Luke 16:14-18


Luke 16:14-18
14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. 16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17 “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail. 18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.

Perspective is important to understand.  There is a big difference between the way men look at things and the way God looks at things.  Heaven’s perspective and Earth’s perspective are very different from one another.  One reason Jesus came to this earth was to teach us about ourselves and the world in which we live from God’s point of view.  We all tend to think our vision of things is right, but God sees things in another way.  We must learn to adjust our thinking and actions to God’s perspective.

GOD’S PERSPECTIVE ON MONEY: The love of money is detestable in the sight of God.  When Jesus taught that it was impossible to love both money and God; the Pharisees scoffed at His teaching.  The reason they scoffed, was because they considered themselves to be closer to God than anyone but were wealthy and loved their money.  Owning money is not the problem.  Loving money is the problem.  The Pharisees lived a life that was impressive to men.  They practiced an external religion in which their deeds were highly visible, and their standards were really high.  God was not impressed because He could see their hearts.  God knows exactly what is in each of our hearts.  He not only knows what we do; but why we do it.  The admiration of men does not mean we are approved by God.

GOD’S PERSPECTIVE ON MORALS: The gospel of the kingdom was the message Jesus came to proclaim.  He was the Messiah the Jews had been expecting for generations.  There are those who think Jesus came to do away with the Law, but nothing could be further from the truth.  His coming was the fulfillment of the Law.  The Law was powerless to transform the hearts of man and the blood of sheep, oxen and birds were not adequate payment for the sins of man.  Jesus became a man to fulfill the Law by paying sin’s price through His death and then He was resurrected to empower all who believe to be victorious over sin and death as well.  All believers will obey the Law perfectly for all eternity because of the coming of Messiah.  Jesus is the source of salvation and the only means by which the Law of God can be perfectly fulfilled. 

GOD’S PERSPECTIVE ON MARRIAGE: Marriage is very important to God and is a vital means by which man reflects the image of God.  God wants to use our marriages to help us understand and relate with Him.  The Pharisees had an extremely weak view of marriage that allowed a man to divorce his wife for just about any reason.  Once he was divorced, he was considered to be free to marry someone else.  Divorce and remarriage leave a poor reflection of the nature of God.  Jesus taught that remarriage after a divorce was adultery for both the man and the woman.  Marriage is the permanent joining of a man and woman as one flesh.  Divorce destroys all God strives to teach us and others about Him trough marriage.  Jesus makes it clear that marriage is permanent and very important.  Forgiveness and faithfulness are to be the hallmarks of marriage.  Divorce is to be avoided as much as possible and in cases where divorce is unavoidable; remarriage is not an option.

APPLICATION: Guard our hearts from the love of money because God knows all about everything in our hearts.  Obey the Word of God through the strength Christ provides and trust in His sacrifice on the cross to forgive our sin.  Fulfill our marriage vows no matter how difficult it may be and don’t participate in remarriage as it is adultery in God’s sight.

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