In Jesus' day, the only people who had access to the scriptures were the religious leaders. It was their job to study the Bible and to teach it.
So how is it that so many of these Bible scholars failed to recognize Jesus as the promised, long-awaited Messiah? Today, on Truth for Life, Alastair Begg helps us recognize what it was that blocked their view. and might be blocking our view as well.
Now we're going to read from the Bible this morning in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 16. We're going to read From verse thirteen to verse eighteen. No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and and money.
The Pharisees who loved money heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 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. The law and the prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the law. Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman, commits adultery. And the man who marries a divorced woman Commits. Adultery. Heavenly Father, we pray now that you will give to us minds that think clearly.
Hearts that are open and receptive to your truth. And wills. that become obedient to Your word. Unless you come and breathe by your Spirit and enable us, we can speak, listen, hear. Understand, obey, apply, receive your word at all.
Therefore, the whole exercise. is marked by futility. Except For your divine intervention, we believe that when your word is truly preached, that your voice is really heard. We want to hear your voice, Lord Jesus, and it's in your name we pray. Amen.
Well, we're looking at this little section here in between these two stories of rich men. that Jesus has told in Luke chapter 16. For those of you who are visiting, we're going through Luke's Gospel and we're in the 16th chapter, and we dealt with each of these parables in turn. The story of the rich man, which begins in verse 1, and then the story of the rich man, which begins in verse 19. And we said that there was a small section to which we needed to come.
And here we are at it now. sandwiched in between these two stories We're told by Luke of the reaction of the Pharisees to Jesus' teaching. And also, in turn, what Jesus said in response to their reaction. Despite the fact that Luke tells us in the opening verse that Jesus was addressing his disciples, it is clear that the Pharisees had remained within earshot. They certainly had heard enough of what Jesus was saying to conclude that they did not like what they'd been hearing.
And as a result, their response is no longer disguised. They're no longer, as in the beginning of chapter 15, muttering under their breath. But they are actually sneering now. And it has developed from the kind of recalcitrance that you may find in a disgruntled teenager. to the open and outright defiance which may then emerge from a life unchanged.
The Pharisees had never really come to terms with the fact. that Jesus was in their a perspective hanging always with the wrong crowd. They fully anticipated that if he really was the person he claimed to be, then he would always be with them in their little circle. They thought that he probably should have dressed like them and he didn't. They thought that he would have been engaged in the kind of Activities with which they were most familiar, and by and large, he wasn't.
It would have been one thing if he'd been simply absent from their events. But what made it even worse was that he was spending time With people like toll collectors who were notorious for fiddling the books, they were swindlers. He hung around with people who were open and defiant sinners. And it wasn't unusual for him to be found uh attending a party in somebody's house, and it just wasn't the kind of party that you would expect a good religious boy to be going to. And so they were annoyed.
back when he had called Levi and it's recorded in chapter five Uh Levi had opened his home. uh to many of his friends. Levi himself had been a tax collector. And Jesus had called him to himself and Levi had got up and left everything and followed Jesus. And as a result of that, his commitment to Christ was so radical that he invited a whole host of his friends and neighbors back with him.
Of course, the kind of people who were his friends and neighbors were all of these socio-undesirable types. And when it became apparent that Jesus had gone over to Levi's house to eat, the question the Pharisees asked was simple, why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? How can you possibly be, Lord Jesus, an upholder of the law when you apparently violate it in relationship to separation so consistently and so openly? Jesus, of course, had told them a truth. that they obviously didn't care to really wrestle with.
He said, you know, it's not. the healthy people who need a doctor, rather the sick. And if you think about it for a moment, he said, I haven't come to call the righteous. But I came to call sinners to repentance. I'm not here, he said, simply to make you religious types feel comfortable in your religion.
I am here to call those who realize. That by dint of their own endeavors, they cannot make themselves known and acceptable to God. I'm here to call these kind of people. And of course, when he finally hit their pocketbooks, that was the last straw. There is something about uh the Bible and money which is gets to the core of the matter.
Friends, uh Who was being asked for guidance and counsel in a legal matter by another individual who told the person, I'll be glad to see you. And please come and meet me at my office at such and such a time. He was a member of the Christian Legal Society. And as the man was leaving, he said to him, By the way, he said, bring your checkbook. And so the man said, I didn't realize you're charged.
And the gentleman said, No, I do not charge, but I think if we go through your checkbook, we can find out exactly how your life is going. And of course that's the fact. Our money will be expended as our time will be expended on that which is a priority to us. And so when the Pharisees heard Jesus give this instruction about money, the things he'd already said, you know, the rich fool was crazy because he put it all together for himself. And Jesus had said, and this is what it is like when a man is rich towards himself but isn't rich towards God.
He most recently said, you can't worship at the shrine of money and worship at the shrine of God. He said to these people who love to put big parties together for all their friends and neighbors, he said, if you really want to put a party together, put it together for the poor and the blind and the crippled. And of course, no, but he was inviting these individuals to their party. And so this, like a gigantic stone that was beginning to gather moss and roll towards them, was in danger of simply rolling right over these Pharisees. And so they sneered at him.
