16
Confronting Error with Condemnation, Not Conversation
(Luke 20:45–21:4)
And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.” And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.” (20:45–21:4)
Emissaries of Satan have always twisted, distorted, and denied God’s word. False prophets and false teachers have led millions of people astray from the truth, dooming them to share their own eternal punishment in hell (Matt. 23:15).
The Old Testament records early warnings of the deadly danger false teachers posed to Israel. As they were about to enter the Promised Land, Moses cautioned the nation to be on guard against those who would deceive them with lies:
If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, “Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,” you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deut. 13:1–3)
But Israel was indifferent to Moses’ warnings, so when false prophets arose the people followed their defective doctrine into judgment. “The prophets prophesy falsely,” God later said through Jeremiah, “and the priests rule on their own authority; and My people love it so!” (Jer. 5:31). In Jeremiah 14:14 He added, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds” (cf. 2:8; 6:14).
Through His true and faithful prophets, like Jeremiah, God pronounced judgment on the false prophets and warned His people of their danger:
“Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray. Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: The committing of adultery and walking in falsehood; and they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like Sodom, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah. Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets, ‘Behold, I am going to feed them wormwood and make them drink poisonous water, for from the prophets of Jerusalem pollution has gone forth into all the land.’” Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; they speak a vision of their own imagination, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace”’; and as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, they say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you.’ … I did not send these prophets, but they ran. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied. But if they had stood in My council, then they would have announced My words to My people, and would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds. … I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’ How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the Lord. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who steal My words from each other. Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the Lord, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the Lord. (Jer. 23:13–17, 21–22, 25–32; cf. 27:9–10, 14–16)
Ezekiel also recorded God’s condemnation of the fraudulent preachers:
Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord’ Thus says the Lord God, “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing. O Israel, your prophets have been like foxes among ruins. You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build the wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the Lord. They see falsehood and lying divination who are saying, ‘The Lord declares,’ when the Lord has not sent them; yet they hope for the fulfillment of their word. Did you not see a false vision and speak a lying divination when you said, “The Lord declares,” but it is not I who have spoken?”’” Therefore, thus says the Lord God, “Because you have spoken falsehood and seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you,” declares the Lord God. “So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, that you may know that I am the Lord God. It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace.” (Ezek. 13:1–10; cf. 14:9–10; 22:25, 28)
The New Testament also warns of the deadly peril of religious liars. Jesus told His followers, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15). Paul cautioned the elders at Ephesus that “savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:29–30). He warned the Corinthians that “such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ” (2 Cor. 11:13) when in reality they are “servants [of Satan who] disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (v. 15). Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:6–7; cf. Phil. 3:18–19). In the last inspired letter he penned, the apostle commanded his protégé Timothy, “Avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some” (2 Tim. 2:16–18; cf. 1 Tim. 4:1–3). Jude (Jude 1–19), Peter (2 Peter 2:1–22; 3:15–17), and John (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7) also warned their readers to beware of false teachers.
Though always present, at no time in previous history were false teachers more aggressive than during the Lord Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry. In a desperate and futile attempt to thwart the gospel purposes of God, Satan unleashed all the power of hell against Jesus. The human agents of the darkness who carried out that assault were the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians—the political and religious leaders of Israel. Those sects, normally bitterly divided against each other, temporarily set aside their differences and united in their determination to eliminate the disruptive Jesus.
Final confrontation between the Jewish religious leaders and Jesus took place on Wednesday of Passion Week. All of their desperate attempts throughout His ministry to discredit and silence Him had failed, and they had concluded it was useless to ask Him more questions (Luke 20:40). Instead, in a final act of mercy and compassion to show them the truth, He questioned them, challenging them to explain how the Messiah could be both David’s son and his Lord as Psalm 110 revealed (vv. 41–44).
After this last confrontation with the elite religionists, the Lord had nothing more to say to them until His trial before the Sanhedrin. He was also finished addressing the crowds, and shifted the direction of His teaching to His disciples. While all the people were still listening to His teaching, Jesus targeted His words specifically to the disciples.
