✨WEB · Luke 16:13
What does Luke 16:13 mean?
"No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You aren’t able to serve God and Mammon.”"
— Luke 16:13 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You aren’t able to serve God and Mammon.”
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him.
He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
The law and the prophets were until John. From that time the Good News of God’s Kingdom is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
Explanation
Luke 16:13 records Jesus teaching that no servant can divide his loyalty equally between two masters. The logic is simple and drawn from everyday household life in the ancient world: a servant belonged wholly to his master, and if he tried to serve two masters with competing demands, he would inevitably favor one over the other—loving and prioritizing one while neglecting or despising the other. Jesus applies this principle directly to the human heart, declaring that people cannot serve both God and "Mammon," an Aramaic term referring to wealth, money, or material possessions personified as a rival power demanding devotion.
This saying appears at the conclusion of the Parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-12), where Jesus had just told a story about a dishonest manager who used money shrewdly to secure his future. After drawing lessons about faithfulness in handling worldly wealth, Jesus delivers this climactic statement to his disciples, with the Pharisees also listening nearby (Luke 16:14 notes they were "lovers of money" and scoffed at him). Luke, writing to a largely Gentile audience, frequently highlights Jesus's teachings on wealth and possessions more than the other Gospel writers, making this verse part of a broader Lukan theme about the dangers of materialism and the call to generous, trusting discipleship.
Theologically, this verse exposes the exclusive claim God makes on human allegiance. It's not that money itself is evil, but that money can function as a false god, demanding the kind of total trust, security, and devotion
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