[15:20]
God’s persistent search for the sinner, emphasized in the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, is complemented now by his patient waiting: the father, on the lookout, caught sight of his son from a distance. The father is filled with compassion, like Jesus at Nain (7:13) and the good Samaritan (10:33). He thus ran to his son, unconcerned that running was considered beneath the dignity of an old man (Sir 19:30). He then embraced him and kissed him. The father’s compassion, demonstrated by his actions, teaches how the heavenly “Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).
Figure 13. Return of the Prodigal Son by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.
[15:21–24]
The father interrupts his son’s rehearsed confession. With his orders to the servants regarding robe, ring, sandals, and fattened calf, he quickly restores the son to his position in the family. He recognizes that indeed the son was lost. However, now that he has been found, there is reason to celebrate, as the shepherd and the woman did. The son’s transformation—he was dead but now has come to life again—is what Paul describes in Ephesians: “You were dead in your transgressions and sins. . . . But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ” (Eph 2:1, 4–5). The first part of the parable ends with the beginning of the celebration.
[15:25–28]
In the second part, the attention shifts to the older son. Apprised by a servant about the celebration involving his brother and father, he becomes angry (like the Pharisees who complain, Luke 15:2). The father came out to him, as he had done with the younger son.
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND
Old Testament Fathers and Sons
The scene of reconciliation between the father and the younger son echoes several Old Testament narratives. For example, when Isaac’s younger son, Jacob, returns from a distant country (Paddan-aram), he meets his estranged older brother, Esau. “Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Gen 33:4 NRSV), details similar to the younger son’s return, where the father “ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him” (15:20 KJV).a
The reunion between Jacob/Israel and his son Joseph is described similarly: “Joseph . . . went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. He presented himself to him, fell on his neck . . .” (Gen 46:29 NRSV). The story of Joseph and his estranged brothers also has parallels in the parable. Like the younger son, Joseph goes to a distant country (Egypt) but ends up receiving a “robe” and “ring” (Luke 15:22; Gen 41:42 LXX). A “famine” (Luke 15:14; Gen 41:54; 42:5) occurs, which leads to the reconciliation of the brothers and the reunion of father and son.
Moreover, a passage from Jeremiah has some similarities to the parable. Ephraim, the son of Joseph (Gen 48:20), becomes the name of the northern kingdom (Isa 7:9) that “seceded from Judah” (Isa 7:17). As a result of the Assyrian exile, Ephraim like the younger son went off to a distant country, from which he prays: “Bring me back, let me come back, / for you are the LORD, my God. / For after I turned away, I repented” (Jer 31:18–19). God responds: “Is Ephraim not my favored son, / the child in whom I delight? . . . / My heart stirs for him, / I must show him compassion!” (Jer 31:20). These Old Testament passages shed further light on the parable’s message of reconciliation and God’s mercy.
a. See also Tob 11:9, where Tobiah’s mother, Anna, acts similarly, after watching for her son’s return (Tob 10:7), like the father in the parable.
[15:29–30]
Whereas the younger son felt he did not “deserve to be called” a “son” (v. 19), the older son ironically speaks to his father as if he were not a son but merely a servant: all these years I served you or “slaved for you.” He never calls him “Father” as the younger son does (vv. 12, 18, 21). Moreover, he does not recognize the younger son as his brother, referring to him instead as his father’s son. He expresses bitterness about how he has been treated in comparison to the younger son. His claim—not once did I disobey your orders—may just be false boasting, but some regard it as an allusion to Deuteronomy, where faithful Israel says: “I have not transgressed any of your commandments” (Deut 26:13). Blessings are the promised reward for such fidelity (Deut 26:15–19), but it seems to the older brother that the sinful younger son has received all the blessings. He complains about not receiving even a young goat, thus forgetting or ignoring the father’s generosity (Luke 15:31). In a sense, he too is lost.
[15:31–32]
Addressing him as his son (or “child”; see 16:25), the father tries to reassure him, pointing out that their lives are united: you are here with me always, perhaps echoing the psalmist’s statement to God: “I am always with you” (Ps 73:23).3 Hence, “to be near God is my good” (Ps 73:28).
The father also tries to persuade him that the return of the younger son must be celebrated. The verb is again dei (Luke 2:49; 13:16), indicating in Luke a divine necessity. It is necessary for the father to act in this way because the “Father is merciful” (6:36). This divine logic of grace rises above the jealous comparisons of the older son, inviting reconciliation: your brother who was dead now has come to life again. Like the sheep and the coin, the lost son (15:4, 8) has been found, so there is cause to rejoice (15:5–6, 9)! The father thus wants both sons to come to the feast! The invitation is extended, but the parable’s open ending—with no mention of the celebration as in verse 24—gives no indication whether or not the older son was won over by the father’s pleading. That decision is left to the Pharisees and scribes—and to the reader.
