Luke Chapter 16 Outline

Luke Chapter 16 OutlineKeep in mind as we read that Jesus is not just talking to the Disciples here but the Pharisees as well.Lu 16:1 He also said to His disciples: "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.The office of steward is a manager of another’s estates. This particular steward was dishonest, embezzling his employer’s goods.Lu 16:2 "So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.' Typically stewards were slaves. This man however must have been a free man because he was neither punished nor sold, but fired. Lu 16:3 "Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. Notice he doesn’t say “What can I do to make amends?” or “How can I make things right with my master?” The only thing that concerns him now is how he’s going to survive.Lu 16:4 'I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.' He thinks about it and comes up with a plan. He’ll cut his master’s debtors a break on what they owe and in return they’ll owe him a favor.Lu 16:5 "So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' Lu 16:6 "And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' Reduced his debt by half. Fifty measures of oil, about 450 gallons of olive oil, represented a large sum of money. Lu 16:7 "Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' Of the wheat, the steward reduced the debt by a fifth. Lu 16:8 "So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light..*Let’s look at a few things Turn back a couple of pages to Chapter 15 Verses 17-19And let’s reread verses 3 and 4 again.Now let’s see if there’s a difference in the heart of the prodigal son.Lu 15:17 "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! Lu 15:18 'I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, Lu 15:19 "and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." 'Unlike the prodigal son, the unjust steward wasn’t contrite or convicted for his actions. He wasn’t seeking forgiveness for his transgressions. He came up with a plan to better his position without seeking mercy from his master.So why in verse 8 does the master commend the unjust steward?The master does not commend the steward for his dishonesty, but commends him on the shrewdness he shows in looking out for his futureExamples; Isn’t it true that in many ways the unbelievers of this world are shrewder than the Christian?How about the Jehovah’s Witness or the Mormons? Don’t they seem to have the knowledge of how to get their word out as efficiently as possible? Notice how shrewd and subtle they are. There is always talk of the bible, of Jesus and family morals. A lot of time, energy and effort go into infiltrating homes with false doctrine. Can’t you truly commend them on their efforts?I wonder if God Ever says “I wish my children would get the true word of mine out to the lost like these false prophets do”Or does Jesus ever say “Back when I walked the earth, I’d do miraculous things and tell folks not to say anything because my time had not come. Now I’ve told everyone to tell everything about me and few do”. The sports world also shows us a good example of this.Barry Bonds passes Hank Aaron as the all time home run record holder. He cheated to help accomplish this feat.We can Approve of Bond’s determination and longevity in seeking the record without celebrating the achievement. We can Recognize the effort over the years Bond’s put forth to achieve his goal without condoning the dishonest way in which he accomplished it.Let’s look at the parable now a couple of different ways.How this parable relates to Israel.The Rich man is God. He made everything. He owns everything. All riches both temporal and eternal are from Him. He displays the riches of His goodness Ro 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?His riches are glory Ro 9:23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, In His word are riches beyond compare.Ps 119:14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.The steward would be the nation of Israel Israel was the manager of the riches God gave. Into their care was given the testimonies and oracles of God. Into their care was given the Law and prophesies of the prophets. They were made a special people. They had leaders called out by God to administer and explain His word to the people The leaders of Israel became very poor stewards of God’s riches. They added to or supplanted God’s scripture with their own traditions They fed themselves and not the people. What they did feed the people was impossible to swallow and not what God had given. Israel was brought in to give an account of their stewardship.By the prophets, Mal 2:8 But you have departed from the way; You have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi," Says the Lord of hosts. By Jesus Mt 23:1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, Mt 23:2 saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Mt 23:3 "Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. Mt 23:4 "For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. Mt 23:5 "But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. And then the Apostles, with Paul saying in Romans;Ro 2:21 You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? Ro 2:22 You who say, "Do not commit adultery," do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? Ro 2:23 You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law?They were brought to account and found lacking; therefore God would remove them from their stewardship office. Mt 21:43 "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of itThe stewardship would change hands. The priesthood would change. Ceremonial law would be replaced by grace through faith.The Jews would be scattered but make a place for themselves among the Gentile lands in which they would inhabit. Today we live in the age of the Gentile where the Christian holds the position of steward over God’s riches.Paul teaches in Corinthians:1co 4:1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 1co 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.Let’s look at how we can apply this parable to us, as Christians, today.The Rich man is God. He made everything. He owns everything. All riches both temporal and eternal are from Him. We Christians are the stewards of God’s riches We are blessed beyond compare In God’s riches and glory we are loved, protected, set apart, equipped, cherished, and nurtured We are entrusted with the word of God We are entrusted with the salvation message, the gospel. We are given talents and gifts to further God’s kingdom. How are we doing as stewards?We are given time, opportunity, strength and finances to assist in ministering to a lost world. Are we using these resources for the glory of God? Speaking of money;Tithing. Not to get back, but obedience It’s the very least I can and should doTrust me, God doesn’t need my money.So you say….“We gave our money to God” “We tithed our ten percent” Uh-oh we have a problem…Who does the other 90% belong to?If it is God’s, what type of stewards are we with His money?*Do we buy things from companies we know are at enmity with God? DVDs, Music, books, magazines*Do we hoard the money we have when we could be helping others with it.What about your material possessions? Whose money did you use to purchase them?*How’s our stewardship doing when it concerns our time?We may give of our time to worship on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. In fact we may give up the two hours to be here regularly on Tuesday nights.I’m sure God appreciates those 6 hours we give but what kind of stewards are we of the other 162 hours a week that God gives us? Is this time used for the glory of God?You may say “Well I can’t be seeking to further God’s Kingdom every waking hour of every day” Why can’t I seek to bring God glory all the time?