Sunday
Morning Bible Study
September
25, 2016
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Regular: 2900
words Communion: 2500 words Video=75wpm
Daniel Grant Ordination
Luke was a doctor and a traveling
companion of the apostle Paul.
He wrote this book while Paul was
in prison.
In writing this book about Jesus,
Luke made use of other older documents like the Gospel of Mark, as well as
extensive eyewitness accounts.
Jesus’ ministry is well under way, and the people have been amazed not just
at the things He’s been teaching, but the things He’s been doing.
16:1-8 The Unjust Steward
: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.
rich – plousios
– wealthy, abounding in material resources
:1 who had a steward
a steward – oikonomos – the manager of household or
of household affairs; a steward, manager, superintendent
(whether free-born or as was
usually the case, a freed-man or a slave) to whom the head of the house or
proprietor has intrusted the management of his affairs, the care of receipts
and expenditures, and the duty of dealing out the proper portion to every servant
and even to the children not yet of age; the manager of a farm or landed
estate, an overseer; the superintendent of the city’s finances, the treasurer
of a city (or of treasurers or quaestors of kings)
The word is built on two words: “house” + “law”. The steward was the one enforced the house
rules.
There are several forms of this
word used throughout the passage.
Steward, stewardship, to be steward
(“steward” is used in vs. 1,3,8)
stewardship – oikonomia
– the management of a household or of household affairs (used in vs. 2,3,4)
to be steward – oikonomeo
– to be a steward; to manage the affairs of a household (in vs. 2)
He was in charge of overseeing all that went on under his charge, whether
it was paying bills, making investments, or even raising children.
He is not the “owner” of the property, there is one higher than he is who
owns the house.
It’s a word used to describe
leaders in the church:
(Titus 1:7–8 NKJV) —7 For a
bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not
quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just,
holy, self-controlled,
Leaders in God’s
church do not “own” the church. They are
simply overseers, charged with managing things that belong to God.
Paul talked a little about being a “steward” when he wrote,
(1 Corinthians
4:1–2 NKJV) —1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the
mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
Sometimes you read stories about a movie star, like
Shannen Doherty, who had to sue
her business manager. Her manager
didn’t pay her insurance premiums, and because she didn’t have insurance for a
period of time, her breast cancer went undetected.
The most important thing when it comes to entrusting
someone else with your “stuff” is whether or not they are “faithful”.
Can they be depended upon?
Can they be depended on to do what the owner wishes?
We are all stewards in some sense.
We are stewards
over the money we have.
All that we have
belongs to God. It all comes from
God. God has entrusted us with what we
have. Some have been entrusted with
more, others with less.
We are stewards
over much in our lives – being parents over our children, the jobs we have, the
relationships we have.
was accused – diaballo
– to throw over or across, to send over; to traduce, calumniate, slander,
accuse, defame. The word carries the idea of malice, even if the accusation is
true. This is the root word for “diabolos”, “slanderer”, the same word
used to describe the “devil”.
:1 this man was wasting his goods
This guy will be called the “unjust steward” because of how he initially literally
threw his boss’ money away.
goods – huparchonta –
possessions, goods, wealth, property
was
wasting – diaskorpizo
– to scatter abroad, to throw up into the air
It’s the same word used to describe
what the prodigal son did with his inheritance:
(Luke 15:13 NKJV) And not
many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far
country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
This steward isn’t being charged
with immorality like the prodigal son was, but he is being charged with
“throwing” the bosses money away.
: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.’
he called – phoneo
– to sound, emit a sound, to speak; to call, to call one’s self, either by
one’s own voice or though another; to send for, summon
give – apodidomi (“back” +
“to give”) – to deliver, to give away for one’s own profit what is one’s own, to
sell; to pay off, discharge what is due; a debt, wages, tribute, taxes, produce
due; to render account
Aorist, active, imperative
an account – logos
– of speech; a word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or
idea; its use as respect to the MIND alone; account, i.e. regard,
consideration; account, i.e. reckoning, score; account, i.e. answer or
explanation in reference to judgment
stewardship – oikonomia
– the management of a household or of household affairs; specifically, the
management, oversight, administration, of other’s property; the office of a
manager or overseer, stewardship; administration, dispensation
you can – dunamai
– to be able, have power whether by virtue of one’s own ability and
resources, or of a state of mind, or through favourable circumstances, or by
permission of law or custom; to be able to do something; to be capable, strong
and powerful
be … steward – oikonomeo
– to be a steward; to manage the affairs of a household; to manage,
dispense, order, regulate
:2 Give an account of your stewardship
The boss is asking the steward to turn in his books. His job is finished.
