and the man who fared sumptuously asks for a drop of water on his tongue. All the speaking in that story happens between the rich man and Abraham; Lazarus is named four times and never says a word. The rich man keeps giving orders about Lazarus even from torment. The closing line, that they would not be persuaded though one rose from the dead, sends the reader back to Moses and the prophets, named twice in the dialogue, while the law and the prophets stand at verse 16.

Cited passages: Luke 16:1, Luke 16:4, Luke 16:9, Luke 16:10, Luke 16:13, Luke 16:14, Luke 16:16, Luke 16:17, Luke 16:19, Luke 16:20, Luke 16:21, Luke 16:22, Luke 16:23, Luke 16:24, Luke 16:25, Luke 16:26, Luke 16:27, Luke 16:29, Luke 16:30, Luke 16:31

Key moments

  1. Give an account of thy stewardship (Luke 16:2). The rich man calls in his steward and ends his stewardship.
  2. The bills rewritten (Luke 16:6). The steward tells the first debtor to write fifty instead of a hundred.
  3. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13). Jesus says no servant can serve two masters.
  4. The Pharisees deride him (Luke 16:14). The narrator says the covetous Pharisees heard these things and derided him.
  5. Lazarus at the gate (Luke 16:20). A beggar named Lazarus is laid full of sores at the rich man’s gate.
  6. Positions reversed (Luke 16:25). Abraham tells the rich man that each now has the opposite of his lifetime.
  7. They have Moses and the prophets (Luke 16:29). Abraham refuses to send Lazarus to the five brethren.

For reflection

Abraham tells the rich man that his five brothers have Moses and the prophets, and that someone rising from the dead would not change their minds. What does the parable say persuasion actually depends on?

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