Luke
16:1-13
The teachings of Messiah, 9:51-19:44
4. Who enters the kingdom? 13:22-16:13
vi] A lesson on Materialism
SynopsisIn the context of Jesus speaking with his disciples, Luke records the parable of the shrewd manager, v1-8a, Jesus' application of the parable, v8b, and three appended sayings: the proper use of mammon, v9; faithfulness with mammon, v10-12; serving God rather than mammon, v13.
Teaching
The faithful use of worldly resources is expected of a disciple.
Issues
i] Context: See 13:22-30. A lesson on materialism, 16:1-13, is the sixth episode in the section dealing with the question, Who enters the kingdom?, 13:22-16:13. In the age of the great reversal, when the first are last and the last first, many will find themselves unexpectedly outside the kingdom, 13:22-30. Yet, at the same time, many will find that entry into the kingdom of God is not beyond them - repentance is the key that unlocks the gate, 15:1-32. Although entrance to the kingdom of God is free, there is an ongoing cost, namely, a considered use of life's resources, 16:1-13.
ii] Structure: A lesson on materialism:
Parable - the shrewd manager, v1-8a;
Saying / application, v8b:
"the sons of this world are more shrewd ......."
Sayings on stewardship, v9-13:
Saying #1, v9:
"make friends for yourselves by means of mammon ......."
Saying #2, v10-12:
"whoever can be trusted in very little can also be ........"
ei oun, "so if", v11
kai ei, "and if", v12
Saying #3, v13:
"no servant can serve two masters, ......"
iii] Interpretation:
"Disciples who do not show faithfulness in this life cannot expect to enter the life of the age to come", Ellis. Earle is probably being a bit hard on his brothers and sisters at this point. The passage is certainly reminding disciples that it is foolish to think that we can be loyal to Jesus and ignore the responsible use of our resources of time, talent and tinkle (money) for the kingdom. Yet, when it comes to our imitation of Christ - the fruit of our identification with Christ - Jesus' utopian ethic is an ideal to be aimed at, rather than an objective to be reached; See Cross-bearing discipleship, 9:18-27. So, this passage reminds those who would repent, those who would turn to and rely on Jesus (15:1-32), that a faithful dealing with this world's things is required of those who would follow Jesus.
In this passage on "the proper attitude toward the use of material possessions", Fitzmyer, the opening teaching parable serves to illustrate the proposition that the children of light are anything but prudent, v8b. The appended sayings on the prudent handling of material possessions, v9-13, seek to address this problem. The parable, as well as the sayings, have proved notoriously difficult to interpret.
Danker stands out from the crowd with his simple exposition of the passage; "In the everyday world of business, prudence is exercised to secure temporary advantage. God's people, who have higher goals and expectations, ought to display at least as much prudence in relation to God and their future hope. Yet, when it comes to material possessions, they often forget that the proper use of those possessions is an integral part of their total religious experience."
This line of interpretation sits well with the previous episode, 15:1-32. Believers, having reached a point of repentance and faith, are now called to service. Having placed ourselves under the grace of God, we need to remember that "no person can serve two masters ... You cannot serve God and the things of this world."
In the parable of the dishonest steward, the steward wisely prepares for his future retirement. Of course, he did so dishonestly, but even so, he understood his future and planned for it. His master even commends his cunning - it takes one to know one! Jesus comments that unbelievers are very good at using the resources available to them for future-proofing, whereas believers use their resources with little regard to their real future, a future which lies, not so much in a cottage by the sea, but in heaven. With an eye to eternal verities, rather than earthly impulses, let us wisely use our resources of time, talent and tinkle, all of which are on loan from the Creator. "One serves a master no matter what, so make sure that it is God", Bock.
When it comes to the attached sayings, Fitzmyer suggests that Luke has actually provided 3 separate applications: a prudent use of material possessions, eg. almsgiving, 8b-9; a day-to-day responsibility and fidelity, v10-12; and a warning - don't let wealth become the god we serve, v13. In principle, Jesus' utopian ethic always serves as a guide to the Christian life, rather than a rule to be followed. So, the sayings provide an ideal to aim at, an ideal on the right handling of our earthly resources.