: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.
master – kurios
– he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of
deciding; master, lord
is taking … away – aphaireo
– to take from, take away, remove, carry off; to cut off
the stewardship – oikonomia
– the management of a household or of household affairs; specifically, the
management, oversight, administration, of other’s property; the office of a
manager or overseer, stewardship; administration, dispensation
dig – skapto
– to dig
I cannot – ischuo
– to be strong; to be strong in body, to be robust, to be in sound health;
to have power; to be able, can
I
am not strong enough to dig (NAS)
to beg – epaiteo
– to ask besides, ask for more; to ask again and again, importunately; to
beg, to ask alms
I am ashamed – aischuno
– to disfigure; to dishonour; to suffuse with shame, make ashamed, be
ashamed
:3 I cannot dig
Literally, “I am not strong enough to dig”
:3 I cannot dig … am ashamed to beg
This guy was not strong enough to handle a physical job, and he was too
proud to beg for a living.
He’s not sure what he’s going to do
to make a living.
:4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship,
they may receive me into their houses.’
:4 I have resolved what to do
I have
resolved – ginosko
– to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel; to
know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of; to understand
Aorist active indicative
It is a burst of daylight to the
puzzled, darkened man: I’ve got it, I see into it now, a sudden solution.[1]
The Greek carries the idea that “suddenly” the idea hits the guy. The lightbulb goes off in his head.
I am put out – methistemi
– to transpose, transfer, remove from one place to another; of change of
situation or place; to remove from the office of a steward; to depart from
life, to die
they may receive – dechomai
– to take with the hand; to take hold of, take up; to take up, receive; to
receive or grant access to, a visitor, not to refuse intercourse or friendship
:4 they may receive me into
their houses
houses – oikos
– a house
That’s the word that “steward” is
built on. I wonder if he’s thinking that
what he’s about to do might get him a job with someone else?
: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?’
he called – proskaleomai
– to call to; to call to one’s self; to bid to come to one’s self
debtors – chreopheiletes
(“to lend” + “a debt”) – a debtor
you owe – opheilo
– to owe; to owe money, be in debt for; that which is due, the debt
:6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your
bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
:6 A hundred measures of oil
measures – batos
– a bath, a Jewish measure of liquids of about 8 or 9 gallons (about 40 l.)
oil – elaion – olive oil
This debtor owed the master 800
gallons of olive oil.
This debtor owed the master 800 gallons of olive oil.
Olive oil was used for many things, but one of the main things was to fill
your oil lamps and give you light at night.
The steward gives the debtor permission to cut his bill in half.
How would you feel if someone gave you permission to cut your bills in
half?
:6 sit down quickly and write
fifty
take – dechomai
– to take with the hand; to take hold of, take up; to take up, receive;
used of a place receiving one; to receive or grant access to, a visitor, not to
refuse intercourse or friendship; to receive hospitality
bill – gramma
– a letter; any writing, a document or record; a note of hand, bill, bond,
account, written acknowledgement of a debt
write – grapho
– to write, with reference to the form of the letters; to write, with
reference to the contents of the writing; to draw up in writing, compose
: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.’
:7 A hundred measures of wheat
measures – koros – a corus or
cor, the largest Hebrew dry measure (i.e, for wheat, meal etc.) about 10
to 11 bushels
wheat – sitos
– wheat, grain
This next debtor owed the master the equivalent of 1,000 bushels of wheat.
:7 Take your bill, and write eighty
fourscore – ogdoekonta
– eighty
This second debtor was allowed to take 20% off of his bill.
As steward, this man had the authority to negotiate his master’s debt. He
had the ability to make a deal with a debtor and lower the amount that they
owed.
Sometimes a bank, the IRS, or a credit card company will negotiate with you
to lower what you owe just so they get something out of you.
Yes, the steward is hurting his master, but I don’t think he’s doing
anything illegal. He is using what was still legitimately at his disposal,
using the position of his job to endear himself to these people who owed his
master so they would help him out later.
: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.
:8 commended the unjust steward
commended – epaineo – to approve,
to praise
unjust – adikia – injustice,
of a judge; unrighteousness of heart and life; a deed violating law and
justice, act of unrighteousness
When Jesus calls this man “unjust”, it’s because of how he had earlier
“wasted” his master’s goods.
