Luke 16:1-17:10 - Whole-heartedly Free

What we’ve just heard in our Scripture reading is Jesus exposing where our hearts place their trust—before showing us, with sobering—yes, terrifying—clarity, and astonishing mercy in Himself, what that trust produces.

This is why it’s important to remember where we are in Luke's gospel. From chapters 13 to 15, we see an intensifying conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders as He reveals the nature of God's kingdom. He has shown Himself to be the narrow door that leads into the wide feast of the kingdom of God—a feast first offered to those who assumed they belonged, but ultimately, after their rejection, will be filled with the poor, the weak, and the needy.

Jesus has shown the incredible cost of discipleship: to renounce everything. He has shown Himself to be the One who has done that; He left heaven to seek and save the lost. Now, in this passage, Jesus speaks with the disciples, the Pharisees, and the apostles to show them what discipleship truly looks like in real life. He shows us how wealth, relationships, compassion, and forgiveness are meant to serve others to help them enter the kingdom of God.

This is what wholehearted devotion to God looks like. As we listen carefully, we will notice that we are a lot like the people Jesus is talking to. Like the Pharisees, we are drawn to comfort and security. Like the disciples, we wonder whether we have enough faith to live in the way Jesus says. When we try, we see that, just as Jesus says, on our own our duty is barely done. We are unworthy servants. Yet Jesus teaches this passage not to crush us, but to show us that real change is possible. Christ frees us by the Spirit so that we can have hearts that live not for self and wealth, but hearts enabled to live in wholehearted devotion to God—giving to others, showing compassion, and living in forgiveness.

With that in mind, let’s hear the rest of the text, starting in verse 19.

Luke 16:19–17:10 ESV

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ” And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ ”

The first thing we see is that…

God requires us to be wholeheartedly faithful to Him

Imagine a scenario in this life of two different corporations. One of them uses their employees, working them to the bone to inflate their stock value. They take their stock, sell it, walk away rich, and the workers are left disposable. But think of another company that shares its profits, knowing that the company actually exists for the good of the people, not just the owner.

Which of these owners understands what wealth is for? Both are successful. The difference isn't profit; it's purpose. One treats wealth as a tool for self, and the other treats wealth as a trust.

In verses 9 to 10 and verse 13, we notice that God requires us to be wholeheartedly faithful to Him with our wealth. Wealth reveals who we serve. That's why Jesus says in verse 13, "You cannot serve God and money.” Wealth is to be used in allegiance to God and God's purposes, to help others. It is to participate in God's kingdom purpose so that others might be welcomed into His eternal feast.

In the parable, the manager is fired. Before he leaves, he shrewdly cuts deals with the debtors to secure his own future welcome. He essentially uses the master's money to buy his own safety. Surprisingly, the master commends him—not for the fraud, but for the foresight.

Here, God is not praising good management. He's revealing the heart. He is saying that we, as God's people, should be faithful with our wealth so that when we use it to bring people into God's kingdom, they will welcome us when we enter into the kingdom of God.

But as we look at verses 17 and 18, we see that we must be wholeheartedly faithful to God with our relationships. Jesus reminds us that God's Law is permanent. It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for God's standard of love to be lowered.

Many people at this time used marriage to get what they wanted, and when it didn't satisfy them, they would get a divorce. This faithfulness to God includes covenant faithfulness toward others. It refuses to bend God's law for self-advantage and for personal pleasure.

We also see how we must be wholeheartedly faithful to God with our compassion. In verses 20 to 21, Jesus tells the story of Lazarus, who was covered with sores. The rich man, with incredible decked-out clothes, continues to walk by him and doesn't even give him scraps from the table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. Faithfulness to God expresses itself in merciful attention to those who are poor and suffering who have been placed in front of us. This shows whether our hearts are actually oriented toward love of neighbor or toward self-indulgence.

Then in chapter 17, verses 3 to 4, we see that we must be wholeheartedly faithful to God with our forgiveness. There will be people who cause others to stumble. When we see they are causing issues, we are to challenge them with the truth so that they are not harming others, because they are wandering away from God's kingdom. But if we call them back and they ask for forgiveness, we are to forgive them seven times in a single day. Every time they ask for forgiveness, we are to grant it.

