Luke 16:1-17:10.   The rich men of Jesus’ day had created a religion that mocked the purposes of God.  They narrowly defined the law into traditions amenable to the rich alone, then forced strict obedience to that narrow tradition.  But Jesus said that mere duty makes someone merely a servant (17:7-10).

1. He told a parable about a manager who was going to lose his job, so he made friends for himself so that he would be welcomed elsewhere once his livelihood was gone (16:1-9).  He was talking about Holy Spirit inspired evangelism – as opposed to just “doing the job” of obedience to the traditions.
2. He told a parable about a rich man who is surprised to discover at death that he did not make it to Abraham’s bosom, but a beggar whom he had ignored as insignificant did.  Jesus’ point was not about the intermediate state, but that the rich man had the means to evangelize but he had stuck to his selfish interpretation of obedience – and thus lost everything.  His brothers had followed the same tradition, so they too were heading for disaster (16:19-31).

LORD, help us to make sharing the gospel with the lost a priority, and not to let our religious traditions get in the way of this work of the Holy Spirit.