The classification of the parable of The Shrewd Manager: Dodd classifies this parable as a crisis parable, a crisis caused by the coming kingdom. It serves as "a warning .... to take resolute and immediate action in the face of impending disaster", Caird. In the face of disaster, a worldly-wise person will use whatever opportunity they have to find a way out. You would be wise to follow their example because the kingdom of God is at hand, so repent and believe.
This may well be the original intention of the parable, but it is not the way Luke uses it. He uses it as a teaching parable, setting up a comparison between worldly people and disciples. Worldly people wisely (here cunningly and dishonestly) use the resources available to them for their future wellbeing in this age, whereas disciples foolishly use their resources for life in this age, when their future actually lies in eternity - not very wise at all!
Where the parable ends and the attached saying begins, is a matter of some debate. A number of options present themselves. These notes take oJ kurioV, "the lord" as "the rich man", not Jesus, with the saying commencing at oJti oiJ uiJoi tou aiwnoV toutou, "the sons of this age", v8b, with oJti recitative.
Allegorical interpretations of this parable are best avoided, eg. Johnson: Like the manager's clever response, "the children of light should be discerning in their response to the 'visitation of their Lord'" and "as the manager used possessions to secure a place for himself, so should the disciples". Also Plummer: a believer should lay up "treasure in heaven" by using their "wealth to promote their welfare in the next world" - an interesting idea!
For the classification of Jesus' parables see The Parables of Jesus, 8:1-18.
iv] Synoptics:
See 3:1-20. The tradition recorded in v1-12 is unique to Luke, usually classified as L, a special Lukan source. Only v13, an example of synonymous parallelism, has a parallel in Matthew 6:24. It is usually classified as a Q source, and is very close to Matthew, with twenty-seven of its twenty-eight words exactly the same. The passage consists of a teaching parable, v1-8a with an interpretive attached saying, v8b. Then follows three more sayings of Jesus on the subject of the proper use of worldly resources, v9-13. The second saying, v10-12, is possibly three conjoined sayings, so Manson, but it seems more likely that it is one saying marked by a form of antithetic parallelism, so Fitzmyer. These sayings may have attached during oral transmission (note the linking key word, "mammon of unrighteousness", v9, and "unrighteous mammon", v11, and "mammon", v13), or were thematically bundled together by Luke himself.
v] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage may be found in the linked pew-level Sermon Notes.
Text - 16:1
The stewardship expected of a disciple, v1-13: i] The parable of the Shrewd Manager, v1-8a. This illustrative parable teaches that a worldly-wise person will use whatever opportunity they have to future-proof themselves.
de kai "-" - but/and and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative; a construction common in Luke; See 2:4.
proV + acc. "-" - [he was saying] toward [the disciples]. The preposition is used to introduce an indirect object instead of a dative. Jesus is now addressing his disciples, rather than the Pharisees, such that what Jesus has to say is of particular reference to the disciples.
oikonomon (oV) "manager" - [a certain man was rich who had] a steward. Predicate adjective. A trusted manager of a person's estate.
dieblhqh (diaballw) aor. pas. "accused" - [and this person] had charges brought. Once only use in NT, expressing an aggressive accusation.
autw/ dat. pro. "-" - to = against him. Dative of interest, disadvantage; "a charge was brought against him."
wJV + part. "-" - as [one squandering, scattering the possessions of him]. This particle + the substantive participle "one squandering", introduces an object clause / dependent statement of indirect speech expressing the charge, "that this man was squandering his possessions." With the particle w{sper, or wJsai a conditional sense would be expected "he was accused as if he had squandered", but that is not the sense here. "A denunciation was laid before him to the effect that the steward was squandering the property", Cassirer, cf., BDF 425.3. We are not told in what way the manager was wasteful, neglectful, or careless.
v2
kai "so" - and. Here possibly inferential, "and so", or consecutive, "so that."
fwnhsaV (fwnew) aor. part. "he called" - having called [him]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to say"; "he called him and said to him", ESV.
autw/ dat. pro. "[asked] him" - [said] to him. Dative of indirect object.
tiv pro. "what" - what [is this]. Interrogatory pronoun; asking a question.
peri + gen. "about [you]" - [i hear] about [you]? Expressing reference / respect; "about, concerning."
apodoV (apodidwmi) aor. imp. "give" - give back = render. "Render", in the sense of, "produce your accounts", REB.
