Luke 16:15

Replies of Jesus to the sneers of the Pharisees, Luk_16:15-31.

Jesus first shows these haughty deriders how abominable was their own position as the supporters of adultery, 15-18. He then illustrates the fate of the φιλαργυροι, or silver-lovers, by the instance of the rich man and Lazarus. The passage 15-18 is somewhat obscure, but the key of it is perhaps to be found in Luk_16:18. Herod Antipas had been guilty of adultery by his most notorious marriage with Herodias, and the Pharisees had left it to John the Baptist to rebuke him.

15. Ye—The countenancers of royal adultery.

Justify yourselves before men—Make an imposing display of maintaining your own purity and righteousness before the government and nation.

Your hearts—God knows that you are unrighteous from your covetousness for wealth and power.

Highly esteemed—In the original lofty or very high. Alluding to the lofty haughtiness of these sneering favourers of royal vice.

Abomination… God—Whose law you are surrendering to your own self-interest.

In the three following verses our Lord shows that the law continued until the coming of John; and the Gospel still maintains the law, and both condemn adultery.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 16:15. Οἱ δικαιοῦντες—ἀνθρώπων) Ye do some things that are just, and thence ye suppose yourselves to be just, ye feign that ye are so, and are regarded as such. The antithesis is γινώσκει, knoweth.—καρδίας, hearts) The heart is the seat of justice and of injustice. [This axiom is most powerfully effectual both in convicting the bad and confirming the sincere.—V. g.]—τὸ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ὑψηλὸν, that which is lofty [highly-esteemed] among men) What seems to men among their fellow-men the very height of justice (righteousness). Comp. ch. Luk 18:14 [πᾶς ὁ ὑψῶν ἑαυτὸν], “every one that exalteth himself.” This is the connection of the subsequent words, Justification of one’s self before men, and loftiness of heart, nourish covetousness, and deride heavenly simplicity and singleness of heart, Luk 16:15, and despise the Gospel [“the Kingdom of God is preached,” ἐυαγγελίζεται], Luk 16:16, and disregard the law, Luk 16:17, a fact (their disregard of the law) which is shown by an instance of the violation of the law most necessary to be spoken to the Pharisees [who were given to adultery], Luk 16:18. The narrative concerning the rich man and Lazarus comprises all these points.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 16:15 . ἐνώπιον τ . ἀ .: cf. the statements in Sermon on Mount (Mat 6 ) and in Mat 23:5 . ὅτι , etc.: a strong statement, but broadly true; conventional moral judgments are very often the reverse of the real truth: the conventionally high, estimable, really the low; the conventionally base the truly noble.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Our sins are not hidden to God, although they be hidden to men, yea although they be hidden to them whose sins they are.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

justify yourselves--make a show of righteousness.

highly esteemed among men--generally carried away by plausible appearances. (See Sa1 16:7; and Luk 14:11).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. Ye - justify yourselves] Ye declare yourselves to be just. Ye endeavour to make it appear to men that ye can still feel an insatiable thirst after the present world, and yet secure the blessings of another; that ye can reconcile God and mammon, - and serve two masters with equal zeal and affection; but God knoweth your hearts, - and he knoweth that ye are alive to the world, and dead to God and goodness. Therefore, howsoever ye may be esteemed among men, ye are an abomination before him. See Clarke on Lu 7:29.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15) Ye are they which justify yourselves before men.—The character described is portrayed afterwards more fully in the parable of Luk_18:9-14. The word there used, “this man went down to his house justified rather than the other,” is obviously a reference to what is reported here. They forgot, in their self-righteousness and self-vindication, that they stood before God as the Searcher of all hearts.

That which is highly esteemed among men . . .—Literally, that which is high, or lifted up, among men. The word is at once wider and more vivid than the English.

Abomination . . .—The word is the same as in “the abomination of desolation” (Mat_24:15), that which causes physically nausea and loathing. The word seems chosen as the expression of a divine scorn and indignation, which answered, in part, to their “derision,” and was its natural result. (Comp. the bold language of Psa_2:4, Pro_1:26, Rev_3:16.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. Ye are they which justify yourselves before men] Luk_7:39, Luk_15:29; Mat_23:25, &c.