When he adjusted the bills, he was just being smart.
:8 because he had dealt shrewdly
shrewdly – phronimos –
prudently, wisely
from phronimos – intelligent, wise; i.e. mindful of one’s interests; denotes
primarily one who has quick and correct perceptions
The word “shrewdly” is about doing
what’s smart.
The master wasn’t happy that he had
been further ripped off by this guy. He
was commending the guy for being smart cookie in using his last bit of
influence to his advantage.
:8 the sons of this world are more shrewd
world – aion
– for ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity; the worlds,
universe; period of time, age
sons
of this age (NAS)
shrewd – phronimos
– intelligent, wise; prudent, i.e. mindful of one’s interests.
The adjective is in the
“comparative”, not just “wise”, but “wiser”, “shrewder”.
generation – genea
– fathered, birth, nativity; the whole multitude of men living at the same
time; an age (i.e. the time ordinarily occupied by each successive generation),
a space of 30-33 years
Sometimes non-Christians do things a little smarter than we do when it
comes to money.
Lesson
Use your head
A.T. Robertson:
“We all know how stupid Christians
can be in their co-operative work in the kingdom of God”
Utilize tax deductions
Every once in a while, I run across someone who tells me that they only
give cash to the church or other charities so their giving can be as anonymous
as possible.
The reason I’m often given is that Jesus told us to give
in secret so as not to give to impress others.
Yet the law allows (so far) that if you give money to a registered
charitable organization, then you can deduct that amount from your income when
it comes time to figure out how much money to pay in taxes on April 15.
If the government will allow you pay less money in taxes,
which would leave you more money in your pocket to do even more for the kingdom
of God, why wouldn’t you do that?
And as far as giving in “secret”, when you give to most
organizations, there are only a few people who know how much you give, and in
our case it’s the folks who will process your tax receipts at the end of the
year.
16:9-12 Steward Lessons
Jesus is now going to take this story of the “unjust steward” and give it a
direct application.
: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.
The unjust steward made some friends on that last day of work by how he used
the money that was still at his disposal.
He did it so that these new “friends” might consider bringing him into
their home after he is finally booted from his current job.
:9 unrighteous mammon
“Mammon” is another term for money or wealth.
Money can be at times a cause of “unrighteousness”, the “mammon of
unrighteousness”. It can cause trouble.
Illustration
A husband and wife were attending a county fair where, for five dollars per
person, a man was giving rides on an old biplane. The couple wanted to go up but they thought
the price was too steep. Consequently, they tried to negotiate a lower
price. “We’ll pay you five dollars for
both of us,” they said to the pilot.
“After all, we’ll both have to squeeze into that tiny cockpit that was
built for only one person.” The pilot
refused to lower his price, but he made a counter-offer. He said to the couple, “Pay me the full price
of ten dollars and I’ll take you up. And
if you don’t say one word during the flight, I’ll give you all your money
back.” The couple agreed and got into
the plane. Up they went and the pilot
proceeded to perform every trick he knew, looping and whirling and flying
upside down and lots more. Finally, when
the plane had landed, the pilot said to the husband, “Congratulations! Here’s your ten dollars; you didn’t say a
single word.” To which the man replied,
“Nope, but I almost did when my wife fell out.”
Paul wrote,
(1 Timothy 6:9–10
NKJV) —9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare,
and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction
and perdition. 10
For
the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some
have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows.
It’s not money itself that’s evil, but the “love of” money that leads to
great problems.
:9 make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon
friends – philos – friend, to
be friendly to one, wish him well; an associate; he who associates familiarly
with one, a companion
I think this is talking about both
being “friendly” with money, as well as making friends through your use of
money.
mammon – mammonas – mammon;
treasure; riches (where it is personified and opposed to God)
unrighteousness – adikia – injustice,
of a judge; unrighteousness of heart and life; a deed violating law and
justice, act of unrighteousness
This is the same word used to
describe the “unjust” steward.
Lesson
Helping the debtors
The people that the unjust steward worked with were “debtors”.
They owed something to the Master.
Do you realize that people you know have a debt toward God?
Every person owes God a debt, because our own sin has heaped a huge debt on
us that we are unable to repay.
God loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die for us, and in dying
for us He paid our debt.
We have the ability to help people become right with God when we share the
gospel with them and help them to know Him like we do.
The gospel is best shared by someone who is a “friend”.
You and I have resources available to us – it might be
money, time, abilities, connections, relationships.
