This chapter was a bit tricky for me to understand.
Jesus is still speaking with the Pharisees. He just told them the parable of the Prodigal Son. His next parable is about the Unjust Steward.
I don’t know anything about the business dealings of the Jews in 30 AD, so the parable probably made more sense at the time. Jesus teaches about an unjust man who was managing the wealth of his rich employer. Someone had told the employer that the man was wasting his money. The employer called the man and asked him about it. The man was afraid he’d lose his job, so he went to all his employer’s debtors and renegotiated their debts for a lower price if they’d promise him he could live with them in the future if needed. His employer praised him for being shrewd. This seems weird to me because wouldn’t the employer be upset? It wasn’t the man’s money to bargain with, so it didn’t seem right.
After doing some research, it seems Jesus may have been teaching that it’s important to plan for your heavenly home. Maybe the employer is life and our time on earth. Perhaps the man was wasting his time on earth. When he realized that his time was short, he negotiated with heaven (or the Savior) so he would have a place there when his life ended.
Jesus also teaches a parable about a rich man who ignores the beggar named Lazarus outside his door. When he went to heaven, he found himself in torments on the other side of a gulf separating him from Lazarus who was with Father Abraham. He couldn’t go to where Lazarus was and begged Abraham to warn his friends and family. Abraham couldn’t return from the dead to warn them, but they had already had the prophets to warn them.
Jesus is warning us that we need to use our time wisely on earth to repent and do good, or the consequences could be tragic. We show the Lord by our daily actions that we can be wise and just with what we have now, so he can bless us with so much more.
