The Radical Grace of God

The Radical Grace of God

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity - August 17, 2025

Luke 16:1-9

Rev. Mark Chepulis, North Dakota District President

Preached at St. John Lutheran Church - Oakes, ND

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The so-called Parable of the Unjust Steward, when viewed from man’s perspective, makes no sense whatsoever. A manager wastes his master’s possessions, and when this is discovered, the master tells him that he’s going to take the management away from him. The steward goes to work to pad his landing. There’s a twist right away. The master didn’t have him turn in the books right away, which gave the manager time to follow through on his shrewd plan. He has all of his master’s debtors come in one by one and slash their bills to a fraction of what they owed. And then the ultimate surprise: the master doesn’t throw him in prison; rather, he commends him for his shrewdness.

This parable makes no sense when viewed from the perspective of men. When caught wasting the master’s possessions the first time, he should have been thrown in prison. But this isn’t a parable about morality, and this isn’t a parable about how the kingdom of men operates. When viewed from the perspective of the economy of men, it makes no sense, but when viewed as a parable expounding on the character of God, when viewed as a parable that illustrates how the Kingdom of God operates, we see that our God is merciful and gracious and generous and wants to give away what belongs to him.

This all begins in this way, “[Jesus] also said to the disciples…” That little word also signals that whatever Jesus said just before this text colors this parable. What Jesus says right before the parable of the Unjust Steward is the so-called Parable of the Prodigal Son. The Prodigal Son, a parable about the love, kindness, grace, and mercy of the Father, gives shape to this parable.

The surprise in both of these parables is that the ones who don’t deserve anything but wrath and punishment receive grace and mercy, and generosity. The Father runs to his son and puts a robe on his back and a ring on his finger. Did he deserve it? Absolutely not. The master commends the manager for his shrewdness. Did he deserve the master’s commendation? No. The manager who had, first of all, squandered the master’s possessions and then slashed the bills of the master’s debtors isn’t punished but patted on the back.

Like the Father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, this whole parable hinges on the master’s generosity and mercy. Our Lord concludes the parable by saying, “I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.” Only God can receive anyone into eternal dwellings.

Unrighteous wealth is wealth that you didn’t deserve or earn, that you tried to steal. But it turns out, you didn’t steal it because the Lord let you have it. Jesus has given you HIs righteousness, He gives to you His kingdom. It’s as if He says to you, “Don’t just have my righteousness, but take my Kingdom too.” The Lord gives His kingdom to rogues and arsonists. He gives His kingdom to sinners, to you, but to Him it’s not theft because He delights in giving it to you. You’re commended by God, made His friend, received into the eternal dwelling by that which doesn’t belong to you, namely, His righteousness, His mercy, His grace.

This is the astounding nature of God’s grace. The very fact that we’re shocked every year when we hear how a master would commend a manager who stabbed him in the back, should cause all of us shame because we don’t truly believe the depth and length and height of God’s grace and mercy and kindness and generosity. God wants to give away His goods to the very people who conspired to steal them. People who set up idols on the altar of their hearts. By trusting more in the power of money, which is a god who will always fail. The Lord wants to bestow the Kingdom on those who deserved nothing but His anger.

We aren’t worthy of such shocking generosity, nor have we earned any of it.

What the prodigal son deserved was to be made a servant. What the manager in the parable deserved was to be punished severely for his crimes. What you deserve because of your selfishness, your covetousness, your dis-contentedness, is everlasting punishment in hell. You aren’t an asset to the kingdom; none of us are. We’ve all been shrewd in the wrong ways. We’ve all been lovers of money. We’ve all schemed to get more than what was coming to us. We’ve all wasted what the Lord has given to us.

Often, we daydream of having more money, but rare is the time when we say, “If only I could have more Jesus.” If it angers or annoys you that the manager in the text didn’t get thrown in prison, if it angers or annoys you that a man who commits the most wicked of crimes could repent and live, then stay your self-righteous judgment, lest the measuring stick that you use be used against you. Repent.

The Master lavished his commendation upon a manager who deserved prison. Likewise, the Lord doesn’t treat you like you deserve. That’s the point of the parable. God treats you unfairly and unjustly. Rather than giving you exactly what you deserve: His wrath and displeasure, the flames and the torment and the utter hopelessness of hell, He gives you His righteousness. He gives you His Kingdom. Why? Because He first gave you His Son.

The Father forsakes His innocent Son on the cross. He declares the only innocent One who ever was guilty, that those who are truly guilty would be declared innocent. He accepts the payment of the death of His Son for you.

The Lord has placed your sins on him. He has paid what you owe. Your check, which is full of idols such as money, which you have trusted even above God, has to be paid. You’re too weak to work in off, you're ashamed of your sin, but Jesus says to you, “Sit down and write zero. I’ve paid it in full. Your sins are counted as a debit on my account. But I’ve taken care of the red ink in my blood. So over your sin is written in Jesus’ blood, ‘Paid In Full.”

Thank God that He doesn’t treat us like we deserve. We would cast such a manager who acts so dishonestly, makes bad decisions, and takes care of himself first, into prison and grind the key into dust. But not our merciful and generous Master. This parable reflects the shocking, merciful, and gracious nature of our God, and He wants you to bank on it, to trust in it as the surest thing that has ever been. This Parable would better be called The Parable of the Merciful and Gracious Master, for He gives away what is His, even though the manager didn’t deserve any of it.

But that’s the point. The Lord delights in giving away His kingdom. The prodigal son desired his inheritance. The manager desired a golden parachute. Both failed them. Rather, trust in the Lord’s mercy and grace won for you by the beloved Son on the cross, which is placed into your ears, splashed on your heads, and put on your tongue.

Jesus takes the hit on behalf of sinners who look just like you. So that sinners like you would receive His forgiveness, His generosity, His very kingdom. This is certainly not how the kingdom of men operates. Viewed from the perspective of man, this isn’t fair, this isn’t justice. But that’s because the Kingdom of God doesn’t operate according to what’s right or fair. The Kingdom of God operates according to grace and mercy. God be praised, this grace and this mercy, this generosity and kindness are good and, in the crucified and risen Jesus, it’s all yours.

In the Name of + Jesus. Amen.