https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/The-Parable-of-the-Unjust-Steward.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
I. Luke 16:1-13<\/p>\n
A. Many find this parable confusing because of the praise of the lord in verse 8. <\/p>\n B. How is it that an unfaithful steward, about to be relieved of his position, gains\npraise from his employer when he ends his career stealing more from him?\n
II. This parable follows three other parables that deal with true values<\/p>\n A. It starts in Luke 15:1-2 when the Pharisees try to besmirch Jesus’ reputation by\nassociating him with tax collectors and sinful people.\n
B. The Parable of the Lost Sheep – Luke 15:3-7<\/p>\n
1. Tells us that every soul is valuable to God and is worth great effort to save.<\/p>\n
C. The Parable of the Lost Coin – Luke 15:8-10<\/p>\n 1. Tells us that we will put forth effort if we think something is valuable\nenough.\n
2. If people will put that much effort into retrieving a coin, what about a soul?<\/p>\n
D. The Parable of the Prodigal Son – Luke 15:11-32<\/p>\n
1. Further shows that God wants us back even when we do Him wrong.<\/p>\n
2. God is able to forget all past wrongs when we return to Him.<\/p>\n 3. However, the Pharisees are too self-centered — caught up in their own\nrighteousness — to see the value of another person.\n
E. The Parable of the Unjust Steward – Luke 16:1-13<\/p>\n
1. Pinpoints the source of the Pharisee’s problem.<\/p>\n
2. They knew the parable was about them – Luke 16:14<\/p>\n
III. Analysis of the parable<\/p>\n A. This is not the only time Jesus uses an unrighteous person to illustrate a righteous\nprinciple. See Luke 18:1-8 — The Parable of the Unrighteous Judge\n
B. The lord is our Lord and God.<\/p>\n
C. Each of us are stewards of God’s creation and His blessings to us<\/p>\n
1. Gen 1:28 – Man has dominion over the creation<\/p>\n 2. Luke 12:42-48 – We are given stewardship of our own life to do as we see\nfit, but we must give account of our handling God who gives us our life.\n 3. I Pet 4:10 – God also gives us different abilities which He expects us to use\nwisely and faithfully.\n 4. I Cor 4:1-2 – As Christians we are also given charge of the spreading of the\nGospel.\n D. However, none of us have been truly faithful in managing the things God has given\nus.\n
1. We have all wasted time that could have been profitably used.<\/p>\n 2. We all have bypassed opportunities that could have brought great profit to\nour Master.\n
3. We have misused our talents for things our Lord is not interested in.<\/p>\n
4. In short, we have all sinned – Rom. 3:23<\/p>\n
5. Like the man in the parable, we each are unjust stewards.<\/p>\n E. The unjust steward doesn’t want to work for a living — he is too lazy. Do we not\noften look for the easy way out. The way that requires the least effort?\n F. The unjust steward refuses to beg — he is too prideful. Do we not often think of\nthings as being beneath our dignity?\n G. The unjust steward is warned he is about to lose his job and brilliantly provides for\nhimself by making use of his lord’s resources. The lord doesn’t praise his\nunrighteous actions, but admires his brilliant planning.\n 1. We too have been warned that this life is short. It will not last forever. \nSoon we must stand before our Lord and give an account of the things\nwhich we have done. – Heb. 9:27; Rom. 14:12\n 2. But here the parallel breaks down. As Jesus said, the ungodly of this world\nknow how to get the most from worldly things; but the so-called godly\ndon’t know how to get the most from spiritual things. – Luke 16:8\n
IV. Jesus draws a number of applications from this parable for His audience.<\/p>\n A. If we are to be praised by God in the judgment, we need to start using all the\nresources that we have been loaned by God to our best advantage.\n 1. Not in providing for ourselves in this world. It is temporary. We won’t be\naround long to enjoy it. \n
2. The only lasting treasure is heavenly – Matt 6:19-21<\/p>\n 3. What benefits God is to our benefit in the long run. If we use God’s gifts\nto us to provide for ourselves in the here-after, then we are not wasting our\nLord’s resources; but we are doing God’s will.\n
B. Jesus encourages us to make “friends” with money – Luke 16:9<\/p>\n
1. Not friends of this world, but spiritual friends.<\/p>\n 2. We need to use the things of this physical realm to do the will of Christ – I\nTim. 6:17-19\n 3. Our friendship with Christ is a lasting relationship, if we will do His will –\nJohn 15:14\n C. God is watching how we make use of the little things that we call our existence\nand our life to see if we are faithful enough to handle heaven. – Luke 16:10-12\n 1. We use this principle in business. You don’t put a young man, fresh from\ncollege in charge of your company. You start him out on small jobs. If he\ncan handle it, you move him up.\n 2. People tend to behave the same whether with little or much. A person who\nis willing to steal a little will steal all the more with much.\n
