Parables [2] - The Dishonest Manager
In the previous article in this series we looked at guidelines for interpreting
Jesus’ parables. Before moving on to other teaching methods used
by Jesus this article will look at another one of the difficult parables
or sayings using the guidelines we have learned.
DIFFICULT PARABLES OR SAYINGS OF JESUS
The Dishonest Manager
One of the most difficult to interpret parables is the story of the dishonest
manager in Luke 16:1-8, and the saying about God and mammon
which follows it in verses 9-13. We will see that these are actually a
parable/story followed by a poem, and the poem does not form part of the
story, although it is related to it. First we must put the story
in its context. In the third article in this
series we saw that Jesus addressed His disciples (16:1), but within the
hearing of the scribes and Pharisees who were still listening (16:14).
The story He told His disciples was about a rich man who entrusted
his goods to a dishonest manager. The next story (and the last
one in this series of stories) is about a rich man who suffers
terribly and a poor man who receives great blessings. Luke tells us that
the scribes and Pharisees “were lovers of money” (16:14), and the last
story (about the rich man and Lazarus) is addressed to them. So here we
have two stories and a poem about the use of riches joined together with
a comment that the people to whom it was addressed “loved money”. The
Pharisees looked upon wealth as a sign of God’s blessings and looked upon
poverty as a sign of God’s judgment. They were rich, therefore they could
argue that they must have pleased God. In doing so Jesus said they “justify
themselves” (16:15). They considered themselves better and more righteous
than “the sinners” and used their wealth as “proof” that they had God’s
favour. In this story He pointed out that they were mismanaging
the things God had entrusted to them. But we will see later that there
is a “twist” to the story that teaches an even more powerful lesson.
In the second article in this series I referred to this story with reference
to Jesus use of humour: Luke 16:1-15 The story of the shrewd
manager (or “unjust steward”). It appears that Jesus is commending
dishonesty, (e.g. in verse 8 we read “The master commended the dishonest
manager …”) which is extremely unlikely. Is there some humour in this
story? If so, why?This article will also pick up that point and answer
the question. Next we notice that there is a poetic structure
to the story.
THE CHARACTERS – A RICH MAN AND HIS MANAGER
| THE PROBLEM |
A. There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting
his possessions.
B. So he called him in and asked him, 'What is
this I hear about you?
Give an account of your management,
because you cannot be manager any longer.'
B. The manager said to himself, 'What shall
I do now?
My master is taking away my job.
I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg--
|
| THE IDEA | C. I know what I'll do
so that, when I lose my job here,
people will welcome me into their houses.'
|
| THE SOLUTION |
B1. So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the
first, ‘How much do you owe my master?'
'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied.
The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly,
and make it four hundred.'
B1. Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?'
'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied.
He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'
|
THE CHARACTERS – A RICH MAN AND HIS MANAGER
A1. The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.
For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own
kind than are the people of the light.
We see from this structure that the “climax” is in the central
stanza (C) with “The idea”, the announcement of the manager’s plan. It
ties together the two halves of the story and provides the clue for its
interpretation. When the rich man discovers that his manager, has “wasted”
his possessions (the same word occurs in Luke 15:13 about the lost son
who “squandered his wealth”, and may provide another link in
this chain of stories) he immediately dismisses him from his job and calls
on him to return the account books. (“Give an account of your management”
is almost certainly better translated “Give up your manager’s accounts”,
that is “return the account books”.) To our amazement the
manager offers no excuses and blames no one. He knows he is guilty and
he accepts his fate. Under Jewish law at the time the owner would have
been entitled to demand repayment for the losses for which the manager
was responsible, or to have him put in prison until a friend or relative
paid for the losses (Matthew 18:34). However, the owner does none of this;
the manager is not even scolded! The fact that the owner shows
unusual mercy and generosity is very significant. In stanza
3 the manager wrestles with his problem trying to think of some way to
provide for his future, because word of his dishonesty would certainly
get out and no one else would employ him. The middle stanza tells us that
he has an idea, but we are left in suspense as the drama unfolds. He
has realized that his master is extraordinarily generous and merciful,
so he risks everything on a plan is to take advantage of these characteristics.
In the cultural setting this would have been an instant dismissal, so
the manager has only a very short time in which to act. He goes to retrieve
the account books from where they are kept. News of his dismissal has
not yet gotten out, so he has a very short time in which to act. Notice
that he speaks with a sense or urgency “Take you bill, sit down quickly
and write …” The people who owed money to the master (probably his tenants)
would assume the manager continues to act with the owner’s authority.
Perhaps they too realized that the owner (their landlord) was a generous
man, and so they were not overly surprised by this act of generosity.
No doubt they would have been delighted, and may have spread the word
quickly. There is no evidence in this story of any conspiracy between
the manager and the debtors. We should assume they are honest and acting
in good faith. They would have been eager to maintain a good relationship
with their landlord, and were not a party to any trickery. They
believe the reduction in their debt is legitimate and the manager is still
asserting that he is in authority (note the words “my master” and
“he called them in”, i.e. he summoned them with some authority).
We should also notice that the manager is being extremely generous and
reducing the debts by as much as 50%. This could be another example of
exaggeration and a touch of unreality that should guide
us into thinking that Jesus is telling a story that is not meant to be
taken literally but uses exaggerated or unreal elements to make a powerful
point. We have already learned that these stories were often light-hearted
and even humorous. When the manager delivers the accounts to his
master, with the freshly made changes, the master is faced with a dilemma.
