Luke Series Chapter 16 (EP 164)

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Get your tickets, and we'll see you guys in 2026 for the live podcast tour. What's going on, guys? Welcome back to another episode of the Bryce Crawford Podcast. I'm Bryson. Today we are on Luke chapter 16. But as always, before we get into the episode, Elf Dillon. Elf Dillon, can you come here? Merry Christmas, Bryce. Oh, Elf Dillon, I've missed you. I missed you, too. Thank you so much. It's for you. For you. Oh, thank you. That is super kind. You know, I appreciate that. I hope you like it. Tower tumble. You can play with your friends. Thank you so much. Can I play with you? I'm busy this week, maybe next week. OK, can we play next week? Next week we can play. OK, let's do that. Well, thank you so much, Elf Dillon. I appreciate you. Merry Christmas, Bryce. Super kind. Merry Christmas, Dillon. Oh, thank you so much. And as always, we're going to get into the word of God today. We're going to be in Luke chapter 16. If you want to open it up, we start off the passage here with the parable of a dishonest manager. And he also said to the disciples, there was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. This rich man had a money handler, and this guy was just wasting his money not being a good manager. He should probably get a better occupation. And he called him and said to him, what is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management for you can no longer be manager. And the manager said to himself, what shall I do since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I've decided what to do so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses. So summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, how much do you owe my master? He said 100 measures of oil. He said to him, take your bill and sit down quickly and write 50. Then he said to another, and how much do you owe? And he said 100 measures of wheat. And he said to him, take your bill and write down 80. So he's basically going to these people and saying, hey, write less than what you actually owe, and give it, and turn it in. 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. Whoa. 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 dwelling. So first I want to highlight in this really quick, is verse eight. The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world, this part, the sons of this world are more shrewd in the dealing with their own generations than they are the sons of light. Why is it that human beings are more zealous for their sin than for the things of God? Like why is it that people are dishing out sin more than we are the gospel of Jesus Christ? Why are we dishing out and distributing coke products? Why is Coca-Cola distributing more coke products than the word of God is getting at? Why is that? It seems to me like we only care about sin and self-satisfaction and pride. Then we actually do seeing the gospel go forth. And we get one glimpse of ourselves and we care about ourselves rather than we care about the Lord because if we've been loved by God, then we'll love people because we realize the same love God has for us, he has for other people. But no, we don't care about the sons of light, we care about ourselves. We care about being shrewd for ourselves. And I think it's interesting in verse 10, we go here, one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much. And one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. The reason that we tend to deal with the things of this world more often than we do the things of God is because the things of this world are idols on our heart. Are you worshiping money? Are you worshiping sin? Are you worshiping pride? Are you worshiping social media? Are you worshiping food? Are you worshiping that Netflix show or movie? What are you worshiping right now? That you care more about than seeing the gospel go forth. That you care more about than the impact Jesus' death and resurrection has had on your life. What do you care about more? Because an idol is something that matters more than what matters most. And right now in this parable, we see the manager being shrewd and caring more about something that doesn't really matter most. And it's interesting because with these things, for example, you know, like we always say, I remember growing up like I had a coworker when I was 18 who always wanted money. And he didn't believe in God, but he was like, man, I keep praying for money, but God doesn't give me money. So that means God isn't real. But verse 10 says, one who is faithful and very little can also be faithful with much. If you can be trusted with what you've been given, then God can trust you with more than you already have. It's interesting because we have this, we are never content with what God has given us. We are never content ever. Why is that? We always want more. We're never satisfied with God himself. We always want the benefits of the kingdom rather than the king himself. And we're always asking for stuff rather than being grateful for what God has given us. Here's an example. Mitch was praying for money and never got the money. And he wondered why God wouldn't give him money. Maybe it's because he couldn't be trusted. What do you keep praying for right now that God is saying no to you and you view God as being me when he says no to your prayer when really he's protecting you from something he can't trust you with? You keep asking for that relationship and you wonder why you're not getting a relationship and it's because you can't be trusted with a relationship. Or why is it that you keep praying for money and you can't get money but right now it's because you can't be trusted with money because that thing would crush you. Because God cares more about your soul than he does to see you die for the sake of something that doesn't really matter more than what matters most. It's interesting. We blame God and act like a no from God as mean. If you could be faithful with little, you can be faithful with much. Can you learn to be content? And listen, don't pray for things. Steward what God has given you. Don't pray for fame. Steward the influence God has given you. So many people wanna pray and ask God for a big platform or a big social media following