In What Sense Is the Unrighteous Steward Praised?

The path to understanding the meaning of the parable of the unrighteous steward is opened by the circumstance under which it was spoken. The Saviour was surrounded, besides the holy Apostles, by tax collectors and sinners, who had gathered to Him precisely in order to listen to Him (Lk. 15:1). Knowing their infirmities and desires, the Lord would surely have directed His word immediately toward them. But as the Pharisees and scribes standing there rebuked Him for His association with notorious sinners, saying, “Why does He receive sinners?” (Lk. 15:2), the Saviour first directed His discourse toward these Pharisees.

In several parables He explained to them that for Him, as God and Saviour, sinners who are able to repent and are repenting are as precious to Him as the lost sheep, one of a hundred, is precious to the householder (Lk. 15:4–7), as the lost coin, one of ten, is precious to the woman (Lk. 15:8–10), as the prodigal son, who returned to him after long wandering in a far country, is precious to the father, though he had squandered all his inheritance (Lk. 15:11–32).

Having instructed the Pharisees, the Lord turned toward the tax collectors and sinners, who thirsted for His word properly for themselves, though the parables spoken were not only consoling for them but also instructive. It was easy for them to understand that it was them the Lord was seeking, and thereafter to come to the question: how then should we be and what should we do to become His? The Pharisees suffered more from pride, but were not without the love of gain, though they could always easily sacrifice it to vanity. Concealing their passions beneath the appearance of piety, they hardened in them and shut the door of their hearts to repentance. The tax collectors suffered from the love of money and acted according to its impulses openly, so that common judgment pursued them unfavorably. This could not fail to weigh upon them, and surely for many of them, conscience spoke strongly of the injustice of their actions and conduct. Those gathered around the Saviour, one may suppose, were numbered among those touched by conscience and hoped to hear from His lips direction on how to emerge from their moral labyrinth into the light of God.

Afterward the example of Zacchaeus showed how great is the power of a penitent spirit and how mightily does it break through all that constrains it (Lk. 19:1–10). You see how the repentant heart casts off one by one the alien coverings that have pressed upon it. But not all possess such moral strength. The lighthearted and weak-willed seek another outcome, a quieter one. And so the Saviour’s word is directed to them! By the parable of the unrighteous steward He says to them, as it were: you are tangled and seek a way out. Here it is! Do as this steward did. He too was entangled, but managed to extricate himself and secure his future; he managed to provide himself with temporal rest, while you will manage to earn eternal dwellings for yourselves in His Kingdom.

One must not, however, suppose that the lesson of the parable was limited to the tax collectors alone. It concerned all who were listening: the holy Apostles, among whom was Judas; the Pharisees, who also knew how to draw others’ wealth to themselves; and all, not only the lovers of gain, but all in general who possessed anything, who owned any earthly goods. The Lord was teaching the soul-saving use of wealth, of all possessions and all the gifts of life. This is especially evident from the application which the Lord made from His parable-lesson (Lk. 16:10–13). From this point of view one must regard this parable and the whole discourse of the Saviour (Lk. 16:1–13).

It has three parts: first a) the parable-narrative is presented (verses 1–8); then b) the meaning of the parable is indicated, or the moral lesson is drawn from it (verses 8–9); finally c) the application of this lesson is made to all who were listening (verses 10–13).