Thus, the Lord commanded publicans and sinners to quickly free themselves from the mammon of unrighteousness, to be faithful fulfillers of this commandment regarding the unrighteous riches weighing down on them. Proceeding then to exhort what to do next, the Lord could not but draw the attention of His listeners to the riches, however small, which they have acquired and are acquiring by honest and righteous means, which will remain with them after the return of all that has been unjustly acquired.

If we can justly call the mammon of unrighteousness, that is, property obtained by unclean means, the wealth of the devil, watered with the tears of innocent victims of covetousness, which is acquired by evil and in the name of evil, then, on the other hand, any honest earnings can be called God's inheritance. Although everything that exists belongs to God alone, and therefore everything that is in our possession is alien to us, this word "foreign" is especially applicable to property that has been righteously acquired: it has been acquired by us by the mercy of God, it has been given to us by God for temporary management, and we must manage this "foreign" property in accordance with the will of its Owner, that is, God. It is God's will that we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the wanderers, clothe the naked, visit the sick and prisoners in prisons... (Matt. 25:34-36), in a word, they would help their neighbors in need, whom Christ called His least brothers (Matt. 25:40). It is necessary to manage this property of others in such a way that, as a reward for this, one receives one's own, that which alone can belong to man, that is, the bliss of eternal life. On earth we are temporary pilgrims; living an earthly life, we are only passing the path that leads to eternity; and therefore everything earthly is not ours, someone else's; ours is where we are going.

These concepts of ours and others were known to all the disciples of Jesus Christ, that is, to all who followed Him and learned His word, since this is the basis of Christ's teaching. Of course, the publicans and sinners who now surrounded the Lord also knew this, so there was no need to repeat to them these truths generally known to all the Lord's disciples. And therefore, commanding them to govern God's property, that is, that which is alien to them, in accordance with the will of the Master, God, and promising them in return that which constitutes the only property of people, the Lord warns them: if it turns out that in this strange thing you have not been faithful, who will give you yours?

Be faithful in this strange thing; remember that you are only stewards, servants of God, and must serve God alone; Remember that no servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be zealous for the one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. One must not give oneself over to one's passion for covetousness; one cannot love perishable riches, giving oneself to them with all the strength of one's soul, worshiping idolatry before them, and at the same time serve God, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matt. 6:21). Therefore, if you want to be saved, then first of all return to your righteousness all that you have unrighteously acquired and be reconciled to all those whom you have offended; then look upon that part of your wealth which you have honestly acquired, as God's inheritance, to which you are assigned as temporary stewards, obliged to give an account of the administration. Do not make an idol out of him, but rule him in accordance with the will of God; do not refuse all possible help to those in need; be faithful stewards of the property of others entrusted to you, however small, and then shall you receive your true riches in the eternal abodes of your Father in heaven.

This is the meaning of the parable of the unfaithful steward. In this parable, Christ showed the way to salvation to the covetous, who had accumulated wealth by unrighteous means. Preaching that salvation is possible for all sinners, no matter at what stage of moral decline they may stand, the Lord, of course, could not leave without hope of salvation even such sinners as the tax collectors, who were despised by all, rejected by all. And so, encouraging them, He teaches them in His parable where they should begin and how to continue their march on the path to the Kingdom of Heaven. This parable cannot have any other meaning, and if we want to search for any other meaning, we will inevitably get entangled in our vain search.

The publicans and sinners surrounding the Savior did not ask for an explanation of it, and consequently understood it. It must be assumed that the path to salvation indicated in it became known to other tax collectors who had not personally heard it. We are convinced of this by Zacchaeus, the chief of the publicans, who, soon receiving Jesus Christ in his house, said to Him: "Lord! I will give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have wronged anyone in any way, I will repay fourfold (Luke 19:8). Zacchaeus decided not only to return to its proper place all that he had unjustly acquired, but also to reward those who had been wronged by him, giving them four times more than what he had received from them; Not limiting himself to this, he undertook to use half of his possessions for charitable deeds, for helping his neighbors in need.

