The big picture
Luke 16 keeps returning to wealth until money is revealed as far more than an amount on a ledger. A steward about to lose his position acts decisively with the little time and authority he has left, and Jesus isolates the man's foresight without baptizing his dishonesty. The sayings that follow describe money as “least,” “unrighteous mammon,” and something belonging to another, turning possession into stewardship before it can become mastery. The Pharisees' ridicule then opens a wider question about self-justification, public approval, and a law that does not evaporate when the kingdom is proclaimed. Finally, Luke places abundance and destitution within a few steps of each other: a rich man feasts while Lazarus lies at his gate. After death, the distance becomes an uncrossable gulf. Even then, the rich man imagines Lazarus being sent on errands. His request for a messenger to his brothers is refused not because they have no witness, but because they already have Moses and the prophets. The chapter closes on the unsettling possibility that more spectacular evidence cannot repair a settled refusal to hear.
Central truth
Luke 16–17 confronts disciples with the way money, revelation, forgiveness, ordinary obedience, gratitude, and readiness expose the heart: wealth must serve faithfulness rather than mastery, Moses and the prophets must be heard, mercy must be extended repeatedly, and grace received should return in thankful worship.
The study notes have a page of their own
The movement by movement analysis, the words to trace, the verse by verse notes and where readers differ are written for someone studying alone. They are on the Deep Personal Reflections page for this chapter. This page is the lesson.
A chapter-specific teaching brief
These anchors come from this chapter itself. They help a teacher use the Level 1 overview, the Level 2 study, and the Scripture text as one lesson.
Open with the chapter’s first image
Luke 16:1: “And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.”
Slow down at the turning point
Luke 16:16: “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.”
Keep this word trail visible
Abraham, faithful, Lazarus, rich, steward, certain
What to explain, in order
Teach the passage in this order. Each step names the verses it rests on, so every point can be shown in the text before it is applied.
Luke 16:1-13
The shrewd steward
This parable puzzles many readers, so teach it carefully. A steward managed his master's property and accounts. Accused of waste, he uses his last hours in office to make friends by cutting debts. The master praises his cleverness, not his morals. Then Jesus draws three lessons: use worldly wealth to make friends for eternity, be faithful in small things and in money, and you cannot serve God and mammon. Teach this first because it sets the theme of the unit: money reveals and shapes the heart, and disciples must hold it as stewards, not masters.
Luke 16:14-18
Scoffers, the law, and the heart
The covetous Pharisees mock Jesus, and he answers that God knows hearts and despises what people prize. Then three short sayings: the law and prophets until John, the kingdom now preached; not one tittle of the law will fail; and the saying about divorce and remarriage. Explain tittle as the smallest stroke of a letter. Teach the divorce saying as Jesus upholding the seriousness of marriage, and handle it pastorally; divorced and remarried people may be present, and traditions apply this verse differently. Keep the step brief and point it toward the next parable.
Luke 16:19-31
The rich man and Lazarus
Describe the contrast: purple and fine linen, feasting daily, and a beggar named Lazarus at his gate, sores licked by dogs. Note that the poor man has a name and the rich man does not. Both die; Lazarus is carried to Abraham's bosom, a picture of honoured rest, and the rich man is in torment. Teach the great gulf and the request for his brothers. Keep the focus where Jesus puts it: the Scriptures were enough, and the gate was the place to obey them. Mention that this is a parable, so not every detail is a map of the afterlife.
Luke 17:1-6
Stumbling blocks, rebuke, and forgiveness
Jesus warns that offences, causes of stumbling, will come, but woe to the one who causes them, especially to "one of these little ones". Explain the millstone image as worse than death. Then the commands to rebuke and to forgive without limit. Teach the apostles' cry for more faith, and Jesus' answer that a tiny faith in a mighty God is enough to uproot a tree. Explain the sycamine as a mulberry with deep roots. Put this step here because it moves from money to relationships: the same heart that serves God forgives its brother.
Luke 17:7-10
Unprofitable servants
Describe a servant coming in from ploughing who then prepares his master's supper. No one would thank him for doing his job. Teach the application in 17:10 gently but clearly: our obedience does not make God owe us anything. Then show the balance from 12:37, where the master serves the servants at his return. The point is not that God is ungrateful but that disciples serve without keeping score. This prepares the class for the ten lepers, where gratitude, not entitlement, is the right response to grace.
