Click here for the Luke 16:14-18 Podcast
14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight. 16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it. 17 It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. 18 “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. ~ Luke 16:14-18
As we come back to Luke 16, the conflict between religion and the Lord Jesus is at its height. The conflict was pronounced because the Lord Jesus taught that His gospel is for the defeated, not the dominant. The Lord Jesus had been teaching His disciples, but the Pharisees had been listening, and they were "sneering" at Him which means they were “turning up their noses” at Him.
The Pharisees loved money which was a symptom of their real problem. And, their real problem was their hearts were not with God. They professed to trust God, but they measured life by the priorities of this world.
The greatest enemies of God are those who are the most religious. The arch enemy of God is religion because the religious reject His truth and embrace themselves as god. They thought they were better than everyone else. Their pride tripped them up and muddied their vision for the Messiah.
Religion is steeped by impure motives, love of money, and personal gain. Religion is hostile toward the truth, because its foundation is built on mankind's ability to be good enough to earn their salvation. It is predicated on that which is false. the believer in Christ takes comfort in the fact that God's acceptance of us cannot be gained by our successes nor can it be nullified by our failures.
In v.15 we read, "He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight."
These religious leaders believed they were right in God's eyes through their adherence of certain rituals, standards, laws, ethical codes and traditions. They drove the people to focus on rituals and regulations. This, of course, is detestable in God's sight because man cannot be good enough to earn His favor.
In v.16 we read, "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it."
The main subject of all of the Old Testament is the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. The meaning of all the Scriptures is unlocked by His death, burial and resurrection. The law and the prophets announced the arrival of the kingdom of God. And, that did not discredit or destroy it, for in Christ, the law has been fulfilled.
The Pharisees prided themselves in their faithful obedience to the law of Moses, but they were not prepared for the arrival of the Messiah and they did not receive Him of whom the entire Old Testament wrote!
In v.17 we read, "It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law."
Having silenced the sneering Pharisees, the Lord Jesus then gave them a vivid description of what would happen to them if they continued in their covetousness and unbelief.
In v.18 we read, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
The Lord Jesus brings up divorce and remarriage because the religious leaders were divided on the issue. Some of the Jews were very relaxed in their views of divorce and remarriage, while the others were very strict.
The Lord Jesus was most comfortable when He was with sinners and tax collectors because they were honest and authentic in their sinfulness. The religious leaders, on the other hand, were different than the sinners and tax-collectors. The religious were dishonest and inauthentic and rude.
The religious leaders were lovers of money, antagonistic to the God of the Bible, hostile to His word, promotors of a self-righteousness, and they sought honor from people. This is what set the religious leaders in contrast to the Lord Jesus look like.
On the other hand, the people who tend to be the most gracious toward others are those who know how badly they need grace. Grace always runs downhill, meeting us at the bottom, not the top. The way of the religious leaders says God will love us if we change. The gospel of Jesus Christ says God will change us because He loves us.
Herein is the difference. The Lord Jesus came proclaiming the good news because that is what it is ... Good News! It is good news because it remedies our impossible situation. We had no hope until He can offering us His free gift of forgiveness and salvation.
