Luke 16:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

NIV: No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.'

NASB: No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.'

CSB: No servant can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

NLT: No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.'

KJV: No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

NKJV: “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

This completes Jesus' application of the parable of the dishonest manager (Luke 16:1–8). People need to choose whether they worship money or God. The dishonest manager tried to serve two masters: his employer and himself. In the end, he made choices with his employer's possessions that benefitted himself, not his employer.

In the Bible, verbs of emotion don't just describe a feeling; they describe a lifestyle based on that emotion. "Hate" means to disregard something, to ignore it. Ultimately, we cannot perfectly split attention and effort between two things. One will always be our real priority. The wise person chooses the eternal God; the fool chooses earthly comforts and pleasures as represented by money.

"Devoted" means to be attached to something, to turn one's attention toward that thing. "Despise" is the opposite; to have contempt for, to devalue something.

Jesus makes it clear that His audience—His disciples—need to decide who is their master. The wise person does not love or have devotion for money. If we put God first, money—and all other life concerns—will naturally fall into the place of priority where they belong. In this case, money will be used to serve and bless others.

This verse makes a chiasm: a poetically mirrored structure. The first and fourth lines are synonymous poetry, as are the second and third:

A. "No servant can serve two masters."
B. "for either he will hate the one and love the other"
B'. "or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other."
A'. "You cannot serve God and money."

Luke 16:9–13 provides spiritual applications for the parable of the dishonest manager. Facing unemployment because he mismanaged another's property, the manager schemes to secure himself a new job. What he does is not likely illegal, but it's unethical and sneaky. Jesus-followers are to take a good lesson from that bad example. Insight into how the world works leaves room to add responsibility, fidelity, and faithfulness to God. Next, Jesus explains the relationship between one's heart, the Mosaic law, and the kingdom of God with an application relating to marriage and divorce (Luke 16:14–18).

Teaching His disciples and confronting the Pharisees, Jesus offers several lessons about wealth and devotion to God. The first is a parable about a dishonest manager. This illustrates the value of being careful and clever with earthly resources. Jesus then uses remarks about the Law and marriage to introduce the story of the rich man and Lazarus. This not only highlights the dangers of greed, but it also debunks the common claim that a non-believer would submit to God if only they saw "a little more evidence" or a miracle.

The prior chapter included Jesus' teachings centered on lost things: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. Luke 16 includes several of Jesus' lessons about living in the kingdom of God compared to the world system, beginning and ending with parables (Luke 16:1—17:10). Chapter 16 includes the parable of the dishonest manager, Jesus' teaching on how money reveals faith, and the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Luke 17:1–10 teaches about whether Christ-followers bear responsibility for others' sin, lessons about faith, and the parable of the unworthy servants.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.