39. The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
Luke 16:1-18
Spoken by Yeshua as he teaches a great multitude who is following him at the end of 27 CE.
Luke 16:1 Yeshua also said to his disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a steward; and the same was accused to him that he had wasted his goods. 2 He called him, and said to him, ‘How is it that I hear this of you? Give an account of your stewardship, for it may be that you will no longer be my steward.’ 3 Then the steward said “within himself, ‘What shall I do when my master takes the stewardship away from me? I cannot dig. I would be too ashamed to beg. 4 I am resolved what to do, so that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ 5 He called on every one of his master’s debtors, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 The master commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely. The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9 Therefore, I say to you, make to yourselves friends by the wise stewardship of your worldly riches so that when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. {1} 10 He that is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and he that is unjust with little will also be unjust with abundance. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful with worldly riches, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 If you have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve JeHoVah and worldly riches.
14 The Prushim, who were covetous, heard all these things and they derided him. 15 So he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but JeHoVah knows your hearts. That which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of JeHoVah. 16 The law and the prophets prophesied about Yochanan and since that time the kingdom of JeHoVah has been preached, and every man presses into it. 17 It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one vowel of the Torah to fail. 18 Whoever puts away his wife to marry another, commits adultery – and whoever marries her that is put away from her husband [so that she may marry another] also commits adultery. {2}
{Lk 16:9.1} Use the things that you gain in this temporal life to benefit the eternal kingdom so that when you die you will have an everlasting reward.
{Lk 16:18.1} This is an address specific to the Pharisees who coveted other men’s wives and possessions and invented ingenious ways to get around the commandments in the Torah concerning adultery. They could, in their system, find a more beautiful woman and have her divorce her husband, and he divorce his wife, and then they could marry. This is what Yeshua calls adultery. It can also be termed “premeditated remarriage,” or divorce for the purpose of marrying another, which would avoid a legal adultery charge on a technicality. (See Matthew 5:27-32 and Mark 10:11-12)
Excerpt From: Michael John Rood. “The Chronological Gospels.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/SWrxQ.l
The path that starts the journey can be found behind the ivy hanging from the oak tree. Know that it is the place where the words and numbers meet.
I feel the coolness of the morning breeze upon my face. The heat that radiated upon my sleep is now briskly moving away. As I rise and walk to the water, the small branch that is also a stream, I kneel down and look upon the pool and see reflections of light encircling me. As the sunlight of the new day comes flickering over the surface of the water, many bursts of light, the little balls of light come near me then like lightning move in and out as they go along The Way. The reflections upon the water give light upon the mind I see, for it is the mind of Christ, Yeshua/Jesus that is looking back unto me.
I put my covenant hand into the water and bring it to my lips, the taste is sweeter than the scent of the flowers coming up under the oak tree that bow to the wind. As I drink in the parable words this day I feel them bursting the hull inside of me again. The living water has brought forth life for the seed is now felt growing inside the hearts and minds of men.
The shrewdness of the master, is well pleased in what the unjust servant went and did - setting himself up to endure in the world, being wise like the serpents of this generation, but not becoming one of them. So let not the dead letter, the dead letter of the law, rule how you interact with the world, it’s one of the ways they try to control.
Know that you must be just in your workings so you'll be able to stand when the evil days come upon the world. Come out of the cities, out of the towns, out of the religious system known as Babylon dear friend for it is the appointed time. Seek the tender grass, the mighty oak secluded by the stream. Drink of it’s living water so that you may endure, be an overcomer, knowing the end from the beginning.
The time of crossing over, is quickly coming upon us. Has the promised land been shown to you, within the dreams that He puts into your mind? You must travel far, and go and find this land. You must sit under the oak tree and say “Lord, here I AM!” You must dip you hand into the water to receive the blessing deep inside for it is the place of the pearl, also the treasure, it reveals the Ark within the Tabernacle of your Mind. Listen to your heart as you walk along The Way and know that being an earthbound misfit, Yea know always that you’re going to be ok.