"Make ye therefore friends of the Mammon of Iniquity ..." (Luk 16:9)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior:

Let's discuss this mysterious passage in Gospel of Luke Ch 16.

"And I say to you: Make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity; that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings."

In the NKJV, a more modern translation, the same passage reads:

9“And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."

1. How do we make friends by using the mammon of iniquity?
2. What is the meaning of "fail" in the passage? Is it death?
3. How will these friends welcome us to everlasting dwellings?

Looking forward to hearing comments and thoughts from all here.

God Bless.
In Christ,
Xavier.

As usual, a modern translation free from archaisms helps us to understand...

ESV: 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 dwellings.

NASB: And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it is all gone, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

NIV: I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

The context is the parable of the dishonest manager, who upon learning that his employment is being terminated, quickly reduces the debts of his master's debtors. It is implied that he seeks to get some benefit from doing so, perhaps another job. The verse in question is Jesus' closing comment to this parable. It certainly is a bit confusing, as it seems that Jesus is advocating the use of wealth for personal gain. In light of Jesus' other teaching though, there are two other distinct possibilities.

Let's look at the end of the passage before we dig deeper. Eventually, we all die, at which time money will be useless ("when it fails") and each person will face judgment. For those who have believed in Christ, the "eternal dwellings" will be the mansions of God's kingdom, but for those who have not believed, they are the flames of the lake of fire.

The first possibility is that Jesus is teaching believers to use money in order to bless others and hopefully draw them to Himself. This might be the Sunday School interpretation, but I suspect there is more going on.

The second possibility is that Jesus is plainly stating how worldly people do things: using money for advantage and influence, as the unrighteous manager did. In this case, the parable is "backwards" and intended to teach the righteous to do exactly the opposite (Jesus uses this reverse logic elsewhere, in the parable of the stubborn judge). The following few verses would support this conclusion, as Jesus goes on to teach faithfulness in the smallest things, strongly suggesting that the manager's actions, though shrewd, were sinful. Verses 14 and 15 clearly reinforce this interpretation.

Thanks, Dino for the thoughtful response.

My opinion is the Lord is saying (1) use your wealth by giving generously to the Poor and the Needy, and thus make friends for yourself by almsgiving. And (2) when money fails, that is, when the person dies, these Poor and Needy will then welcome you into Heaven.

Here is an excerpt from a Bible Hub Commentary:

"Pulpit Commentary

But now a deeply interesting question arises - When the Lord speaks of friends receiving us after death into eternal homes, to what friends is he alluding? Great expositors, Ewald and Meyer, for instance, tell us that he means the angels. But the plain sense of the parable points, not to angels, but to poor, weak, suffering persons whom we have helped here; these, then, must be the friends who will receive us, or welcome us, in the world to come. A further query suggests itself - How will these be able to receive us? To such a question no definite reply can be given. We know too little of the awful mysteries of that world to be able even to hazard a surmise as to the help or the comfort which grateful, blessed spirits will be able to show to their brethren the newly arrived, when they receive them. His word here must suffice us; well will it be for us, if one day we practically discover the holy secret for ourselves.

... One beautiful and exquisitely comforting thought is shrined in this playful and yet intensely solemn utterance of Jesus. The eternal tents, the "many mansions," as John calls them, will have among their occupants, it is certain, many a one whose life on earth was hard and sorrowful. These are now enjoying bliss indescribable, these poor Lazaruses, to whom this world was so sad, so dreary a habitation. And perhaps a portion of their blessedness consists in this power, to which the Lord makes allusion here, of assisting others - the helped here becoming the helpers there. Although the teaching of Christ and his chosen servants here and elsewhere shows us distinctly that no merit can attach to almsgiving, seeing that our alms are only given out of property entrusted to us for a short time by God for this and other similar purposes, yet the same authoritative teaching informs us that God has regard to almsdeeds done in the true spirit of love, in determining our eternal destiny. Thus a message direct from heaven informs the Roman legionary Cornelius that his prayers and alms were come up for a memorial before God. Paul writes to Timothy to charge the Ephesus Christians "that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." In the parable of Lazarus and Dives we shall find this principle yet more clearly illustrated. These are only a few out of the many passages where this generosity and almsgiving is commended to the believer with peculiar earnestness." Taken from: https://www.biblehub.com/luke/16-9.htm

Readers of Jesus Word to us, the Gospel, isn't just stories about people who lived 2,000 years ago. They are stories that pertain to us, you and me. Unfortunately, you didn't include the entire verse of Luke 16 1-13. By only picking a couple of lines from the parable of the Dishonest Steward, it is impossible to explain them.

The Gospel parable as it applies to each of us is clear.; the goods of this earth are given to everyone of us as stewards. God alone is to be served and loved with all of our heart. We are called to receive all of these goods, no matter what they are, as a gift and direct them toward what is good and true. We are stewards and the parable of the unjust steward is addressed to each one of us today.

Taking the whole parable into account, we see that the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.

The praise for a dishonest steward is bothersome. But the dishonest steward is not being praised for being dishonest. Why is he being praised?

