Luke 16:1-4 1He was also speaking the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this one had charges brought against him that for squandering his possessions. 2And calling him he said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give a report of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3And the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.
Jesus told another parable. The audience focus changed from the tax collectors, sinners, Pharisees, and scribes in chapter 15 to the disciples who had been listening in to the stories of chapter 15. This parable has two main characters: a rich man who had enough wealth that he needed a manager to watch over it. The primary focus of the story is the manager. Little background information is given, simply the note that the manager was accused of doing a bad job of taking care of the possessions of the boss. A manger should take care of the owner’s property, but this one was wasting or squandering the assets. Squandering (diaskorpizōn) is the same word used for the prodigal son in 15:13. Although the Greek is unclear whose possessions they are, it is clear from the context that the man was serving as a steward of the rich owner. The manager was doing a terrible job of taking care of things. There is no hint of his motives, which do not matter at the beginning of the story.
Word had gotten to the master of the poor performance of his manager, and so there needed to be an accounting. A manager is someone an owner or boss puts in charge to faithfully keep track of something such as a business, property, or other situation. The manager knew he was in a difficult spot. No one wants to hear “You’re fired!” which is essentially what happened in verse 2. The manager was in a difficult spot because he likely could not get another job. He was not physically fit to do manual labor, and he was too proud to be a beggar.
The parable opens with a call to accounting. Jesus’ teachings in this chapter address the important topic of stewardship, which can have many applications. The manager in this parable had done a terrible job and now was stuck when the owner shows up and hears about the situation. It reminded the disciples that God will ask for an accounting of how well they took care of the responsibilities God gave them. They should not be like the prodigal son who wasted his possessions on selfish living. Disciples are responsible for what the Master, Jesus, has given them to do. The manager in this story was in a difficult situation. These verses have established the plot, and the next verses begin to show the solution the bad manager came up with.
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