Study 36. Luke 16:18 - 17:4. 8/9/23

Divorce and remarriage
God “hates divorce” (Mal 2:16, KJV).  The Law allowed men to divorce their wives (Deut. 24:1ff.), though women could not divorce their husbands
Divorce misrepresents and breaks the meaning of marriage.
To divorce for remarriage is wrong.
Jesus rejected the Pharisees’ justification of divorce and pointed out God’s original ethical ideal of marriage.
Divorce does not dissolve the marriage bond. Remarriage is adultery.  
The marriage bond is life-long, dissolved only by death (1 Co 7:39, Ro 7:1-3)

2 exceptions :
1.The “Matthean exception”(Mt 5:31-32, 19:3-9)
• What is meant by ‘sexual immorality’ (Gk. ‘porneia’)?
• Does the exception of sexual immorality apply to divorce, or to both divorce and remarriage?

2.  The “Pauline exception” (1 Cor 7:10-16)
• What does “I, not the Lord” mean? (c.f. 7:40, 14:37-28)
• What does “not enslaved/bound” mean?

 Different views:

1. No divorce to be initiated, no remarriage until death.
2. Divorce only with adultery or request of non-Christian spouse, no remarriage until death.
3. Divorce only with adultery or request of non-Christian spouse, remarriage only if these exceptions apply.
4. Divorce only with adultery or request of non-Christian spouse, remarriage for these and other reasons
5. Divorce with adultery or request of non-Christian spouse as well as other reasons, remarriage for these and other reasons.

 

1. How could the rich man in 16:19-31 have attained the blessings Lazarus received (16:9, 29, 31)?

 He should have used his wealth with a view to eternity, rather than in self-indulgence.

He should have obeyed the commands of the Law to be compassionate to the poor. He had compartmentalised his religion and his daily life.

 

 

2. Why was the rich man's request in 16:23-28, 30 futile?

Note that the rich man (Latin: Dives) knew Lazarus by name, but had not helped him in life. In death he still uses him. There is no hint of repentance, or fundamental change of character (cf. Rev 16:9, 11, 21). He is a 'child' of Abraham in the flesh, but not in truth. And he argues with Abraham.

 

 Eternal destiny is fixed at death. 

There is no interaction between heaven and hell (unless Abraham counts as an exception)

There is (generally) no interaction between the living and the dead.

 

 How should the Pharisees and lovers of money respond to the parable? How can we act on this parable in our own lives?

They should be compassionate to the poor in their midst - this is one way of laying up treasures in heaven and making eternal friends.

"...this chapter challenges the elder son of the previous parable and with him all the respectable who act in the spirit of the unrighteous steward. They should repent and then help others with their money. "

He is not said to have committed any grave sin, but he lived only for himself. That was his condemnation."

"Lazarus lay at the gate of the other, the word denoting a large gate or portico like that of a city or a palace. The house was a grand one. Full of sores points to physical misery and this is emphasized with the detail that the pariah dogs licked his sores. His destitution comes out in the information that he desired to be fed (not necessarily was fed) with what fell from the rich man’s table. The one man had all he wanted; the other had nothing."

"In the context the one risen from the dead must be Lazarus. But Luke’s readers could scarcely help thinking of Jesus." (Morris)

 3. What does Jesus say about a person who encourages another to sin (17:1-2)? Why do you think Jesus is so hard on a person who tempts another to sin?

 "Gk skandala" means the bait-stick of a trap, that which triggers off trouble (the corresponding verb is found in 7:23)"

Personal moral responsibility for sin remains (22:2). U

The 'little ones' (Gk mikros) refer to children, or the uninfluential and lowly - those with reduced moral discrimination. Our relatively greater influence on them carries correspondingly greater accountability.

 

4. Why does Jesus command the following two responses to a sinner (17:3-4)?

a. Rebuke (Mt 18:15-17; 2 Cor 7:8-11)

Sin should be confronted in order to bring about repentance (cf. Mt 18:15-20). Unconditional forgiveness is not called for in Scripture.

 

b. Continual forgiveness of the penitent (Mt 18:15-35; Lk 6:36-42)

There is a call to patience. But this also assumes knowing when repentance is genuine. True forgiveness will not keep a scorecard.

We are not bound to forgive the unrepentant or to trust the repentant. We are bound to love them and to seek their good.

"Far from bringing about sin, the follower of Jesus will oppose it. When someone sins he will rebuke him. This does not mean that he will adopt an attitude of censoriousness, for the context stresses forgiveness. It means that, though he will be compassionate, he will not be weak. He cannot be indifferent to evil, but this does not mean that he will bear a grudge"

"When Jesus speaks of seven times in the day he does not mean that an eighth offence need not be forgiven (cf. Matt. 18:21f.). He is saying that forgiveness must be habitual." (Morris)