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Watchman, undoubtedly for many bible readers the parable about the rich man and his steward is the hardest to understand of all of Jesus Christ's parables and it's also the least mentioned. The explanation the Society gives is somewhat unclear, at least to me it is, but perhaps some of your other readers could also benefit from a clearer explanation and maybe how the parable could apply to our lives. I look forward to your answer.
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| Considering that the steward is judged according to the discharge of his duties in connection with his master’s house, Jesus’ illustration, which is recorded at Luke 16:1-8, has all the elements applicable to the judgment of the so-called faithful slave at the return of Christ. Except in this instance, the slave is judged to be unrighteous in some undisclosed matter. So, realizing he is about to be put out of the house, the slave shrewdly uses his authority to makes friends for himself by means of his master’s unrighteous riches. Previously, in the 12th chapter of Luke, Jesus sternly charged his disciples to stay awake and expectant of his thief-like return. The master’s return would result in judgment for the entire household of stewards. All of the stewards are judged to be negligent to some degree—even those who are ultimately judged to be faithful and discreet and who are subsequent to that final judgment appointed over all their master’s belongings. Describing the punishment of both the faithful and unfaithful slave, Jesus said: “Then that slave that understood the will of his master but did not get ready or do in line with his will will be beaten with many strokes. But the one that did not understand and so did things deserving of strokes will be beaten with few. Indeed, everyone to whom much was given, much will be demanded of him; and the one whom people put in charge of much, they will demand more than usual of him.” It would appear, then, that the slave who is beaten with a few strokes parallels the slave who, although unfaithful in some aspect of his stewardship, nonetheless, wins his master’s favor by his discretion in the use of the unrighteous riches entrusted to him. A related prophecy in the 22nd chapter of Isaiah sheds light upon Jesus’ numerous illustrations regarding the judgment upon the house of God. Isaiah’s prophecy pertains to the removal of an unfaithful servant and appointment of a faithful servant. It reads: "This is what the Sovereign Lord, Jehovah of armies, has said:" “Go, enter in to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the house, ‘What is there of interest to you here, and who is there of interest to you here, that you have hewed out for yourself here a burial place?’ On a height he is hewing out his burial place; in a crag he is cutting out a residence for himself. ‘Look! Jehovah is hurling you down with violent hurling, O able-bodied man, and grasping you forcibly. Without fail he will wrap you up tightly, like a ball for a wide land. There you will die, and there the chariots of your glory will be the dishonor of the house of your master. And I will push you away from your position; and from your official standing one will tear you down. And it must occur in that day that I will call my servant, namely, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah. And I will clothe him with your robe, and your sash I shall firmly bind about him, and your dominion I shall give into his hand; and he must become a father to the inhabitant of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will put the key of the house of David upon his shoulder, and he must open without anyone’s shutting, and he must shut without anyone’s opening. And I will drive him in as a peg in a lasting place, and he must become as a throne of glory to the house of his father.” In the literal fulfillment Shebna and Eliakim were actual persons who lived during the time of King Hezekiah. However, it should be apparent by the terminology used that it has prophetic significance related to Christ. Notice, for example, it says that Eliakim is entrusted with “the key of the house of David” and that he will be empowered to open doors no one can shut and shut doors no one else can open. This is nearly exactly what Revelation 3:7 states concerning the glorified Christ Jesus. That verse reads as follows: “These are the things he says who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens so that no one will shut, and shuts so that no one opens…” Furthermore, Eliakim is given a throne and all the glory of his father’s house. That clearly applies to Jesus Christ as well. Interestingly, the October 1st, 1981, Watchtower discussed the 22nd chapter of Isaiah. It identified Shebna as the clergy and Eliakim as the faithful and discreet slave, who were supposedly appointed over all of the master’s belongings in 1919. However, if that were true it would mean that Jehovah appointed the clergy to an official position over God’s people. After all, at verse 19 Jehovah told Shebna “And I will push you away from your position; and from your official standing…” So, it is apparent that Shebna had an official standing before God, one which God himself recognized. The Watchtower Society inserts themselves into the place of Christ in the prophecy. Ironically, in that respect they resemble Shebna, of whom Jehovah judged adversely for the very reason that he had misused his position to hew out a special residence and a burial place for himself. This most fittingly applies to the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses as an institution, who have used the Scriptures in such a way so as to appoint themselves over all the master’s belongings and secure a place for themselves as the supreme authorities of all things biblical. And with that authority that have also carved out for themselves seemingly permanent residences at Bethel—assuring that they will have honored burial places. Returning to the illustration of Christ in question, the failure of the unrighteous riches is part of Jehovah’s judgment upon the house of God. That is apparent from James 5:1-3. We may expect, then, that the judgment of Jehovah will destroy the Watchtower as an institution and those who have used their positions of authority for personal gain will find themselves on the street, as it were—weeping and gnashing their teeth--as the unfaithful slave in many of Christ's illustrations. In fact, the prelude to the prophecy in Isaiah calls for a time of weeping and mourning in the 12th verse. However, individuals within the organization may be judged worthy of overseeing all their master’s belongings based upon their own faithfulness as individuals. The faithful slaves’ appointment over all the master’s belongings relates to their ruling as kings with Christ (Eliakim). This in keeping with the fact that the discreet slave is put out of his master's house but is received into "everlasting dwelling places" (obviously in heaven). |
The e-Watchman Mailbag Collection
December 12, 2005