ton logon "an account" - the word. Accusative direct object of the verb "to give back." Obviously the final accounts, not a record of accounts for consideration.
thV oikonomiaV (a) "of [your] management" - of the stewardship, agency [of you]. The genitive is adverbial, of reference / respect; "with respect to your stewardship." "I want to see your books at once", Barclay.
gar "because" - for. Introducing a causal clause explaining why the master wants to see the final audited accounts, "because" he was going to fire him; "for you are finished as my manager", Barclay.
oikonomein (oikonomew) inf. "be manager" - [no longer are you able] to manage, administer. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "to be able"; "you are no longer able = you do not have the ability to administer". "You are no longer going to work for me", CEV.
v3
en + dat. "to [himself]" - [but/and the steward said] in himself. Local, expressing space / place; he deliberated inwardly.
tiv + subj. "what" - what [may i do]. Deliberative subjunctive with the interrogative tiv, "what?" Deliberating over his future, rather than the accounts.
oJti "-" - because. Possibly causal, "since, because, for", or epexegetic, "now that", TH.
oJ kurioV (oV) "[my] master" - the lord [of me takes away the stewardship of me]. Nominative subject of the verb "to take away." "The lord / master" = "the employer". The word is used here, in v5 and v8. Its use in v8 is problematic.
skapein (skaptw) pres. inf. "to dig" - [i am not strong] to dig, [i am ashamed to beg]. The infinitive, as with "to beg", is usually classified as complementary, completing the sense of the attached verb. Yet, a complementary infinitive usually follows the verb it is completing, so here we may have a dependent statement of perception expressing his musings over the question "what shall I do now that my employer is taking the management of the accounts away from me?" The manager concludes that "I'm not strong enough for manual labour and I'm not up for charity."
v4
egnwn (ginwskw) aor. "I know" - i know [what i may do]. The action is punctiliar, so possibly expressing an immediate insight; "Ah, I know what I'll do ...", Phillips, "I've got it!", Bock. Note again the use of the deliberative subjunctive with the interrogative tiv, here serving as the object of the verb "to know."
iJna + subj. "so that" - that. Introducing a final clause expressing either purpose, or better, intended result; "to make sure that", Barclay.
oJtan + subj. "when" - whenever. This construction introduces an indefinite temporal clause, treated as definite; "when I'm turned out in the street", Peterson.
metastaqw (meqisthmi) aor. subj. "I lose my job here" - i am removed. "Summarily fired", Bock.
ek + gen. "-" - from [the stewardship]. Expressing separation; "away from."
dexwntai (decomai) aor. subj. "people will welcome" - they may receive [me into the houses of them]. The unstated subject "they" is obviously the debtors. The play on words here, where the manager is out of his house /stewardship oikonomiaV and into their house oikouV, simply describes the manager's future advantage. Due to a mutually agreed embezzlement of the master's funds, the manager now has the capacity to draw on a "reciprocal benefit" (Johnson) from his fellow conspirators, eg., future "employment", Bock. So, "welcome me into their houses" = "so that the master's debtors will help finance my forced retirement."
v5
proskalesamenoV (proskaleomai) aor. part. "so he called in" - [and] having called, summoned. The participle is adverbial, temporal; "after summoning each of the master's debtors (one by one, TH)." "Then he called his master's debtors", NJB.
twn creofeiletwn (hV ou) gen. "of [his master's] debtors" - [each one] of the debtors [of the master of himself]. The genitive is adjectival, partitive. The genitive tou kuriou, "of the master", is adjectival, possessive, and eJautou, "of himself", is also adjectival, idiomatic / subordination, "over him."
tw/ protw/ dat. adj. "[he asked] the first" - [he was saying] to the first. The adjective serves as a substantive, dative of indirect object.
tw/ kuriw/ (oV) dat. "master" - [how much do you owe] to the lord. When the sense is "obligated [to do something]" this verb is followed by an infinitive, when "indebted [to someone]" it is followed by a dative of interest, disadvantage, and when "owe [something to someone]", as here, it is followed by a dative of indirect object.
mou gen. pro. "my" - of me? The genitive is adjectival, idiomatic / subordination; "over me."
v6
Two examples are provided describing the nature of the embezzlement, v6-7.
