#1406 Luke 16 Part 2 Why They Refuse

 

14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.

Divorce and Remarriage

18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. Luke 16: 14-18 ESV

Luke 16: 14-18 Money Lovers and the Law

…10Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber. 11Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain: 12“Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”… Isaiah 56: 10-12

The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed Him - Pharisees were prominent religious people, who practiced legalism. They put themselves forth as shepherds, as experts on the law of God, people to be followed. The Pharisees thought that they were actually justified by the law, yet they had work arounds for the actual law of God and put the words of their Scribes above the Word of God. By Jesus' time they had put away the idols made with hands, and they created a system of works, much of which was extrabiblical and even contrary to God's word. Here we see one of the new idols they replaced the wooden and stone ones with, money, and that is the lens we are given to understand their response to Christ. Money is not inherently evil in itself, it can be used wisely or foolishly, to do good or do evil, it is not the root, but the love of it is. Prior to this He had told them that you cannot serve God and money. When money is the goal you will speak accordingly, create loopholes in the law which God will not  conform to. When money is the high end and goal, then you will pervert the gospel in order to get more money, in order to stay popular and relevant to the culture. It has a blinding effect, because they have read the OT, yet cannot recognize the Messiah which it proclaims, and so they choose the God of money and reject, "ridicule", Immanuel (God with us).

…12Their houses will be turned over to others, their fields and wives as well, for I will stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD. 13“For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit. 14They dress the wound of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.… Jeremiah 6: 12-14

…9Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. 11But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.… 1 Timothy 6: 9-11

Another reason the Pharisees who were lovers of money were scoffing at Jesus is because He had just taught in Luke 16:9 to "make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings." In other words Jesus was saying invest in God, not in yourself, which clearly would have convicted the greedy Pharisees. They had no interest in or intention of using their money for purposes that Jesus had just brought to their attention. Like they lover of money Judas, they were in religion for the money for themselves, not for God and His Kingdom. And so they were exposed and convicted by Jesus' words which motivated them to mock His words. They were like those people Jesus described in John 3:19-20+ “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."

Jesus was the Light of the World (Jn 8:12) and His truth stirred up hostility, anger, animosity. In short, as Jesus taught in John 3:20, the Pharisees hated the Light! Why? Because their deeds were evil and they knew it! - Precept Austin

You are those who justify yourselves before men - God's the bar, but you don't like that, so you devise your own, and you look to others for approval. They are not God though, and you will not stand before them as the Creator, they will not stand before you. Your buddy system is more of just "playing the game", and no matter how many likes you get on Facebook, how many promotions you get, how many people commend your behavior, so what, they're not God and why would I ever prefer the accolades of men and women whose authority will be overridden by the Eternal God? Being called a man of integrity, or a good man, by men who don't know what it is, sounds pretty useless. 

1“Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,… Matthew 6: 1-3

…19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin. 21But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets.… Romans 3: 19-21

And He said to them, "You are those who justify (dikaioo) yourselves in the sight of men - NLT = ""You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts." Jesus is now directly addressing the Pharisees who practiced a religion of outward show before other men. Their religion was false, fake and phony! Here Jesus accuses them of literally "declaring their own righteousness!" Their desire was for the approval of men, not the approval of God. Their self-righteousness produced no transformation in their heart. If they scoffed when Jesus spoke about money, imagine their reaction to His "frontal assault" on the very foundation of their false religion! And He may be speaking of the propensity of men to use their wealth to justify themselves before other men. Have we not all seen wealthy church members who court favor and honor of men with their wealth? They are "justifying" themselves before men. In the sight of men literally reads "before men." But not in the sight of God! Their thin "veneer" of external righteousness might be enough to fool men, but not God! And why not? As Jesus explains it is because God knows their hearts. - Precept Austin

But God knows your hearts - See, this is a real problem, because you tricked me, but you didn't fool God. I bought in to your self righteousness because I was playing the same game, or because, as sincere as I could be, I couldn't know your true motives, but they were and open book before the One Who created you. Knowing that God sees our hearts and cannot be deceived, what should our prayer be?

…3For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives or trickery. 4Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts. 5As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!… 1 Thessalonians 2: 3-5

…10Discipline is harsh for him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will die. 11Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD— how much more the hearts of men! 12A mocker does not love to be reproved, nor will he consult the wise.… Proverbs 15: 10-12

…9Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me.… Psalm 51: 9-11

…25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. 26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.… Ezekiel 36: 25-27

For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God - Look at the context with the money. When money is on the pedestal as the highest end, then men will justify every means to that end. People steal for money, people lie, people sell their integrity, leaving themselves bankrupt of any true good, people sell their bodies, sell other's bodies, all for the sake of money. I have known and been the type of person who believed something was wrong until someone offered me the right price, but no one has enough money or goods to buy God. It's all His anyway, he made the things you use and pervert to get money, and you will have to answer to the Owner. We have a world also where God has called many things sin that we brag about, that we associate with success, that we envy in others. I have joked way too often about things God considers shameful. He hates pride and I have entertained it my whole life, what a foolish thing.

