Advanced Commentary
Texts -- Luke 16:1-18 (NET)
Pericope
NET
- Luk 16:1-13 -- The Parable of the Clever Steward
- Luk 16:14-18 -- More Warnings about the Pharisees
Bible Dictionary
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Steward
[isbe] STEWARD - stu'-erd ('ish `al bayith (Gen 43:16,19; 44:1; 1 Ki 16:9), ha-meltsar (Dan 1:11), ha-cokhen (Isa 22:15)): 1. Old Testament Usage: In the King James Version the word "steward" is found in Gen 15:2; 1 Ch 28:1, in add...
[nave] STEWARD, Gen. 15:2; 43:19; 1 Chr. 28:1; Luke 8:3. Figurative The faithful steward described, Luke 12:35-38, 42. The unfaithful, described, Luke 16:1-8. See the parable of the pounds, Luke 19:12-27; of the talents, Matt....
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Jesus, The Christ
[nave] JESUS, THE CHRIST. Index of Sub-topics History of; Miscellaneous Facts Concerning; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Ascension of; Atonement by; Attributes of; Compassion of; Confessing; Creator; Death of; Design of His...
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Reproof
[nave] REPROOF. Lev. 19:17; Psa. 141:5; Prov. 9:7, 8; Prov. 10:17; Prov. 12:1; Prov. 13:18; Prov. 15:5, 10, 12, 31, 32; Prov. 17:10; Prov. 19:25; Prov. 21:11; Prov. 25:12; Prov. 26:5; Prov. 27:5, 6; Prov. 28:23; Eccl. 7:5; Amos 5:...
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LUKE, THE GOSPEL OF
[isbe] LUKE, THE GOSPEL OF - || 1. Text 2. Canonicity 3. Authorship 4. Sources 5. Credibility 6. Characteristics 7. Date 8. Analysis LITERATURE 1. Text: The five primary uncials (Codices Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Ephraem...
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ABRAHAM
[isbe] ABRAHAM - a'-bra-ham: I. NAME 1. Various Forms 2. Etymology 3. Association II. KINDRED III. CAREER 1. Period of Wandering 2. Period of Residence at Hebron 3. Period of Residence in the Negeb IV. CONDITIONS OF LIFE 1. Economi...
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WEALTH, WEALTHY
[isbe] WEALTH, WEALTHY - welth, wel'-thi (hon, chayil, nekhacim; euporia, "to possess riches," "to be in a position of ease" (Jer 49:31)): The possession of wealth is not regarded as sinful, but, on the contrary, was looked upon as...
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JESUS CHRIST, 4D
[isbe] JESUS CHRIST, 4D - D. LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM--JESUS IN PERAEA Departure from Galilee: An interval of two months elapses between John 10:21 and 22--from the Feast of Tabernacles (October) till the Feast of the Dedication (...
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LAZARUS
[isbe] LAZARUS - laz'-a-rus (Lazaros, an abridged form of the Hebrew name Eleazar, with a Greek termination): Means "God has helped." In Septuagint and Josephus are found the forms Eleazar, and Eleazaros. The name was common among ...
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Servant
[nave] SERVANT Distinguished as bond servant, who was a slave, and hired servant. Bond Laws of Moses concerning, Ex. 21:1-11, 20, 21, 26, 27, 32; Lev. 19:20-22; 25:6, 10, 35-55; Deut. 15:12, 14, 18; 24:7. Kidnapping forbidden, D...
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Worldliness
[nave] WORLDLINESS. 1 Sam. 8:19, 20; Job 20:4-29; Job 21:11-15; Psa. 49:16-18; Psa. 73:2-22; Prov. 14:12, 13; Prov. 15:21; Prov. 21:17; Prov. 23:20, 21; Prov. 27:1, 7; Eccl. 1:8; Eccl. 2:1-12; Eccl. 6:11, 12; Eccl. 8:15-17; Eccl. ...
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Probation
[nave] PROBATION, Rom. 5:4. Adam on, Gen. 2:15-17; 3:3. Amorites, Gen. 15:16. Solomon, 1 Kin. 3:14; 9:4-9, with 1 Kin. 11:9-12. Taught in parables of the talents and pounds, Matt. 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-27; the fig tree, Luke 13...
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TRADE
[isbe] TRADE - trad: I. GENERAL 1. Terms 2. Position of Palestine 3. Trade Products of Palestine 4. Palestinian Traders II. HISTORY 1. To David 2. Solomon 3. Maritime Trade 4. To the Exile 5. The Exile and After LITERATURE I. Gener...
