Tell Me That Parable--Luke 16 and the Unjust Steward
Another reading of Luke 16:1-8. (1) I am still thinking through the different interpretations, but wanted to share...
Luke 16:1-8: He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’
And the master waited for a response... but the steward was silent. Shockingly silent. The implication was clear--the steward was guilty. He was admitting his guilt by his silence. The master knew it. The steward knew it.
The steward walked out, pensive in the crisis. It was time to render accounts. He knew judgment was pending..... The only question left was, how to save himself?
3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’
How to save himself, prepare for his future... that is a tough question. He was resourceless. Apart from his master he didn't have skills or anything to offer. His entire village would know he was unjust and had been fired--who else would hire him? He sighed in despair, apart from his master he had nothing.... his master... hmmm.... He had learned this--he was not in jail. His master, although just in calling him to accout, had mercy on him. Maybe.... maybe...
5 So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.'
And so the villagers began praising the master for his generosity--the steward had, after all, rescinded the debts in his master's name. What a kind man, the master was, to reduce their debts! (2) The master's praises rang throughout the village.
The master sat back, and now it was his turn to debate what to do. He could reveal that the steward had not acted in his name and try to reclaim the money, provoking the anger of the villagers. Or, he could leave things as is and reap the praise and goodwill of the villagers. He decided to act in mercy, decided to carry the cost of the steward's salvation himself and absorb the capital loss....
8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.
So the master called in the servant. "I see what you have done. I could throw you in jail. But you have banked on my mercy. (3) You took a risky chance in this action, banking that I would have mercy and retain the relationships in the village. You are shrewd--you knew where your salvation lie."
For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. (3)
For they recognize that in this world there is guilt and judgment, and they act shrewdly and with urgency to avoid judgment and work for thier earthly salvation. Will the listeners not recognize it as well? Will they not recognize that they have nothing to protest their innocence with, nothing to use to work for their salvation? For the shrewd manager knew the master's character and threw himself on the mercy of the master. Will not the listeners also know and throw themselves on the mercy of the Master? Will they not recognize the urgency? And do you not see the cost of mercy--someone has to bear it? And Jesus, the parable teller, cries out.... "I will bear it..."
NOTES
(1) The different interpretation is provided by Kenneth E Bailey. Poet & Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke. Combined ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983.
(2) Many commentators say that the steward was reducing the debt to what they actually owed, and subtracting his own commission he had added. This could be true. However, if the master was aware of the steward's doing so (and if the point of the parable is that the steward's wise act for which he was commended was returning the money, then the master had to have been aware), would that make the master unjust as well? Or perhaps that is stretching the points of referents in the parable too much... Or perhaps it was not seen as "unjust" in the Middle Eastern culture....
(3) Bailey argues for a break at v. 9. If his interpretation is incorrect, and if it is supposed to be an interpretation of the parable, it probably would affect Bailey's interpretation.
Luke 16:1-8: He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’
And the master waited for a response... but the steward was silent. Shockingly silent. The implication was clear--the steward was guilty. He was admitting his guilt by his silence. The master knew it. The steward knew it.
The steward walked out, pensive in the crisis. It was time to render accounts. He knew judgment was pending..... The only question left was, how to save himself?
3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’
How to save himself, prepare for his future... that is a tough question. He was resourceless. Apart from his master he didn't have skills or anything to offer. His entire village would know he was unjust and had been fired--who else would hire him? He sighed in despair, apart from his master he had nothing.... his master... hmmm.... He had learned this--he was not in jail. His master, although just in calling him to accout, had mercy on him. Maybe.... maybe...
5 So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.'
And so the villagers began praising the master for his generosity--the steward had, after all, rescinded the debts in his master's name. What a kind man, the master was, to reduce their debts! (2) The master's praises rang throughout the village.
The master sat back, and now it was his turn to debate what to do. He could reveal that the steward had not acted in his name and try to reclaim the money, provoking the anger of the villagers. Or, he could leave things as is and reap the praise and goodwill of the villagers. He decided to act in mercy, decided to carry the cost of the steward's salvation himself and absorb the capital loss....
8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.
So the master called in the servant. "I see what you have done. I could throw you in jail. But you have banked on my mercy. (3) You took a risky chance in this action, banking that I would have mercy and retain the relationships in the village. You are shrewd--you knew where your salvation lie."
For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. (3)
For they recognize that in this world there is guilt and judgment, and they act shrewdly and with urgency to avoid judgment and work for thier earthly salvation. Will the listeners not recognize it as well? Will they not recognize that they have nothing to protest their innocence with, nothing to use to work for their salvation? For the shrewd manager knew the master's character and threw himself on the mercy of the master. Will not the listeners also know and throw themselves on the mercy of the Master? Will they not recognize the urgency? And do you not see the cost of mercy--someone has to bear it? And Jesus, the parable teller, cries out.... "I will bear it..."
NOTES
(1) The different interpretation is provided by Kenneth E Bailey. Poet & Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke. Combined ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983.
(2) Many commentators say that the steward was reducing the debt to what they actually owed, and subtracting his own commission he had added. This could be true. However, if the master was aware of the steward's doing so (and if the point of the parable is that the steward's wise act for which he was commended was returning the money, then the master had to have been aware), would that make the master unjust as well? Or perhaps that is stretching the points of referents in the parable too much... Or perhaps it was not seen as "unjust" in the Middle Eastern culture....
(3) Bailey argues for a break at v. 9. If his interpretation is incorrect, and if it is supposed to be an interpretation of the parable, it probably would affect Bailey's interpretation.
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