…13This is the fate of the self-confident and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah 14Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode. 15But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself. Selah…

…16Do not be amazed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases. 17For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down. 18Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul—and men praise you when you prosper—… Psalm 49: 13-18

…11Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion. 12These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted. 13They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.… Jude 1: 11-13

…20For when you were slaves to sin, you were free of obligation to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death. 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.… Romans 6: 20-22

The law and the prophets were until John - He is speaking of John the Baptist, the herald of Jesus Christ. John represented the last in the line of  OT prophets, and the transition from hearing about Messiah in the OT to seeing the King whose arrival John announces. 

9 “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet.

10 “This is the one about whom it is written,

‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,

Who will prepare Your way before You.’

11 “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.

13 “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John.

14 “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. Matthew 11: 9-14

…16the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.” 17From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.… Matthew 4: 16-18

MacArthur explains "The Old Testament era, the era of promise, concluded with the ministry of John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament prophets. In addition to being the final representative of the Old Testament era of promise, John was also the first representative of the New Testament era of fulfillment; his ministry bridged the two eras. He not only predicted Messiah’s appearance, but also witnessed it. Because of his unique position and his privilege to be Messiah’s forerunner, Jesus declared John to have been the greatest person who had ever lived up until his day (Mt. 11:11). In his outpouring of praise to God, John’s father, Zacharias, had noted the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises in the coming of the Messiah (Lk 1:67-79). John’s ministry reached its climax when he baptized Jesus the Messiah. The transition from John to Jesus, from the Old Testament era of promise to the New Testament era of fulfillment was complete. “He must increase,” John said of Jesus, “but I must decrease” (John 3:30). Not long afterward, John was imprisoned and executed by being beheaded (Mt 14:3-12). (See Luke Commentary) (Bolding added)

Leon Morris adds that "The coming of Jesus marked a watershed. Up till then God’s revelation had been made in the law (strictly the books Genesis to Deuteronomy) and the prophets. The combined expression stands for the whole Old Testament. This operated right up to the time of John the Baptist." (The Gospel According to St. Luke: An Introduction and Commentary - borrow) Precept Austin

And everyone forces his way into it - Now the kingdom of Christ is being preached, and many are believing, yet not without resistance. The religious rulers, the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees had the books of Moses and the prophets up to this time. These all spoke about Jesus, pointed to a Messiah that would come, would be rejected, and would give His life for all who believe, a ransom for many. They not only didn't want Jesus, but refused to believe in Him against mountains of evidence, and it wasn't enough for them to reject God's only way, no, they wanted to make it difficult for anyone else to enter as well. People were literally pushing through the blockade of apostasy to enter the Kingdom. Though their Messiah was going to the cross, they pressed through the barricade of the Pharisees, the abandonment of family, loss of life, and the threat of slander.

Leon Morris on Luke's first use of the Kingdom of God (Lk 4:43+) - Luke’s first mention of the kingdom of God, which was the favorite theme in Jesus’ teaching. It is a very large subject. Here it must suffice to say that it is God’s rule in action. (It stands for the rule of God in all of life.) The Jews looked forward to a time when God would assert himself as King over the nations. Jesus taught that God’s kingdom had already come in him, in the authority with which he combated evil. In a sense the kingdom was a present reality. In another sense it was yet to come in all its fullness. (The Gospel According to St. Luke: An Introduction and Commentary - borrow)

Holman New Testament Commentary – Jesus introduced the presence of the kingdom of God. It was not enough any more to be an expert in explaining and in obeying God's Word found in the law and the prophets. Now one must answer the call to enter God's kingdom. Pharisees, if you want to keep up to date with God, Jesus declared, then listen to the new Word of God—the Word taught and revealed in the life of Jesus.

Then for one dot of the law to become void - A dot, jot or tittle, a very small mark in Hebrew, like our apostrophe. Like if I say Johns you think I know a lot of guys named John, but if I say John's then you know I am talking about something that belongs to a particular John. Jesus makes it clear that the law stands, and that He is here to fulfill it, to live the life I didn't, and to give me a new heart that will summize the whole of the law in love, love of God and love of neighbor.

John MacArthur explains that "No other statement made by our Lord more clearly states His absolute contention that Scripture is verbally inerrant, totally without error in the original form in which God gave it. That is, Scripture is God’s own Word not only down to every single written word, but down to every letter and the smallest part of every letter. (MacArthur, J: Matthew 1-7 Macarthur New Testament Commentary Chicago: Moody Press)

16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. 17Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. 18For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.… Matthew 5: 16-18

Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery - Seems like a weird transition, but look at it in the context of the passage and who He is talking to. They think themselves justified by the law, that they keep it so well, but now He is holding it up to them as a mirror, and many of them are guilty. The Scribes and Pharisees made work arounds to God's institute of marriage. He made men and women so close as to do the first stem cell cloning from Adam's rib. He creates this union, makes them male and female, and from this union comes life through procreation. Their is both beauty and responsibility in this union, but men have a distorted sense of both, and the Pharisees even worse. In the teachings of their scribes they allowed a man to leave his wife because she burnt his meal, he met someone prettier, or she just wasn't as appealing to him anymore. Jesus doesn't put out a culturally pleasing gospel.

…7‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”… Mark 10: 7-9

…27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.” 29Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.… Genesis 1: 27-29