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Mammon
[ebd] a Chaldee or Syriac word meaning "wealth" or "riches" (Luke 16:9-11); also, by personification, the god of riches (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:9-11).
[isbe] MAMMON - mam'-un (Mamonas): A common Aramaic word (mamon) for riches, used in Mt 6:24 and in Lk 16:9,11,13. In these passages mammon merely means wealth, and is called "unrighteous," because the abuse of riches is more frequ...
[smith] (riches) (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:9) a word which often occurs in the Chaldee Terguma of Onkelos and later writers, and in the Syriac version, and which signifies "riches." It is used in St. Matthew as a personification of rich...
[nave] MAMMON, wealth, Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:9, 11, 13. See: Rich; Riches.
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Greed
[nave] GREED. Ex. 18:21; Ex. 20:17 Deut. 5:21. Neh. 5:7; Job 20:15; Job 31:24, 25, 28; Psa. 10:3; Psa. 119:36; Prov. 1:19; Prov. 11:24, 26; Prov. 15:27; Prov. 21:25, 26; Prov. 22:16; Prov. 23:4, 5; Prov. 30:8, 9; Eccl. 1:8 vs. 2-8...
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Dishonesty
[nave] DISHONESTY. Lev. 6:2-7; Lev. 19:13, 35, 36; Deut. 25:13, 15, 16; Job 24:2-11; Psa. 37:21; Psa. 50:18; Psa. 62:10; Prov. 3:27, 28; Prov. 11:1; Prov. 20:10, 14, 17, 23; Isa. 32:7; Jer. 7:8-10; Jer. 9:4-6, 8; Jer. 22:13; Ezek....
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Embezzlement
[nave] EMBEZZLEMENT, Luke 16:1-7. See: Dishonesty; Fraud.
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Misconduct in Office
[nave] MISCONDUCT IN OFFICE. Instances of The lessees of the vineyard, in one of the parables of Jesus, Mark 12:1-8; Luke 20:9-15. The steward mentioned in one of the parables of Jesus, Luke 16:1-7.
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Measure
[ebd] Several words are so rendered in the Authorized Version. (1.) Those which are indefinite. (a) Hok, Isa. 5:14, elsewhere "statute." (b) Mad, Job 11:9; Jer. 13:25, elsewhere "garment." (c) Middah, the word most frequently thus...
[nave] MEASURE The following modern equivalents of ancient measurements are based upon the latest researches, and are probably as nearly correct as is possible at this time: Dry 1. Bushel, about a peck, Matt. 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luk...
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Faithfulness
[nave] FAITHFULNESS. Psa. 12:1; Psa. 31:23; Prov. 20:6; Prov. 28:20; Matt. 10:22; Matt. 24:45-47 Luke 12:42-44. Matt. 25:14-23 Luke 19:12-27. Luke 16:10-12; 1 Cor. 4:2; Col. 3:22 Eph. 6:5-9. Rev. 2:10 See: Obedience, Exhortation t...
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Tittle
[ebd] a point, (Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:17), the minute point or stroke added to some letters of the Hebrew alphabet to distinguish them from others which they resemble; hence, the very least point.
[isbe] TITTLE - tit'-'-l (keraia (Westcott-Hort, kerea), from keras, "a horn"): A small stroke or mark, specif. on a letter to denote accent, or as a diacritical mark; used only in Mt 5:18 and Lk 16:17. In the first passage it is u...
[nave] TITTLE Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:17
Arts
Questions
- Scripture does not give us a great deal of information regarding a temporary place of the dead. We actually learn the most from Luke 16:19 and following, so a careful study of that passage would be most helpful. Let me st...
- I've heard and read the same statement a number of times, but have never troubled myself to look up each passage. I'm not surprised that looking up "heaven" and "hell" in a concordance would give you contradictory results. T...
- Those who are dead "in Christ" are in his presence now. This includes Old Testament saints (2 Cor 5:8; Phil. 1:23; cf. Matt 17:3 and Moses and Elijah in God's presence). Those who are dead in Christ now or before he comes for...
- Praying for the dead is not a biblical concept. Our prayers have no bearing on someone once they have died. At that point their eternal future is confirmed. Either they are saved through faith in Christ and are in God's prese...
- The implication of Scripture is that we will know our loved ones in heaven both before and after resurrection. The disciples were able to recognize the Lord after His death and resurrection, though sometimes they did not reco...
- The whole thrust of the Bible opposes reincarnation. It shows that man is the special creation of God, created in God's image with both a material body and an immaterial soul and spirit. He is presented as distinct and unique...
