Dig Deeper
Jesus frequently taught the crowds by using parables;
in fact Mark’s Gospel reveals a season when Jesus “did not say anything to them
without using a parable.” (Mark 4:34) The gospels record several different
kinds of parables, story parables, similitudes, parabolic sayings and metaphors.
The parable of the Shrewd Manager in Luke 16:1-15 is known as a story parable in that it is a story with
a beginning, an ending and a plot. In their book, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, authors Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart describe the primary purpose of
a story parables as “calling forth a response on the part of the hearer” (152).
Read Luke 16:1-15.
What is the setting? (Luke 16:1, 14)
What problem or issue is Jesus addressing in this
parable? (Luke 16:15)
What response is Jesus calling for? (Luke 16:9-13)
Jesus said in Luke 16:8, ““The master commended
the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this
world are more shrewd (prudently or wisely) in dealing with their own kind than
are the people of the light.” How do you imagine His different hearers reacting
when He said this?
The disciples--
The crowds--
The Pharisees--
What insight about His hearers does Luke 18:9
offer for understanding Jesus’ purpose for telling this parable?
Application
How are you using what you have been entrusted?
Jesus declares, “You cannot serve both God and money” (Luke 16:13b). How is the
Holy Spirit leading you to love/serve God with your money?
Memorize This
Matthew 7:24-25— “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine
and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against
that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. NIV
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