New Testament · Gospel

Luke 16

Money and Eternity

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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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.

Understand This

Luke 16, explained

What Luke 16 is saying

Jesus tells the parable of the shrewd manager, who uses his master's resources wisely in anticipation of his coming dismissal, drawing the provocative lesson that worldly people are more astute in their dealings than the 'children of light.' Teaching on faithfulness with material resources follows, including the declaration that one cannot serve both God and mammon. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus depicts a dramatic reversal in the afterlife, with Abraham refusing the rich man's plea for a warning to his brothers because 'they have Moses and the Prophets.'

The background behind it

The steward in the parable likely managed an estate on behalf of an absentee landowner, a common arrangement in Hellenistic Palestine. The rich man and Lazarus parable draws on well-known Egyptian and Jewish folklore about afterlife reversals. 'Abraham's bosom' reflects the Jewish concept of righteous fellowship after death. The name Lazarus (Eleazar, 'God helps') is the only named character in any of Jesus' parables.

Themes running underneath

Material wealth is presented as a test of spiritual faithfulness—'unrighteous mammon' must be stewarded for eternal purposes. The Pharisees' love of money is exposed as incompatible with their religious claims. The rich man's torment stems not from his wealth per se but from his callous indifference to Lazarus at his gate. The final verse—'if they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone rises from the dead'—is deeply ironic in Luke's resurrection narrative.

Why it still matters

The shrewd manager challenges believers to be as strategic with eternal investments as the world is with temporal ones. The rich man and Lazarus warns that the evidence for godly living already exists in Scripture—no miraculous sign will convince those who refuse to act on what they already know.

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Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.