Money and Eternity
Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. Luke 16:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Jesus tells His followers a surprising story: a rich man finds out his manager has been wasting his money, and things are about to get interesting.
This parable comes right after the prodigal son story and uses the same word for 'squandering' — there's a deliberate connection between the two.
Jesus is now speaking to His disciples, though the Pharisees are still listening in the background.
A manager is caught mishandling his boss's money. He's about to be fired. What he does next is unexpectedly clever.
Jesus tells a parable about a wealthy man's 'manager' (oikonomos) accused of 'squandering' (diaskorpizōn) — the same verb used of the prodigal son (15:13). This verbal link connects the two parables thematically.
Now addressing His disciples (rather than Pharisees), Jesus shifts to a parable about the shrewd use of worldly resources — one of the most debated parables in the Gospels.
Jesus speaks to His disciples, introducing a story whose hero is morally ambiguous, which has puzzled interpreters for centuries.
A rich man discovers his manager has been wasting his property and demands an accounting — setting up a parable about resourcefulness in the face of crisis.
1Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.
2So he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’
3The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my position? I am too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg.
Read all of Luke 16 — A shrewd manager, a rich man in torment, and Lazarus at his gate. Jesus draws a straight line between how you handle money and where you end up.
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