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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Luke 16
Verse Commentaries:
Chapter Level Commentary:
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Third paragraph
4. Etc.
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS
A. Luke 16 is related contextually to Luke 15 :
1. Both were addressed to Pharisees, Luk_15:2-3; Luk_16:14;
2. The additional audience was the disciples, Luk_14:33; Luk_16:1;
3. The parables of these two chapters were designed to rebuke the attitudes of the religious leaders and to reveal to the disciples God's redemptive and seeking heart;
4. The unifying issue of Luke 15 was God's love for lost sinners, while Luke 16 focuses on the Pharisees' love for money, Luk_16:14-15. (Luke 16 is unified by a rabbinical play on "mammon" or money.)
B. The parable (Luk_16:1-13) has caused much controversy in interpretation, for it seems to praise fraud. However, it must be understood that this is a certain type of parable (i.e., a contrasting story) which illustrates a positive truth by a negative example (cf. Luk_18:1-8).
1. The keys to a proper interpretation of the parable
a. who is speaking in Luk_16:8 a, Jesus or the landowner of the parable?
b. Luk_16:8-13
(1) Jesus' comments on the problem of the love of money
(2) the early churches' comments (the author of the gospel)
(3) a separate literary unit?
2. Do not read too much into the details of the parable. Look for the central truth(s).
3. There are similarities between the Prodigal Son and the Unjust Steward:
a. a merciful father/landowner
b. in one, a son is unfaithful; in the other, a well paid steward is unfaithful;
c. in both, neither offers excuses for his sins but throws himself on the mercy of the father/debtors
C. This chapter does not have an obvious unifying theme. It is often hard to see the literary units. Is Luk_16:13 an independent saying? How are Luk_16:16-18 related to the larger context?
Luke seems to have combined several unrelated sayings of Jesus, but why and how remains uncertain. The overarching theme is the inappropriate priority of self, wealth, and this world order.
D. The account of Lazarus in Luk_16:19-31 is the fifth parable in a series (Luke 15-16). It seems to have been designed illustrate the truths of Luk_16:8-14. The improper love of money is the issue in Luke 16.
The Pharisees whom Jesus was addressing were like Lazarus' brothers (Luk_16:29). They had the Law and the Prophets, but they chose not to respond in the appropriate way! They believed in a future physical life with God, but they missed the fact that faith in Jesus is the key to this future life. There is a surprise reversal awaiting the religious leaders of Jesus' day.
E. Kenneth E. Bailey, Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes, is a thought-provoking and helpful structural and cultural approach to interpreting the parables in Luke.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. How do each the paragraph divisions of the chapter relate to the theme of the use of money? (1-8a; 8-13; 14-18; 19-31)
2. Why is wealth dangerous?
3. What is the central truth of the parable (Luk_16:1-8 a) and (9-31)?
4. Who is speaking and to whom are they speaking in Luk_16:8 a and 8b?
5. Are Luk_16:19-31 a parable or a historical account? Why?
6. Can we base our theology of the intermediate state on the details of this passage? (Luk_16:19-31)