Luke 16:4

Luke 16:4, in plain English

Then he gets an idea: 'I know what to do so that when I lose this job, people will welcome me into their homes!'

Why it's here

His plan is to use the little time and authority he has left to make friends who will help him later. It's dishonest but brilliant.

Who's speaking

The manager hatches his scheme with the confidence of someone who has nothing left to lose.

Where it sits in the story

With the clock ticking, the manager turns his crisis into an opportunity. He can't keep his job, but he can build a safety net.

The scholarly reading

The eureka moment: 'I know what I will do' (egnōn ti poiēsō). His plan aims to create social obligations so that people will 'welcome me into their homes' (dexōntai me eis tous oikous autōn) after his dismissal.

Language and setting

The manager leverages his remaining authority to create a network of grateful debtors — converting his master's resources into social capital for himself.

Voice

The manager continues his monologue, arriving at a strategy that uses his remaining time and authority for maximum personal benefit.

Significance

A lightbulb moment: the manager will use his remaining authority to do favors for his master's debtors, creating friendships that will last beyond his employment.

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.

4I know what I will do so that after my removal from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’

5And he called in each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first.

6‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he answered.

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.