This is the heart of one who is wholeheartedly faithful to God: faithful with wealth, faithful with relationships, faithful with compassion, and faithful with forgiveness.

Jesus is revealing the heart of a true disciple. But though God requires us to be wholeheartedly faithful to Him, our problem is that…

In our sin, we are wholeheartedly faithful to ourselves

Jesus is revealing the heart of a true disciple. But though God requires us to be wholeheartedly faithful to Him, our problem is that in our sin, we are wholeheartedly faithful to ourselves.

We are like the business owner who uses people to build up our empire. Instead of sharing our wealth with them, we squander it for ourselves. We are often unfaithful with what we think is "our" wealth. Like the rich manager, instead of doing what we were supposed to do, we waste the owner's possessions. We forget that the wealth we're managing is actually God's and has been entrusted to us by God.

So we live as if we are owners of that material. We use that material shrewdly, not for others, but for ourselves. We serve money as a god, and we fail to live in light of the coming account we must give.

This is easy to illustrate. We will spend $1,500 on a phone, but when a family member needs tires on the car, we might not give any money. We are often lovers of money and self-pleasure. We devote ourselves to accumulation, security, and self-justification. We use both wealth and people to serve our own comfort and status rather than loving God and neighbor.

We see this in relationships too. In the Jewish world at the time, a man could divorce his wife if she burnt his toast. Jesus calls that out, saying if you do this, you have committed adultery because you haven't been faithful to the covenant. We see it in today's world with no-fault divorce. Things get hard and they walk away. It's because we are lovers of money, lovers of our wealth, and lovers of our pleasure above God.

We also refuse to forgive and live in self-importance. We serve ourselves rather than God. We withhold forgiveness when we are wronged, failing to live out the forgiveness that we ourselves have actually received in Christ.

As we look at the story of Lazarus and Hades, the one who was wholeheartedly devoted to himself found himself in eternal torment.

That is the bad news. But the good news is that though we are wholeheartedly faithful to ourselves…

Jesus was wholeheartedly faithful to God for us

Unlike both owners in our illustration, Jesus doesn't squander his wealth for himself, nor does he simply share his profits. He gave Himself. Jesus gives Himself so that we might be counted faithful.

Jesus is the rich, true Master who absorbed our debt upon the cross so that we could be forgiven. Where dishonest debt reduction exposes the need for mercy, Jesus—the true Lord—takes our debt upon Himself. He bears its full cost so that real and true forgiveness can be extended to us. The master in the parable had to absorb the loss of the 500 denarii, but Jesus absorbed our debt so we could be forgiven.

Jesus is the faithful Son and the true steward. He used every bit of the resources the Father entrusted to Him—He even used His own life, bearing our wrath upon the cross to secure eternal dwellings for sinners, fulfilling perfectly what the unworthy servant never could.

He is the true Lord who renounces wealth and power to rescue those of us enslaved to mammon. He is the rich One who became poor for our sake. He is the Master who became the servant, freeing us from our bondage to false gods.

He perfectly fulfilled the Law and the Prophets. He obeyed the Father without divided allegiance. He bore the judgment upon the cross that our idolatry deserves. And when we think of the man in anguish in the parable, we see that Jesus entered the place of anguish on the cross, bearing our shame and guilt. Though He was rich in glory, He entered suffering and drank the full cup of wrath so that we, the spiritually poor, might enter into eternal comfort with God.

Jesus Christ was wholeheartedly faithful to God for our sake. When we trust in Him and are united to Him, we receive His faithfulness through the Spirit. Because of this union…

We can now live in wholehearted faithfulness from His favor

Jesus Christ was wholeheartedly faithful to God for our sake. When we trust in Him and are united to Him, we receive His faithfulness through the Spirit. Because of this union, we can live in wholehearted faithfulness from His favor. This faithfulness doesn’t create our place at the table—it reveals whether we’ve already received it.

