Luke 16:15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Summary

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.

Ye

God

For

1 Peter 3:4

1 Peter 5:5

Bible References

Ye

But, wanting to justify himself, the teacher of the law of Moses asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees [meticulously] clean the outside of the cup and the dish [i.e., this was an allusion to their lives], but you are filled with greed for wealth and [other] evils on the inside.

The Pharisee stood up [conspicuously] and prayed about himself this way [i.e., bragging to God about how good he was], 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, sexually unfaithful to their mates, or even like that tax collector [over there].

And they kept watching Him, [even] sending informants who pretended to be good [men], in order to get hold of something He said so they could turn Him over to the ruling authority of the governor.

"Therefore, when you give money to help poor people, do not blow a trumpet in front of you [i.e., to call attention to it] as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and streets. They do this in order to win praise from people. It is true when I say to you, they have [already] received their reward.

But they do all their deeds just to be seen by people. They wear elaborate Scripture texts displayed on their clothing and enlarge [conspicuously] the fringes of their robes.

This is because no human being can be considered right with God by [obeying] the requirements of a law. [Note: It is difficult to determine the exact sense in which "law" is used in these verses. It may be law generally, or the law of Moses specifically. See Bruce, pages 52-58]. For the knowledge of what sin is comes from the law of Moses.

Was not our forefather Abraham made right with God by deeds [of obedience] when he offered his son Isaac [as a sacrifice] on the Altar?

God

and He did not need anyone to tell Him about mankind, for He Himself knew what was in the hearts of mankind.

Then Jesus asked him a third time, "Simon, son of John, do you [truly] love me?" Peter was sad because Jesus had asked him a third time, "Do you [even] love me?" So, he said to Jesus, "Lord, you know all things. You [surely] know that I love you." Jesus replied to him, "[Then] feed my sheep.

(Now this man [Judas] paid for [in a sense] a [burial] field with the reward money he had received for his sinful act [of betraying Jesus, See Matt. 27:3-10]. [Then, some time after Judas hanged himself, See Matt. 27:5] he fell down headlong, [his swollen body] bursting so that his intestines gushed out.

And God, who knows [all people's] hearts, gave His testimony [to their acceptance] by giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did to us [See 11:15-17].

So, do not judge anything until the appointed time, when the Lord returns [i.e., to do the judging]. He will both shed light on the hidden things done in the dark and make known the motives of people's hearts. Then each person [i.e., who deserves it] will receive praise from God.

And I will strike her children dead [or, "kill her children by some terrible calamity" See Ex. 5:3 LXX]. Then all the churches will know that I am the One who searches the inmost being of people [Note: The Greek says, "searches the kidneys and hearts." In that day these internal organs stood for the inner thoughts, emotions, etc.]. And I will repay each one of you people according to what you have done.

For

But [the kind of adornment you should display is] that of the inner person, with its enduring qualities of a meek and calm spirit, which are extremely valuable in God's eyes.

And in the same way, you younger [Christians] should be [respectfully] submissive to the older ones. And all of you should [be willing to] humbly serve one another, for God stands opposed to [the efforts of] proud people, but extends His unearned favor to those [who serve] with humility.