Jesus gives us a strange ending to a strange parable. Of all the ways interpreters have attempted to discover this verse’s meaning, I prefer the ones which turn it into a teaching on repentance. Luther often taught that we humans had to discover the utter failure of every single avenue of self-justification. When all things have failed us, then we have ears to hear that Jesus is “…the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6). This is repentance, the being turned from death to life… from despair and unbelief to faith and hope.

Jesus begins with an encouragement “…make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth.” Jesus is saying, “buy all the friends you want. Go ahead, use that wealth… that mammon… there’s no righteousness in it anyway.” Jesus does not make the distinction between two different sorts of mammon, all of it is unrighteous. The act of making friends by using it to benefit them does not make it righteous. Again, Jesus does not distinguish between using mammon to buy friends through the relational equivalent of bribes or the obligations placed on would-be friends through charitable gifts to them. Jesus’ thrust is to disclose both friends and mammon as things of this world, broken as it is and passing away.

Jesus exposes friends and mammon to reveal their certain failure. Thus, money and friends do you no good when you demand entrance into “the eternal dwellings.” This is the way of works whether they be relational or wealth oriented. None of them transcend the eschaton. Jesus uses the encouragement to “make friends,” as a vehicle for demonstrating the deeper the sin, the greater is the repentance. Jesus makes mammon an issue of the heart (vs. 15). The only solution to these matters of a sinful heart is to do as David did in Psalm 51 and pray for a clean heart (Ps. 51:10). In the forgiveness of sins… in this act of justifying you… Jesus Christ comes to be your life… exchanging your old and sinful heart for his clean heart. For as long as Jesus is your life, the clean heart is yours.

Table Talk: Discuss how repenting of “puppy sins” is easy but repenting of great and shameful sins requires an act of God. Pray: Father in Heaven, repent me and give me Jesus’ clean heart. Amen

Luke 16:1-15 English Standard Version

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.’ 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.’ 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.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.