The parable I referred to in the last post appears in Luke 16:1-8.
To understand the parable, one must recognize the context in which it appears. That context is found in Luke 15:1-2, where the Pharisees complain about Jesus for associating with tax collectors and people who did not know God.
The Pharisees were wondering why Jesus was spending His time with people who didn’t know God rather than the religious leaders and why those people who did not know God were attracted to Jesus rather than to them.
Jesus then tells three parables which were intended to answer those two questions. The first is the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the second is Parable of the Lost Coin and the third is the Parable of the Lost Son. Each of these parables are at their core evangelistic. They demonstrate God’s love for the lost and the lengths to which He will go–and we should go–to see them repent and turn to Jesus. It is in this context Jesus tells the Parable of the Shrewd Manager.