The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
Most sequels are not as good as the original. The second Indiana Jones movie is not my favorite. Here, immediately after the greatest of all the parables of Jesus, the Prodigal Son, comes this thing about a shrewd and dishonest manager and BE LIKE HIM, says Jesus! What? First of all, it is not a sequel. These two parables are to different audiences and are not connected. Second, Jesus is not telling us to be dishonest and corrupt “for the sake of the Lord”. According to R. H. Stein, Jesus “urges believers to act as prudently with regard to divine things as unbelievers do with regard to earthly things.” that makes far more sense.
The question remains, “What does this look like in real life in 2021?” Does this mean that we wink at sin to attract more people? No. we could fill our church three times over and send many of them to hell with our false teaching. Do we steal from the rich government in order to help the poor? That sounds noble. No. We are to help the poor in our own strength and resources. This idea of “by whatever means necessary” has been the source of much violence. Jesus would have us be shrewd by using the brokenness of the world to point to a future unbreakable world. This world will be…
The best sequel ever!