batouV (oV) acc. "[nine hundred] gallons" - [and he said, I owe one hundred] barrels. Accusative after the assumed verb "I owe" / accusative of measure. The Hebrew batos / barrel measure was approximately 9 gallons / 35 litres - the total amounting to three years' wages for a labourer.
elaiou (on) gen. "of olive oil" - of olive oil. The genitive is adjectival, idiomatic / content; "one hundred barrels full of / containing olive oil."
kaqisaV (kaqizw) aor. part. "sit down" - [and he said to him, take your bill and] sitting down [quickly write fifty]. An attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "make (write)", "sit and write." Obviously describing the preparation of a new, but fraudulent, invoice.
v7
The syntax as for v5-6.
korouV (oV) acc. "[a thousand] bushels [of wheat]" - [then to another he said, and you, how much do you owe? and he said one hundred] cors, measures [of wheat. he says to him, take your bills and write eighty] . A cors is a dry measure of approximately twelve bushels, or about 390 litres. The total here would amount to ten years' wages for a labourer.
v8a
In telling the story, Jesus makes the point that the employer was impressed by the shrewd business acumen of the manager in so effectively setting up a superannuation plan at such short notice, and so the employer "commended" him. It is likely that there is intended humour here. The telling of the story seems to imply that the employer is as corrupt as the manager. So, when it comes to dishonest trading, they could make a very good team if they could stop screwing each other over.
This is a highly contentious verse. There are three basic ways to approach it:
•iThe verse is wholly part of the parable, where the narrator notes the master's / employer's response and comments on it;
•iThe verse is wholly part of Jesus' application of the parable, "The Lord (Jesus) commended the worldly manager ....";
•iThe first half of the verse is part of the parable and the second half is Jesus' application of the parable, or even an editorial comment by Luke rather than Jesus, so Nolland.
The second option gets a run by some commentators, so Ellis, but Marshall, Lagrange, Nolland, Stein, Bock, Danker, ...., disagree, opting for the third option. Johnson suggests the first option. The third option seems best.
oJ kurioV (oV) "the master" - [and] the lord. Nominative subject of the verb "to praise." Either, "the employer" or "Jesus", but most likely the employer; see above.
ephnesen (epainew) aor. "commended" - praised. The sense "to speak well of", cannot be ignored, although we should note that this is the only use of the word in Luke, so a sarcastic / humorous sense is possible. It is usually suggested that the master praised his employee because:
•i the discounted invoice made the master look generous;
•ithe manager had rewritten the invoice removing improperly added interest, interest applied in defiance of the Law;
•ithe master admired the shrewdness of his employee.
The third option seems best. "Now here's a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself", Peterson.
thV adikiaV (a) gen. "dishonest" - [the steward] of unrighteousness. This articular genitive noun functions as an adjective, attributive, limiting "manager", ie. a Hebraic genitive. Possibly not as strong as "wicked", so "the worldly manager", Nolland.
oJti "because" - because. Introducing a causal clause explaining why the "master" commended the worldly manager; "because ......"
fronimwV adv. "shrewdly" - [he acted] wisely. He had acted "cleverly", or "wisely / sensibly" from a worldly point of view, "shrewdly", as NIV.
v8b
ii] The parable's application, v8b. Jesus draws a sad observation from the parable, namely that unlike the worldly-wise who secure their future, the "children of light" don't use their resources with an eye to their heavenly future. Our life here on earth, under God, is but a grain of sand compared to the beach of eternity, and yet, when it comes to using our mamwna, mammon, "worldly resources", the worldly are more prudent in the way they deal with it than are we. "Jesus is saying that God's children, who have a heavenly future, should be as diligent in assessing the long-term effect of their actions as those who do not know God are in protecting their earthly well-being", Bock.
oJti "for" - because / that. Possibly expressing cause / reason, as NIV. Yet, for those who hold the third option (see above), at this point the conjunction serves as either a connective, or to form a dependent statement, direct speech, so Marshall. "Commenting on the parable, Jesus said, 'the people of this world .....'"
