The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at Him. Then He said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honours is detestable in the sight of God. Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in. But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned. For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
Luke 16:14-18
From the number of the Gem, one would think this was linked to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. But no, it was yet another battle between Jesus and the Pharisees. However, no one was shot in the eye. Maybe that’s because the Pharisees had logs in their eyes and arrows couldn’t penetrate.
Some commentators are disturbed by a seeming change of audience. The beginning of the “Lost” series, starts with an encounter with the Pharisees. And as we saw in analyzing Luke Chapter 15, the Pharisees were always in focus. The parable was told for them, and us. At the beginning of Chapter 16, Jesus tells the parable of the unjust steward to the disciples. I think He is using what He has just told the disciples in the context of the Pharisees, to spell out in no uncertain terms, not to seek after riches and money, to keep their focus on God and the Kingdom of Heaven pure. Then follows this segment, which if we look carefully at the first verse of this segment, tells us the Pharisees heard all this and scoffed. The Pharisees clearly were still present and listening to what Jesus was telling the disciples and they react again. At this point, Jesus apparently turns back to them and addresses them again.
His first statement is unmistakably set in the context of all they heard since the beginning of chapter 15. “You appear righteous in public but God knows your hearts”, He said. This could be a reference to the dealings with the older son of the “Lost Parable”. (I call it that to remind you it is one parable –this parable unwrapped in three parts.) Or He could even be referring to the Unjust Steward. That concept fits them as well. He may have appeared righteous and well liked but behind the scenes he was up to no good; much like the Pharisees. This parable fits them too. And in fact, they react to it as though Jesus is getting at them. They were, after all, the Pharisees who “dearly loved money”. They were characterized by greed. In fact, the construction “scoffed at Him” contains a durative imperfect tense, inferring this was an ongoing “scoffing”. Seemingly, anything Jesus told His disciples about the values and priorities of the Kingdom, was mocked by the Pharisees. I actually wonder if the Pharisees didn’t have the same attitude as some people these days, that the blessing of God must be evidenced by prosperity. That was an attitude that was prevalent among the Jews in Old Testament times. Much of the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament is written to combat the formulaic thinking of blessing and prosperity belonging together. They wrongly assumed if you are poor or sick, then you must have sinned. Yes the “friends of Job” are alive today. The Pharisees must have looked at this traveling Rabbi who owned nothing and had no money to his name and no place to lay his head, and shaken their heads in derision continually.
Note also “heard all this”. All what? It could refer to the Parable of the Unjust Steward and Jesus’ summary afterward. Or it could refer to all that has been said since the opening of chapter 15. It all fits. There are elements in all of it which might cause the Pharisees to feel they are being “got at”. If the cap fits, wear it. Jesus point here is: God knows your heart. Jesus has much to say to the Pharisees about their inner beings, but not as much in Luke. It is found mostly in Matthew 23. As I said yesterday, this one verse summarizes much of what is found in Matthew 23. On the outside you Pharisees appear holy and righteous but the façade hides dead things and evil. “You Pharisees are like white washed sepulchres” – nice on the outside but the inside is like a tomb or coffin. In Luke 16:15 Jesus adds, “What the world honours (and is attracted by) is detestable to God”. Be careful not to get caught up in the world’s value system. We have talked about that before in Gem 840 when I shared with you the point of Tony Campolo’s book, “Who Switched the Price Tags“.
Note too, the use of “publicly”, literally “in the eyes of men”. You Pharisees pander to what people can see. But you need to be more concerned about what God sees. Before God what he sees is detestable. The words used are “exalted / high” [hupselos] in the eyes of men compared with “detestable / abomination” [bdelugma] before God. Man’s view point is contrasted with God’s. Man’s exalted or high view is an abomination in God’s sight. That which is displeasing or nauseating, causes an offensive smell. These are strong words. Be careful how you live your life. Living to please men or living to please God – the two different perspectives are diametrically opposed; worlds apart.
This opening statement is an easier one to work out the connection. There is flow from what has been said before and clearly the pieces here all fit. We will deal with verse 16 which is harder to connect, but still possible. Take time to examine it and see what you think before we look at it in the next Gem
We fear men so much, because we fear God so little.
William Gurnall
If your attitude stinks at home, it is only a matter of time until people smell it at church.
Casey Treat
God doesn’t expect you to be perfect, but He does expect you to be honest.
Bob Gass
We fear the consequences of confession because we’ve yet to experience the consequences of concealment.
Andy Stanley
I Am Unqualified To Correct Another Until I Am First Willing To Be Corrected Myself.
Robb Thompson