Day 78

Luke 16:16–18 (NIV)

¹⁶ “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. ¹⁷ It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. ¹⁸ “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Helpful Information

vs 17- stroke of a pen- in Hebrew (the language of the Old testament) one stroke could make the difference between something being four different letters. Hebrew ד (d) from ר (r) or ה (h) from ח (ḥ)

Jesus is saying Everything in the Law and prophets will be fulfilled.

vs 18 Jewish law permitted men the right of divorce for almost any reason, although many rabbis disapproved of divorcing on slight grounds. Jesus’ statement, however, declares that divorce is invalid in God’s sight, so that a subsequent marriage is adulterous. Here Jesus articulates a stronger view of the marriage bond than anyone else we know of in antiquity, and his statement thus intensifies the law of Moses. Like most other statements of general principle in the ancient world (e.g., Prov 18:22 with Prov 11:22; 12:4; 21:9; or Prov 10:15; 13:8; 14:20 with 10:2, 11:4; or 14:24; 16:6 with 15:16; 16:8; 30:7–9; or 11:8; 12:13, 21 with principles such as 2 Tim 3:12), this one does not exclude exceptions (for the innocent party who had no say in the matter, cf. Mt 5:32; 19:9; 1 Cor 7:15); Jesus’ purpose is to protect an innocent party from being divorced, not to punish the party who has been so betrayed. His statement addresses especially the wife because in Jewish Palestine (in contrast to Roman custom) only the husband had full rights to divorce. Keener, C. S., & InterVarsity Press. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary : New Testament. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

Pray for God to show you something to use from the passage

Read the Passage

Who is in the passage?

What action verbs do you see?

What other words stick out in your mind

Questions

Why would people think Jesus was against what was in the Law and prophets?

How does Jesus show he is about fulfilling the Law?

How does what Jesus says about divorce make you feel? Why is it such a tough standard?

Notes

Upon first reading it may seem that this part is totally unconnected with the section before or after. The key is to understand this as a response to the sneering of Jesus by the Pharisees (vs 14) and what Jesus said to them about justifying what they did apart from God's way.

vs 16-17 Jesus further expands on that thought by challenging the Pharisee way. They claim that Jesus is not of God, when in fact Jesus is saying I am all about the fulfilling of what God has shown in the Law and prophets. (read Matt 5:17-48) They pointed to me. But since John the Baptist things have changed. It is about what you do with me now. Jesus is the good news (Luke 4:18-19) and the kingdom of God is now coming. He is the way to God.

vs 17- forcing his way- scholars have a hard time translating this phrase. the question is whether it is a passive voice or middle voice. I think the passive makes more sense based on what is around it. The middle voice makes it seem people are forcing their way in to the kingdom. You don't get that from the context around the verse. The passive has the idea of "all are urged insistently to come in". I like the translation of the Message better "Now it’s all kingdom of God—the glad news and compelling invitation". This goes back to the parables of the lost things in Chapter 15 and to the point of seeking to enter the kingdom the right way based on God's terms not on how you think it should be. God desires us to come to Him.

vs 18- to prove Jesus' point about the keeping of the Law Jesus takes something that the Jews had watered down, divorce, and goes beyond the current interpretation of it. (see helpful information section)

Divorce is hard to deal with. We in this society have also watered it down and made it too easy. The statement here seems very clear. Though in Matt 5:32 and Matt 19:9 Jesus makes marital unfaithfulness a reason for divorce. In Jesus' day the main reason men divorced a women was to then marry another women. This clearly is wrong. Paul deals with a believer being left by an unbeliever in 1 Cor 7:15. Divorce is never desired by God.