- Some use Ephesians 4:7-10 to teach that Jesus went to hell or to Hades to release the prisoners held there and take them to heaven or into God's presence. The idea is that before His death, all Old Testament believers were in...
- See Matt 5:26; Luke 16:10-12; Luke 19:8,9; Rom. 13:8; Philemon 1:18. The Roman law (in Christ's day) directed a fourfold restitution, which explains Zaccheus' statement in Luke 19:8. His generous addition of "the half of his ...
- Probably no passage has been so often the subject of dispute as this in Luke 16:8,9. The Revised Version renders it, "Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness." Luther thought it was a caution agai...
- The Bible law on marriage and divorce may be learned from the following passages: Gen. 3:24; Matt 19:5; by Peter in Mark 10:7,8; Eph. 5:31; Matt. 19:6; Mark 10:8; Mark 10:9; Mal. 2:16; Matt. 5:32, 19:9; I Cor. 7:11; Matt. 19:...
- "Every one who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery." (Luke 16:18). Regarding the issue of adultery and the meaning of this passage,...
- The law, in its literalness, endured until the time of John the Baptist After him the kingdom of heaven was preached, the new kingdom whose law is love, whose king is Christ, and whose members are empowered by the Spirit of C...
Sermon Illustrations
Resources/Books
Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)
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Joseph experienced God's blessing as he served faithfully in Potiphar's house. His master's wife repeatedly seduced him, but he refused her offers because he did not want to sin against God and betray Potiphar's trust. Joseph...
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Moses recognized that when Israel settled in Canaan and took on the characteristics of other nations (e.g., a homeland, political organization, etc.) her people would desire a king. As he revealed the mind of God here a king ...
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It was natural for Jesus to explain His view of the Old Testament since He would shortly proceed to interpret it to His hearers.5:17 Some of the Jews may have already concluded that Jesus was a radical who was discarding the ...
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This parable illustrates the two attitudes that people during the Tribulation will have regarding Jesus' return.24:45-47 The servants (Gr. doulos) are Jesus' disciples to whom He has entrusted the responsibility of managing H...
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Though Mark did not record it, Jesus gave His disciples much additional instruction as they travelled from Capernaum in Galilee toward Jerusalem (cf. Matt. 8:19-22; 18:15-35; Luke 9:51-18:14; John 7:2-11:54). Evidently Jesus ...
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The main doctrines of systematic theology that Luke stressed were Christology, soteriology, pneumatology, and eschatology. There is much emphasis on the glory of God, prayer, miracles, the divine plan that Jesus fulfilled, Is...
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I. Introduction 1:1-4II. The birth and childhood of Jesus 1:5-2:52A. The announcement of John the Baptist's birth 1:5-251. The introduction of John's parents 1:5-72. The angel's announcement to Zechariah 1:8-233. The pregnanc...
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Jesus now gave His disciples information that enabled them to understand the deeper teaching of the parable. The proclaimed Word of God does not in itself yield a uniform response of faith. Response to it is all important.8:1...
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In this last major section describing Jesus' ministry in and around Galilee (4:14-9:50), Luke stressed Jesus' preparation of His disciples for the opposition that lay before them. This was the climax of Jesus' ministry in Gal...
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Teaching of the disciples continues as primary in this part of the third Gospel (9:51-19:10). Jesus' words to them at the beginning of the present section (12:1-13:17) broadened to include the crowds toward the end....
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There are several thematic connections that tie this pericope with what has preceded and show its role in the development of Luke's argument. Jesus had just called the nation to repentance (vv. 3, 5). Now He showed that chang...
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Another question led to this teaching. The thematic connection with Jesus' words about the small beginning of the kingdom (vv. 19, 21) should be obvious. As elsewhere, Luke recorded Jesus teaching lessons and using illustrati...
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14:31-32 This second parable makes essentially the same point as the first one. However the cost of failure in this one is not just embarrassment but personal destruction. It is very important to assess the strength of one's ...
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"Luke 16:1-8 contains probably the most difficult parable in Luke."36716:1 The linguistic connection that ties this parable with its preceding context is the word "squander"(Gr. diaskorpizo, cf. 15:13). This is the clue to th...
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Jesus proceeded to draw two more lessons from the parable He had just told. One was the importance of faithfulness for Jesus' agents. The other was the importance of undivided loyalty to Jesus.16:10-12 Trustworthiness does no...
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The Pharisees who where listening to Jesus' instructions to His disciples scoffed at Him because they tried to serve both God and mammon (v. 13). They tried to appear pious and at the same time accumulate all the wealth they ...