You know, when I find people sneering at the instruction of Jesus, I. It's not my favorite response, but I like it better than them going to sleep. under the instruction of Jesus. I'd rather deal with a sneering teenager than with a sleeping father. Because at least the teenager is recognizing that the instruction of Jesus.
Brings him or her to a crossroads. And the reason that the Pharisees were so set upon was because Jesus spoke in such categorical terms. It was clear that they either went Jesus' way or they went their own way. But they couldn't go their own way and Jesus' way simultaneously. And money.
the use and abuse of wealth. Was crystallizing this for these people. in the same way that it actually may crystallize it for some of us today. In fact, the melody line that is running through this extended section, if you were looking for what the recurring theme might be. And I think you could say that it is the matter of wealth.
and how the use and abuse of wealth indicate where a man or a woman is in relationship to the things of the kingdom of God.
Now, the irony that is expressed in the hostility here between the Pharisees and Jesus ought not to be missed by us. Because We read that the Pharisees who loved money heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.
Now, the reason they were sneering at Jesus is because they regarded Jesus and his disciples as a motley crew. They held far too loosely, as far as they were concerned, to the issues of the law of God. The table companions of Jesus did not meet in their minds the tests both for purity and for holiness. And so their beef against Jesus was. that this Jesus Is setting aside the sacrosanct law of God.
Now here's where the IRNI comes in. Because Jesus' beef with the Pharisees is the exact same. He's saying to them, My concern with you characters is that by your fastidious commitment to the externals of the law, you're actually missing the point. And you are failing. to keep the law in such a way.
That understanding what Moses has said and what the prophets have conveyed, you would be concerned for the poor at your gate. You would recognize that obedience to the law would issue in a heart of compassion. He might have said to them, as it were, offline, that was the significance of the story of the Good Samaritan that I told you. Remember when I said that you should, when we concluded that we should love our neighbor as ourselves, and one of you bright characters said, Excuse me, who is my neighbor? Do you remember what I told you on that occasion?
And of course, they would recall. A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his raiment and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance, the Levite came down. Looked at him and kept moving. And a priest came down, had a look, and kept moving.
And a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him and he bound up his wounds and he put him on his own donkey and he brought him to an inn and there he cared for him. And on the morrow, when he departed, he took out two coins and he gave them to the innkeeper and he said, This is in order to provide for this poor character. And if you happen to extend this budget, don't worry about it, because when I come back, I will repay you. Jesus says Did that penny drop?
And of course it made them squirm. It made them uncomfortable. Because what they were doing was a kind of hop, skip, and a jump through the law of God. They were taking the parts that they wanted, and they were rejecting the parts that hit them. If the Melody line is wealth, its use and abuse.
Then there is a kind of contrapuntal motion A subcategory here. Which introduces us to this question of the law of God.
So you've got these two factors and they're being woven together. Of course they're woven perfectly together in the story of the rich man and Lazarus because the problem with the rich man was that he did not listen to what Moses and the prophets had to say. And he realized too late. that he had ignored the teaching of the law and the prophets, if he had been really paying attention to what Moses and the prophets said, then he would never have been able to drive his car past the the poor man at his gate day after day.
So Jesus says to them, listen, guys. Don't tell me. that you are keeping the law of God. unless your submission to the law of God reveals itself in a heart of compassion Because the law of God, as we're going to see again tonight in Ruth, has made provision for the poor. That is why the law of God determined, for those of you who are not in our evening studies, that when a man gleaned in a field, when the harvesters went through the field, they were not to pick up everything, they were to leave bits and pieces lying around, they were not to sweep up all the corners of the field.
Why not? in order that the poor and the alien and the foreigners may be able to come behind and pick up for their own nourishment and well being the provision, if you like, the crumbs from the rich man's table.
Now, if God has so revealed Himself with a heart of compassion for those who are in such a predicament. Then how can a man or a woman claim to be doing God's thing while abusing those who are in need of his care? And so the Pharisees, instead of saying, you got us, Began to protest and to sneer and to say, you know what? This is a bunch of bunk. And again, I say to you, I'm quite glad when people say this is a bunch of bunk.
Because at least they're trying to process the information.
Now there are three pointers I want to give you and I'm going to spend very little time on each of them. First of all, I want you to notice that in this little section The Pharisees are exposed. The Pharisees are exposed. Jesus, in the previous parable, remember in verse 9, said to his listeners, I tell you, Use worldly wealth. To gain friends for yourself, so that it is when it is gone you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
And when we studied that, we realized That this ties in, of course, with his instruction for putting together a party list. If you put together a party list just for the people that can welcome you back to their house on the same level, what reward do you have in that? He's really dealt with that in Luke chapter 6. If you love those who love you, what reward do you have? There's no big deal.
If you invite people to your home who can invite you back, there's no big deal in that. You certainly shouldn't be looking for a star or a flag or something to identify you as some special person. There's nothing in that.
So instead use the resources that you've been given in order to gain friends for yourself. That's what the man fails to do in the second story. Instead of using the vastness of his resources to make a friend of the beggar at his gate, he ignores the beggar at his gate. And this was an expression of the Pharisees' preoccupation with money. Instead of using their wealth to make friends, they use their friends to get wealth.
