The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 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. “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. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. (Luke 16:14-17) Jesus had just told quite a few parables about the kingdom of God, God’s heart and perspective, that we can go astray and how much joy it brings God when we repent, and that we cannot serve God and money – really hitting home that the issues of sin are a heart issue, not a ‘how good you can act outwardly’ issue. And even after all that, it says that the Pharisees ridiculed Jesus. Hearts Motivation The text gives us context here as to why the Pharisees ridiculed Jesus and it was because they were lovers of money. They had just been told by Jesus that they cannot serve God and money and since they were lovers of money, it apparently hit close to home and they didn’t like it, so they ridiculed Him in response. That word “ridiculed” in the Greek means to scoff, deride, or turn up the nose at. This wouldn’t be the last time they do this to Jesus either. The next and only other time this Greek word is used is in Luke 23:25 during Jesus’ crucifixion where it says, And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” Unfortunately, the ridicule or scoffing over the truth that one cannot serve God and money would continue to drive the scoffing at the cross as Truth Himself looked back at them as He died to offer them redemption of their souls. Hearts Revealed It’s pretty cool to notice here that Jesus didn’t react with an outburst of upset when they ridiculed Him, He responded again with truth that got to the heart of the matter – their hearts. Jesus, who we know doesn’t look at the outward appearance but looks at the heart, told them a few poignant truths about themselves: They were justifying themselves before men, God knows their hearts, and what was exalted before men is an abomination before God. These were undoubtedly hard things to hear, but Jesus told them for their benefit because He loved them. Yet, the specific things that Jesus pointed out were bound to cause one of two responses – either, pushing away due to a prideful heart or drawing near due to a humble and repentant heart. And these are the responses we get to choose from when faced with things Jesus tells us too - push God away or draw near to Him. The Law Revealed As Jesus mentions the Law and Prophets, it would seem that He moved into a whole new topic but in actuality, He’s still on the same topic. All of this is in context to the heart and the fact that in our flesh we seek to justify ourselves before men, but that God knows our hearts. Jesus mentioned the Law and Prophets right before mentioning that the good news of the kingdom of God had been preached. The Pharisees didn’t exactly put this together, not realizing that the Law and Prophets all spoke of Him, but this is what Jesus is telling them. And He adds that everyone forces his way into it – this is speaking of the misunderstanding of the Law and Prophets and thinking that outward observance of the Law would save them. As the people read/heard the Law and Prophets, they had a desire for their Messiah to come set them free physically from their captivity under the Romans, not really understanding that He would come to set them free spiritually from their sin under death. When Jesus came and John the Baptist had made straight His paths, they both preached repentance and that the kingdom of God had come. But the people tried to force their misaligned perspectives into the mix and even used that as a reason to justify to themselves and others that Jesus wasn’t their long-awaited Messiah, as they continued to try to force their way into it. Yet, Jesus was reaffirming that He would indeed fulfill the Law when He said that it would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. Jesus knew His calling and mission, and nothing was going to deter Him from it. Our Response Remember those two responses that were mentioned when Jesus points out specific heart issues? We read that the Pharisees pushed away, staying prideful and justifying themselves before men, but it doesn’t have to be that way for us. We can learn from their mistakes and when God puts these hard truths in front of us to face, we can draw near to Him with a humble and repentant heart, ready for Him to cut that out of our hearts and mold and shape us more into His image. For the Pharisees, there were the things of their day that was exalted ...
