Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Our hearts’ treasure is revealed by how much value we place on someone or something.

It is estimated that for every 10,000 oysters harvested, only one will contain a high-quality pearl.

The scarcity of natural pearls in turn makes them incredibly valuable—and incredibly well sought-after.

Celebrities, jewelry connoisseurs, royals from every continent, and more have paid millions of dollars to get their hands on high-quality pearls, some of which fetched record-breaking sums.

A famous necklace with a 500-year history owned by Elizabeth Taylor auctioned in an estate sale went for 11 million dollars.

If Jesus is our greatest treasure, that is “Our Pearl of Great Price” then we will value his purposes and his kingdom above all else.

Is there something today that you are valuing and treasuring over Christ and His kingdom.

Note: Money is a common theme in Jesus Parables, roughly 1/3 of the forty or so parables Jesus told have something to do with earthly riches, treasure, coins or currency of some kind.

Jesus consistent teaching shows how hard it is for those who trust in their riches to enter the kingdom of God.

“You cannot seek God and money.”

(Matthew 6:24).

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt.

6:33).

Jesus continually seeks to change the paradigm or lenses through which we see the world around us.

Riches Hinder entering the Kingdom of Heaven.

Rich man and Lazarus

The rich fool

Remind us that we are merely stewards of what God has given us.

(we need to be wise and faithful)

Parable of the vinedresser

parable of the talents

parable of the minas

Shows the infinite value of the Heavenly Kingdom of God

The Hidden Treasure

The pearl of great price

Note: Scripture is very clear on the matter of money, that we are to constantly guard against the love of money, because it is the root of all kinds of evil and greediness.

Notice that Jesus wraps up his sermon on the mount in Matthew 6:19-21 by giving a clear directive: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and the thieves break in and steal.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroy s and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.

Luke 16 our Lord tells a parable that echoes this directive in the Sermon on the Mount.

THE STORY

The main character in the story is a man whom Jesus only refers to as the “unjust steward.”

So there is no question about the character of this man.

The stewards actions had been ruthlessly underhanded and self-seeking to say the least.

Apparently it had gotten so bad at wasting his boss’s assets, possibly using them on himself and for his own gain.

Possibly he felt as thought he was free to use the masters resources how ever he saw fit.

Apparently it had gotten so bad that the boss had to come down and straighten things out.

The result was an immediate termination notice.

The steward now, all the sudden was concerned that his underhanded ways would come back to bite him once he was unemployed.

By his own admission he was not cut out to be a manual labor ditch digging kind of guy.

So, he opted to cook the books and cheat the rich man even more.

He graciously forgave Large sums of debt to get on the good side of those he had wronged.

Therefore, when the rich man finally threw him out he would be received by the people and hopefully they would remember the grace he showed them.

Now, Jesus is using the illustration of the unscrupulous behavior of this man to make a point.

Remember Jesus himself refers to the man as an “unjust steward.”

There is nothing you can do to pretty this pig up and make him seem more presentable.

So, what is the point Jesus is trying to make?

Why does he commend the shrewdness of a dishonest servant.

Remember this is a parable, it is meant to teach a biblical principle.

It is not real life.

Jesus made this story up.

Remember Jesus original Hebrew audience would have been just as shocked or even more so than you and I are.

NOTE: This parable immediately comes on the heals of the parable of the prodigal son, which is a call to the Pharisees and scribes to repent, believe the gospel, and be granted admission into the kingdom of God.

Notice that this parable is addressed to his disciples who are already committed to following Jesus.

They have left everything to follow Him.

These are men and women who love righteousness, turn away from evil, and live their lives with a concern for the glory of Christ.

This is a discipleship message and model for Believers

The rich man in the story is so wealthy that he does not even need to be involved in the day to day concerns of his business affairs.

He has other people to handle all of the tasks of day to day operations.

It is obvious that his is a massive operation because the debt owed by just two of his debtors was hundreds of measures of oil and wheat.

The rich man possibly lived in a large estate removed from the business, because he clearly did not have firsthand knowledge of what his steward was doing.

The manager was also a man who apparently had not worked a hard labor day in his life.

He had soft hands and a cushy life.

(stewards were often trusted servants who had been born and raised in the masters household - treated like part of the family.)

The steward was also given the authority to act on behalf of the master in all business dealings.

The accusations must have been true.

Notice that the steward does not try to mount a defence.

The rich man acted immediately and decisively in this case.

It was a bad management decision on the rich man’s part to allow the steward time to finish his accounting only leaving him more opportunity to foul things up.

Clearly if when the steward was trusted he could not manage his masters accounts well, why would it be any different now that he is being removed from employment.

Clearly there was no way to cover up his guilt, so while the steward was preparing the final accounting he concocted an underhanded final accounting that would benefit himself before he was left homeless, jobless, and penniless.

THE SCHEME OF THE UNFAITHFUL SERVANT

He was shameless, only concerned for one person on the planet, himself.

The discounts were deep and costly.

One hundred measures of oil was 875 gallons.

The price of that much oil would be about a thousand denarii.

A 50 percent discount would be equal to one year’s wage.

100 measures of wheat was a thousand bushels.

A hundred acres was required for producing that much wheat.

It’s full value equalled 8-10 years labor for a typical farmer so, 20 percent discount would be about one years pay.

verse 5 say’s the steward called every one of his masters debtors to him, giving similar discounts.

Up to this point in the story you can sympathize with the rich sympathize with the rich man.

Now in verse 8 the master commends the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.

You may have thought this similar to the parable in Matthew 24 where the master of the servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.

However, in this the rich man is not a a figure of Christ.

Jesus deliberately set this story in the realm of secular business, where this sort of behavior goes on all the time.

Even in today’s culture rich businessmen voice an admiration for the shrewd but underhanded tactics of both rivals and partners.

NOTE: It is not the stewards villainy that the master admires.

He did not applaud the stewards lack of honor but he commended the man’s forward thinking.

The steward was not trying to cover or excuse his past, he was trying to secure his future.

Here is the main point of the whole story:

The sinful world we live in tend to work to secure pleasure in the short-term temporal well-being where believers store up our treasures for the Kingdom of God.

Lessons from Narnia

“For those who came out to the movie last night, what was the lesson we learned from Edmund in the move?”

Yes, that the things that the world has to offer are an illusion.

The appear to be beneficial in the short-term.

Remember when the queen offers Edmund a place of position, honor and authority.

It all seemed like a way to get ahead however, what happened in the long run?

The illusion wore off and the spell that had him captive was broken.

Edmund was then left in a state brokenness and regret.