*God gave each Christian at least one talent or gift.Don’t hold back, get involved If you aren’t sure what your gift is pray about it. Seek a brother who is known to have a gift of discernment God gave it to you to use for HimWhat type of stewards are we as we care for this planet we’re walking around on. How about them aluminum cans, bottles and old news papers? Ever heard of recycling?Lu 16:9 "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. Lu 16:10 "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Lu 16:11 "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? Lu 16:12 "And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? Lu 16:13 "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Let’s read verse 10 again "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.How true! God is a great executive of His accounts. He always seems to give us a small task first to see how we’ll handle it. And how we handle the small things of God is a telling barometer of what shape our heart is in and how we’ll handle larger things. We’ll see an example of this later on in Chapter 19Lu 19:17 "And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten citiesThis goes right back to what we spoke of earlier and how we as stewards manage what God has given us. Our time, our strengths, our talents, our moneyAnd if we have a problem with how we handle our finances, talents or time, like not using them to advance God’s kingdom, then why would He trust us with more of His “true riches”?We’ve brought up the word money and finances several times as we’ve studied the last couple of verses. So for verse 13, after extensive research, theological digging and Greek analysis I found the best way to state it. Ready? Here goes"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Any questions?Reading on;Lu 16:14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. Lu 16:15 And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. We need to be careful not to fall into “Looking good in the eyes of men”. If God has blessed us with a talent or gift we need to remember that it is for God’s glory that we display it. If He has blessed us with finances we need to watch that we don’t take glory in men seeing us giving. In Matthew we read:Mt 6:1 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Mt 6:2 "Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.You may fool men and get your glory. But you can’t fool God.Let’s continueLu 16:16 "The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. Lu 16:17 "And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail. Lu 16:18 "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.This may seem like a strange place to speak of divorce. But it’s not. What we see is the changing and perverting of God’s law by the Pharisees, And Jesus stating that no matter what the Scribes and Pharisees did with God’s word, it would remain.J.C. Ryle caught the implication of Jesus words “With all your boasted reverence for the law, you are yourselves breakers of it in the law of marriage. You have lowered the standard of the law of divorce”The Parable of the rich man and Lazarus We just finished a teaching about being a steward of God’s riches. This passage shows us the consequences of being a poor steward and having riches as your god. Lu 16:19 "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. With this one verse we can deduce that his man was very, very wealthy. “clothed in purple” This was the outer garment that was colored from extracting a costly purple dye from a rare shell fish called (Murex Purpurarius). Only one drop of the substance, to make the dye, could be removed from each shell fish.The “fine Linen” refers to the inner garment. Made from Flax which grew on the banks of the Nile River. This material was brilliantly white and worth twice it’s weight in gold.“fared sumptuously every day” suggests that this man not only didn’t miss any meals but enjoyed only the best delicacies. The descriptions in this verse would fit well when describing one of royalty, i.e. a king or a prince.Es 8:15 So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.Now we see the other side of the coinLu 16:20 "But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, Lu 16:21 "desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. In Lazarus we see a sharp contrast to the rich man. Crippled and unable to make it to the rich man’s gate on his own he has to be laid there. While the rich man is covered in fine clothes, Lazarus is covered in sores. Where there is no food too good for the rich man, Lazarus longs for scraps to appease his hunger. And while the rich man has servants and attendants to tend to his every need, Lazarus is ministered to by the dogs of street. Let us understand that we see no mention of sin on the part of the rich man for being wealthy, or for not giving his “crumbs” to Lazarus. What we see here is a life of self-indulgence, self righteousness and indifference to others around him. The rich man was blessed with a life of luxury and could have used his blessings to help the poor and down trodden. Instead he ate, drank and became merry with no regard to tomorrow. He was reaping the reward of temporal riches which had become the god he served. Lu 16:22 "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.There would have been much pomp and show to the rich man’s funeral while Lazarus’ passing from the world would have been virtually unnoticed by man. We see that God notices when he children leave this world for Lazarus was “carried by angels”.Lu 16:23 "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.Some would teach that when one dies his soul sleeps until the time of judgment. Others teach that as soon as one dies he goes directly to judgment then on to his everlasting destination.But most theologians teach that Hades is a temporary realm of the dead as they await the final judgment. James Coffman wrote: Basic teachings from this parable include the state of felicity for the righteous and the state of torment for the wicked, with no time-lapse whatever between death and the entering of the soul into one or the other of the Hadean compartments. The wicked life will not wait one second after death to begin reaping the rewards of unrighteousness; and yet, the eternal reward for both classes will not actually begin until the judgment.Of which G. Campbell Morgan declared in his [Exposition of the whole Bible] “This sheds clear light on the life beyond”Lu 16:24 "Then 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.' Lu 16:25 "But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. Lu 16:26 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'All of the Rich man’s fame and fortune could not help him now. He had enjoyed his temporary life of luxury without concern for the hereafter. There was nothing he or anyone else could do to alter his situation. His temporary earthly existence had come to an end.What David said in Psalm 39 is very, very true.Ps 39:5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah Lu 16:27 "Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, Lu 16:28 'for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' Lu 16:29 "Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'Lu 16:30 "And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' Lu 16:31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.' " The Rich man and his family had God’s messengers who spoke of the Lord’s salvation. They had God’s word of salvation taught in every synagogue. Verse 28 suggests that even a lame beggar had witnessed to the Rich man in times past. But they would not listen. They were not persuaded. They had made it on their own, were successful in life. What need was there of anything else.Much the same today, man has God’s messengers preaching His plan of salvation. Man has God’s word taught on every Sunday, in every city. Jesus Christ arose from the dead attesting to the power and majesty of God and still man is not persuaded.There is no changing of states or second chances after death. What man does with Jesus Christ in this life determines his unchangeable existence in the next.

Luke Chapter 16 Outline

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