God knoweth your hearts] Hence God is called “a heart-knower” in Act_15:8; and “in thy sight shall no man living be justified,” Psa_143:2. There is perhaps a reference to 1Sa_16:7; 1Ch_28:9.

highly esteemed] Rather, lofty.

abomination] Their ‘derision’ might terribly rebound on themselves. Psa_2:4.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The law and the prophets were until John,.... Till the time that John the Baptist began his ministry; for till then, the law and the prophets, with the Hagiographa, or holy writings, for into these three parts the Jews divided the books of the Old Testament, were the only writings they had; and which contained the whole of the revelation granted to them; and which they wrested, and put false glosses on; and therefore it was no wonder that they derided Christ, and despised his ministry: and whereas spiritual things were promised in these writings, under the notion of temporal ones; which they not understanding, might imagine the doctrine of Christ, concerning the contempt of worldly riches, was contrary to: and since they valued themselves on having the law and the prophets, Christ observes, that

since that time, the kingdom of God is preached; the Gospel, and the mysteries of relating to the kingdom of the Messiah, his person, office, and grace; and to the kingdom of grace, which lies not in outward, but in inward and spiritual things; and to the kingdom of heaven, or glory hereafter; and which is a superior dispensation to that of the law and the prophets, and sets things in a clearer, plainer, and better light:

and every man presseth into it; the Gospel dispensation, the kingdom of the Messiah; "that he may enter into it", as the Syriac and Persic versions add; which the Scribes and Pharisees did all they could to hinder; see Mat 23:13 large multitudes crowded the ministry of John, of Christ, and of his apostles; the people flocked in great numbers to hear the word, and seemed disposed to embrace the doctrines of the Gospel, and the ordinances of it; they pressed on one another to hear it, and through many difficulties, discouragements, and obstacles, the Pharisees threw in their way; there was scarce a man but seemed very desirous of attending upon the preaching of it, and pressed hard for it; and with much force and violence, with great eagerness and endeavour broke his way to it; though a different sense is given by others reading the words, and "every one suffers violence to himself for it", as the Arabic version; or "is oppressed for it", as the Ethiopic; that is, suffers reproach, contradiction, and persecution, for the sake of hearing it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

Ver. 15. For that which is highly esteemed, &c.] A thing that I see in the night may shine, and that shining proceed from nothing but rottenness. There may be malum opus in bona materia, as in Jehu’s zeal. Two things make a good Christian, good actions and good aims. And though a good aim doth not make a bad action good (as in Uzzah), yet a bad aim makes a good action bad (as in Jehu, Hos 1:4, whose justice was approved, but his policy punished).

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who justify yourselves, &c. But our Lord, detecting their hidden malice, shews that their pretended justice is all hypocrisy. (Theophylactus) --- But God knoweth, &c. They justify themselves before men, whom they look upon as despicable, and abandoned sinners, and esteem themselves as not standing in need of giving alms as a remedy of sin; but he who shall lay open the secrets of hearts, sees the base atrocity of that pride which thus blinds them, and swells within their breasts. (Ven. Bede) --- Yes, all those exterior actions which appeared great, and which were admired by men, being vitiated with improper motives and sinister designs, are an abomination in the sight of God. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

By justifying here is to be understood either an appearing before men as just, and strict observers of the law, or a predicating of themselves as just: You (saith our Saviour) make a fine show, and great brags amongst men; but God’s eye goeth deeper, he knoweth the heart, what pride, and covetousness, and hypocrisy lodge there. Men do not know your hearts, but God knoweth them. All is not gold by God’s touchstone that glitters in man’s eyes. Nay, many things which are highly esteemed amongst men, as matters of great devotion and piety and merit, and which they applaud others for, are in the sight of God no better than abominations. This highly obliges all not to make their estimate of things, from the value and estimate which men put upon them; not every thing, but many things which are highly esteemed amongst men are abomination in the sight of God.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts. The part the Pharisees played in public imposed upon the people. The great influence which they exercised was in great measure due to the respect generally felt for their strict and religious lives. The hypocrisy of this famous sect it was probably in many cases unconscious hypocrisy and the false colouring which it gave religion, contributed not a little to the state of things which led to the final disruption of the Jewish nation as a nation some forty years after these words were spoken. It is only a student of the Talmud who can form any notion of the Pharisee mind; a superficial study even of parts of this strange, mighty collection will show why our Lord was so seemingly hard in his rebukes of these often earnest and religious men; it will show, too, why the same Divine Master at times seemed to change his words of bitter wrath into accents of the tenderest sympathy and love. For that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. Especially alluding to that haughty pride of men in wealth and money, which, after all, is not theirs.