or to preach in front of big crowds but they're not even being faithful with their friends and family. Steward what God has given you. Be faithful with the little and maybe God can trust you and you can be faithful with much. Verse 11, if then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches? Meaning if you're already cutting corners in the physical, who's to say you wouldn't cut corners in the supernatural? It's kinda like what Jesus says to Nicodemus in John chapter three. He's like, if I've told you of earthly things and you can't even comprehend them, then who makes you think that you're gonna understand the heavenly things that I trust you with? Who's gonna make you think? And if you have not been faithful in what, and if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? And this is when he talks about money. No servant can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. And it's interesting in this passage, right? Because he's talking about money. Here's the thing about money. Money itself is not inherently sinful. Money is amoral. It has no feelings, thoughts or emotions. Okay, now money can be used for God's glory or can be glorified and become sinful in someone's life. If you worship money and money begins to be the thing that sits on the throne of your heart, that is sinful. But if Jesus is on the throne of your heart, then you live open-handed with something like money and you use that money for kingdom impact and steward at will. You see what I'm saying? That's what he's saying, look, you can't, the Holy Spirit doesn't split rent with idols on your heart. The Holy Spirit ain't gonna split rent with it. The Holy Spirit is not gonna split rent with you idolizing that boy or girl or with you idolizing money or with you idolizing pornography or with you idolizing this and that. It's not gonna do it. You're either all in or you're all out. Jesus in Revelation 3 says, Luke warmness sitting on the fence, multiple things sitting on the throne of your heart spits you out of your mouth. You're either all in or you're all out. No one can serve two masters, it is impossible. And so if you say, well, I'm struggling because I got money on my heart and God on my heart, no, you don't only have God and money on your heart, you got money on your heart, let's be honest. If you're contemplating two things that are sitting on the throne of your heart and one of those things you're saying is on your throne is God, it's our God, the things on your heart. And we gotta deal with it aggressively. And then in verse 14, it says, the Pharisees who were lovers of money. See, it's interesting that idolatry is all about the outward appearance. Idolatry is all about outward appearance so that people can look to you and think you have the appearance of godliness, but really you deny its power in your heart and you are suffering and dying inside. Idolatry is all about the self. It's all about the self image. It's all about how people perceive you, pride. Submission and humility is all about the truth and the love of God sitting on the throne of your heart and being content with what God has given you. He says, these Pharisees were the dudes that we're kind of talking about right now, they love money. Heard all these things and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, you are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your heart for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Isn't it interesting the world exalts things that Christ doesn't and Christ exalts things that the world doesn't? And so he makes the same, he's addressing the same issue that he's been addressing all throughout the gospel narrative that the Pharisees care about the outward appearance. They think that the law and God only cleans the outer part of the cup and not the inside. You know, it's crazy, the whole time on this podcast episode, I've had this Santa mug sitting here, okay? And I had some beverage in there and I left out of town for a couple of weeks and I came back and I walk in the studio and the outside of the cup looks clean, but the inside of the cup was nasty. It had mold on the inside, it was gross. I'm embarrassed to say this, but it was because it had been sitting there for so long. It got so dirty on the inside. Was that cup really clean? No. The inside was gross and disgusting and needed to be cleaned. And if I wasn't honest with the state of the cleanliness of the cup, I could have made it look like it was clean, but then if I would have drank out of it, I would have reaped the harsh consequences of drinking and partaking in the dirtiness of the cup. In the same way, bad company that you surround yourself with are people that have the appearance of godliness, but deny its power. It is a cancer, it's like leaven. It sours and spreads in your life. It's like, these are the dudes that you don't wanna be like. It's why in Mark chapter 11, Jesus curses the fig tree, or Mark chapter 12, one of the two, he curses the fig tree because the fig tree had the appearance, right? It's a tree, but it had no fruit on the tree. And so we got to be careful when he rebukes him. The law and the prophets of verse 16 were until John, since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the law to become void. Now you know what's so crazy? Is Jesus fulfilled the law to a T? Even when he was young, like we read in the beginning of Luke, how the purification laws, Jesus is a baby fulfilled, up to even when he's resurrected at the tomb. This is so crazy, deep lore right here. This is elite ball knowledge right here. Okay, when Jesus is resurrected, the tomb is empty, and they walk into the tomb, and the tomb is empty, and the clothes are folded, and they're on the middle of the tomb, and at the head of the tomb, and at the foot of the burial place where the body would lay, at the head of it and the foot of it were two angels, and in the middle of the bed, there was the clothes folded up right there. And see what we don't understand is when the priest would go into the temple for atonement, on the Ark of the Covenant where the mercy seat, you have the mercy seat in the middle, and at the foot and the head of the mercy seat, you have two angels. And at the end of this atonement process, the priest would have to remove his clothes, fold it and lay it in the middle, and put on new clothes and leave. To the T, Jesus fulfilled the law. And that was interesting, because we're about to get into my favorite part of Luke chapter 16. He talks about divorce really quick. Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. So he makes this brief statement. He transitions from parable to rebuking the Pharisees, to divorce and remarriage, and now he's about to tell us a story about the rich man and Lazarus. And here's what's so interesting to me. The language used to describe this story is not a parable. So it has the appearances if Jesus is telling us a real story. Let's read it. Verse 19, there was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptrously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with swords. Lazarus was a popular name. This is not the same Lazarus that Jesus rose from the dead. This is a different Lazarus. Who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his swords. Think about how desperate this was. You have a rich man, his purple clothes and fine linen was a sign of wealth. You know, imagine it's like the guy he has the rolled legs. He's got the shoes. He's got the Gucci on. He's got like, this is the rich man flaunting his wealth. Who's sumptrously eating Thanksgiving is every meal. Breakfast, lunch and dinner for this guy. Eat him more than he needs. And the dust office, the crumbs off his shirt and his hands. The things that he's neglecting is the thing that Lazarus is desiring because he's so poor and he's got sores and he's on the outside. He's a reject, not just because he is sick and is like a leper, but he's also a reject because of his physical poverty. People judged him for his physical monetary status and the dogs would lick his sores. And it says, in verse 22, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. Now it's interesting. Notice how it says the poor man died and was not buried, but it says the rich man died and was buried. The reason the rich man was buried and the poor man wasn't was for two reasons. Number one, the rich man had money to have a burial process. But the second reason why is because the poor man didn't have honor because he was poor. The rich man did because he was rich. Favoritism. But it's interesting because the rich man was buried by people that only cared about him because he had status. The poor man, his body was carried to heaven because he treasured God and the angels carried him up to Abraham's side. Now it says the rich man died and was buried and in Hades being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus had his side. So the rich man is suffering in hell and Lazarus is in heaven in peace. 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'm in an anguish in the slain. Notice how he's still treating Lazarus like a servant and not like he even being. Hey Abraham, yeah, send Lazarus to come give me some relief because he's still looking down on Lazarus. But Abraham said, child, remember that in your lifetime, you received your good things and Lazarus and like man are bad things, but now he is comforted here and you're in anguish. And besides all this between us and you, a great chasm has been fixed in order that those who had passed from here to you may not be able and none may cross from there. It's talking about eternal punishment. The ones who are in hell cannot cross and go to heaven. The ones who are in heaven cannot cross and go to hell. And notice how the rich man doesn't ask to be taken out of hell. He just wants relief. He's still thinking about himself, his eyes on himself. He doesn't want heaven. He doesn't want the reward. He doesn't want Jesus. He doesn't want peace. He just wants to help himself. Give me some relief. Verse 27, he said, then I beg you, Father, send him to my father's house. Again, treating Lazarus, send him. Send him to my father's house. For I have five brothers that he may warn them lest also come into this place of torment. But Abraham said, they have Moses and the prophets let them hear. And he said, no father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. He said to them, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. Now it's interesting because the Moses and the prophets spoke of the one who would defeat death, which is Jesus. It's like many times in scripture, people ask Jesus for a sign and he would say, woe to you. Even that passage in Matthew 11, when Jesus is talking about my Yokey, he's not burning in his light. He's rebuking unrepentant cities because they didn't turn to him when miracles were done in those cities. And so imagine Jesus who has always existed is witnessing this in heaven, pre-incarnate, before the flesh. He's witnessing this, it's seeing this. Imagine if Jesus is telling us a true story. Here's the reality and here's what I wanna close out with. Hell is self-served. Hell is not only a justice system where people have to pay the punishment for their sins, but hell is self-served. We blame God for sending people to hell and in reality, we send ourselves to hell. We say we don't want God and we sigh him in the face. We say we want myself. And it breaks God's heart when we do that, but he grants and respects that wish and we spend an eternity separate from him. And Lazarus is complaining to God, complaining to Abraham in the story that Abraham is saying, no, no, no, you got what you asked for. And Lazarus got what he put his hope in. And so that reality is for you and me. Where is your satisfaction? Where is your significance and where is your security? And if it is not in Jesus Christ, there's a serious problem. Pray Psalm 139, search my heart God revealed to me the areas of my life that are sitting on the throne of my heart and give me strength to cut them off. Guys, I pray that Luke chapter 16 was an encouragement to you and we'll see you guys tomorrow for Luke chapter 17. Hey, thank you guys so much for watching the Luke series. I pray that this thing is a blessing to you and the ultimate heart is so that you go and read this word daily. You don't rely on the podcast, you rely on the word of God and the Holy Spirit. Thank you guys so much for watching. If you liked the episodes, subscribe, follow us on social media and we'll see you guys in the next episode.