Parable of the Unjust Steward

[1] The term "steward" is common in many English translations of the New Testament; some versions refer to a "manager", or an "accountant".

[4] Most explain that the manager is forgoing a commission due to him personally,[5] but some scholars disagree with this interpretation.

[8][9] The manager in the parable was probably a slave or freedman acting as his master's agent in business affairs.

[6] The parable shares the theme of other passages where "Jesus counsels the disposition of possessions (and hospitality) on behalf of the poor with the understanding that, while mammon will vanish, eternal treasure will have thus been secured.

When, therefore, any one anticipating his end and his removal to the next world, lightens the burden of his sins by good deeds, either by canceling the obligations of debtors, or by supplying the poor with abundance, by giving what belongs to the Lord, he gains many friends, who will attest his goodness before the Judge, and secure him by their testimony a place of happiness.English Reformer William Tyndale emphasises the consistency of this parable with the doctrine of justification by faith, writing a booklet on the parable called The Parable of the Wicked Mammon (1528),[10] based on an exposition by Martin Luther.

We may be very sure that where there is no honesty, there is no grace.David Flusser, in a book titled Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls, has taken the phrase "sons of light" to mean the Essenes; their closed economic system is contrasted with that of other people who were less strict.

[13] A Confessional Lutheran apologist commented: Jesus' parable of the unjust manager is one of the most striking in all the Gospels.

Obviously, it would be pressing the parable beyond the point of comparison to interpret it as an endorsement of dishonest business practices.

But Jesus invites us to realize that, first, our money isn't really ours -- we're simply managing it for its real owner, God.

[14]LDS Elder James E. Talmage wrote: It was not the steward’s dishonesty that was extolled; his prudence and foresight were commended, however; for while he misapplied his master’s substance, he gave relief to the debtors; and in so doing he did not exceed his legal powers, for he was still steward though he was morally guilty of malfeasance [wrongdoing].