Jesus Speaks about Dishonesty

16 Then Yeshua said to his disciples, “A rich man had a business manager. The manager was accused of wasting the rich man’s property. ² So the rich man called for his manager and said to him, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Let me examine your books. It’s obvious that you can’t manage my property any longer.’

³ “The manager thought, ‘What should I do? My master is taking my job away from me. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that people will welcome me into their homes when I’ve lost my job.’

⁵ “So the manager called for each one of his master’s debtors. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

⁶ “The debtor replied, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’

“The manager told him, ‘Take my master’s ledger. Quick! Sit down, and write “four hundred!” ’

⁷ “Then he asked another debtor, ‘How much do you owe?’

“The debtor replied, ‘A thousand bushels of wheat.’

“The manager told him, ‘Take the ledger, and write “eight hundred!” ’

⁸ “The master praised the dishonest manager for being so clever. Worldly people are more clever than spiritually-minded people when it comes to dealing with others.”

⁹ Yeshua continued, “I’m telling you that although wealth is often used in dishonest ways, you should use it to make friends for yourselves. When life is over, you will be welcomed into an eternal home. ¹⁰ Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with a lot. Whoever is dishonest with very little is dishonest with a lot. ¹¹ Therefore, if you can’t be trusted with wealth that is often used dishonestly, who will trust you with wealth that is real? ¹² If you can’t be trusted with someone else’s wealth, who will give you your own?

¹³ “A servant cannot serve two masters. He will hate the first master and love the second, or he will be devoted to the first and despise the second. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who love money, heard all this and were making sarcastic remarks about him. ¹⁵ So Yeshua said to them, “You try to justify your actions in front of people. But God knows what’s in your hearts. What is important to humans is disgusting to God.

¹⁶ “Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets were in force until the time of John. Since that time, people have been telling the Good News about the kingdom of God, and everyone is trying to force their way into it. ¹⁷ It is easier for the earth and the heavens to disappear than to drop a comma from the Scriptures.

¹⁸ “Any man who divorces his wife to marry another woman is committing adultery. The man who marries a woman divorced in this way is committing adultery.

A Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who wore expensive clothes. Every day was like a party to him. ²⁰ There was also a beggar named Lazarus who was regularly brought to the gate of the rich man’s house. ²¹ Lazarus would have eaten any scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Lazarus was covered with sores,^[a] and dogs would lick them.

²² “One day the beggar died, and the angels carried him to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ He went to hell, where he was constantly tortured. As he looked up, in the distance he saw Abraham and Lazarus. ²⁴ He yelled, ‘Father Abraham! Have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool off my tongue. I am suffering in this fire.’

²⁵ “Abraham replied, ‘Remember, my child, that you had a life filled with good times, while Lazarus’ life was filled with misery. Now he has peace here, while you suffer. ²⁶ Besides, a wide area separates us. People couldn’t cross it in either direction even if they wanted to.’

²⁷ “The rich man responded, ‘Then I ask you, Father, to send Lazarus back to my father’s home. ²⁸ I have five brothers. He can warn them so that they won’t end up in this place of torture.’

²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets. Your brothers should listen to them!’

³⁰ “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! If someone comes back to them from the dead, they will turn to God and change the way they think and act.’

³¹ “Abraham answered him, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone comes back to life.’”

Causing Others to Lose Faith^(A)

17 Yeshua told his disciples, “Situations that cause people to lose their faith are certain to arise. But how horrible it will be for the person who causes someone to lose his faith! ² It would be best for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large stone hung around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to lose his faith. ³ So watch yourselves!

“If a believer sins, correct him. If he changes the way he thinks and acts, forgive him. ⁴ Even if he wrongs you seven times in one day and comes back to you seven times and says that he is sorry, forgive him.”

The Apostles Ask for More Faith

⁵ Then the apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith.”

⁶ The Lord said, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots, and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you.

⁷ “Suppose someone has a servant who is plowing fields or watching sheep. Does he tell his servant when he comes from the field, ‘Have something to eat’? ⁸ No. Instead, he tells his servant, ‘Get dinner ready for me! After you serve me my dinner, you can eat yours.’ ⁹ He doesn’t thank the servant for following orders. ¹⁰ That’s the way it is with you. When you’ve done everything you’re ordered to do, say, ‘We’re worthless servants. We’ve only done our duty.’”

¹² For example, the body is one unit and yet has many parts. As all the parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether we are Jewish or Greek, slave or free, God gave all of us one Spirit to drink.

¹⁴ As you know, the human body is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. ¹⁵ Suppose a foot says, “I’m not a hand, so I’m not part of the body!” Would that mean it’s no longer part of the body? ¹⁶ Or suppose an ear says, “I’m not an eye, so I’m not a part of the body!” Would that mean it’s no longer part of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? ¹⁸ So God put each and every part of the body together as he wanted it. ¹⁹ How could it be a body if it only had one part? ²⁰ So there are many parts but one body.

²¹ An eye can’t say to a hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² The opposite is true. The parts of the body that we think are weaker are the ones we really need. ²³ The parts of the body that we think are less honorable are the ones we give special honor. So our unpresentable parts are made more presentable. ²⁴ However, our presentable parts don’t need this kind of treatment. God has put the body together and given special honor to the part that doesn’t have it. ²⁵ God’s purpose was that the body should not be divided but rather that all of its parts should feel the same concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts share its suffering. If one part is praised, all the others share in its happiness.

²⁷ You are Christ’s body and each of you is an individual part of it. ²⁸ In the church God has appointed first apostles, next prophets, third teachers, then those who perform miracles, then those who have the gift of healing, then those who help others, those who are managers, and those who can speak in a number of languages. ²⁹ Not all believers are apostles, are they? Are all of them prophets? Do all of them teach? Do all of them perform miracles ³⁰ or have gifts of healing? Can all of them speak in other languages or interpret languages?

³¹ You only want the better gifts, but I will show you the best thing to do.^[a]