What is the meaning of the passage of the unfaithful steward? (Part 3).

[Leonardo Von]

What is the meaning of the passage of the unfaithful steward? (Part 3).

The third passage (the prodigal sons) and the two following passages are the passages related to rich ones and prodigality. 

The third passage show a rich father of family with their two prodigal sons. The father was someone bounteous, who care for his servants (Luke 15:17). He administered his goods in order to help people, while his two sons only cared about use the wealth for the pleasures of their flesh.

Jesus was showing to the Pharisees (who were skinflint) and his religious followers that, if they served the Creator only seeking to satisfy their appetites, one of two things:

•    Either they would finish poor:

o    Pro 21:17 -> Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.”.

•    Or they would finish their days without finding the real joy, peace and sense of the life, even circumvented by the blessings of the Creator:

o    Ecc 6:2 -> “a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil.”.

If the Pharisees would be loved by their children, they should be a reference of love, showing love toward the house of Israel which was entrusted to them for the glory of the Creator (note that what stirred up the prodigal son to come back to his home was the love of his father for his servants – Luke 16:25).

The fifth passage tell about a rich man living a over-extravagant life without caring for any poor (see Amos 6:6), not even the one who was laid at his gate (Luke 16:19-31). This was a happened fact, from which we can learn the following lesson:

•    The rich man represents the religious people, in particular, the Pharisees who were niggard and desired to use the blessings of the Creator in their life so that they may be seen by others (Mat 6:5; 23:5) and live sumptuously.
•    Lazarus: those who were reject by the religious people: the prostitutes, tax collectors, physically handicapped and criminals.

Note that the rich man called Abraham of father (Luke 16:24), exactly how the Pharisees and Sadducees did (Mat 3:9; John 8:39,53). With this, Jesus was showing the Pharisees that all their justice, although great before their eyes (Mat 5:20; Luke 18:11), couldn’t save them from the hell. They needed to care for the poor and the lost sheep of Israel (Luke 16:25).

Have a good day using your goods to help people to find Christ in the middle of the solution of their problems.

Tomorrow we will continue.