tou aiwnoV (wn wnoV) gen. "[the people] of [this] world" - [the sons] of [this] age. The genitive is adjectival, possessive, limiting "sons / people"; "the people who belong to this age" = "worldly people." "The sons of this age" stands diametrically opposite to touV uiJouV tou fwtoV, "the sons of light", ie., "the sons of the age to come", so worldly people as compared to religious people, here probably disciples, believers. Similar language was used by the Qumran community and so, although the descriptor is not used elsewhere in the New Testament, it is probably a common Palestinian descriptor for the secular / religious divide, cf., 1Enoch 108:11.
fronimwteroi adj. "more shrewd " - [are] more wise, shrewd. Predicate comparative adjective, following the verb to-be eisin, is followed itself by the comparative use of uJper; "worldly people are shrewder than religious people when it comes to dealing with ....."
eiV + acc. "in dealing with" - into [the generation of themselves = their own generation]. The preposition here is adverbial, reference / respect, "with respect to" = "in dealing with .....", so Fitzmyer, and "generation of themselves" probably means "their contemporaries", Barclay, "their own kind", NEB, or possibly even, "their own time frame." Either way, the meaning remains elusive. It seems that the description is intended to apply to both the "children of this age" and the "children of the age to come", except that the "children of this age" are "more sensible" (comparative adjective) when it comes to "relating to their own generation" than are the "children of the age to come" when it comes to "relating to their own generation." The "children of this age" sensibly use the resources that come their way to secure their future in the here and now, whereas the "children of the age to come" do not sensibly use the resources that come their way to secure their future in the hereafter. Although a stretch, CEV surely hits the mark with "the people of this world look out for themselves better than ...."
uJper "than" - beyond = than. The preposition "beyond" performs here as a comparative adverb.
tou fwtoV (wV wtoV) gen. "of the light" - [the sons] of light. The genitive is adjectival, possessive, "belong to the light", CEV, as for "the sons of this age", but other possibilities present themselves: idiomatic, "those who ..... follow the light", Cassirer; attributive, "unworldly men", Barclay. The sense probably comes down to "Christians", Junkins;
v9
iii] Sayings on stewardship - the proper use of mamwna, "the things of this world", v9-13: a)
Saying #1: A disciple's handling of mammon has eternal ramifications, v9. In this the first saying on mammon, we have a classic example of Jesus' utopian ethic. Imitation of Christ, as the fruit of identification with Christ, involves the proper use of worldly resources for entrance into our eternal home. The purpose of the ideal is to provide direction in the Christian life - an ideal to aim at, not an objective to reach. Our limited application of this ideal, will always remind us to look back to the one who lived the ideal on our behalf. Stein nicely encapsulates the rule-of-thumb direction provided by the saying, "Act shrewdly to prepare for the great meeting."
egw pro. "I [tell you]" - i [say]. Emphatic by position and use.
uJmin dat. pro. "you" - to you. Dative of indirect object. The statement, "I say to you", serves to introduce an important word of instruction.
ek + gen. "-" - [make] from. Here probably expressing means, "by means of"; "make friends for yourselves by means of the proper use of mammon."
thV adikiaV (a) gen. "worldly [wealth]" - [mammon = wealth, money, livelihood, possessions] of unrighteousness, dishonesty. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, limiting mammon; "unrighteous mammon." Mammon entails everything that makes up worldly resources upon which humans rely for their existence: time, energy, talents, possessions and specifically that which these generate, namely, "money". A general sense seems best, "the stuff of life", "things", "money". As for "mammon" being "unrighteous", the sense is possibly of "mammon" immorally acquired, or originating from an evil world, or as a religious description of "that in which one puts one's trust", possibly "tainted as it is", Phillips, but probably better as a descriptor of the stuff of this world, so "worldly". So, "make friends for yourselves by means of the proper use of the things of this world."
filouV (oV) "friends" - friends. Accusative direct object of the verb "to make." The identity of these "friends" is unclear. Marshall, Nolland, ...., suggest that the friends are "the poor" to whom alms are given. Thus, the exhortation in this verse concerns the generous allocation of worldly resources for the poor, which kindness will be repaid in eternity. By giving alms, the poor become our friends, and since the poor, like Lazarus, are found in eternal dwellings, they will be there to welcome us when we are rewarded for our generosity. Of course, the salvation of "the poor" is part of the great reversal image, ie., the prophetic picture that, in the coming day of the kingdom, God's favour is toward "the poor = lost/sinner", rather than "the rich = righteous" - "the poor" in the NT refers to the theological poor. Other suggestions include the righteous poor, believers, even angels. Yet, it seems likely that the descriptor is deferential, alluding to God himself as the one who welcomes the faithful into his eternal habitation. Whatever is meant by "friends", the point is that a disciple is to use their resources of time, talent and tinkle in such a way as to secure their place in "eternal dwellings." "Let me tell you this, the person who wins the eternal prize is not the person with the most number of toys when they die."