3. This life is a test for promotion to the next – Matt 25:29<\/p>\n 4. If we can’t make profitable use of our borrowed lives from God, why\nshould we be given eternal life?\nV. However, the true problem with the Pharisees is that they were too caught up in the\ncurrent life.\n
A. They lost the perspective. They put priority on the things of this world.<\/p>\n B. You cannot serve the world and God. They both demand everything you can give.\nHow many have jobs that when you give extra, want that and more besides? \n
C. Something has to give. You have to chose who you will serve.<\/p>\n
D. What will you do with the life God has given you?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. Luke 16:1-13 A. Many find this parable confusing because of the praise of the lord in verse 8. B. How is it that an unfaithful steward, about to be relieved of his position, gains praise from his employer when he ends his career stealing more from him? II. This parable follows three other parables…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[1095,606,690,689,691],"class_list":["post-7634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-blessings","tag-gospels","tag-luke","tag-parables","tag-stewards"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24327,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-really-enjoyed-your-material-on-the-parable-of-the-unjust-steward\/","url_meta":{"origin":7634,"position":0},"title":"I really enjoyed your material on the Parable of the Unjust Steward","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In preparing for a home study, I was looking for a further explanation of the parable about the unjust steward\u00a0found in Luke 16. Really enjoyed reading your material on this. Answer: I'm glad you found the material useful.","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9546,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/thank-you-for-the-notes-on-the-parable-of-the-unjust-steward\/","url_meta":{"origin":7634,"position":1},"title":"Thank you for the notes on the Parable of the Unjust Steward","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just read your notes on the\u00a0Parable of the Unjust Steward. Thank you! I looked at many sites and thought they didn't quite grasp it. I am using this story at a maximum-security institution to share with these guys how to be shrewd and cunning for the Lord and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3958,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-explain-the-parable-of-the-unjust-steward-in-luke-161-9\/","url_meta":{"origin":7634,"position":2},"title":"Can you explain the Parable of the Unjust Steward in Luke 16:1-9?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 28, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I was reading Luke 16 last night and am having some trouble comprehending what Jesus meant when He said in verse 8 and 9, \"For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. And I say to you, make friends\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53495,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-parable-of-the-prodigal-son-solely-about-gods-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":7634,"position":3},"title":"Is the Parable of the Prodigal Son solely about God’s grace?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Could you please speak on the parable of the prodigal son? I had a family member who has been in Christ's church her whole life saying that repentance has nothing to do with this parable. She focuses solely on the father's loving compassion as being the whole point of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92542,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-jesus-taught-in-parables\/","url_meta":{"origin":7634,"position":4},"title":"Why Jesus Taught in Parables","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Roger D. Campbell No one ever taught as Jesus did (John 7:46)! When He taught people, He often employed parables. By doing so, He fulfilled Old Testament prophecy (Psalm 78:2; 49:4). Jesus was neither the first nor last person in history to teach via parables, but He used them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28807,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/parables-on-the-second-coming-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":7634,"position":5},"title":"Parables on the Second Coming of Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Thessalonians 5:1-11 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The early disciples longed for the return of Christ \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I Corinthians 16:19-24 - The term \u201cmaranatha\u201d is a transliteration of the Greek, which was in turn transliterated from two Aramaic words. It literally means, \u201cOur Lord come!\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0II Peter 3:10-12 -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7634\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}