Luke 17:11-19
One returns to give thanks
Jesus travels between Samaria and Galilee, and ten lepers call from a distance, as the law required (Leviticus 13:45-46). He sends them to the priests, the step that would confirm healing, and they are cleansed on the way. Teach the one who turns back: loud praise, face down at Jesus' feet, thanks. Then the twist: he is a Samaritan. Teach Jesus' questions as grief, not anger. Explain "made thee whole" as more than skin healing; the word can mean saved. The stranger leaves with more than the nine.
Luke 17:20-37
The kingdom among you and the day of the Son of man
Pharisees ask when the kingdom comes. Jesus says it cannot be observed with signs to point at, "the kingdom of God is within you", which many render among you, present in Jesus himself. Then to the disciples he speaks of the coming day of the Son of man: sudden like lightning, after his suffering, unexpected like the flood and Sodom. Teach Remember Lot's wife as a warning not to look back to possessions. Traditions read the taken and left of 17:34-36 in different ways; teach the call to readiness and leave timelines alone.
Where learners get stuck
The misreadings this passage tends to produce, and how to answer each from the text.
"Jesus praised the steward for being dishonest."
The one who commends him is "the lord", his master in the parable, and he praises him "because he had done wisely" (16:8), shrewdly, while still calling him "the unjust steward". Jesus' lesson is that "the children of this world" plan for their future more cleverly than "the children of light" plan for theirs. Then 16:10-12 demands faithfulness in money. Teach the parable as a call to use wealth now with eternity in mind, not as approval of cheating.
"The rich man went to hell because he was rich, and Lazarus to heaven because he was poor."
Abraham himself was rich (Genesis 13:2), and Lazarus is carried to his side (16:22). The rich man's failure was that he ignored Lazarus at his own gate while Moses and the prophets commanded mercy to the poor (16:29). The parable warns that wealth can blind us to neighbours and to God's word. Teach this as a searching question for anyone comfortable, and keep it free of political programmes; it addresses the heart.
"Forgiving means I have to pretend it did not happen and trust them again at once."
Jesus says "rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him" (17:3). The wrong is named, not ignored. Forgiveness releases the debt and the desire for revenge, and it may be given again and again (17:4). Trust and safety can take time to rebuild, and forgiveness does not require someone to stay in danger. Teach this carefully for learners who have been badly hurt, and never use this passage to pressure a victim of abuse.
"This passage tells us exactly how the end times will happen."
Jesus says the kingdom "cometh not with observation" (17:20) and warns disciples not to chase people saying "See here; or, see there" (17:23). The day will be sudden like lightning (17:24) and unexpected like Noah's flood (17:27). Readers in different traditions understand the details of 17:34-37 differently. Teach the purpose of the passage: readiness, not calculation, and do not map these sayings onto current events or nations.
Learning objectives
- Explain what Jesus commends and does not commend in the account of the unjust steward in Luke 16:1–13.
- Trace the chapter’s repeated teaching on money, including faithfulness in little, serving two masters, and the Pharisees’ covetousness.
- Read the rich man and Lazarus as the passage presents it, identifying reversal, fixed separation, and the sufficiency of Moses and the prophets.
- Explain Jesus’ warnings about offenses and His repeated command to rebuke and forgive a repentant brother in Luke 17:1–4.
- Interpret the mustard-seed and unprofitable-servants sayings as corrections to distorted ideas of faith and merit.
- Compare the ten cleansed lepers with the one Samaritan who returns, then connect the chapter’s closing sayings to watchfulness for the Son of man.
Teacher preparation
- Prepare to explain the KJV word 'mammon' as wealth or material riches.
- Read Luke 16:1–13 twice before class and separate the steward’s dishonesty from the quality Jesus highlights: prudent action in light of a coming reckoning.
- Treat the rich man and Lazarus with the user brief’s framing as a parable.
- Prepare to explain 'offences' in Luke 17:1 as stumbling blocks or causes of falling.
- Mark the sequence in Luke 17:11–19: ten cry for mercy, Jesus sends them to the priests, cleansing occurs as they go, one returns, that one is a Samaritan, and Jesus distinguishes cleansing from the returned man’s faith-filled response.