God wants us to learn to leverage those resources to build
bridges with unbelievers so we would have the opportunity to show them Jesus.
:9 when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home
The unjust steward would one day be out on the street looking for a new
home.
For us, we will one day “fail” in that our bodies will die.
Wouldn’t it be cool to be met in heaven by people that we had the
opportunity to influence and come to know Jesus through the way we used our
money?
you
fail – ekleipo
– fail; to leave, quit; to fail; to leave off, cease, stop
We will all fail some day. We will all die.
they may receive – dechomai
– to take with the hand; to take hold of, take up; to take up, receive;
used of a place receiving one; to receive or grant access to, a visitor, not to
refuse intercourse or friendship; to receive hospitality; to receive
favourably, give ear to, embrace, make one’s own, approve, not to reject
everlasting – aionios
– without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be;
without beginning; without end, never to cease, everlasting
home – skene
– tent, tabernacle, (made of green boughs, or skins or other materials); of
that well known movable temple of God after the pattern of which the temple at
Jerusalem was built
(NLT)
I tell you, use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. In
this way, your generosity stores up a reward for you in heaven.
(PHIL)
Now my advice to you is to use ‘money’, tainted as it is, to make yourselves
friends, so that when it comes to an end, they may welcome you into the homes
of eternity.
In other words, when you use your
money wisely, there will be people in heaven who will thank you for your wise
stewardship.
Lesson
Leverage your assets
“Mammon” is another word for
“wealth” or “money”.
Jesus is saying that we believers ought to learn from the unjust steward by
using the money at our disposal to influence people, to “make friends”.
I think that at times we can get the idea that money itself is something
that “spiritual” Christians don’t need to deal with.
But here, Jesus is telling us that we need to learn wisdom over how we
handle our money.
The idea is not that a person’s way into heaven can be “bought”. The idea
is that money can be used wisely in a way that will work towards people coming
into the kingdom.
There are smart ways to use your money and there are dumb ways.
Giving money to the guy holding the sign up at the freeway off ramp might
not be the smartest way to use your money.
If you really want to help the guy, take him to McDonalds,
buy him lunch, and sit and talk to the fellow.
Make friends.
: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.
:10 unjust in what is
least
unjust – adikos
– descriptive of one who violates or has violated justice; unjust;
unrighteous, sinful; of one who deals fraudulently with others, deceitful
Just in case you have been starting
to think that Jesus is trying to teach His disciples to become rip-off artists,
think again.
Jesus only commended the unjust
steward in that he showed how to use his head.
He is NOT commending the man’s former rip off of his boss.
:10 faithful in what is least is faithful also in much
faithful – pistos
– trusty, faithful; of persons who show themselves faithful in the
transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of
official duties; one who kept his plighted faith, worthy of trust; that can be
relied on
much – polus
– many, much, large
What we have here is a secret to promotion in God’s kingdom.
Lesson
Faithful in the least
Sometimes you just need to start small and go from there.
least – elachistos –
smallest least. This is a “superlative” adjective here. Not just “small”, not
just “smaller”, but “smallest”, the “very least”.
Keep working the little things like the baby putting on that boot, and
you’ll go on to the next thing.
(NAS)
a very little thing
Some people get a taste of what it’s like to be used by God, and they have
this notion that they might as well not waste any time and leap to the front of
the line.
You can see it in guys who say they feel called to the ministry.
Sometimes what this really means is that they just want to
be up front, behind the microphone, and have people listen to them.
This is one reason why Pastor Chuck used to tell guys like this that if
they wanted to be in the ministry they should go teach a Sunday School class.
This is a primary principle in picking leadership.
Are you a person who can be counted on, not just in “small things”, but in
the “least” things?
If you can’t be counted on to show up on time to help in
the nursery, what makes you think that you are going to be faithful in teaching
a group of adults?
I remember needing to remind myself of this thirty-five
years ago when we had a small Bible Study in our home in Placentia, and
sometimes only 3 or 4 people would show up.
Solomon wrote,
(Proverbs 22:29
NKJV) Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will
stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.
Illustration
The saintly Horatius Bonar,
reflecting on this subject, realized that the little things can either make or
break the Christian. He wrote, “A holy
life is made up of a multitude of small things.