In understanding this passage, it helps to remember that at this time in history, agents acted on behalf of their master. The steward was praised because he collected the full amount of the debt owed to his master. The debt that was reduced or eliminated was actually his commission. So even though he was guilty of squandering the rich man’s property, he was honest in collecting the master’s debt payments.

He was also praised for being prudent. By eliminating his commission, he charged the debtors less and made friends with them. Thus they became obligated to him. Instead of being a victim of circumstance, he turns a bad situation around to benefit himself by making friends with the debtors.

The parable does not praise dishonesty, rather it praises the ability to use our material resources wisely in a time of crisis. The steward knew he needed friends more than he needed the commission money.

Just my thoughts, and as I said, you just pulled a couple of lines from the parable and as 'stand alone' lines they are impossible to explain. You need to look at the whole parable, in context and as it applied to those times and as it applies to us today.

Firstly, there is absolutely no need to use boldface font for most of your post. If everything is important, nothing is important.

Secondly, the parable says nothing about collecting the outstanding debts; he only reduced them.

Thirdly, there is nothing whatsoever in the parable about commissions. That is mere speculation.

We don't rightly interpret Scripture with additions and speculations, but rather with the actual content and context of Scripture.

This is a good interpretation. Jesus is saying we should be living our lives with that urgent concern to be the kind of true disciples of Jesus he has been teaching in the previous chapters. This attitude to include the poor, blind, lame, cripple at the table, to share our wealth with others in needs guarantees treasures in heaven that will welcome us.
He goes on to tell about he Rich man and Lazarus after this, still teaching the same principles.

At first glance, it’s a bit confusing since the person who was commended in the parable is a thief.

Sure he may have had good intentions, but he mishandled money that didn’t belong to him and essentially gave away his manager’s money by forgiving a portion of his customers’ debt. The bottom line is he sinned by giving away his manager’s money because that’s like stealing.

If we follow this parable literally then we should take money that doesn’t belong to us in order to use to our advantage in making friends. In the present day, it’s possible the only friends you’ll find using this method are behind prison bars.

Since Jesus would never advocate stealing, this parable is not literal. This parable means to use money to build alliances with others.

I read about that interpretation, the commission or even the interest which was usury was removed but according to the scholars I have read they don't have confidence that it was what Luke intended or that the original readers would have understood him as saying this. Sounds like just a made up theory with nothing to support it.

(2) Another view argues that the agent deducts hidden interest that was being charged the debtors. Despite the biblical ban on usury (Exod 22:25; Lev 25:36–37; Deut 15:7–8; 23:19–20), devious means were contrived to circumvent the appearance of charging interest while at the same time garnering it, often at exorbitant rates.27 Some argue that the agent has the debtors change their notes by removing the interest. In the case of the oil, the interest would have been 100 percent (800 measures cut down to 400); in the case of the wheat, the interest was 20 percent (1000 measures cut down to 800). By removing the interest charges, the master was not cheated out of anything to which he was legally entitled, which mitigates the supposed dishonesty of the agent. The interest charged has been interpreted in two ways. According to Derrett, the interest premium accrued to the master. When he discovers what has happened, he relishes the undeserved reputation among the debtors for righteous dealing.28 According to Fitzmyer, the interest charges went to the agent as part of his service commission. The agent foregoes his profits from usury to please
the debtors and to gain a favorable reception from them when he is removed from his position.29 This prudent and sacrificial action is what elicits the praise of the master. This interpretation assumes that Luke’s audience would understand the intricacies of covertly usurious loans and ignores that the debt is owed the master, not the agent, and that only he is harmed by the decreased amounts. It also assumes that the master either did not authorize but knew of the usurious nature of the contracts, or that if he did authorize them, he was not concerned about making a profit. This assumption is undermined by the fact that the agent urges the debtors to write the new bonds “quickly” (v. 6) in their own hand. That urgency suggests a deliberate attempt to defraud the master. He does not simply have the bills marked paid because that would be a dead giveaway that foul play was afoot. The master did not know what was originally recorded on the bills, and they could be safely altered.30 This view also requires that the master somehow learns about the doctoring of the accounts despite the fact that he does not have them. Who tells him? His anonymous informers? The agent? The debtors? His own inspection of the books? If Fitzmyer is correct, the agent was only removing his commission from the bonds. But why is the agent not interested in his profits to tide him over during his unemployment? The answer might be that he knew he would be unable to collect since he would no longer be the agent. But the parable makes no hint that this was what he was thinking. All attempts to remove the element of dishonesty on the part of the agent are misguided. His plan for his future security involves dissociating himself from the owner in the nick of time in hopes that the debtors will reciprocate and receive him in their households.

Garland, David E.; Clinton E. Arnold. Luke (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on The New Testament series Book 3) (p. 1090). Zondervan Academic.

