ವ್ಯಾಖ್ಯಾನ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ಲಭ್ಯವಿದೆ. ಕನ್ನಡ ಅನುವಾದ ಪ್ರಗತಿಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ.
Luke 16 — Ye Cannot Serve God and Mammon
The parable of the unjust steward — make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. The Pharisees who were covetous derided Him. The law and the prophets were until John; the kingdom of God is preached. The rich man clothed in purple and Lazarus the beggar at his gate. Lazarus dies and is carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom; the rich man dies, lifts his eyes in hell. A great gulf fixed. If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
— Luke 16:13
- v.1-13 The unjust steward
- v.14-18 God and mammon; the law and the kingdom
- v.19-31 The rich man and Lazarus
Cannot serve. Not should not — cannot. The two masters demand incompatible allegiances. Trying both produces neither.
Mammon. The Aramaic word for wealth, here personified. Money is treated as a rival god, not a neutral tool. Where it is served, God is not.
A great gulf fixed. The most sobering geography in the Bible. After death the divide is unbridgeable. No second chances; no negotiation across the gulf.
The verse forbids universalist readings of eternity. What is settled in life stays settled. Make sure of your side of the gulf now.
The most piercing line about Scripture's sufficiency. A resurrection-vision will not convert the heart that refuses the Bible.
A warning to those who wait for spectacular signs. If the Word does not move you, miracles will not either. The cure is in your hand; open it.
Verse 10 reframes today. Whatever small responsibilities you are currently shrugging through, faithfulness in them is the training for much. Stop waiting for big assignments; treat the present ones as the test that determines the next.
Christ in Luke 16 is the truth-teller about money and eternity. He exposes the divided heart, draws the line between God and mammon, opens a window into the unseen world, and points to His own Word as sufficient. The chapter's seriousness is His tenderness — warning while the warning can still be heeded.
A test of character is consistency. The way a person handles trivial responsibilities predicts how he will handle great ones.
A check on aspiration. Many imagine themselves faithful in much; few are actually faithful in little. The little is the training ground for the much.