Divine and human judgment.

This declaration of Christ was a judgment in a double sense. It was drawn down upon themselves by the Pharisees, who had been doing their worst to bring into derision he doctrine and the character of our Lord. This reply was not indeed a retort, but it was of the nature of a judgment. It declared the mind of Christ, and it declared it in strong disapproval of evil-doing and strong condemnation of an evil spirit. It brings before us three subjects of thought.

I OUR DESIRE TO STAND WELL WITH OUR BRETHREN. "Ye... justify yourselves before men." The desire to be justified of man is almost universal.

1. It may be a right and worthy sentiment. When the approval of man is regarded in the light of a confirmation of God"s acceptance of us or of the commendation of our own conscience, then is it right and honourable.

2. But it may be of very little value indeed; it is so when it is sought merely as a matter of gratification, irrespective of the consideration of its true moral worth. For the approval of man is often a very hollow and always a transient thing; change the company, and you change the verdict; wait until a later day, and you have a contrary decision. The hero of the past generation is the criminal of the present time. And it may be that the man or the action the multitude are praising is the one that God is most seriously condemning. Of what value, then, is "the honour that cometh from man"?

a. Care nothing for the opinion of the selfish and the vicious.

b. Care little for the judgment of those whose character you do not know.

c. Be desirous of living in the esteem of the good and wise.

II GOD"S SEARCHING GLANCE. "God knoweth your hearts." Men do not see us as we are; we do not know ourselves with any thoroughness of knowledge; the power we have and use to impose on others reaches its climax when we impose on ourselves, and persuade ourselves that those things are true of us which are essentially false. Only God "knows us altogether; " for it is he alone that "looketh upon the heart," that is "a Discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." His glance penetrates to the innermost chambers of our soul. He sees:

1. The motives by which we are actuated in our deeds; seeing often that apparently good deeds are inspired by low or even bad motives, and that deeds which society condemns are relieved by unselfish promptings.

2. The feeling that accompanies our expression; whether it is slight or whether it is deep; often perceiving that it is more or that it is less than we imagine it to be.

3. The purpose of our heart toward himself; determining whether, in the presence of much profession, there is genuine devotedness; whether, in the absence of profession and even of assurance, there is not true godliness in the soul.

III THE DIVINE REVERSAL. "That which is highly esteemed," etc. Of those things concerning which these strong words are true, there are:

1. Assumed and also unpractical piety. The hypocrite is hateful in the sight of Absolute Purity; we know what Christ thought of him. Less guilty and yet guilty is the mere ceremonialist he who has no more piety than is found in a multitude of sacred ceremonies, who has not learned to regulate his life or to regard the claims of others. To frequent the sanctuary on one day, and the next to take a mean advantage of some weak brother, is odious in the sight of the common Father.

2. Self-seeking philanthropy the show of doing good to others which is nothing more than a profitable pretence, a course of conduct which has a benevolent aspect but which is secretly aiming at its own enrichment.

3. Irreverent activity. Men often yield great admiration to those whose lives are full of successful labour, who build up large fortunes or rise to great eminence and power by much energy and unremitting toil. But if those men are living godless lives, are excluding from the sphere of their thought and effort that Divine One, "with whom they have everything to do," and whose creative, preserving, and providing love has everything to do with their capacity, must we not say that the lives of these men are so seriously defective as to be even "abomination in the sight of God"? C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he said to them, Ye are they who justify yourselves before men - The sense of the whole passage is, that pride, wherewith you justify yourselves, feeds covetousness, derides the Gospel, ver. 14, and destroys the law, ver. 18. All which is illustrated by a terrible example. Ye justify yourselves before men - Ye think yourselves righteous, and persuade others to think you so.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Here our Saviour sharply reproves the Pharisees for their horrible pride, their self-justification, and vain affectation of the opinion and esteem of others; as if Christ had said, "You bear up yourselves, and take a pride in this, that men know no ill by you, that no man can say, ’Black is your eye;’ but God can see that black is your heart. You think that because you glory in your own excellences, God glories in you too; but whoever is highly esteemed by you, is abominated by God."

