LukeChapter 16

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¹Jesus also told his disciples this story. "There was a rich man who had a manager. People said the manager was wasting the rich man's things. ²So the rich man called him in. He asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give me a report of how you have handled my things. You can't be my manager any longer.' ³The manager said to himself, 'What will I do now? My master is taking my job away from me. I'm not strong enough to dig. And I'm too ashamed to beg. ⁴I know what I'll do! Then when I lose my job, people will welcome me into their homes.' ⁵So he called in each person who owed his master something. He asked the first one, 'How much do you owe my master?' ⁶He answered, '800 gallons of olive oil.' The manager told him, 'Take your bill. Sit down quickly and write 400.'a ⁷Then he asked another one, 'And how much do you owe?' He answered, '1,000 bushels of wheat.' The manager told him, 'Take your bill and write 800.'b ⁸The master praised the dishonest manager because he had acted wisely for himself. For the people of this world are wiser in dealing with their own kind than the people of the light are.c ⁹I tell you, use the money of this world to make friends for yourselves. Then when it's gone, they will welcome you into homes that last forever. ¹⁰Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. And whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹So if you can't be trusted with the money of this world, who will trust you with true riches? ¹²And if you can't be trusted with what belongs to someone else, who will give you things of your own? ¹³No servant can serve two masters. He will hate one and love the other. Or he will be loyal to one and look down on the other. You cannot serve both God and money." ¹⁴The Pharisees loved money. They heard all this and made fun of Jesus. ¹⁵So Jesus said to them, "You try to make yourselves look right in front of people. But God knows your hearts. For what people think is great is hateful in God's eyes. ¹⁶The Law and the Prophets were preached until John came. Since then, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached. And everyone is pushing hard to get into it. ¹⁷But it is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest mark of a pen to drop out of the Law. ¹⁸Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery. And the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. ¹⁹There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen. Every day he lived in luxury and enjoyed himself. ²⁰A beggar named Lazarus was lying at his gate. His body was covered with sores. ²¹He wished he could eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²²One day the beggar died. The angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³In Hades, the rich man was in great pain. He looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴So he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in terrible pain in this fire.' ²⁵But Abraham answered, 'My child, remember that you got good things during your life. But Lazarus got bad things. Now he is comforted here, and you are in terrible pain. ²⁶Besides all this, a deep, wide gap has been set between us and you. So those who want to cross from here to you can't. And no one can cross from there to us.' ²⁷The rich man said, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house. ²⁸For I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so they won't also come to this place of pain.' ²⁹But Abraham answered, 'They have the writings of Moses and the Prophets. Your brothers should listen to them.' ³⁰He said, 'No, father Abraham! But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' ³¹Abraham said to him, 'If they won't listen to Moses and the Prophets, they won't be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"