“Take your bill, and write zero — you owe nothing, for I have paid it all.” Trinity 9 2025

17. August 2025

Trinity 9

Luke 16:1-13

This is the Word of the Lord that came to me, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His + Name. AMEN.

The parable we heard today causes quite a stir. If you think the Bible is just a book with nice advice on how to be a good, moral person, how to impress God and get blessings — well, this one will throw you off. Because honestly, everyone in the parable is scum — a liar, a cheat, or a jerk. 

If you expect the Bible to be a how-to guide on worldly riches, this parable doesn't really fit either. That makes sense because Jesus shares it right after the parable of the Prodigal Son, and honestly, giving half your estate to a son so he can squander it isn't exactly good financial advice. So, why does Jesus tell us this story? What’s His point? The people of this world are more clever in dealing with their own kind than the children of light. That’s the key — it's about being shrewd.

So what is shrewdness? From a worldly perspective, shrewdness abounds in this story. Consider: There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 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.”

Remember, with the parable of the Prodigal Son, the elder son was upset that the younger son wasted his share of the estate. So, let's consider a story where that kind of behavior isn't just accepted. No fatted calf for this manager — when someone spills the beans or complains about how this manager may have been “wasting” resources — maybe skimming a little, maybe using the expense account a bit too freely — that's it. You're fired. 

The rich man calls this manager into the office and says, “Turn in the books, cause you ain't got a job here no more.” The big dog is going to eat the little dog. Think about it — you had the manager who was shrewdly taking advantage of his position, even if it was a bit wasteful. You've got the complainers who shrewdly see an opportunity to get their competition fired. You know, if the guy above me gets canned, and I'm the one who blew the whistle, guess who is in line for that corner office! And the rich man tries to stop the wasting ASAP. All very shrewd according to the world — everyone looking after his interests, making sure his bread is buttered.

Except now, this manager—he's up the creek without a paddle. 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.” Again, this is shrewdness on this manager's part. You could listen to any business guru or a TED talk speaker talk about this—you have to be realistic, you have to set achievable goals. This guy's life has taken a turn for the worse—but he doesn't lie to himself. He doesn't walk out, strutting, saying, “Meh, who cares, I'll just get a better job for some other rich man.” Nope. He recognizes his situation. His reputation as a manager is ruined. And he isn't strong enough to dig, and he isn't going to beg. He shrewdly takes stock of his situation and does not lie to himself. 

Instead, he improvises. “I have 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 fifty.”

You get the idea. One hundred measures of wheat — now it's 80. And by the way, a “measure” was 1000 bushels. This is serious business. What he does is utterly shrewd — and under the law of that time, completely legal. He's still the authorized agent — he can give discounts. And you know what — if you're going to get fired for wasting the master's stuff, you might as well WASTE it... and build up quite a bit of goodwill. Because it's not begging if you walk up to someone and say, “Remember how I saved you 20,000 bushels of wheat — say, I need a place to stay and some spending money — think you can help me out?” That's “I watched your back, how about you watch mine.” That's just a little quid pro quo. And that's why even the master has to praise the dishonest manager — got to hand it to him, that was some clever dealing, he got himself out of a tight spot.

Everyone in the parable is playing the angles. They are all after the money and work, scrap, and fight for it. Money dominates their thoughts. And they are shrewd. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. So then, what about you, O Christian, you who have been called out of darkness into Christ's marvelous light?

Jesus is making a blunt statement here — you Christians, you disciples, you don't act very shrewdly when it comes to your faith and the things of God. I mean, the folks in the story do whatever they can for the Almighty Dollar. So, what about you, Christian? How about it—are you shrewd, not in terms of your dealings with money, but in how you handle mercy? Do you fight and scratch and claw to forgive your neighbor? Do you do whatever it takes to show them love? Do you care for them by hook or by crook? How zealous are you in showing love and mercy? How eager are you to make peace with your neighbor? Or, to put it in Catechism terms, when you put the best construction on things, are you trying to put the best construction — are you just kind of shrugging along? And then, seeing your sin and knowing your shortcomings, are you shrewd about receiving forgiveness? Do you crave it? Do you prioritize hearing God's Word and receiving mercy? Or do you just go through the motions?

