This might be the most difficult parable of Jesus to interpret. It is just not that clear what we should make of it.
• Most people object to the dishonesty of the manager. And yet he is praised by his Lord!
• And is God a character in the parable? Most probably see the rich man as God, so is Jesus the (dishonest) manager?
• Or perhaps we should go with the interpretation in 16:8-9 and see ourselves as the manager. “I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” This does at first glance solve some of the problems. Except the parable encourages to use other people’s mammon! What about our own mammon of unrighteousness? If that were the point – to use our own mammon of unrighteousness – the parable doesn’t say it. We have to make (a not unreasonable) jump. The point is that perhaps the parable was originally about something else than our use of mammon.
• And the first moral drawn by Jesus from the parable (16:8b) isn’t the moral drawn in 16:9. It is almost like the parable had a life before 16:9 was added.
• And what is being praised by the master? The manager’s shrewdness, and specifically his shrewdness in using what belongs to the Lord (that is, the debts owed). Might the parable originally have been about forgiveness? We could say that Jesus is praising the way people use mammon for their own benefit. Disciples should do likewise, but the benefit is to enter the kingdom. This teaching to use wealth to secure an eternal home is similar to the teaching of Jesus at Lk 12:33-34. He says we should make purses for ourselves in heaven by giving alms.
• The manager responds to the crisis with ingenuity in the hope that he will be remembered favourably by those he is helping. And surprisingly, he is praised by his Lord, even though he continued to misuse his Lord’s wealth! (Most listeners when Jesus first spoke this parable wouldn’t have seen that coming.) So, what conclusion might we draw?
First, Luke has this parable and its interpretation in 16:9 continue his teaching on the danger of a divided heart. Recognising the tendency of the human heart to make wealth into mammon, Jesus teaches us to use our wealth in such a way that we do not divide our hearts and wealth cannot become mammon and an impediment in our love of God.
Another, second, conclusion might also be possible. If the parable did circulate not as a parable about mammon and its use, what might it have been about originally? Acting shrewdly with our own generation? (Lk 16:8b) But we don’t get anything more to add to this. Perhaps the parable might have been about forgiveness. (The parable immediately before is the Prodigal Son). The surprising element of the parable is that the Lord praises the ingenuity of the manager in forgiving debts when propriety dictates opprobrium. That sounds like Jesus and the Law: according to his opponents Jesus misused God’s Law. He forgave what only God could forgive, and perhaps he did so too easily.
The parables of Jesus can be a little too commonplace for those who have digested them over time. His parables still remain a challenge, even if some of the shock has been lost. But not with this parable of the Unjust Manager. We are still a little shocked - perhaps shown in our confusion - that the Master praises dishonesty, even if the guy is shrewd. All the parables can still be like this for us. We just need to hear them afresh, occasionally. And let the shock jolt us into a new perspective. Even if only a bit.
