John Calvin Commentary Luke 16:9

"And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles." — Luke 16:9 (ASV)

Make to yourselves friends. As in the words previously considered Christ did not command us to offer sacrifices to God from the proceeds of extortion, so now He does not mean that we should search for defenders or advocates who will offer us their protection. Instead, He teaches us that by acts of charity we obtain favor with God, who has promised, to the merciful He will show Himself merciful (Psalms 18:25). It is highly foolish and absurd to infer from this passage that the prayers or approval of the dead are of service to us. For, on that assumption, all that is given to unworthy persons would be thrown away; but human depravity does not prevent the Lord from recording all that we have spent on the poor. The Lord does not look at the persons, but at the work itself, so that our generosity, though it may happen to be shown towards ungrateful people, will be of avail to us in the sight of God.

But then He appears to suggest that eternal life depends on our merits. I reply: it is sufficiently clear from the context that He speaks in human terms. Someone who possesses extensive influence or wealth, if he makes friends during his prosperity, has people who will support him when he faces adversity. Similarly, our kindness to the poor will be a timely relief to us, for whatever anyone may have generously given to his neighbors, the Lord acknowledges as if it had been done to Himself.

When you fail. By this phrase He expresses the time of death and reminds us that the time of our stewardship will be short, lest the confident expectation of a longer life should make us hold on more tightly. The majority are lulled to sleep by their wealth; many squander what they have on nonessentials, while the miserliness of others hoards it, depriving both themselves and others of its benefit. From where does all this come, if not because they are led astray by an unfounded expectation of long life and give themselves up to every kind of indulgence?

Of the mammon of unrighteousness. By giving this name to riches, He intends to make them an object of our suspicion, because for the most part they involve their possessors in unrighteousness. Though in themselves they are not evil, yet because it rarely happens that they are obtained without deceit, violence, or some other unlawful means, or that their enjoyment is unaccompanied by pride, luxury, or some other wicked disposition, Christ justly represents them as worthy of our suspicion, just as on another occasion He called them thorns (Matthew 13:7, 22).

It seems that an unexpressed contrast is intended here: riches, which otherwise, through wicked abuse, corrupt their possessors and are almost in every case allurements of sin, should be directed to an opposite purpose—to be the means of procuring favor for us. Let us also remember what I have previously stated: God does not demand sacrifice to be made from unjustly acquired gains, as if He were the partner of thieves. Instead, this is a warning to believers to keep themselves free from unrighteousness.