News of his generosity to the debtors (his generosity because
the manager after all was only acting as the owner’s agent in
this, so it would seem) would quickly spread through the village and celebrations
may already have been underway. If the owner now tells them that this
was a mistake and that his dishonest manager has been dismissed, their
joy will turn to anger and disappointment. On the other hand, if
he says nothing he will be praised as a generous and merciful landlord
and will ride on a wave of popular enthusiasm. After all, we’ve already
seen that he is a generous man so this would
be true to character.
The manager risked everything based on what he knew about his master.
It’s interesting that several of Jesus’ stories include a reference to
how well servants know their masters:
· In the parable of the
talents (Matthew 25:14-30) the lazy servant says of his master “I knew
that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering
where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid …” However, he
was wrong: his master was not hard or unreasonable. On the other hand,
the other servants had presumably gotten to know their master well and
had learned from him how to invest, take risks and become prosperous.
The servants who really knew their master were the ones who benefited.
The other one did not know him at all.
· In the parable of the
bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13) the groom says to the foolish bridesmaids
“I don’t know you” (v. 12).
· In the saying about
the narrow way the owner of the house says “I don't know you” (Luke
13:25).
· In the sermon on the
mount Jesus says “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who
is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many
miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away
from me, you evildoers!'”
The main point of this story about the dishonest
manager is that he got to know his master’s characteristics and
knew him to be a merciful and generous man. His only hope for a future
lay in relying on that merciful generosity.
The final stanza (the “end-stress”) includes
an unexpected twist. Jesus’ audience was made up of two types of people.
The poorer peasant class might have seen this as a kind of “David and
Goliath” story, where the manager acted very cleverly to protect himself
from poverty resulting from his dismissal by a rich landlord. It was a
triumph of the oppressed over the wealthy. For them there was a ‘twist”
at the end because the manager is criticized as “unrighteous” and a “son
of darkness”. On the other hand, the Pharisees might have been surprised
that the dishonest manager was commended by his rich master for his shrewdness.
For both groups there was a twist which was designed to make them think
about their attitudes, and Jesus cleverly makes His story relevant for
His whole audience.
This is not the only story where the central character is unsavoury
or far from desirable. Jesus tells the story of a man who does not
want to be bothered at night in order to help a friend (Luke 11:5-8),
and a man who buys a field to get a treasure which rightly belongs to
the former owner (Matthew 13:44), and an unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8). In
these stories Jesus is using the “how much more” principle.
· If the widow got what
she wanted from this unjust judge how much more will
God give you what you need.
· If the man got bread
from his neighbour in the middle of the night how much more
will you get from God.
· If this man sold everything
he had to buy a field with treasure in it how much more should
you give up everything in order to obtain the greatest treasure of all.
· If this dishonest manager
solved his problem by relying on his master’s mercy and generosity how
much more will God help you in your crisis when you trust
His mercy.
Finally in this story there is a comment about the manager’s “shrewdness”
or “wisdom”. He is not praised for his dishonesty and there is no suggestion
here that he was taken back into his master’s service. This word refers
to his cleverness, specifically his skills in self-preservation. There
is no doubt that when we answer the call of the Gospel we will be confronted
with crises, and verse 16, which follows this story, reminds us of this.
“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time,
the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is
forcing his way into it.” The last words of this verse are hard to understand
and are translated in various ways. Some translations have “and everyone
is forcing his way into it” while others have “and everyone enters it
violently” (or similar). Either way it is difficult to make sense of it.
However, the Greek can just as equally be translated “and everyone
because of it is under pressure” (and this is how it appears
it some languages).
So the story of the dishonest manager points us to the guiding principle
for citizens of the Kingdom who need to make decisions under pressure.
The believer must always trust in the grace of God Who is merciful and
generous. This story is really about the nature of God, the predicament
of sinful humanity, and grace as the way of salvation.
The story is then followed by a complex poem (verses 9-13). The poetic
structure is as follows:
STANZA 1
I tell you, A.
use worldly wealth B.
to gain friends for yourselves, C.
so that when it is gone, B1.
you will be welcomed A1.
into eternal dwellings.
STANZA 2
D. Whoever can be trusted
with very little can also be trusted with much,
E. and whoever is dishonest
with very little will also be dishonest with much.
So if you
F. have not been trustworthy in handling worldly
wealth,
F1. who will trust you with true riches? And if
E1. you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property,
D1.who will give you property of your own?
STANZA 3
G.No servant can serve two masters.
H. Either he will hate the one I. and love the other,
I1. or he will be devoted to the one
H1. and despise the other.
G1. You cannot serve both God and Money."
Without spending too much time analyzing the poetry, I should repeat
that the poem here is not part of the story but is related to
it because it is on a similar theme. It will be seen from this structure
that the central part is section F “if you have not been trustworthy
in handling worldly wealth / who will trust you with true riches?” This
seems to be aimed squarely at the Pharisees who often misused their worldly
wealth and could not, therefore, be entrusted with the Gospel.
The difficult part of this poem is in the first stanza. If we see it within
its poetic structure we notice that stanzas 1 and 3 correspond.
The first stanza refers to worldly wealth (or mammon), and the third refers
to money. The first refers to “eternal dwellings” and this corresponds
with “serving God” in the third stanza. The difficulty lies in the lines
“use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourself”. The following verses
are among the many which teach that generosity, especially to the poor
and needy, pleases God and will be rewarded at the resurrection.
Luke 14:13-14 “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay
you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
Proverbs 19:17 “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will
reward him for what he has done.” Matthew 19:21 " If you want
to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven.” It seems that this is the message
Jesus is teaching here: we should use what God has given in helping other
people. The worldly wealth will then have little importance for us, and
even if it runs out we will still have the “true riches” which are much
more valuable.