As sons and daughters of light, united to Christ, we are free to use our resources with eternal purpose. We can welcome the lost into God's kingdom rather than building kingdoms of our own. As sons and daughters, we can serve God with joy. Because God's love has been poured into our hearts, we are freed from serving money and can joyfully worship and serve God as our one true Lord.

Because Christ has given us hearts of flesh, we are freed to live in covenant faithfulness—showing compassion to the poor and honoring God in our relationships. As those who have been forgiven, we can lovingly rebuke others who wander and freely forgive them when they repent—not to earn favor, but because Christ has become our servant.

So what does this actually look like in our day-to-day lives?

Think of a situation where we face the pressure of buying a new car. A car isn't just transportation. In our society, it represents comfort and status, even control and security. Not everyone has them. So the temptation when we buy a car is to ask, "What can I afford?" rather than asking, "What has God entrusted to me and who does this actually serve?"

I might think my money is mine and exists to secure my comfort and future so I can get whatever car I want. But by the Holy Spirit, I am reminded that Jesus is my true wealth and inheritance. He became poor for my sake, and my security is already settled as a son of the Father. Because I trust Christ, I can make decisions that reflect stewardship rather than self-indulgence. I can choose wisely, leaving room for generosity and not eating up every bit of money I have. I can refuse to let money be my master. I can say, "I trust that Jesus is my security; therefore, I can use my money to serve God's kingdom rather than build up my own.”

Or think about when someone says something that offends or wounds me—something careless, harsh, or wrong. Everything in me wants to protect myself, to withdraw, to retaliate, or to hold onto that offense. I think if I forgive, I'll lose my dignity or leverage or safety.

But the truth is that the Spirit reminds me that Jesus has already absorbed all of my debt. Forgiveness doesn't make me vulnerable. Forgiveness frees me. Because my debt has been paid in full, I can rebuke truthfully when needed, and I can forgive generously when repentance occurs, not pretending that sin doesn't matter, but refusing to let that rule me. I can say, "I trust that Jesus has fully forgiven me; therefore, I can forgive others without fear.”

Or when my marriage becomes hard, and the desire to please and care fades, and another option seems easier. The world says, "You deserve happiness, walk away." We hear the lie that faithfulness is only required when it benefits me.

But the gospel truth is that Jesus didn't discard His bride when she was costly. He remained faithful unto death to redeem her. Because Christ has written the law in my heart and remained faithful to me, I can pursue faithfulness, repentance, and costly love with my spouse rather than bending God's covenant to get personal relief. I can say, "I trust that Jesus is faithful to me; therefore, I can remain faithful in covenant love even when it is costly.”

Brothers and sisters, if this seems completely out of reach, it is because, like the disciples, we say, "Increase our faith." Jesus says if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted," and it would obey.

Jesus shows that it isn't the quantity of your faith; He is pointing us to the object of our faith. We are unworthy servants, but He is the Worthy Servant.

If you are not found in Him today, Jesus Christ is calling you to turn to Him. He is calling you to trust Him, to receive His forgiveness, to receive His payment of your debt upon the cross, and to receive His righteousness. If you trust Him, you can enter into His life—a life not enslaved by wealth or personal pleasure, but a life free to use what we have to help others.

But if you are a Christian and you, like the disciples, say, "I don't know if I have enough faith to live like this," Jesus calls you to look to Him. He calls you to look to Him as the Master who became the servant. Look to Him who was faithful with much, whose faithfulness is counted as ours. Look to the One who served the Father faithfully, who fulfilled the Law and the Prophets. Look to the One who was faithful to His bride, who gave up His own life, who hung on the cross, thirsty and exposed, who forgave and forgave. Look to the Worthy Servant so that we, the unworthy servants, could be counted worthy.

He calls you to live in the reality of His presence and power. Do not live enslaved to the gods of money that take, but entrust yourself to the God who gives Himself. As you do, you will find the freedom to love, to give, to stay in relationships, and to show compassion and mercy. All so that Jesus Christ is magnified, and the Holy Spirit uses you to draw others into the kingdom of God so they will welcome you. All to the glory of the Father. Amen.