"All they that see me laugh me to scorn". The supreme moment

chapter 14:35, with the solemn formula, "He that hath ears to

had come. We may thus paraphrase His words which follow and

hear, let him hear". We are immediately shown who had these

lead up to the Parable: "You deride and scoff at Me, as if I were

opened ears; for we read (15:1), "THEN drew near unto him all

mistaken, and you were innocent. You seek to justify yourselves

the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and

before men, but God knoweth your hearts. You highly esteem

Scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners and eateth

your traditions, but they are abomination in the sight of God (v.

with them." They professed to have the key of knowledge, but

15). The law and the prophets were until John, but you deal

they entered not in themselves; and those who were entering in

unjustly with them, changing them and wresting them at your

they hindered (Matt. 23:13-33). They had the Scriptures, but they

pleasure, by your tradition, and by the false glosses ye have put

overlaid them with their traditions, and thus made them of none

upon them. And when John preached the Kingdom of God,

effect (Matt. 15:19). They were like "the Unjust Steward" (Luke

every one used violence and hostility against it by contradictions,

16:1-12) in the parable which immediately follows Luke 15. For

persecution, and derision (v. 16). And yet, though by your vain

He would explain to His immediate believing followers the

traditions you would make the law void and of none effect, it is

iniquity of these murmuring Pharisees. They dealt unjustly with

easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the

the oracles of God which were committed unto them (Rom. 3:2).

law to fail (v. 17). Take one instance out of many. It is true that

They allowed His commandments to be disobeyed by others that

God permitted, and legislated for, divorce. But ye, by your

they might make gain. In Mark 7:9 the Lord said, "Full well ye

traditions and arbitrary system of divorces, have degraded it for

gain. Nevertheless, that law still remains, and will stand for ever,

reject (Margin, frustrate) the commandment of God, that ye may

and he who accepts your teaching on the subject, and receives

keep your own tradition". This was said in solemn irony; for they

your divorces, and marrieth another, committeth adultery" (v.

did not "well" in the strict meaning of the word, though they did

well, i.e. consistently with their own teaching when they

Then the Lord immediately passes on to the culminating point

practically did away with the fifth and seventh Commandments

of His lesson (v. 19): "There was a certain rich man", etc. He

for their own profit and gain, just as Rome in later days did away

makes no break. He does not call it, or give it as one of His own

with the doctrine of "justification through faith" by the sale of

Parables; but He at once goes on to give another example from

"indulgences". (Read carefully Matt. 15:3-6 and Mark 7:7-13).

the traditions of the Pharisees, in order to judge them out of their

They were "unjust stewards"; and contrary to their teaching, the

own mouth. A parable of this kind need not be true in itself, or in

Lord declared there was no such thing as "little" or "much"

fact; though it must be believed to be true by the hearers, if not

when it cam to honesty, especially in dealing with the Word of

by the speaker. No more that Jotham's parable of the Trees

God; and that, if they were unfaithful in the least, they would be

speaking (Judges 9:7-15). No more than when the Pharisees, on

in much also, and could not be trusted. The time was at hand

another occasion, said "this fellow doth not cast out devils but by

when the sentence would go forth, "thou mayest be no longer

Beelzebub, the prince of the devils"; and He, judging them out

of their own mouth, did not contradict them, nor did He admit

Then in Luke 16:14 we read: "The Pharisees also, who were

the truth of their words when He replied, "If I by Beelzebub cast

covetous, heard all these things; and they derided him" (v. 14):

out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?" (Matt.

lit., they turned up their noses at Him! Compare chapter 23:35,

12:24-27). No! the Lord did not bandy words in argument with

"The rulers scoffed at him". The same word as in Psalm 22:7,