Reflection and Application (15:11–32)
Children of God. “You are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God” (Gal 4:7). Frequent consideration of our Christian dignity as children of God (John 1:12; Rom 8:16; 1 John 3:1–2) can help us carry out our responsibilities with love and joy, not like the embittered older son who considered himself a mere slave and thus viewed others with self-righteous contempt.
Sacrament of reconciliation. “The confession of sins . . . is the act of the prodigal son who returns to his Father and is welcomed by him with the kiss of peace. It is an act of honesty and courage. It is an act of entrusting oneself, beyond sin, to the mercy that forgives.”4
The Dishonest Steward: Parable and Application (16:1–13)
1Then he also said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. 2He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ 3The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. 4I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ 5He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ 7Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ 8And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
“For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. 11If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? 12If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? 13No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”<
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OT: Ezra 7:22; Sir 5:8; 40:28
NT: Luke 12:33, 42; 19:17; 20:34; 1 Thess 5:5; Eph 5:8. // Matt 6:24
Catechism: steward of the Lord’s goods, 952, 2402; God and mammon, 2113, 2424
Lectionary: Twenty-Fifth Sunday Ordinary Time (Year C)
[16:1–2]
After addressing the “lost and found” parables to the Pharisees to justify his outreach to sinners, Jesus now also speaks to his disciples. However, the Pharisees are still close by (16:14). With the parables of the dishonest steward (16:1–8) and the rich man and Lazarus (16:19–31), the focus of Jesus’ instruction in the remainder of the unit is the proper use of wealth.
When Jesus last addressed the disciples (12:22, 41), he spoke about the “faithful” (pistos) and “prudent” (phronimos) steward (12:42). In effect, he continues that teaching here with a parable about a steward who, though dishonest, acts “prudently,” a point that Jesus highlights by referring to those who are “more prudent” (16:8). Moreover, in contrast to the steward’s dishonesty, Jesus emphasizes the importance of being “trustworthy” (pistos, four times in vv. 10–12; “faithful,” NRSV).
The parable has given rise to a wide range of interpretations. The steward who was accused of squandering his master’s property recalls the prodigal son who “squandered his inheritance” (15:13). However, whereas the younger son was considered “lost” and “dead” (15:24, 32), the steward ends up being “commended” (16:8). This surprising conclusion leads some to argue that he must have been falsely accused. After all, his master is rich, typically not an attractive characteristic in Luke (6:24; 12:16; 16:19; but see 19:2–10). However, even assuming that the rich master deserves to hear “woe to you” (6:24), nothing in the text suggests that what has been reported about the steward is untrue. When told to give an account since he is about to lose his stewardship, he does not defend himself against the charges. Though commended at the end of the parable, he is also called “dishonest” (16:8).
[16:3–4]
Moreover, the steward is not an attractive character either. Unlike the prodigal son (15:18), he expresses no repentance when he is talking to himself. Rather, he resembles the rich fool, asking, What shall I do? (12:17), and developing a self-centered plan. He is unable to work hard and too proud to beg.
[16:5–7]
A common interpretation of his plan to reduce the amount owed by his master’s debtors5 is that he was simply eliminating his own commission or the interest on the debt. Charging interest was widely practiced (19:23), even if the law prohibited it (Lev 25:37; Deut 23:20). However, there is again nothing in the text supporting such a view. Just the opposite. The 100 percent and 25 percent implied interest rates seem random, neither corresponding to the contemporary 50 percent interest rate on commodities.6 And everything is done quickly, suggesting that the steward is simply cheating his master to gain favor with the debtors.7 Moreover, this view is motivated by the desire to say that the steward’s latest behavior is not dishonest but law-abiding, which shifts attention away from the relevant point of the parable.
