God Was In Christ: An Advent Reading Of Luke 16

Day 16 Luke Chapter 16

“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail” {vv.16-17}.

In chapter sixteen, Jesus continually rebukes the Pharisees, who believed they were more righteous. In v.v. 16-17, Jesus speaks about John the Baptist and says that the culmination of redemptive history is marked by his ministry. Jesus once again reveals the hearts of the Pharisees when He explains the Law to them. With the arrival of John the Baptist as Jesus’ forerunner came the arrival of God’s Kingdom. The Pharisees thought of themselves as the experts in the Law and the Prophets, yet they were dense and missed the very One to whom the Law and the Prophets spoke. Many people, including the Pharisees, were trying to force their way into the kingdom by other means than what John and Jesus were teaching. While the Pharisees were busy scheming and plotting against Jesus and opposing His teaching, multitudes of sinners were entering the Kingdom. The “by violent force” probably describes the zeal with which sinners sought to enter the Kingdom.[1]

Regardless of their self-justification, they were not living according to God’s Law. The fulfillment of the Law does not mean an end to the Law. Because of Jesus’ sinless, perfect, once-and-for-all sacrifice, the sacrificial requirements of the Law were no longer needed. However, the principle of the Law did not conclude, and they (and we) are required to live by the principle of the Law, to be written in our hearts (Rom. 2:15). Paul later rebukes the religious leaders for the same heart issue:

“Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it” {Acts 7:52–53 NASB}.

God’s eternal laws and principles did not cease. We must still live out love, faith, hope, loving our neighbors, and putting God first by seeking His Kingdom. 

Let’s purpose through this Advent to continue to live out the principles of God’s Law, which Christ declared should now be written on our hearts. Let’s put God first in our lives—this Advent—and beyond and give Him our very best.

 

 

[1] John F. MacArthur, ed., “Luke 16: 16–17,” The John MacArthur Study Bible: English Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2021), 1409.

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