>>22722309The steward is very stereotypically jewish, saying in verse 3
>Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.Ashamed to beg and work, but not to steal. Very telling.
Notice he never considers repenting, or doing anything honest. He is "above" doing labour. It's funny because it is cliche', and it makes us laugh because of the irony.
>4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.>5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?>6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.>7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.So, money? Is that what he is getting at? No. It is a parable about what is owed to God.
>render unto God what belongs to GodThe steward is going to people who are endebted to God, sinners, and engaging them in the lie that, on his own authority, they do not owe what they owe. This has religious and physical angles.
The first is the debt of oil, oil being a religious artifact to jewry, also used in lamps in and for the rich to see by. The implication being that in religious matters they don't owe 100%, only half. The second is wheat, used for bread and the main sustaining food of the people. In both cases the steward is willing to cheat his master, and entice others to do the same thing.
The parable is a metaphor for jewish sin, as they had been entrusted with responsibilities but never obeyed the Lord or behaved righteously. It can be seen in the teaching of the jews that they likewise disregarded what was owed to God, and taught others to steal from God, in both disobedience and by teaching that sin is in fact righteousness.