eJautoiV dat. reflex. pro. "for yourselves" - to yourselves. Dative of interest, advantage; emphatic by position, so "I tell you, for you yourselves, make friends..." "In your own interest make friends", Plummer.
iJna + subj. "so that" - that [they may receive]. Introducing a final clause expressing purpose, "in order that."
oJtan + subj. "when [it is gone]" - when [it fails]. This construction introduces an indefinite temporal clause, although usually expressed with a definite "when it is no more." The subject of "it is gone" is not identified, but it probably refers to "mammon" = "the things of this world"; "when it comes to an end", Rieu. Not "when we run out of money / things", but "at the moment of death" when money / things are no longer of any use to us, so Nolland.
dexwntai (decomai) aor. mid. subj. "you will be welcomed" - they may welcome [you]. Possibly a Semitic passive form with God as the agent, so not "they will welcome you", NJB, but rather "you may be received (by God)", REB. The subject (the agent) is "they", being the "friends" = "God"????
eiV + acc. "into" - to, into. Spatial, expressing the direction of the action, and/or arrival at
taV aiwniouV skhnaV acc. "eternal dwellings" - the eternal tent, tabernacle. "Heaven". As is always the case, the notion of reward is a tricky one, although most often it is in the terms of 100% = reward. Thankfully, the 100% man acts to cover our 99% shortfall! Nolland puts it nicely when he says that "reward is not repayment, it is the concrete form of God's approval."
v10
Saying #2: Trustworthiness is required of a disciple in the handling of mammon, v10-12. In this, the second saying on mammon, we have another example of Jesus' utopian ethic for discipleship. It supports the instruction to use mammon for eternal purposes, v9, by explaining that only a trustworthy use of mammon guarantees possession of eternal riches. The imitation of Christ, being the fruit of our identification with Christ, involves a wise use of the resources entrusted to us. Someone who has proved trustworthy in small things can be trusted to handle more important responsibilities. If we are untrustworthy with this world's things, we obviously can't be trusted with the resources of eternity. Again, the function of the ideal is to provide direction in the Christian life - an ideal to aim at, rather than an objective to reach. "The wise stewardship of possessions" (Stein) is not something we do well, but we can always strive to do better; "Step by step, bit by bit, stone by stone."
oJ pistoV "whoever can be trusted" - the one faithful, trustworthy. The articular adjective serves as a substantive - the oJ serves as a nominalizer; "the man who is reliable", Barclay.
en + dat. "with [very little]" - in. As with "with very much", the preposition here is adverbial, reference /respect; "with regard / respect to." "In the use of", TH.
elacistow/ adj. "very little" - least = very little. Superlative adjective for an elative.
kai "also" - [is] and = also [faithful, trustworthy in much]. Here adjunctive, "also".
oJ .... adikoV adj. "dishonest" - [and] the one untrustworthy [in least = very little is also untrustworthy in much]. It would be right to assume that the word "unrighteousness" here is intended as the opposite of "faithful / reliable / trustworthy", so "untrustworthy" = "unreliable". A person who is unreliable with small responsibilities can't be trusted with big responsibilities.
v11
oun "so" - therefore. Inferential, drawing a logical conclusion.
ei + ind. "if" - if. Introducing a conditional clause, 1st class, where the condition is assumed to be true; "if, as is the case, .... then ...."
ouk egenesqe (ginomai) aor. "you have not been" - you were not. "You have proved not to be", Plummer.
pistoi adj. "trustworthy" - faithful, reliable. Predicate adjective. It is an interesting idea that we are mere custodians, rather than owners, of earthly resources, such that we are to faithfully use them for a higher purpose, rather than just possess them. The idea is repeated in v12.
