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Jesus Teaches
Luke 16:14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him.
The Pharisees were not only proud and hypocritical; they were greedy as well.
They thought that godliness was a way of gain.
They chose religion as one would choose a lucrative profession. Their service was not geared to glorify God and help their neighbors, but rather to enrich themselves.
As they heard the Lord Jesus teach that they should forego wealth in this world and lay up their treasures in heaven, they derided Him. To them, money was more real than the promises of God. Nothing would hinder them from hoarding wealth.
Luke 16:15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
Outwardly the Pharisees appeared to be pious and spiritual. They reckoned themselves to be righteous in the sight of men.
But beneath this deceptive exterior, God saw the greed of their hearts. He was not deceived by their pretension.
The type of life which they displayed, and which others approved (Psalm 49:18), was an abomination in the sight of God. They esteemed themselves successful because they combined a religious profession with financial affluence.
But as far as God was concerned, they were spiritual adulterers. They professed love for Jehovah, but actually mammon was their god.
Luke 16:16 “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.
Remember the subject of chapter 16 is the covetousness and unfaithfulness of the Pharisees. The very ones who prided themselves on the careful observance of the law are exposed as hypocrites.
The law and the prophets were until John. With these words, the Lord described the legal dispensation which began with Moses and ended with John the Baptist. But now a new dispensation was being inaugurated. From the time of John, the gospel of the kingdom of God was being preached. The Baptist went forth announcing the arrival of Israel’s rightful King. He told the people that if they would repent, the Lord Jesus would reign over them. As a result of his preaching and the later preaching of the Lord Himself and of the disciples, there was an eager response on the part of many.
“Everyone is pressing into it” means that those who did respond to the message literally stormed into the kingdom. The tax collectors and sinners, for instance, had to jump over the roadblocks set up by the Pharisees. Others had to deal violently with the love of money in their own hearts. Prejudice had to be overcome.
Luke 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail. :18 “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.
But the new dispensation did not mean that basic moral truths were being discarded. It would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail. A tittle of the law could be compared to the crossing of a “t” or the dotting of an “I”.
The Pharisees thought they were in the kingdom of God, but the Lord was saying in effect, “You cannot disregard the great moral laws of God and still claim a place in the kingdom.”
Perhaps they would ask, “What great moral precept are we disregarding?” The Lord then pointed them to the law of marriage as a law that would never pass away. Any man who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery also. This is exactly what the Pharisees were doing spiritually. The Jewish people had been brought into a covenant position with God. But these Pharisees were now turning their backs on God in a mad quest for material wealth. And perhaps the verse suggests that they were guilty of literal adultery as well as spiritual.
Lazarus and the Rich Man
Luke 16:19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. (sometimes called Dives (Latin for rich))
Luke 16:20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, :21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luke 16:22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
When the beggar died, he was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. Many question whether angels actually participate in conveying the souls of believers to heaven. We see no reason, however, for doubting the plain force of the words. Angels minister to believers in this life, and there seems no reason why they should not do so at the time of death.
Abraham’s bosom is a symbolic expression to denote the place of bliss. To any Jew, the thought of enjoying fellowship with Abraham would suggest inexpressible bliss. We take it that Abraham’s bosom is the same as heaven. When the rich man died, his body was buried—the body that he had catered to, and for which he had spent so much.
Luke 16:23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. :24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’
His soul, or conscious self, went to Hades. Hades is the Greek for the OT word Sheol, the state of departed spirits. In the OT period, it was spoken of as the abode of both saved and unsaved. Here it is spoken of as the abode of the unsaved, because we read that the rich man was in torments.
It must have come as a shock to the disciples when Jesus said that this rich Jew went to Hades. They had always been taught from the OT that riches were a sign of God’s blessing and favor. An Israelite who obeyed the Lord was promised material prosperity. How then could a wealthy Jew go to Hades? The Lord Jesus had just announced that a new order of things began with the preaching of John. Henceforth, riches are not a sign of blessing. They are a test of a man’s faithfulness in stewardship. To whom much is given, of him will much be required.
Verse 23 disproves the idea of “soul sleep,” the theory that the soul is not conscious between death and resurrection. It proves that there is conscious existence beyond the grave. In fact, we are struck by the extent of knowledge which the rich man had. He ... saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
He was even able to communicate with Abraham. Calling him Father Abraham, he begged for mercy, pleading that Lazarus might bring a drop of water and cool his tongue.
There is, of course, a question as to how a disembodied soul can experience thirst and anguish from flame. We can only conclude that the language is figurative, but that does not mean that the suffering was not real.
Luke 16:25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
Luke 16:26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 121). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. MacArthur, J. F., Jr., MacDonald, Farstad, Believers Bible; Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2195). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
