On hearing Jesus' teaching
about money, the Pharisees sneered at Him. They did not say a thing but the
Lord could see the obvious sign of disdain on their faces. Here Luke tells us
that they were lovers of money. These Pharisees thought that money was an
indication of God's blessings. They felt that they have observed the law, hence
God was blessing them. They were cynical about what Jesus had taught about
money. For they saw Jesus merely as a poor Rabbi with poor disciples. And
that's the reason He was against people with money and speaking against it.
Jesus read their thoughts,
saw their scheme and retorted them in verse 15. He told them they were
justifying themselves before men. They did many things only to impress men.
Their actions only gave a form of piety. They were merely a hollow pretention
of holiness. They failed to see that God could see every motive and intention
of the hearts. What they highly esteemed was an abomination in God's sight. God
values genuineness. Hence, our actions and faith must tally. We must be
congruent, genuine people. There is nothing more disturbing than being
pretentious before men. God abhors outward show of piety to impress men.
Upholding the Old Testament
and the Law, Jesus showed that John the Baptist's ministry only signalled the
beginning of the Gospel era. With the herald of the Kingdom of God by John,
many had gathered and hastened to enter in. However, Jesus showed here that
this new era does not nullify the Law and the teachings of the Old Testament.
Verse 17 emphasized that every bit of the Old Testament would be fulfilled.
Verse 18 about divorce and
remarrying seems unconnected to what Jesus had said earlier. It could well be
the Lord's way of giving an example of how man had distorted God’s law. God's
original intention had never been for man to divorce. And God's moral law still
stands, although man had twisted it by legalizing divorce. God expects us to be
people whose belief and actions are congruent. We cannot believe in Him and yet
cherish actions that are inconsistent with the Word. Let's search the Word,
know its implications and act to please God. Don't put up a show just to
impress men. It's repulsive not just to fellow man, more importantly, it's
repulsive to God.
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