“He said to them,
“You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your
hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight” (Luke 16:15).
We reach this portion of Luke’s gospel coming from
the parable of the dishonest manager (Luke 16:1-13).
Jesus used the negative example of the dishonest
manager to bring forth values of God’s kingdom.
What were some of those values that the disciples
needed to hear and learn?
The people of the world use worldly riches for
worldly benefits; the people of light use worldly wealth for heavenly riches.
The disciples ought to be shrewd in a good way – using worldly riches for
heavenly rewards! The disciples ought to learn that serving God excludes
serving other masters – money.
At this point “The
Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus”
(Luke 16:14).
What made the Pharisees sneer at Jesus? Let’s
explore a few possibilities.
Was it the truth about the people of the world and
the people of the light?
Was it the truth about worldly wealth and heavenly
riches?
Was it the truth that serving God excluded serving
Mammon – money?
Verse 14 tells us that indeed that was the reason, because
they loved money.
Loving money disqualified them from being God’s
servants.
There was something else that disqualified them from
being God’s servants: their disregard of God’s Law and the Prophets.
In this context, the Law and the Prophets put
worldly wealth in its right place. In other words, even the Law and the Prophets
taught how to use worldly wealth and reveal that love of money a dangerous
value to live by.
The Pharisees managed to outdo themselves in
bending, twisting the Law and the Prophets for their own worldly benefit.
Jesus reminded them: “God knows your hearts.” Pastor Alois