And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Thessalonians 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Ephesians 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
Proverbs 6:6-8 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
Luke 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
John 12:36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himsel…
Exodus 1:10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto ou…
Luke 16:4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
1 Corinthians 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Luke 16:1-18
We mistake if we imagine that the design of Christ's doctrine and holy religion was either to amuse us with notions of divine mysteries or to entertain us with notions of divine mercies. No, the divine revelation of both these in the gospel is intended to engage and quicken us to the practice of Christian duties, and, as much as any one thing, to the duty of beneficence and doing good to those who stand in need of any thing that either we have or can do for them. This our Saviour is here pressing us to, by reminding us that we are but stewards of the manifold grace of God; and since we have in divers instances been unfaithful, and have forfeited the favour of our Lord, it is our wisdom to th…
the lord--evidently the steward's lord, so called in Luk 16:3, Luk 16:5.
commended, &c.--not for his "injustice," but "because he had done wisely," or prudently; with commendable foresight and skilful adaptation of means to end.
children of this world--so Luk 20:34; compare Psa 17:14 ("their portion in this life"); Phi 3:19 ("mind earthly things"); Psa 4:6-7.
their generation--or "for their generation"--that is, for the purposes of the "world" they are "of." The greater wisdom (or shrewdness) of the one, in adaptation of means to ends, and in energetic, determined prosecution of them, is none of it for God and eternity--a region they were never in, an atmosphere they never breathed, an…
The lord commended - Viz. the master of this unjust steward. He spoke highly of the address and cunning of his iniquitous servant. He had, on his own principles, made a very prudent provision for his support; but his master no more approved of his conduct in this, than he did in his wasting his substance before. From the ambiguous and improper manner in which this is expressed in the common English translation, it has been supposed that our blessed Lord commended the conduct of this wicked man: but the word κυριος, there translated lord, simply means the master of the unjust steward.
The children of this world - Such as mind worldly things only, without regarding God or their souls. A phrase…
The Church Fathers
The children of light and the children of this world are spoken of in the same manner as the children of the kingdom, and the children of hell. For whatever works a man does, he is also termed their son.
(ubi sup.) The steward whom his Lord cast out of his stewardship is nevertheless commended because he provided himself against the future. As it follows, And the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely; we ought not however to take the whole for our imitation. For we should never act deceitfully against our Lord in order that from the fraud itself we may give alms. (ubi sup.) On the other hand this parable is spoken, that we should understand that if the steward who acted deceitfully, could be praised by his lord, how much more they please God who do their works according to His commandment.
And the lord praised the unjust steward because he had acted prudently. For the children of this age are wiser than the children of light in their generation. Let the wise of this world hear, that they may abandon foolish wisdom and learn the wisdom of God's foolishness, how greatly divine equity has valued their wisdom, whom He remembers not as truly wise, but wise in their generation. As it is said elsewhere: Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight (Isaiah 5). And also, by calling the lovers of eternal life children of light, He reproves those who are wise to do evil but know not how to do good as being children of darkness. The children of light and the children of this age are so called, just as the children of the kingdom and the children of perdition. For each one is named a child of that of which he performs the works.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Child — This word has considerable latitude of meaning in Scripture. Thus Joseph is called a child at the time when he was probably about sixteen years of age (Gen. 37:3); and Benjamin is so called when he…
Dishonesty · 6:10,11; — 6:10,11;
Light · FIGURATIVE AND SYMBOLI — FIGURATIVE AND SYMBOLI
Parables · Unjust steward — Unjust steward
Probation · The embezzling steward — The embezzling steward
Steward · .The unfaithful, — .The unfaithful,
Titles And Names Of Saints · Children of light — Children of light
Titles And Names Of The Wicked · Children of this world — Children of this world
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Luke 16:8 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
And the Lord commended the unjust steward,.... Not the Lord Jesus Christ, who delivered this parable, as the Syriac version seems to suggest, rendering it, "our Lord"; but the Lord of the steward, or "God", as the Ethiopic version reads: not that he commended him for the fact he did, or the injustice of it for this is contrary to his nature and perfections; but for his craft and cunning in providing himself a maintenance for time to come: for he is on that account branded as an "unjust steward", as he was, in wasting his Lord's goods; putting false glosses on the Scriptures; doing damage both to the souls and worldly estates of men: and in neglecting and despising lawful and honest ways of l…
Luke 16:1-15
Luke 16:1-15
1. And he said also to his disciples, There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and he was accused to him that he was wasting his estate. 2. And he called him, and said to him, What is this that I hear of thee? render an account of thy stewardship, for thou shalt no longer have it in thy power to be steward. 3. And the steward said within himself, What shall I do, since my master taketh from me my stewardship? I cannot dig, and am ashamed to beg. 4. I know what I shall do, that, when I shall be dismissed from the stewardship, they may receive me [294] into their houses. 5. Having therefore sent for each of his master's debtors, he said to the first, How much…
Jesus seems to commend the manager’s dishonesty, but Jesus’ point is that believers need to use resources shrewdly in preparation for eternity.
16:8 The ways of the world are the opposite of God’s ways. The children of this world use all their resources to get ahead in this world. God’s people do just the opposite (16:9). • The children of the light are the people of God (see John 12:36; 1 Thes 5:5).