"And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. "

'Make to yourselves friends' means to share the gospel so that others will become saved and will become our 'friends', since they have become saved. The specific part of the gospel that is being emphasized seems to be to forgive others (since we are forgiven). Remember, the Bible says that if we forgive others, we will be forgiven also. Us failing ('when you shall fail') seems to me to have to do with the idea that we fail to save ourselves because we are not perfect enough to save ourselves. Fortunately, we too will be forgiven from this fault if we have forgiven others. The mammon of unrighteousness mentioned has a possible meaning of money, but may be alluding to the general unrighteous condition that is dealt with by Jesus' atonement and forgiveness.

Another roak! (repository of all knowledge) Yawn.

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• Ecc 11:1-2 . . Send your bread forth upon the waters; for after many days
you will find it. Distribute portions to seven or even to eight, for you cannot
know what misfortune may occur on earth.

It makes good sense to build yourself a base of good will just in case you
need a favor some day. People you have helped are more inclined to help
you back than those you ignored; and in this big bad world, you need all the
friends you can get.

• Luke 16:9 . . I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves,
so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

Most of the time, guests wear out their welcome and sometimes are even
asked to leave. But "eternal dwellings" suggests that out of gratitude for
your charity, your host is likely to be favorably inclined to invite you to
remain as long as you like when you're in dire straits. Money can't buy me
love, but it's still useful for buying friends.
_

Jesus is saying that if this man has the natural motivation out of an impure heart to do something to make room for his future, why don't those who say they know the scriptures about the coming kingdom and judgment of works do something to secure theirs?

Jesus is not saying that what the agent did is what we should do nor that the motives of the agent are what we should have. He had already explained that they should not take that approach when inviting people to their feasts because that is exactly the attitude they had and the culture they were accustomed to.

Jesus is telling them that this dishonest manager was urgently concerned about making provision for his future. We who are believers in the kingdom to come should be urgently concerned about making sure we are storing up treasures in heaven which is accomplished by using the wealth we have been given to help others and to advance the kingdom of God. Those who don't are being really stupid.
Wise disciples make sure they are actually doing something eternal with their finances.

He continues to talk about serving mammon and God and he gives the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In the previous chapter he gave several other examples about inviting the poor, blind, lame to the table knowing they can't repay but you would have treasure in heaven.

It is a parable contrasting the natural self saving sinful motive of the dishonest agent with those who say they believe they will be sitting at the table at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven (read previous chapter) but who are not actually doing the necessary things to secure a seat at that table. Trusting that merely being a relative of Abraham secures that seat which it does not.

Luke 15-17 should all be read in one sitting. Three times. Then you will get the "Ah Ha moment" They are all teaching similar principles related to the haves and the have nots. And the I'll scratch your back you scratch mine culture is condemned not praised.

Correction. Luke 14-16 should be read all in one sitting.

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• Luke 16:9 . . I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves,
so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

What "it" is gone? Well; your money, i.e. when you're flat broke, on the
skids, and out of options; that's when you really need friends; especially
the grateful kind that owe you a solid.
_

When it fails. You can't take wealth with you in the afterlife.

And so these eternal dwellings, and that which would welcome you into them are your good works of how you spent your worldly wealth to help those in need or to help save people with the Gospel more specifically. Those good works and possibly saved people that heard the gospel as a result of your finances will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

It's not just alms giving like in the OT but is more about Gospel preaching and Gospel support. We are to interpret it in the light of the NT and Jesus. Everything He taught them about inviting the lame, blind, poor, to the table is to be interpreteted in the context of Gospel ministry and Jesus, not to be applied to the OT banqueting culture of the Pharisees and postions at table which was all about to be just an historical example. We must apply the principle to our current daily lives and we live in a covetous society so it is not hard to find the application. Man's heart is still the same. Same sins, different cultural application.

There are no eternal dwellings for you in this life or this planet. So no one alive who you gave money to can help you with eternal dwellings in this life, and none of their worldly wealth can help you with your eternal dwelling so just giving people money so that they will let you sleep on their couch when you go broke in this life is not what He said. He said eternal dwellings.

It's a difficult parable to understand the way it is written but it is understood in the context of chapter 14 through 16.

And we have to use a little common sense knowing what Jesus is saying to us.

For example: don’t hide child rape by priests at the highest level in order to preserve the institution that is your cash-cow.

In this parable it is rather puzzling that the master commended his steward for cheating him and said that he had done wisely.

But the lesson for Christians is that whatever wealth (mammon = wealth) is placed into our hands (even though it is generally used unrighteously in the world, hence "unrighteous mammon) -- is given to us as a stewardship. If we use our wealth to bless others, to propagate the Gospel, and to build the Kingdom of God on earth, that will be regarded as faithful stewardship. And there are eternal rewards for those who have been faithful even in little things.

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"And I say to you: Make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity; that
when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings."

The Greek word translated "everlasting" is aionios (ahee-o'-nee-os) which
basically means perpetual; roughly defined as having no limit.

The Greek word for "dwellings" is skene (skay-nay') which refers to tents or
cloth huts.

Abraham lived in tents the whole time he sojourned in the land of Canaan;
but he expects something much better for himself in the future.

• Heb 11:9-10 . . Abraham made his home in the promised land like a
stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who
were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the
city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Christ's followers are expecting something better than tent and huts.

• John 14:3 . . In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not
so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
_