Instead of using their wealth in order to provide for their eternal inheritance, they so focused on making a friend of money itself. Any concern they may have been tempted to show to the poor was quickly gobbled up in their interest in being seen in the right places and with the right people. They would have been quite happy to ban, as others did in the late 60s, One of the best lyrics ever written in a country western song by Ray Stevens in his song Mr. Businessman. The Pharisees would have been glad to get this off the radio.
They don't want to be driving along in their carriage and listening to words like this: spending counterfeit incentive. wasting precious time and health. Spending value on the worthless, disregarding priceless wealth. You can wheel and deal the best of them and steal it from the rest of them. You know the score.
Their ethics are a bore. You gotta take care of business, Mr. Businessman. No, they don't want to hear that stuff. About wasting precious time on hea and hell.
Because we are told the Pharisees loved. Money. And if you love money, whether you've got a wee drop or a big drop. You and I are in danger. Money is not the root of all evil.
But the love of money is the root of all evil. The distractions of this life and the anxieties about worry, as we saw in the parable of the sore early in our studies, are enough to choke out the maturing process in the lives of those who've decided that they will follow hard after Christ. There is no doubt that the Pharisees did what they had to do, and when they did what they had to do, they expected to be afforded all kinds of applause. And so, when they gave alms, when they gave in the process of the laws requirements their tithe. They made a great display of it.
They wanted it not to be concealed. They wanted people to be able to say, there's old Mr. Levi, and I see he's done a wonderful job of giving again to the Salvation Army this year. There's Mr.
So-and-so, and I see that his contributions to the Um public uh funds have gone up again. I noticed in the society papers that he has given something to his alma mater to Northwestern University in Chicago. They loved when all that kind of stuff happened. And that's not wrong. to give.
But if the motivation of our hearts is in order simply to receive the applause of men. Rather than is an expression of our gratitude to God who has given us everything, including the ability to make money, then the whole thing is short-circuited and we're no better than the Pharisees here exposed.
Now before I move to the next point, let me just say this. At first when I read this, I said, well, you know, the Pharisees are long ago and far away. And then I said, but what are the characteristics of these individuals?
Well, I looked at it again, just what we're told here in verses 14 and 15: they are men who lived with a value system. that was focused on the now rather than on the then. Oh, I said that has a contemporary ring to it. They were living with their focus on the now with little thought for the then. They were focused on the quest for man's applause rather than God's approval.
Oh, I said that. That kind of hits. Indeed, they were public figures. Who got their jollies? Out of Public approbation.
And They were religious individuals. who rejected the clear incisive Teaching of Jesus. Oh, I said, Well, this is very close to home. Clearly the Pharisees are not as far away as I thought. Indeed, I think I saw one in the shaving mirror this morning.
Parkside Church. is populated in some measure by religious people who continue to reject the clear Incisive Teaching. of Jesus. You come. And you're religious.
But you determined that you were having a religion of your own contriving. Of your own design. It's a very uh contemporary idea. You reject the clear, incisive teaching of Jesus. You've never repented of your sins.
You've never bowed down before him and asked him to save you. You've never stood up and followed him in the waters of baptism. You've never attached yourself to the family of a local church by identifying in membership. And really, there is no indication hardly at all in the course of your life that gives any indication why anybody should believe that your religion is anything other than some kind of arm's length deal.
So the same expose of the Pharisees in Jesus' day exposes the Pharisees. In our day. I hope nobody misunderstands what's happening here at Parkside. It is our express concern to see unbelieving people. By nature we are unbelievers.
We do not believe in God. We do not trust God. We do not seek God. Any interest in God is God-engendered. to see unbelieving people Become the committed followers of Jesus Christ.
Not to build a crowd. wandering aimlessly in his track, Not to put together a religious association. But just to see men and women Take Jesus at His Word. Have you taken Jesus at His word? You're listening to Truth for Life with Alastair Begg.
More of the teaching of Jesus tomorrow. In the meantime, if you have not yet downloaded your free copy of Alastair Begg's audiobook, Pray Big, you'll want to do that to day. This is the last day the audiobook is being offered for free, along with a digital study guide. You'll find it at truthforlife. org slash pray big.
As you listen to this audio book you will be encouraged to consider that your prayers may be too small. often limited to your personal needs or your immediate concerns. That's not uncommon. Many of us struggle to ask God to move in big, bold ways for His glory and to advance His kingdom. In the book Pray Big, Alister draws from the Apostle Paul's prayers to give us an example of confident, God focussed communication with the One who can do all things.
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It's a book that follows a methodical, thoughtful exploration of God's grace through Scripture. You'll track the Lord's acts of divine mercy from creation all the way to the sacrifice of his son and the promised restoration of his people. And you'll learn why the gospel story isn't rooted in your search for God, but God's gracious pursuit of God. of sinners. The story of grace is yours by request when you make a donation to support the Bible teaching ministry of Truth for Life.
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What role do the Ten Commandments play in the gospel message of salvation? We'll find out tomorrow. The Bible teaching of Alastair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life. Where the Learning is for Living.