You see, when Jesus tells this parable — when he had been teaching about the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son — the Pharisees had been grumbling about forgiveness. Jesus had been eating with sinners — and they grumbled. “That's not how it should work. Why waste your time with scum — you should deal with us, we're the bigwigs, we're the important people!” Important people, like the dishonest manager, the rich man, or folks who rack up huge bills. And they should have known better — the Pharisees prided themselves on being good believers... yet, they disdained their neighbor. In reality, they were chasing wealth and worldly success. They didn't see their sin — they cared nothing for mercy, they offered no mercy to others, and they didn't think they needed any themselves. 

And so Jesus calls them on it — calls us on it. “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it falls they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.” If you don't care about God's Word of forgiveness, if you want to chase money, if you want to focus on earthly power — well, you'd better do it well, because there's always a bigger dog coming in this dog-eat-dog world, and it will go poorly for you eventually.

You could make so much money that you'll, oh, I don't know, somehow bribe your way into heaven... Do you hear the sarcasm there? Do you want to spend your life chasing after money? Well, good luck — you're gonna need it. Because when it comes down to it, “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.” You can't do both. You can either spend your life accumulating everything for yourself or show love to your neighbor and give of all that you have. When you worry about money, you'll end up stepping on your neighbor. And we know this. It's a story that plays out too often in our own lives.

Of course, it plays out. That's what the fall was. Of course, in our sinfulness, we act ruthlessly and shrewd — Satan is shrewd and deceptive, and during the fall, he was all shrewd trickery, trapping us into sin. Satan believed he was pulling the biggest scheme of all time during the fall. Trapping mankind in sin and death, he used God's law to wrest us away from God and create separation. What better way for Satan to show his hatred for God than by orchestrating the fall? 

Here's the thing. Satan forgot something and misjudged something. He forgot just how shrewd Jesus is. You can't hustle a hustler, Satan. While the sons of the world are shrewd, they are no match for how shrewd Jesus is. Jesus knows what He wants, and He will get it. He wants you, desires your forgiveness. So Jesus will be utterly shrewd when it comes to showing you mercy and winning your salvation. 

Here's how it goes. Jesus says - alright, Satan — you want to play it all cutthroat — tell you what. You can cut my throat. Tell you what, Satan, I'll even throw in humiliation and degradation for free — you can have Me whipped and mocked — you can even crucify Me. And Satan, in his hatred of God, in His wicked desire to hurt God, took the bait. Crucified Jesus. Went to town on Him. The thing is, that death on that cross undid everything Satan has done to you. The wages of sin is death — well, the spotless Lamb of God just took care of that on the cross, didn't He? Oh, and look at that — that spotless Lamb rises from the dead — we get to as well now. And Satan's left holding an empty bag of hot nothing, because Jesus is shrewder than Satan.

Now Satan will still cause trouble — he doesn't give up. He's not wise enough to realize he'll never defeat Jesus, so Satan will continue to bother you, mess with you, tempt you. And Jesus shrugs — knock yourself out, Satan — I'll just keep forgiving them. They are mine, bought and won with my blood—I’ll keep forgiving them, showing them mercy — no matter how foolish or incomprehensible you think it is.

And so, while Satan doesn't do his worst to you, Jesus still calls you to His house, calling you away from that. He is wise, zealous, and shrewd — keeps on forgiving you — keeps on calling you His baptized child, keeps on giving you His Body and Blood. And do you know why? “No servant can serve two masters.” You can’t serve two masters — Jesus is your Lord, and He calls you here to His House, constantly reminding you over and over that you are His and that you are forgiven. 

It doesn't matter what you've done — it doesn't outweigh what He did for you on the Cross. It doesn't matter what guilt you carry — He took that guilt long before you were born. It doesn't matter what temptations you face — He already faced temptation for you. You belong to Him. Jesus loves you — it's that simple. And while the world may never understand or accept this, you are loved by Christ now and forever. “If thou, O Lord, kept a record of sin — who could stand?” No one, so Christ says to you, “take your bill, and write zero — you owe nothing, for I have paid it all.” Because Jesus is shrewd, zealous, and passionate about what He wants — and He wants you to be saved, redeemed, forgiven, and with Him for eternity. Jesus is all about showing you mercy — and His mercy lasts forever. 

This is the Word of the Lord that came to me, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His + Name. AMEN.

Rev. Christopher R. Gillespie
St. John Ev. Lutheran Church & School - Sherman Center
Random Lake, Wisconsin