It is the little things of the hour and not the great things of the age
that fill up a life like that of the apostles Paul or John, or David Brainard,
or Henry Martyn. Little words, not eloquent speeches or sermons; little deeds,
not miracles or battles, or one great heroic effort or martyrdom, make up the
true Christian life. It’s the little
constant sunbeam, not the lightning, the waters of Siloam that go softly in
their meek mission of refreshment, not ‘the waters of the rivers great and
many’ rushing down in torrent, noise, and force, that are the true symbols of a
holy life.”
:11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who
will commit to your trust the true riches?
:11 faithful … commit to your
trust
faithful – pistos
– trusty, faithful; of persons who show themselves faithful in the
transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of
official duties; one who kept his plighted faith, worthy of trust; that can be
relied on
commit to … trust – pisteuo
– to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in;
to entrust a thing to one, i.e. his fidelity; to be entrusted with a thing
In the Greek, these words are
related.
They both have to do with
trust. They both have to do with faithfulness.
People will “trust” you when you
show you are “faithful”.
:11 faithful in the unrighteous mammon
unrighteous – adikos
– descriptive of one who violates or has violated justice; unjust;
unrighteous, sinful; of one who deals fraudulently with others, deceitful
mammon – mammonas
– mammon; treasure; riches (where it is personified and opposed to God)
the true – alethinos
– that which has not only the name and resemblance, but the real nature
corresponding to the name, in every respect corresponding to the idea signified
by the name, real, true genuine; opposite to what is fictitious, counterfeit,
imaginary, simulated or pretended; true, veracious, sincere
Lesson
Handling money
This is another important key to promotion in God’s kingdom.
Can God trust you with His money?
Everything we have is from Him. We are simply stewards of God’s resources.
For those of you who think that
money has little or nothing to do with serving the Lord, pay attention.
God is looking at what you do with
your money.
If you are someone who is always in debt, or who constantly floats from job
to job, don’t be thinking that the ministry is something you should try.
Charles Spurgeon wrote about the kind of men who would come to him and
claim that they were certain that they were called to the ministry
“I have met ten, twenty, a hundred brethren, who have pleaded that they
were sure, quite sure that they were called to the ministry – they were quite
certain of it, because they had failed in everything else…”
He then went on to give an example of a man who said that he started out
working for a lawyer, but when that didn’t work out, he worked at a grocery
store, then life insurance, then selling tea…
He would go on to tell these men, “Yes, I see; you have failed in
everything else, and therefore you think the Lord has especially endowed you
for his service; but I fear you have forgotten that the ministry needs the very
best of men, and not those who cannot do anything else.”
(Lectures to My
Students, pg.35-36)
If you struggle with handling money properly, set aside your Thursday
nights in the months of January and February, because we will be running Dave
Ramsey’s class: Financial Peace University
The purpose of the class is to help you to get control over your finances.
:12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will
give you what is your own?
:12 faithful in what is another man’s
that which is another man’s – allotrios
– belonging to another; foreign, strange, not of one’s own family, alien,
an enemy
faithful – pistos
– trusty, faithful; of persons who show themselves faithful in the
transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of
official duties; one who kept his plighted faith, worthy of trust; that can be
relied on
that which is your own – humeteros
– you, yours; to be possessed by you
will give – didomi
– to give
Future active indicative
Lesson
Faithful to the boss
For years this was a key verse in my life.
When I was eighteen, I felt that God was calling me into the full time
ministry, to be a pastor, a Sr. Pastor. But
it didn’t happen overnight.
For six years I was a Youth pastor at the Baptist
church.
For eight years I was one of the assistant pastors at Calvary
Chapel of Anaheim.
There were times when I wondered if I had heard God right.
And this was the verse that kept hitting me over and over
again. I needed to be the best assistant
I could be. I needed to be faithful in
the vineyard that was my brother’s if I ever expected God to entrust me with my
own vineyard.
I remember a particularly tough time at Anaheim when I thought that Pastor
Mark had made a terrible mistake.
Don’t worry. He
hadn’t.
But I had a group of friends in the church that didn’t
like a particular decision that Mark had made, and frankly I couldn’t see why
Mark was acting the way he did. I was
very, very close to quitting my job and leaving the church. But I stuck it out. Boy am I glad I did. For me, the lesson wasn’t as much in learning
to trust Mark’s leadership, which was a good lesson too. The main lesson was in learning to be a
faithful helper, someone Mark could count on, someone he could depend on.
I think these are the kinds of things God will test you in are you tell Him
you want to serve Him.
It took me twenty years from when God called me to when I became a Sr.
Pastor.
Be faithful in the things that God has put before you.
Be faithful at work.
Be faithful in your ministry.