Title: Sit Down Quickly and Write
Today’s scriptures (Luk 16:1-7) would be one of the controversial stories in the Bible because the unrighteous steward was praised for his unrighteous action.
- Why was the unrighteous steward praised?
There was a steward working for a rich man. He wasn’t faithful to the duty that was given to him. One day, the master heard that this steward was squandering his possessions, thus the master was going to sack the steward. The steward then fell into a thought how he is going to make a living from now on. All of a sudden, the steward came up with an idea that he summoned all the debtors to pay much lesser than they ought to.
To the one who owed 100 measures of oil, he asked to get rid of the bill and write 50. Greek word for ‘measures of oil’ is ‘Batos’ and 100 Batos is about 875 gallons of oil. So, 50% discount here is a huge amount. And to the one who owed 100 measures of wheat, he asked to get rid of the bill but write 80. Greek word for ‘measures of wheat’ is ‘Koros’ and 100 Koros is about 4 years’ wages of a labourer. So, 20% discount here is again a huge sum.
We may think that perhaps this is the worst kind of decision because this unrighteous steward not only proved that he is unfaithful but added much more to unrighteousness. However, the master praised the steward for his shrewdness (Luk 16:8).
Bible never encourage us to live or become unrighteous. In order to understand this parable, we should know the social system in Jesus’ time. One of the businesses the rich people did was a loan business. Stewards are the ones in charge of the master’s possession, as well as taking care of the loan business. The steward in this case is not contracted with monthly salary but he gets some commission and benefit out of this loan business. Basically, a steward becomes a middlemen between the master and the debtors and marks up for his profit when making a loan contract. That’s how it worked at that time, and the master doesn’t really know how much each debtor owed from him.
The point of this parable is not to give a moral or ethical lesson but to bring your attention to the fact that even this unrighteous steward was preparing for his end. And that is the reason why the unrighteous steward was praised (Luk 16:9).
Title: Sit Down Quickly and Write
Today’s scriptures (Luk 16:1-7) would be one of the controversial stories in the Bible because the unrighteous steward was praised for his unrighteous action.
- Why was the unrighteous steward praised?
There was a steward working for a rich man. He wasn’t faithful to the duty that was given to him. One day, the master heard that this steward was squandering his possessions, thus the master was going to sack the steward. The steward then fell into a thought how he is going to make a living from now on. All of a sudden, the steward came up with an idea that he summoned all the debtors to pay much lesser than they ought to.
To the one who owed 100 measures of oil, he asked to get rid of the bill and write 50. Greek word for ‘measures of oil’ is ‘Batos’ and 100 Batos is about 875 gallons of oil. So, 50% discount here is a huge amount. And to the one who owed 100 measures of wheat, he asked to get rid of the bill but write 80. Greek word for ‘measures of wheat’ is ‘Koros’ and 100 Koros is about 4 years’ wages of a labourer. So, 20% discount here is again a huge sum.
We may think that perhaps this is the worst kind of decision because this unrighteous steward not only proved that he is unfaithful but added much more to unrighteousness. However, the master praised the steward for his shrewdness (Luk 16:8).
Bible never encourage us to live or become unrighteous. In order to understand this parable, we should know the social system in Jesus’ time. One of the businesses the rich people did was a loan business. Stewards are the ones in charge of the master’s possession, as well as taking care of the loan business. The steward in this case is not contracted with monthly salary but he gets some commission and benefit out of this loan business. Basically, a steward becomes a middlemen between the master and the debtors and marks up for his profit when making a loan contract. That’s how it worked at that time, and the master doesn’t really know how much each debtor owed from him.
The point of this parable is not to give a moral or ethical lesson but to bring your attention to the fact that even this unrighteous steward was preparing for his end. And that is the reason why the unrighteous steward was praised (Luk 16:9).
Rev 20:10 and following talks about the book of life. Rev 20:15, Rev 21:27 says that if anyone’s name was not found in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. If we believe that there is hell and there is lake of fire. Therefore, we have to make a determination and to become proactive. We need to go to the kingdom of God, not the lake of fire, no matter what we need to give up in this world.
Conclusion:
We have to listen and deliver the Word of God
The steward changed the deal to prepare for his life after being kicked out from the master’s house. Likewise, we are preparing a lot of things for ourselves and for our family. We must know that no matter how hard we work for our family and how much money we reserve in our bank account, God won’t count them when it comes to our salvation in the end time.
We need to listen to the Word of God. Our goal is to receive the blessing of Eternal life, not end up in the lake of fire but in the kingdom of God. Jhn 3:16 says that whoever believes, will receive the blessing of Eternal life. Rom 10:17 says that faith comes from hearing and hearing the Word of Christ.
Therefore, if you are preparing for the end time, you need to start listening to the Word of God right now. In the same way, if you want to make your family members to be prepared for the end time, you’ve got to deliver the Word of God to them.
There is nothing we can learn from the unrighteous steward morally. However, God really wanted to teach us that we should make an urgent and strong determination in regards to speedy repentance and hearing the Word of God.
Let’s examine ourselves and restart the spiritual engine, so that you and I, your family and my family may receive the blessing for the end time, and go into the kingdom of God. Amen!
The Lord's Covenant Church Malaysia 