Luke 16:1-13
Now He was also saying to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. And he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.' And the manager said to himself, ‘What am I to do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.' And he summoned each one of his master's debtors, and he began reducing their debts."

And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it is all gone, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

"He who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true wealth to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

† The parable of the unrighteous manager highlighted stewardship and shrewdness.
† Earthly resources should be used for eternal purposes.
† Divided loyalty between God and wealth was impossible.

Luke 16:14-18
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were ridiculing Him. And He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of people, but God knows your hearts; because that which is highly esteemed among people is detestable in the sight of God. The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail. Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery."

† The Pharisees' love of money exposed their corruption.
† The Law pointed to Christ, who fulfilled it.
† Their false righteousness was detestable before God.

Luke 16:19-31
"Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed from the scraps which fell from the rich man's table; not even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's arms; and the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his arms. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'

But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who want to go over from here to you are not able, nor can any people cross over from there to us.' And he said, ‘Then I request of you, father, that you send him to my father's house—for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment as well.' But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!' But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"

† The rich man represented the unfaithful leaders of Israel who trusted in wealth.
† Lazarus represented the outcasts who were lifted up by God.
† Refusal to heed Moses and the Prophets meant they would not believe even Christ's resurrection.

How it applies to us today:
† Luke 16 warns against greed, false security, and divided loyalty. The fulfilled perspective shows how Israel's leaders rejected the kingdom and fell into judgment. For us today, this chapter calls us to faithful stewardship, compassion for the poor, and obedience to God's word over worldly wealth.

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †

Source Index
† Josephus, Wars 5.10.5
† Philo, On the Virtues 103
† Tacitus, Histories 5.13
† Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.2.2