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Jesus' began His response to the Pharisees' rejection of His teaching by pointing out the importance of submitting to God's Word.16:14-15 Jesus rebuked His critics for their hypocrisy. They were able to explain their covetous...
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In this parable the rich man and his brothers who did not listen to Moses and the prophets (vv. 29-31) represent the Pharisees (vv. 16-17). The Pharisees believed in a future life and a coming judgment, but they, as the rich ...
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Jesus had been teaching the disciples about avoiding what men esteemed highly but which God viewed as detestable, namely the pursuit of money (16:15). By pursuing money hypocritically the Pharisees had turned many of their fe...
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Luke's narration of this miracle focuses on the response of the Samaritan whom Jesus healed. It is not so much a story that he intended to show Jesus' divine identity, though it does that. It is rather another lesson for the ...
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Again an action by the Pharisees led to a brief answer from Jesus followed by a longer explanation for the disciples (cf. 15:1-16:13; 16:14-17:19). Luke's conclusion of Jesus' teaching on this occasion included a parable (18:...
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Jesus continued His instruction to the disciples about His return. He told them a parable designed to encourage them to continue praying while they lived in the interval before His second coming.18:1 The audience for this par...
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Luke next developed the idea of faith on the earth that Jesus introduced in verse 8. This whole section clarifies how people become believers. This subject is a fitting conclusion to the part of Luke's Gospel that deals with ...
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This is another lesson on riches that Luke recorded (cf. 6:24; 8:14; 11:41; 12:13-34; 16), but the context here is instruction on wealth as it pertains to entering into salvation and the kingdom. Someone might conclude from t...
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Jesus' passion announcements to His disciples constitute important structural markers in Mark's Gospel. Luke and Matthew did not use them this way. The incident before us was the third passion announcement that Jesus gave bes...
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This section in Luke's long narrative of Jesus' ministry as He travelled to Jerusalem (9:51-19:27) is climactic. It is a choice example of Jesus offering salvation to a needy person. Zaccheus accepted Jesus' offer and respond...
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This parable serves in Luke's narrative as a conclusion to the section on salvation's recipients (18:9-19:27). It provides something of a denouement(i.e., a final unravelling of the plot) following the excellent example of Za...
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This parable taught that Israel's religious leaders who had authority were mismanaging their authority. It also affirmed Jesus' authority, not just as a prophet, but as God's Son. The leaders had expressed fear of death (v. 6...
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Jesus told the parable of the fig tree to illustrate the certainty of what He had prophesied. He then gave other assurances of fulfillment. Luke omitted Jesus' statement that no one would know the day or hour when He would re...
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Alford, Henry. The Greek Testament. New ed. 4 vols. London: Rivingtons, 1880.Bailey, Kenneth E. Poet and Peasant: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977.Bishop...
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2:37 The Holy Spirit used Peter's sermon to bring conviction, as Jesus had predicted (John 16:8-11). He convicted Peter's hearers of the truth of what he said and of their guilt in rejecting Jesus. Their question arose from t...
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The reason for Israel's failure mentioned in 9:32-33, namely her rejection of Christ, led Paul to amplify that subject further in this section.10:1 This pericope opens with Paul returning to his feelings of compassionate conc...
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"The first paragraph (vv. 1-5) leads the way by making an application of the servant model and showing how that relates to their treatment of him [Paul]. He changes images from farm to household and insists that he is God'sse...
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Having revealed what believers have in Christ, Paul next pointed out the errors of the false teachers more specifically to help his readers identify and reject their instruction."Sad to say, there are many Christians who actu...
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The Ephesian church already had elders long before Paul wrote this letter (Acts 20:17-35)."If our identification of the false teachers as elders is correct, then Paul's reason for this set of instructions is that Timothy must...
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Paul returned to instructions concerning the false teachers (cf. 1:3-11; 4:1-5) to alert Timothy to their underlying attitudes so he could deal with them effectively.". . . Paul issues a kind of wanted poster.' It is the coun...
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1:3 Peter called his readers to bless (praise) God for giving us a living hope. This undying hope rests on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because He lives, we shall live. Our new birth gave us this resurrected life of Chri...
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Next Peter outlined what will surely happen so his readers would understand what will take place.3:7 God has given orders that the present heavens and earth (vv. 5-6) will experience another judgment yet future. Then God will...
Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)
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The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.'--Luke 16:8.THE parable of which these words are the close is remarkable in that it proposes a piece of deliberate roguery as, in some sort,...
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He 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. 11. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your tru...
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If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?'--Luke 16:12.IN a recent sermon on this context I dealt mainly with the threefold comparison which our Lord runs between ...
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There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21. And desiring to be fe...