RSV ~ Luke 16 Notes

Lk 16:1-8 | ISB Notes

The parable of the Unrighteous Steward is about urgency and preparedness. About to lose his position (16:2), the steward makes use of a pressing situation to find favor with his master’s debtors and prepare for his future (16:4). Christians should take even greater care to prepare for life in the world to come.

• Mystically (St. Gaudentius, Sermo 18): the unrighteous steward signifies the devil, whose dominion over this world is nearing its end. Having wasted the Lord’s goods by stripping us of divine grace and friendship, he now works anxiously to make friends by deception and empty promises of forgiveness. While his ardor and foresight are worthy of imitation, his wicked and dishonest tactics are not.

Lk 16:1 | ISB Notes

a steward: A head servant who handled the business affairs of his master’s estate. Like the prodigal son (15:13), this manager wasted his master’s goods.

Lk 16:6 | ISB Notes

hundred measures of oil: About 800 gallons. The steward reduces the debt 50 percent.

Lk 16:7 | ISB Notes

hundred measures of wheat: About 1,000 bushels. The debt is reduced 20 percent.

Lk 16:8 | ISB Notes

his prudence: The master, although cheated by the debt reduction, commends the steward for his shrewdness. He recognizes that the steward’s last-minute efforts proved successful in winning the favor of the debtors and making his financial future more secure. The unjust strategy of the steward shows that he was motivated by an entirely selfish concern for his own temporal welfare. Jesus points to the steward as both an example and a warning. (1) As an example, the steward shows how to expend every effort in making use of our means to prepare for the future. Just as his cunning won him a comfortable living in the “houses” of his master’s debtors (16:4), so believers are challenged to make friends by almsgiving in order to be received into “eternal habitations” (16:9). (2) As a warning, the steward is intended to characterize the attitude of the Pharisees, who have been listening to Jesus since 15:2 and who are charged with being “lovers of money” in 16:14. It is implied that the Pharisees are despising God by their devotion to mammon, i.e., they seek not eternal riches but the esteem of men and the temporal comforts of this world (16:13).

Lk 16:9 | ISB Notes

mammon: An Aramaic word meaning “wealth”. Almsgiving makes us friends of the poor by means of money. Investing in God’s kingdom means divesting ourselves of riches to help others in need (3:11; 2 Cor 9:6-15; CCC 952).

Lk 16:16 | ISB Notes

The law and the prophets: A shorthand reference to the OT (24:44). John the Baptist stands at the pivot of salvation history, being included within the OT era even as he concludes it. Both he and the OT Scriptures announced the coming of Jesus (CCC 523).

violently: Refers to the persecution of Christians or to the ascetic disciplines exemplified by John. See note on Mt 11:12.

Lk 16:17 | ISB Notes

one dot: One of the short extensions that distinguish similar-looking Hebrew letters (Mt 5:18). Jesus does not invalidate even these minute details of the OT, much less the substance of the law. See note on Mt 5:17.

Lk 16:18 | ISB Notes

one who divorces: While Moses permitted divorce and remarriage in the Old Covenant (Deut 24:1-4), Jesus forbids it entirely in the New (Mk 10:11-12; 1 Cor 7:10-11; CCC 2382).

See topical essay: Jesus on Marriage and Divorce at Mt 19.

Lk 16:19-31 | ISB Notes

The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus depicts the lot of the wealthy and the poor, first in this life and then in the next. For all his worldly comforts, the rich man’s callousness toward the poor plunged him into ruin (16:23). Lazarus, despite his earthly hardships, is escorted to Abraham’s side (16:22). A similar reversal of fortunes underlies the Beatitudes and Woes in 6:20-26 (Mt 25:31-46) (CCC 2463, 2831).

Lk 16:19 | ISB Notes

There was a … man: The same opening line is used in the two preceding parables (15:11; 16:1) and may suggest this story is also a parable. On the other hand, the poor man is personally identified in 16:20 (“Lazarus”), a feature that is uncharacteristic of parables.

purple and fine linen: Expensive apparel often associated with royalty (Judg 8:26; Esther 8:15).

Lk 16:22 | ISB Notes

Abraham’s bosom: i.e., in the lap or presence of Abraham, the forefather of Israel (3:8; Is 51:2). It refers to a temporary realm within Hades where the righteous souls of the Old Covenant era waited patiently for Christ to open the gates of heaven (Eph 4:8-10).

Lk 16:23 | ISB Notes

Hades: The netherworld or realm of the dead. It refers to a waiting place where the deceased souls of the wicked are detained until the Last Judgment (Rev 20:13). Here it stands opposite Abraham’s presence and is a place where sinners languish in the grip of torment (Lk 16:24; Mt 11:23). It is separated from the abode of the righteous by a permanent, unbridgeable gulf that permits no traffic to pass between them (Lk 16:26) (CCC 633, 1021). See note on Mt 16:18.

Lk 16:28 | ISB Notes

he may warn them: The first and only hint of the rich man’s concern for others. His request for the resurrection of Lazarus is nevertheless denied, since the Scriptures already give sufficient warnings to prevent his brothers from neglecting the poor (Lev 23:22; Deut 15:9; Is 10:1-2; Amos 2:6-7). Others suggest the rich man is still being selfish, for he realizes that the damnation of his entire family would only increase his misery.

Lk 16:31 | ISB Notes

Moses and the prophets: The entire OT (24:27).

rise from the dead: Not even miracles will benefit those indifferent to the Scriptures.