The Lord did not seek common ground with those who rejected the truth. When compassion was exhausted and invitations spurned, He condemned them. Before issuing His condemnation of the religious leaders, Jesus cautioned His hearers of the danger that was hidden in their teaching, gave a characterization of them, condemned them, and pointed to a case that exemplified the threat they posed.
THE CAUTION
“Beware of the scribes, (20:46a)
Matthew’s account notes that Jesus extended His warning to include the Pharisees (Matt. 23:2). Not all Pharisees were scribes, but the scribes were primarily Pharisees, who were interpreters and teachers of the law of Moses and the traditional rabbinic writings. Their teaching provided the theological framework for the Pharisees’ legalistic system of works-righteousness. The scribes were the dominant force in Judaism, not only theologically, but socially. Their views affected every aspect of life, and they also handled all legal matters, including property, estates, and contracts. They were revered, and given the respectful title of Rabbi (Matt. 23:7). That title was sometimes given to Jesus because He was a teacher (cf. John 1:38, 49; 3:2, 26; 6:25). It was commonly believed that Moses received the law, then gave it to Joshua, who gave it to the elders, who gave it to the prophets, who gave it to the scribes.
Because of the elevated esteem in which the populace held them, it must have come as a shock when Jesus warned, “Beware of (“take heed of”; “guard against”) the scribes.” They posed a soul-killing threat because they did not know God or the way to heaven, nor did they possess true spiritual wisdom. The scribes were destructive agents of Satan who opposed the purposes of God. Although it was not apparent on the outside, on the inside they were vile sinners. In Matthew 23:27 Jesus declared, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (cf. Luke 11:44). They had nothing beneficial to offer spiritually, and were hypocrites to be avoided. The opening verse of Psalm 1 praises “the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”
THE CHARACTERIZATION
who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. (20:46b–47a)
Jesus gave five illustrations of the scribes’ hypocrisy. First, they liked to walk around in long, fancy, expensive robes. In Numbers 15:38–40 God instructed the Israelites to add tassels to their robes to remind them of His commandments, and Jesus had such tassels on the fringe of His cloak (Matt. 9:20). But the scribes and Pharisees lengthened their tassels in an ostentatious display of their supposed piety.
Second, they loved respectful greetings in the market places. As they mingled in public, the scribes expected to be noticed and addressed with dignified titles. The Lord’s extended condemnation of them in Matthew 23 reveals that they wanted to be called “Rabbi” (v. 7), a title denoting an exalted, revered teacher. An example of just how revered they were comes from the Mishnah, which states, “It is more culpable to transgress the words of the Scribes than those of the Torah” (cited in Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974], 1:625 n. 1). Edersheim went on to relate more outrageous statements regarding the scribes:
So weighty was the duty of respectful salutation by the title Rabbi, that to neglect it would involve the heaviest punishment. … It reads like a wretched imitation from the New Testament, when the heathen Governor of Cæsarea is represented as rising up before Rabbis because he beheld “the faces as it were of Angels;” or like an adaptation of the well-known story about Constantine the Great when the Governor of Antioch is described as vindicating a similar mark of respect to the Rabbis by this, that he had seen their faces and by them conquered in battle. … To supply a learned man with the means of gaining money in trade, would procure a high place in heaven. It was said that, according to Prov. viii. 15, the sages were to be saluted as kings; nay, in some respects, they were higher for, as between a sage and a king, it would be duty to give the former priority in redemption from captivity, since every Israelite was fit to be a king, but the loss of a Rabbi could not easily be made up. (Ibid., 5:409)
Incredibly, “a Rabbi went so far as to order that he should be buried in white garments, to show that he was worthy of appearing before his Maker” (ibid., 5:409). Edersheim then gave perhaps the most shocking example of all:
Perhaps the climax of blasphemous self-assertion is reached in the story, that, in a discussion in heaven between God and the heavenly Academy on a Halakhic question about purity, a certain Rabbi—deemed that most learned on the subject—was summoned to decide the point! As his soul passed from the body he exclaimed: “Pure, pure,” which the Voice from Heaven applied to the state of the Rabbi’s soul; and immediately afterwards a letter had fallen from heaven to inform the sages of the purpose of which the Rabbi had been summoned to the heavenly assembly, and afterwards another enjoing a week’s universal mourning for him on pain of excommunication. (Ibid., 5:410)
Never humble, the scribes also wanted to be called “father,” imagining themselves to be the source of spiritual life and truth, and “leader,” as befits the ones who determine direction and destiny.