This is how all covetous people who have become unjustly rich should act. Unfortunately, we often see how the rich, who have made a fortune through unclean means, give insignificant portions of their unrighteous wealth to charitable works, while they themselves "feast magnificently" (cf. Luke 16:19). And such rich people think to save their sinful souls with these handouts. But they do not give their own, but someone else's, and therefore they cannot atone for their sins even by extensive charity at someone else's expense. They will not be saved if they do not act according to the instructions of our Lord Jesus Christ. Return then, covetous, according to your belongings, all that you have acquired dishonestly, reconcile yourselves with those who are offended and destitute by you, and then do good out of your pocket with the money you have honestly earned. Give to those who have been wronged by you all that you have taken from them unrighteously; do not withhold anything for yourselves; and do not make excuses that you do not know all those who have been wronged by you, and therefore cannot return to them what you have appropriated! If you really do not know them, if you cannot be reconciled to each of them so that they have nothing against you, then at least do not use what you have unhonestly acquired, but give everything to the poor! And when you have cleansed yourself of the satanic possessions that weigh upon you, then do good at your own expense; and only then can you hope that the Lord will accept your pure gift, however small, and will reveal to you His eternal abodes.

Yes, the tax collectors and sinners around the Lord understood this parable, and no doubt joy shone on their faces. Only the Pharisees and scribes, who reproached Jesus for his association with sinners, did not understand it. They expressed their lack of understanding of the meaning of the parable of the unfaithful steward very boldly: they laughed at Jesus Christ. The Evangelist explains the reason for their insolent laughter by their love of money.

These money-loving scribes and Pharisees were the true exponents of the views of most Jews of their time on wealth. Wealth is the golden idol that they worshipped, which they served. The Jews were distinguished by their love of money from ancient times, and then, led into captivity in Babylon and after their release from captivity, did not return to the Promised Land, but were scattered throughout all the countries of the world (only 42,000 returned), the Jews were everywhere strangers, guests, and very unwelcome at that. Aware of their alienation from the whole world, they became even more covetous, since they saw their full strength only in money. They remembered the prophecy of Moses: The Lord your God will set you above all the nations of the earth... and you will lend to many nations, but you yourself will not borrow (Deuteronomy 28:1, 12). And they turned all their efforts to the accumulation of silver and gold, and passed on these distinctive traits of their character to their descendants, who to this day sacredly preserve the precepts of their ancestors.

It is understandable that the money-loving scribes and Pharisees found Jesus' teachings about the return of everything unrighteously acquired to their place ridiculous. To return money, even if it is ill-gotten gained, when it contains all the power, and, consequently, all the happiness of such imaginary righteous people as these scribes and Pharisees? Yes, this is ridiculous! And they began to laugh.

The Lord meekly answered them to their impudent laughter: "You show yourselves righteous before men; you try to deceive them with your imaginary righteousness; but God knoweth your hearts" (Luke 16:15). You consider money and riches in general to be an earthly force that elevates people; but know then that wealth, which, according to you, is so high, so powerful among men, is nothing before God, an abomination that prevents many from attaining the bliss of eternal life. You comfort yourself with the fact that you observe exactly all the rites established by Moses and the tradition of the elders, and through this you will enter the Kingdom of the Messiah, as if it were prepared for you. But you are mistaken: by fulfilling the will of God, expressed in the law and prophecies, you were saved only until the appearance of John. With his coming, the Kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone by effort (and not only by belonging to the family of Israel) enters into it (Luke 16:16).

Chapter 32. Jesus' Last Journey to Jerusalem. The Healing of the Ten Lepers. The parable of the unrighteous judge. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. A conversation with a rich young man and students about wealth. The parable of the laborers in the vineyard.

Jesus' ministry was coming to an end. He had to go to Jerusalem, in order to suffer from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and to be killed, and on the third day to rise again (Matt. 16:21), about which He repeatedly spoke to His Apostles.

Jesus' Last Journey to Jerusalem