Saturday, September 28, 2013
Luke 16:17-18 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
THE UNBREAKABLE WORD
Perhaps it is obvious to many, but for me the hardest part of this parable was verse 18. What does marriage and divorce have to do with the rich man and Lazarus? Until I realized that Jesus is merely illustrating personally what he has said in verse 17. The law of God will not fail. It cannot be changed. It cannot be circumvented. The Pharisees had a whole list full of reasons they claimed were legitimate to divorce a wife. And Jesus is letting them know in no uncertain terms that their wealth, their social status, their Biblical learning, their dedication to God, none of it would change the fact that they had broken God's law.
In what ways have we ignored God's law? If this sort of adultery doesn't cut us to the quick, what about the parable of the Good Samaritan? We have all kinds of arguments for this one. Jesus was explaining how sinful we are and that He is our Good Samaritan. We might say something like, "This or that man doesn't deserve our help. He will just use it for booze." There are countless ways we attempt to avoid God's command to show love as the Samaritan shows love. But God's command will not be made void. No doubt the rich man in Luke 16 also had reasons for ignoring Lazarus, yet his end we can see.
Yet we have this grace, that if the commands of God cannot be ignored, then even more so the promises of God will not fail. If lack of love and adultery will most certainly receive their punishment, nevertheless the promise is certain that the punishment was received by Christ. If the rich man and Lazarus both must die in hell, yet it is Christ who has received that death. If a man from the dead cannot change the hearts of the rich, the Gospel of Christ, the good news of the forgiveness of sins will.