Evidence and interpretation checks
Explicit
Luke 16:10–13 explicitly teaches that faithfulness in little relates to faithfulness in much, that a person cannot serve two masters, and that no servant can serve both God and mammon.
Scripture-supported
Luke 16:29–31 directly places responsibility on hearing Moses and the prophets and concludes that refusal to hear them will not automatically be cured even by someone rising from the dead.
Strong inference
Because the one leper who returns is identified as a Samaritan after all ten are cleansed, the account strongly highlights grateful recognition in an outsider rather than presenting physical cleansing alone as the full response Jesus seeks.
Possible or traditional reading
Some interpreters treat the rich man and Lazarus as a historical account because Lazarus is named.
Limit
Luke 16–17 does not explain every detail of Hades, Abraham’s bosom, angels carrying Lazarus, or the timing of the Son of man’s revelation.
Discussion with answer guidance
1. What is the steward trying to secure before he loses his position in Luke 16:1–7?
What a good answer contains
He is securing a future welcome. Facing dismissal, he says "I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed" (16:3), and decides "that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses" (16:4). So he reduces debts: oil from a hundred measures to fifty, wheat from a hundred to fourscore (16:6-7). A strong answer sees that his master praises his shrewdness, not his honesty: "the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely" (16:8). Jesus' point is in 16:9: use money now with eternity in view. A weak answer thinks Jesus approves of cheating.
Show teacher guidance
He reduces debts owed to his master so debtors may later receive him into their houses.
2. What does Jesus say a person must choose between in 16:13?
What a good answer contains
"No servant can serve two masters" (16:13): he will hate one and love the other, or hold to one and despise the other. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Explain mammon as wealth treated as a master, the Aramaic word for riches. A good answer sees that money is not neutral when it rules; it competes with God for loyalty. Notice the reaction in 16:14: the Pharisees, "who were covetous", derided him. A weak answer says Jesus forbids having money; he forbids serving it, and in 16:9-11 he expects disciples to handle it faithfully.
Show teacher guidance
God and mammon.
3. What is the decisive failure at the end of the rich man and Lazarus parable?
What a good answer contains
The rich man, in torment, asks Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers (16:27-28). Abraham replies "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them" (16:29). When he insists that one from the dead would persuade them, Abraham says "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead" (16:31). A strong answer sees that the failure was not lack of information but refusal to listen to the Scriptures, which already commanded care for the poor at the gate. A weak answer focuses only on the details of the afterlife.
Show teacher guidance
The rich man asks for miraculous warning to his brothers, but Abraham points to Moses and the prophets.
4. How far does Jesus’ command to forgive extend in 17:3–4?
What a good answer contains
"If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him" (17:3). And "if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him" (17:4). A good answer keeps both rebuke and forgiveness, and sees that the number seven in a day means without limit. The apostles' response, "Increase our faith" (17:5), shows how hard it is. A weak answer either drops the rebuke or turns forgiveness into pretending nothing happened.
Show teacher guidance
If a brother sins, rebuke him.
5. What does the servant illustration in 17:7–10 correct?
What a good answer contains
It corrects the idea that obedience earns credit with God. A master does not thank a servant for doing what he was commanded (17:9). "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do" (17:10). Explain unprofitable as having earned no special reward. A strong answer connects it to 17:6: even faith is not a way to put God in our debt. A weak answer hears God as harsh; the same Lord in 12:37 serves his servants, so the parable is about our pride, not God's coldness.
Show teacher guidance
It corrects the notion that ordinary obedience puts God in our debt.
6. Why does Jesus stop to ask, 'Where are the nine' after ten lepers are cleansed?
What a good answer contains
Because only one of the ten comes back. All ten cry "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us" (17:13), all ten are cleansed as they go to the priests (17:14), but one, "when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God" (17:15), and fell at Jesus' feet "giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan" (17:16). Jesus asks "where are the nine?" (17:17) and calls him "this stranger" (17:18). A good answer sees that gratitude completes the healing: "thy faith hath made thee whole" (17:19). A weak answer calls the nine disobedient; they did what he said, but did not return.
