Prof. Flusser argued previously that the phrase "sons of light" in Jesus’ parable of the dishonest steward was an ironic reference to the Essenes. In the conclusion to this article he examines the application of the parable and suggests that it is a warning to avoid sectarian separatism.
Whoever wanted to follow Jesus had to live in brotherly love with the outside world and not withdraw from society. This included economic dealings with outsiders. The Essenes, however, practiced extreme separatism. It is not surprising, therefore, that in the parable of the dishonest steward (Lk. 16:1-9) Jesus taught his disciples not to behave like the "sons of light," the Essenes.
Jesus enlarged the scope of the parable’s main theme in its application, found in Luke 16:10-12. I believe Jesus had in mind a specific case of economic contact with non-believers, namely deposits which had been entrusted to his followers. In antiquity, it was a common practice to store goods for safekeeping with someone. In such a situation, or in the case of loans or collateral deposits, there was a great temptation for the holder to behave dishonestly when the deposit had to be returned. Jesus admonished the members of his movement to be trustworthy in handling such deposits.
Deposits of this sort are mentioned in the famous Letter of Pliny the Younger to the Emperor Trajan in 110 C.E., which includes an oath Christians used to say on Sundays (X 96:7). They swore, among other things, that they would not
| To view the remainder of this article, please log in at the top of this page. |
OR
If you are not yet a Premium Content subscriber, please consider this amazing tool for Bible study. Premium Content membership gives you access to hundreds of articles, written by many of the best New Testament scholars in Israel and abroad, which illuminated Jesus' sayings. (Read our free sample articles!)
New articles are continually being added to this database of knowledge. Articles are searchable by keyword, category or scripture reference.