[16:8–9]
The steward is indeed dishonest, but he is commended for acting prudently. This is like Jesus’ command to “be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves” (Matt 10:16). A disciple should imitate how a serpent is “shrewd” (phronimos, same word as “prudent” here), but not the serpent’s other qualities! The parable involves an argument from lesser to greater, where the lesser part involves someone who exhibits less than upright behavior (as in Luke 11:13; 18:6–7). If the dishonest steward of the master (kyrios), when asked to give an account (16:2), is prudent enough to plan his earthly future so as to receive a welcome in people’s homes (v. 4), how much more ought “the faithful and prudent steward” of “the Lord” (kyrios, 12:42), who will have to give an account to God (Rom 14:12; Heb 4:13), prudently plan for a heavenly future so as to be welcomed into eternal dwellings?8 Unfortunately, Jesus points out, the children of this world (or “age,” Luke 20:34) are more prudent in practice than are the children of light. The parable thus instructs disciples to take initiative and plan wisely so as to enter God’s kingdom. Specifically, it is concerned with the proper use of wealth (“mammon,” as in 16:13),9 which eventually fails (ekleipō) when one dies and therefore no longer retains the stewardship of one’s goods. The lesson is thus similar to Jesus’ earlier teaching about giving alms so as to be rich in God’s eyes (12:21) and store up “unfailing” (anekleiptos) treasure in heaven (12:33 NRSV). A disciple who is a prudent steward will paradoxically give away wealth and remit debts, seemingly doing what the dishonest steward did but in reality enacting Jesus’ jubilee program (4:18–19; 7:41–42).
[16:10–13]
The emphasis now shifts from being prudent to being “faithful” (12:42) (i.e., trustworthy, pistos)—thus unlike the dishonest steward—beginning in small matters and then in great ones (see 19:17). These verses explain how God expects disciples to use wealth (“mammon”) so as to receive a true reward in heaven. The parallelism between verse 11 and verse 12 (if you are not trustworthy with . . .) suggests that one’s wealth really belongs to another—namely, God. By treating it as one’s own, one ends up trusting in it rather than in God. There is a wordplay here, since the word mammon likely derives from a Hebrew word meaning that in which one trusts.10 However, one cannot serve two masters. Those who trust in wealth are in effect serving mammon as if it were a god. Faithful disciples will instead serve as good stewards of all that God has entrusted to them, generously sharing what they have with others.
Reflection and Application (16:2)
Give an account of your stewardship. This phrase has often been used to point us toward the need to be prepared for God’s judgment, since we do not know how long our life will last. Meditating on our death can spur us to action, wasting no time to set things right with God and with others.
The Rich Man and Lazarus: Prelude and Parable (16:14–31)
14The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. 15And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.
16“The law and the prophets lasted until John; but from then on the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone who enters does so with violence. 17It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter of the law to become invalid.
18“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
19“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. 20And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. 22When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, 23and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’ 25Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. 26Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.’ 27He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house, 28for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.’ 29But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ 30He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone
should rise from the dead.’”
OT: Deut 15:7–11; 24:1–4; Prov 21:2; 31:22; Isa 58:7
NT: John 11:1–44; 12:1, 9; 1 Cor 7:10–11. // Matt 5:18, 32; 11:12–13; 19:9; Mark 10:11–12
Catechism: John the Baptist, 523; divorce, 2382; mortal sin, 1859; angels, 336; the particular judgment, 1021; the netherworld, 633; give bread to the hungry, 2463, 2831
Lectionary: Luke 16:19–31: Twenty-Sixth Sunday Ordinary Time (Year C); Thursday Second Week of Lent
[16:14]
The Pharisees, who are still listening close by (see 15:2), sneered at or ridiculed him, as the Jewish rulers will do at his crucifixion (23:35). They loved money,11 so they may feel that Jesus meant the parable for them (see 20:19). Earlier, he had reproved them for their avarice and encouraged them to give alms (11:39–41).
[16:15]
In response, Jesus addresses diverse sayings to the Pharisees (16:15–18) and then the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (vv. 19–31). The connecting thread of these seemingly random sayings may be the background involving Herod Antipas (see comment on v. 16). Another proposal is that Luke here arranges Jesus’ teaching by using Deuteronomy as a model (see the sidebar, “Old Testament Background of Luke’s Central Section,” p. 285).
First, Jesus points out the hypocritical disparity (12:1) between the Pharisees’ appearance and the reality. Whereas they justify themselves (see 5:32; 15:7; 18:9), the tax collectors about whom they complain “justified God” (7:29 RSV [emphasis added]) by accepting John’s baptism. Such tax collectors will be the ones justified (18:14). As lovers of money, the Pharisees have placed their treasure and hence their heart (12:34) in the wrong place, and God knows their hearts. They may be held in esteem (literally, “high”) among people, but they will be brought low in the reversal being worked by God (1:52; 14:11; 18:14). Jesus also describes them with the strong word abomination, probably because their love of money leads them to act dishonestly like the steward in the parable: “Everyone who does what is dishonest . . . is an abomination to the LORD, your God” (Deut 25:16). Moreover, the word “abomination” is typically used to refer to the worship of false gods (Deut 7:25; 32:16). The implication is that their love of money is tantamount to idolatry. They are not serving God but mammon (Luke 16:13).
The Gospel of Luke Page 38