Jesus continues His dissertation against the presumption and kingdom-of-God-denying high-mindedness of the Pharisees and the experts in the law. With the words that followed His telling of the story of the irresponsible and dishonest manager, He is clearly painting these people in that role. Naturally, this will win Jesus supporters amongst the commoners, but gains Him no favor with those who fancied themselves as the guardians of the covenant. Jesus makes the connection between the dishonest manager and the Pharisees and experts in the law even more clear, as He continues on to say, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:13). Luke reinforces the connection in the very next verse, writing that “The Pharisees (who love money) heard all this and ridiculed Him” (16:14).
What was the basis for the ridicule? It was probably the statement about money, for though they loved money, the Pharisees and experts in the law would not necessarily have possessed a great deal of money. They were not necessarily a part of the aristocratic ruling class of Israel. In most cases, they would have been little better off than the rest of the people. Because of this, they could seize on Jesus’ words about the service of money, point to their own empty pockets (in a manner of speaking), and thereby demonstrate that they did not serve money, and were therefore devoted to God. This interpretation, however, limits the reach of the parable and the words of Jesus, as the context that we have created thus far has attempted to connect wealth and true riches with the use of the law and the kingdom of God. Therefore, the dichotomy of serving two masters might be better understood as their service of the law itself, in a selfish and non-inclusive pursuit of the blessings of God to be had in the fulfillment of the covenant and the coming of the kingdom of God, rather than the service of the God of the law and the covenant, and the all-nations inclusiveness of that covenant clearly presented in its original iteration to Abraham, and its detailed expansion especially to be found in the prophecy of Isaiah.
In response to their ridicule, in which they attempted to justify themselves, quite possibly in a way such as what was just described, Jesus says, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized among men is utterly detestable in God’s sight” (16:15). These words from Jesus about that which is “utterly detestable” force us to make an additional consideration of what it was that these men had been saying in their attempts to defend and justify themselves. We can continue our musings concerning the boundaries that were being placed around God’s covenant promises, and their being limited to those that acceded to the works of the law, and find ourselves in a position to hear the Pharisees and law experts, along with pointing out their insignificant financial status, speaking about their extraordinary efforts to protect and defend the law, and therefore God’s very honor, by keeping Gentile sinners outside the bounds of the covenant. Based on the model of the kingdom of God that Jesus was constantly presenting, which was that of inclusion of all peoples (Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and free, clean and unclean, sinner and righteous)---as demonstrated in His far-reaching and highly impactful practices of table fellowship, in which He regularly ate with those that were considered to be outside the covenant and of varying social standing and thereby subversive of societal norms and customs---Jesus could respond to the self-adulation of the “guardians” of the covenant, as they lauded their efforts in protecting God’s promises, and refer to it as that which was “utterly detestable in God’s sight.”
So are we right in connecting these words of Jesus to His thoughts about the kingdom of God? Well, what do we find Jesus saying in the next verse? He says, “The law and the prophets were in force until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it” (16:16). These words let us know that we are on the right track, as we consider that John the Baptist is first introduced with his words of repentance and the kingdom of God being at hand. In fact, Luke connects John’s preaching with Isaiah, and that in his preaching “all humanity will see the salvation of God” (3:6). Without getting into what is meant by “salvation,” while pointing out that it is far more than going to heaven when one dies, we can see that this fits quite nicely with Jesus’ statement about the proclamation of the Gospel, the kingdom of God, and everyone being urged to enter it.
Having said all of these things, Jesus, with indignation and sarcasm in His voice, raises His voice and says to these people that He has been accusing of shutting up the kingdom of God, “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter in the law to become void” (16:17). When Jesus says this, He is not offering up a praise of the law, or making a statement about its eternality. In this context, He is mocking and condemning these Pharisees and experts in the law, as He decries their adherence to their covenant boundaries according to the performance of the well-understood works of the law, indicating that it is obvious to Him that they will hold on to these exclusive standards that are designed to keep God’s blessings for Israel alone, doing so even if heaven and earth were to pass away. Jesus derides them because they were so convinced that God’s blessings were for national and ethnic Israel alone, that they would rather the heavens and earth pass away than allow God’s covenant blessings to be extended to the Gentiles. Indeed, they would not let go their grip of control on the bestowal of God’s blessing, not letting one tiny stroke of a letter of their law become void.
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