WHITE-WASHED
SEPULCHERS
OR
BLOOD-WASHED SAINTS
LUKE
16:14-18
Luke
16:14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and
they derided him.
Susie: In the
last lesson we saw that money itself is amoral, neither good nor bad. The
scripture says the LOVE of money is the problem (1 Timothy 6:10). Let’s look at
our current verse in a new translation we enjoy found at https://biblehub.com:
Luke
16:14 (Berean Literal Bible) Now the Pharisees, being lovers of money, were
listening to all these things, and they were ridiculing Him.
Susan: The
Pharisees loved money, which means they did not give God the higher place He
deserves. They were attempting to serve two masters. They were satisfied
straddling the fence.
Susie: Obviously,
that is a position that cannot be maintained. As Jesus taught in the previous
lesson, it is impossible to completely serve two masters (Luke 16:13).
Luke
16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men;
but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is
abomination in the sight of God.
Susan: Jesus
being all-knowing called the Pharisees out on their self-righteousness.
Everything they did was to keep up outward appearances. It was not for the sake
of God and His kingdom. Their good works were for their own elitist gain in the
sight of the people.
Susie: Jesus
pointed out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees on numerous occasions. They made a
big production of their giving to the poor rather than doing so quietly.
Matthew
6:2-4 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have
glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou
doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine
alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall
reward thee openly.
Susan: On the
outside, the Pharisees looked well put together, more righteous than others;
but on the inside their spirits were as black as coal.
Matthew
23:27-28 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto
whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full
of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear
righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Susie: The
Pharisees made an outward show of following the minutia of the Law and the
rabbis’ traditions (Matthew 23:23) but inwardly they did not follow the two
greatest commandments: to love God and to love others (Matthew 22:36-40).
However, God sees beyond the outside and looks within.
1
Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on
the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not
as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh
on the heart.
Susan: I am
thankful the Lord does not judge me by my earth-suit but sees the righteousness
of Christ covering me. I am humbled to have the awesome privilege to serve God
in whatever way He chooses to use me.
Luke
16:16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of
God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
Susie: John
the Baptist ushered in the preaching of the Gospel and was the first to present
Jesus as the Messiah, the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29).
Susan: I love
John’s name for Jesus: The Lamb of God. Twila Paris has a beautiful song about
Him:
Susan: The
Pharisees totally missed the point that Jesus fulfilled the Law. They were
indeed lead heads or osmium heads (denser than lead). However, the people the
Pharisees gave the label sinners—the tax collectors, the harlots, the
Samaritans—were “pressing” into the Gospel. The common people clamored,
jockeyed for position in a crowd, to be the nearest to Jesus and possibly even
be able to touch Him. The picture is like people fighting their way into a
colosseum to see the Beetles or Elvis. Oops, showing my age. Perhaps they crowd
in to see Taylor Swift today.
Susie: While
the self-righteous Pharisees missed the boat, the humble sinners were welcomed
aboard.
Luke
16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law
to fail.
Susie: As I
stated before, Jesus did not want them to think that the Gospel message of
salvation by grace through faith did away with the Law. When we place our trust
in Jesus, the Holy Spirit writes God’s law on our hearts and enables us to obey
Him out of love and not for outward show or in trying to earn His love. God
loves us first. Then He enables us to love and obey Him.
1
John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
Luke
16:18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth
adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband
committeth adultery.
Susie: As an
example of the fact that the moral excellence of the Law had not passed away,
Jesus taught on divorce. This was a law the Pharisees liked to bend, saying a
man could divorce his wife for any reason.
Matthew
5:31-32 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her
a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his
wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and
whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Susan: Jesus
came to give explanation, greater understanding, and application of the Law
rather than to abolish it.
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to
abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”
Susie: The Pharisees were so busy trying to look
good to others, that they missed the total point that the Law and Prophets
pointed to Jesus as the Messiah. They were blinded by their own
self-righteousness to the point that most of them missed the Redeemer, the truly
Righteous One.
Susan: They were blinded by their own hypocrisy.
Ponder this and Apply it: God
sees the motives behind our actions in a way that no human being can. We need
to examine ourselves, perform a heart-check, periodically to be sure we are not
just putting on a show for others but are serving God with all we have and all
we are from a pure heart of love for Him.
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