Cooking the Books :: Luke 16:1-13

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[Introduction]

Have you ever heard the phrase “cooking the books”? Cooking the Books is the same thing as creative accounting. It refers to deceptive accounting practices. A person in charge of finances cooks the books by creatively manipulating their accounting to make expenses seem lesser than they really are, and to make profit appear greater than it really is. When a man is convicted of embezzlement, it’s most likely because he was cooking the books. 

4.

That is what seems to be happening in our Gospel reading. Luke writes, Jesus also said to his disciples, There was a certain rich man, who had a house manager, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting what already belonged to him (v 1). 

This parable is truly one of the most difficult lessons in the New Testament. Part of the problem stems from the title we give it. Sometimes we call it the Parable of the “Dishonest Manager.” Another part of the problem is that when we read it too quickly it sounds like the manager is accused of wasting his master’s possessions. And then we grapple with the idea that the manager is praised after cutting everyone’s debt, cooking the books again. 

We should note right away, this parable comes on the heels of the parables of the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost sons in Luke 15. We should also take note that the man hasn’t been convicted of anything yet. He’s merely accused. Nevertheless, he is called to the carpet to give an accounting of his management. 

So the rich man’s steward said to himself, I have a serious problem. What will I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg. I know what to do so that when I am removed from management of the house, [people] will receive me into their homes. 

His solution seems to be to make himself look good (vv 2-5). 

3.

So what does Jesus think about a man cooking the books? And why is Jesus telling this to us?

If we’re honest, we realize the predicament faced by the manager is EXACTLY the problem we have with God every day. God has given all of us great gifts to manage. He gives us clothing and shoes, food and drink, house, home, and all that we have. He has given us vocations as a husband or wife, as a father or mother, as a son or daughter, as a neighbor and as a member of Trinity Lutheran Church. And too often we use our possessions only for our benefit. Too often we squander them ... we fail to use our talents ... we take credit for our skills instead of honoring God for giving them to us. ... We try to make our debt ... our sin ... look small and insignificant ... and our profits from our works to be greater and more magnificent. We cook the books.

Sometimes we simply change the words of the hymn we just sang. Though we know that our lives should be consecrated ... or devoted or set apart ... to the Lord ... right in the midst of the Take My Life and Let It Be (LSB 783) ... we say instead, Take My Life, BUT Let ME be ... as in ... Let me be what I think is best for me.

  • In our lives we don’t use our voices and lips to sing praises. We spread gossip. 

  • We don’t prioritize our silver and gold for the Lord’s work. We use it for our enjoyment. 

  • We don’t live our moments and days in ceaseless praise. We live in a godless daze as we become preoccupied with our activities and forget God’s involvement. 

Then God says, You must give an account for the management of what already belongs to you (v 1). 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are the manager in the parable. Jesus told this parable to his disciples ... to you and me. And now is the time to do a self audit and to declare ... Yes ... We are too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg. ... that we too are poor, miserable sinners. ... that we too have cooked the books of our lives ... inflating our profits and minimizing our flaws. 

We have left them out of balance. And we have too many debts we cannot repay.

2.

How wonderful, then, it is to know that our Lord takes action and calls his servant to account. The Gospel’s exclamation point in this parable is really verse 8. The English Standard Version translates it this way, The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. 

I don’t want to get too technical, but Jesus is not simply describing the manager as dishonest. He is unrighteous. He lacks justice. More than that, the rich man is not simply a master. The word Jesus uses to describe him is the Lord. Thus, the Lord praised the unrighteous manager because he acted shrewdly or considerately or wisely. The steward took account of his own sin ... he recognized the splinter in his own eye ... and he began forgiving the debts of his neighbors. 

And this delighted the Lord. 

The man then began emulating the character of God, becoming merciful, compassionate, grace-filled, using all of the gifts God had already given him for the benefit of his neighbor.

In the parable the manager reduced the olive oil debt by 50 percent and the wheat debt by 20 percent. Just like David sang in our Old Testament reading, he knew that our Lord shows himself to be faithful, and blameless, and pure ... that he saves those who are humbled by their sin and who have faith in God alone (2 Sam 22:26-28). 

Yes, he knew his neighbors would appreciate it. And he knew the Lord would go along with it because the Lord loves a cheerful giver and forgiver. It is his nature. God is the master of all. Yes, He still lost his job. ... But better than any job, he received the praise of his Lord.

[Catechism]

Let’s take this opportunity to review the fifth petition of the Lord’s prayer. 

Please turn now to Page 324 in your [Lutheran] Service Book and join me in confessing this faithful doctrine. ... As the head of the family should teach it in a simple way to his household ... What is the Fifth Petition? ... What does this mean?

1.

You see, this parable doesn’t describe God as having low ethical standards, but a high desire to forgive and reconcile. God operates with compassionate mercy. The debts we owe to him because of our sin could never be repaid even if they were reduced by 99 percent. But he forgives it all. He doesn’t even wait for us to ask for that forgiveness. He comes to us. He has compassion on us. And he forgives us and cleanses us and opens doors for us.

Now hear the conclusion of the Parable. Jesus said, One who is faithful in little also is faithful in much, and the one who is unrighteous in little also is unrighteous in much. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in unrighteous mammon, who will entrust you with what’s genuine? And if you have not been faithful in what belongs to another, who will give you that which is your own? No slave can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cling to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (vv 9-10).

Jesus was the supreme, sacrificial, suffering servant who obeyed God in every way ... who fulfilled righteousness in every way. Yet he is the one who paid the price for the books that you cooked. He is the one who received God’s wrath when he was rejected and left to die on the cross. He is the one who ultimately was called to account for what you have done.

TALK ABOUT COOKING THE BOOKS! THAT’S WHAT GOD DID AT CALVARY!

The work of Jesus at the cross is sometimes called “The Great Exchange.” Our sins were charged to the Savior and his sinlessness has been credited to us. Jesus took all of our debt upon himself. He suffered the justice we deserved so we could receive God’s mercy, which we don’t deserve. Because of His redemptive work on our behalf, we are saved to serve the Lord, and he finds favor in us. 

And now we can put our faith into practice. Now we can say, 

Take my life ... Take my hands ... Take my feet, my voice, my will ...
Take my silver and my gold ... Take them, Lord, and let them be consecrated unto thee.

[Conclusion]

Brothers and sisters in Christ, one day we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account. For the unbeliever, God will look at the record of one’s life and the accounting will show all liabilities and no assets. For the Christian, he will look only at the work of Christ, who has made atonement for you. 

God looks at us now and sees nothing but the white robes of Christ’s righteousness. He cooked the books in our favor by crucifying His Son. He cooked the books by baptizing you into Christ. He cooked the books and wiped away all your debt. He washed you and made you clean. And he gives his body and his blood for the forgiveness of your sins. Our Savior has paid your debt with his life. And Hallelujah! He is risen! ... Our names are now written in the Book of Life. 

That’s the equation of salvation. And it all adds up to our benefit, now and forever ... in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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