Learn, that no man ought to think himself approved of God barely because he is approved by himself; for all who justify themselves upon the goodness of their works are not good.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Luk 7:39, Luk 15:29; Mat 23:25, &c.

γινώσκει τὰς καρδίας. Hence God is called καρδιογνώστης in Act 15:8; and “in thy sight shall no man living be justified,” Psa 143:2. There is perhaps a reference to 1Sa 16:7; 1Ch 28:9.

ὑψηλόν. ‘Lofty.’

βδέλυγμα. Their ‘derision’ might terribly rebound on themselves. Psa 2:4.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15.] See last note, end.

δικαιοῦντες … ἐνώπ. τ. ἀνθρ., a contrast to ἥμαρτον ἐνώπιόν σου, ch. 15:18: and βδέλυγ. ἐνώπιον τ. θεοῦ to χαρὰ ἐνώπιον τ. ἀγγ. τοῦ θεοῦ, ch. 15:10.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀνθρώπων. This is the emphatic part of the statement. The Pharisees succeeded in exhibiting themselves as righteous persons in the judgment of men; but God’s judgment was very different. Comp. Mat 6:2, Mat 6:5, Mat 6:16, Mat 6:23:5, Mat 6:6, Mat 6:7, Mat 6:25.

ὁ δὲ θεὸͅ γινώσκει τᾲ καρδίᾳ. The use of γινώσκειν, which commonly implies the acquisition of knowledge, rather than εἰδέναι, is remarkable. We find the same word used of Christ,even where the knowledge must have been supernatural (Joh 2:24, Joh 2:25, Joh 2:10:14, 27, Joh 2:17:25). The exact antithesis would have been, “but before God ye cannot justify yourselves.” This, however, would have implied that there were no Pharisees who were not hypocrites: that God reads their hearts is true in all cases. Comp. ὁ δὲ Θεὸͅ ὄυεται εἰͅ καρδίαν (1Sa 16:7), and again, πάσᾳ καρδίᾳ ἐτάζει κύριοͅ καὶ πᾶν ἐνθύμημα γινώσκει (1Ch 28:9).

ὅτι τὸ ἐν ἀνθρώποιͅ ὑψηλόν. We must understand something before ὅτι: “But God knoweth your hearts [and He seeth not as man seeth], because that which is exalted in the eyes of men,” etc. For this use of ἐν comp. 1Co 14:11, and perhaps Jud 1:1: it is clear that ἐν ἀνθρώποιͅ = ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀνθρώπων above. Comp. Job 10:4; 1Sa 16:7.

βδέλυγμα. Here only in N.T. in the general sense of an abomination: comp. Gen 43:31, Gen 44:34. Elsewhere (Mat 24:15; Mar 13:14; Rev 17:4, Rev 17:5, 21:27) of the special abominations of idolatry: comp. 1Ki 11:5, 1Ki 11:33, 1Ki 11:20:26; 2Ki 16:3, 2Ki 21:2. The word belongs to Hellenistic Greek, and is very freq. in LXX. It meant originally that which greatly offends the nostrils, and it is very much in excess of the usual antithesis to ὑψηλόν, viz. ταπεινόν. See Suicer, s.v.; D.C. G. “Abomination.”

16-18.The discourse has been so greatly condensed that the connecting links have been lost. It is possible that the connexion is something of this kind. “To be justified before God is all the more necessary now when the Kingdom of God among men is being founded. The Law has been superseded. Its types have been fulfilled, and its exclusiveness is abolished: everyone now can force his way to salvation. But the moral principles of the Law are imperishable: you cannot abolish them. And thus your frequent divorces violate the spirit of the Law.” Others regard ver. 18 as symbolical. “You and those whom you instruct are wedded to the Divine revelation, and if you desert it for anything else you are guilty of spiritual adultery.” But in that case what meaning can the second clause have? How can anyone commit spiritual adultery by accepting the revelation which the Jews rejected? See on ver. 18 for another attempt at a parabolic interpretation.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Abomination. See on Mt 24:15.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.