Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Jesus opens today by telling his disciples a parable, but apparently the Pharisees are still

in the crowd listening. In my opinion, this is one of his most confusing parables,

in part because of his use of irony. A rich man's household manager has slacked on collecting money

people owe his boss. He gets fired, but his pride and entitlement motivate him to action. He

hustles in a last-ditch effort to reclaim his job, and he manages to collect most of the money.

Being fair to the boss isn't his goal, but it all works out in his favor.

Jesus calls him shrewd.

The word shrewd in itself isn't good or bad, but the tone of the parable seems to convey

that Jesus isn't on board with his methods.

He uses this guy as an illustration, showing how the worldly are wiser in worldly matters

than the disciples are in eternal matters. He wants them to wise up. And this is where Jesus inserts

some irony. In verse 9, it seems like he's saying, this guy is so concerned about being welcomed

into people's homes that he's willing to be dishonest. If you attempt that with my eternal dwelling

place, you will fail. No amount of wealth or shrewdness can get you there. Jesus implores them to

value true things, eternal things. True riches are eternal riches. Jesus reiterates the point by saying,

you can either be a slave to your bank account or you can be a

slave to God, but you can't be both. Money is a non-issue in the kingdom. Setting your hopes on it

is an affront to God. Then Jesus says something else confusing in verse 16. It's confusing

mainly because this sentence doesn't have a verb in it. English translations say, the law and the prophets

were until John, but in Greek it says, the law and the prophets until John. Some people use the

English rendering of this verse to argue that the law no longer applies. But if we keep reading,

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