en + dat. "in handling [worldly wealth]" - in = with [the unrighteous mammon]. As in v10, adverbial, reference / respect; "with respect to worldly wealth."
to alhqinon adj. "with true riches" - [then who will entrust] the genuine, real thing. The articular adjective "the real", serving as a substantive, is opposite to "unrighteous mammon". Assuming that "unrighteous mammon" = "the things / resources of this world", then "the real/true thing" is "the thing(s) / resource(s) of the age to come" = "all the riches of heaven." "If you have proved that you can't be trusted (are unreliable) with the riches of this world, who will trust you with all the riches of heaven?" The interrogative tivV, "Who", is obviously a deferential reference to God.
uJmin dat. pro. "you" - to you. Dative of indirect object.
v12
"If you cannot be faithful in caring for someone else's things, who will give you responsibility for your own things?" Bock.
ei + ind. "if" - [and] if. Introducing a conditional clause 1st. class, as in v11.
en + dat. "with" - [you were not faithful, trustworthy] in = with. Adverbial use of the preposition expressing reference / respect.
tw/ allotriw/ dat. adj. "someone else's property" - the things belonging to another. The articular adjective serves as a substantive. Alluding to the introductory illustrative parable, the someone else may be an employer, or landlord, etc., but obviously intended as a deferential reference to God, so reinforcing the idea that the things of this world, life and all that, do not belong to us, but are on loan from the Creator.
to uJmeteron adj. "property of your own" - [who will give to you] that which is yours / belongs to you. The articular adjective serves as a substantive, accusative direct object of the verb "to give." An eschatological interpretation is dominant among the commentators such that, what is on loan to us here on earth does not compare with what we will actually possess in eternity (if we are "trustworthy"!!!). So, "that which is your own" = "all the riches of heaven" - an eternal possession that actually will belong to us.
v13
Saying #3: No person can serve two masters, v13. The mutual exclusiveness of mammon and its rivals, indicating the impossibility of serving both, is the third and final saying on "the things of this world." It supports the instruction to use mammon for eternal purposes, v9, by explaining that a disciple faces "contrasting alternatives", Nolland; either we serve mammon or God, but not both. Again, this saying presents as an ideal to aim at, rather than an objective to reach. Only with this attitude will we go home "justified", cf., Lk.18:9-14. Yet, at the practical level, these "contrasting alternatives" end up as comparatives, of our being more loyal to one than to the other. None-the-less, in the terms of Jesus' utopian ethic, the principle is "a slave cannot serve two masters", "You can't serve the interests of God and the interests of worldly values at the same time, without failing one or the other", Junkins.
douleuein (douleuw) pres. inf. "[can] serve" - [no slave, servant is able] to serve. Complementary infinitive completing the sense of the verb "to be able."
kurioiV (oV) dat. "two masters" - [two] lords, masters. Dative of direct object after the infinitive "to serve."
gar "-" - for. Introducing a causal clause explaining why a person cannot serve two masters; "because ...."
h] ...... h] "either ..... or ....." - either ...... or ..... Disjunctive coordinate construction; "Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cling to the one and despise the other", Rieu.
mishsei (misew) fut. "will hate" - he will hate [the one and love the other]. The string of future tenses indicates "what may be naturally expected", TH. The "hate /love" dichotomy is typical of Jesus' colourful language.
enoV gen. adj. "the one" - [or he will be devoted to] one. The adjective serves as a substantive, genitive of direct object after the anti prefix verb "to be devoted to."
katafronhsei (katafronew) fut. "despise" - [and] he will despise, disdain, hold in little respect. The CEV comparative sense "be more loyal to one than to the other" is true to experience, but not true to the text. In ancient society, a slave can indeed serve two masters, but the nature of the beast is such that, in the face of divided loyalties, we will come to "be devoted" to one, "be committed" to one, rather than the other. The lesson may well reflect Israel's past, and their problem with syncretism, the merging of Baal with Yahweh - an anathema to God.
tou eterou gen. adj. "the other" - the other. The articular adjective serves as a substantive, genitive of direct object after the kata prefix verb "to despise".
qew/ (oV) dat. "god - [you are not able to serve] god [and mammon]. Dative of direct object after the infinitive "to serve", so also "mammon". The infinitive "to serve" is complementary.
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