The Rich Man And Lazarus

JESUS has been talking to his disciples about the proper use of material riches, explaining that we cannot be slaves to these and at the same time be slaves to God. The Pharisees are also listening, and they begin to sneer at Jesus because they are money lovers. So he says to them: "You are those who declare yourselves righteous before men, but God knows your hearts; because what is lofty among men is a disgusting thing in God's sight."

The time has come for the table to be turned on people who are rich in worldly goods, political power and religious control and influence. They are to be put down. However, the people who recognize their spiritual need are to be lifted up. Jesus points to such a change when he goes on to say to the Pharisees: "The Law and the Prophets are until John [the Baptizer]. From then on the kingdom of God is being declared as good news, and ever sort of person is pressing forward toward it. Indeed, it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one particle of a letter of the Law to go unfulfilled."

The scribes and the Pharisees are proud of their professed adherence to the Law of Moses. Recall that when Jesus miraculously gave sight to a certain man in Jerusalem, they boasted: "We are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses." But now the Law of Moses has fulfilled its intended purpose of leading humble ones to God's designated King, Jesus Christ. So with the beginning of John's ministry, all kinds of persons, especially the humble and the poor, are exerting themselves to become subjects of God's Kingdom.

Since the Mosaic Law is now being fulfilled, the obligation to keep it is to be removed. The Law permits divorce on various grounds, but Jesus now says: "Everyone that divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he that marries a woman divorced from a husband commits adultery." How such pronouncements must irritate the Pharisees, especially since they permit divorce on many grounds!

Next time: Conclusion of The Rich Man And Lazarus

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991