Show teacher guidance
One returns, glorifies God loudly, falls at Jesus’ feet, and gives thanks, and he is a Samaritan.
Responsible application
Heart and habits
Use Luke 16:10–13 and 17:10 to examine two quiet tests of character: faithfulness with little and obedience without entitlement.
Relationships and community
Read Luke 17:3–4 carefully.
Do not wait for a bigger sign
Place Luke 16:31 beside the ten lepers.
Session plans
Two timings of the same lesson. The shorter keeps the reading, the central discussion and one response; the longer gives the confusions and the application their own time.
45 minutes
The shrewd steward
Read 16:1-13. Ask questions one and two and take confusion one.
The gate and the gulf
Read 16:19-31. Ask question three and take confusion two.
Forgive seven times
Read 17:1-6. Ask question four and take confusion three.
Unprofitable servants
Read 17:7-10 and ask question five.
The tenth leper
Read 17:11-19 and ask question six.
Handout
Read the key verse together, give out the sheet, and pray a prayer of thanks for specific gifts.
90 minutes
What money says
Ask the group what their bank statement might say about what they love. Then read 16:1-9 and ask question one.
Two masters
Read 16:10-18. Ask question two and take confusion one. Treat 16:18 briefly and pastorally.
Lazarus at the gate
Read 16:19-31. Ask question three and take confusion two. Ask who lies at our gate.
Rebuke and forgive
Read 17:1-6. Ask question four and take confusion three with care.
Doing our duty
Read 17:7-10 and 12:37. Ask question five.
Where are the nine
Read 17:11-19 and Leviticus 13:45-46. Ask question six.
The coming day
Read 17:20-37 and Genesis 19:26. Take confusion four.
Handout and prayer
Read the key verse together, point to the take-home line, and let each learner thank God aloud for one thing.
Adapting the lesson
Children
Act out the ten lepers: ten children call out to Jesus, walk away, and one turns back to say thank you. Count together how many came back. Make thank you cards for people who help them. For the rich man and Lazarus, say simply that a rich man never shared with a poor man at his gate, and Jesus wants us to see and help people in need. Leave out the descriptions of torment.
Youth
Ask them what they would do if they were about to lose their job and had one day left to act. Read the steward parable and work out what Jesus praised. Discuss what serving money looks like at their age. Then talk about forgiving a friend who keeps hurting them, being honest that rebuke and forgiveness both matter, and that forgiveness is not the same as staying in an unsafe situation.
Adults
Give time to the steward parable and its puzzles, to 16:13 as a test of loyalty, and to the rich man and Lazarus as a mirror for comfortable believers. Handle 16:18 pastorally. Discuss forgiveness with honesty about deep hurts. Many adults rarely thank God for answered prayer; let the tenth leper prompt them. Keep the end time sayings on readiness rather than speculation.
One to one
Ask which saying in these chapters is hardest for them: money, forgiveness, or gratitude. Follow their answer. If they struggle to forgive, listen to what happened to them before reading 17:3-4, and do not rush them. If they feel unthankful or numb, read 17:15-16 and ask them to name one good gift from God this week. Pray with them.
Song and video learning lab
A song or video may interpret, compress, or dramatize the text. Its value becomes clearer when its choices are compared with Scripture.
- Before the media: the exact passage and its central movement.
- During the media: the words, people, events, and emotions the artist emphasizes.
- After the media: what it clarifies, what it leaves out, and what belongs back in the biblical text.
Handout
One page for learners to take home. The print button prints this section alone.
Luke 16–17
The passage in brief
Jesus told of a clever steward who used his master's money to make friends before losing his job, and taught that we cannot serve both God and money. He told of a rich man who ignored a poor man named Lazarus at his gate; after death their places were reversed, and Abraham said the rich man's brothers should listen to Moses and the prophets. Jesus taught his disciples to forgive again and again. When he healed ten lepers, only one came back to thank him, and he was a Samaritan.
A verse to keep
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Luke 16:13 · King James Version
Questions to take home
What did Abraham say the rich man's brothers should listen to (16:29)?
How often should we forgive someone who repents (17:4)?
What did the Samaritan do when he saw he was healed (17:15-16)?
This week
Write down three good gifts God has given you this week, and thank him for each one out loud.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