Third, they sought the chief seats in the synagogues, which were on the elevated platform at the front. They also sought the places of honor at banquets, the ones closest to the host. “Rabbinic writings lay down elaborate directions, what place is to be assigned to the Rabbis, according to their rank, and to their disciples, and how in the College the most learned, but at feast the most aged, among the Rabbis, are to occupy the ‘upper seats’” (ibid., 5:409; cf. Matt. 23:1–12).
The first three examples highlighted the scribes’ overweening pride. But the next one introduces a more sinister aspect of their hypocrisy—their rapacious greed that led them to prey on the most defenseless members of society. That the scribes would stoop so low as to devour widows’ houses graphically illustrates the intense desire for wealth that characterizes false teachers (cf. Mic. 3:5, 11; 2 Peter 2:1–3, 14). Devour translates a form of the Greek verb katesthiō, an intense word that literally means “to eat,” and metaphorically, “to devour completely,” “to consume,” or, “to eat up.” The Old Testament teaches that widows are to be protected and cared for (e.g., Ex. 22:22; Deut. 10:18; 14:29; 24:17–21; 27:19; Pss. 68:5; 146:9; Prov. 15:25; Isa. 1:17; Jer. 22:3; Zech. 7:10), but the scribes consumed their meager resources. They took advantage of their hospitality, cheated them out of their estates, mismanaged their property, and took their houses as pledges for debts that they could never repay (cf. Darrell L. Bock, Luke 9:51–24:53, The Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996], 1643).
Finally, for appearance’s sake they offered long prayers, not to call attention to God, but to themselves as pious. Jesus strongly condemned such self-exalting, God-dishonoring prayers in the Sermon on the Mount:
When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. (Matt. 6:5–6)
THE CONDEMNATION
These will receive greater condemnation.” (20:47b)
Far from being rewarded for their self-righteous, outwardly moral lives, the scribes would receive greater condemnation from God for leading people astray from the truth. His condemnation of them is consistent with the Bible’s strong warnings against and denouncing of false teachers, as I noted in an earlier volume of this series:
God’s attitude toward false teachers stands in sharp contrast to the inclusiveness and tolerance of error that pervades contemporary evangelicalism. Scripture denounces them as blind men; “mute dogs unable to bark; dreamers lying down who love to slumber”; ignorant (Isa. 56:10); demented fools (Hos. 9:7); reckless, treacherous men (Zeph. 3:4); ravenous wolves (Matt. 7:15); blind guides of the blind (Matt. 15:14; cf. 23:16); hypocrites (Matt. 23:13); fools (v. 17); whitewashed tombs full of bones (v. 27); serpents; a brood of vipers (v. 33); thieves and robbers (John 10:8); savage wolves (Acts 20:29); slaves of their own appetites (Rom. 16:18); hucksters peddling the word of God (2 Cor. 2:17); false apostles; deceitful workers (2 Cor. 11:13); servants of Satan (v. 15); purveyors of a different gospel (Gal. 1:6–8); dogs; evil workers (Phil. 3:2); enemies of the cross of Christ (Phil. 3:18); conceited and understanding nothing (1 Tim. 6:4); men of depraved minds deprived of the truth (v. 5); men who have gone astray from the truth (2 Tim. 2:18); captives of the devil (v. 26); deceivers (2 John 7); ungodly persons (Jude 4); and unreasoning animals (v. 10). As a result, the Bible also pronounces severe judgment on them (Deut. 13:5; 18:20; Jer. 14:15; Gal. 1:8–9; Rev. 2:20–23).
The reason for such seemingly harsh language is the deadly danger false teachers pose because they engage in Satan’s most distinctive wickedness and the most devastating sin; they lead people astray from the truth of God’s word (Isa. 3:12; 9:16; Jer. 14:13; 23:26–27, 32; 50:6; Matt. 23:13, 15; 24:4–5, 24; Luke 11:46, 52; Rom. 16:17–18; Col. 2:4, 8, 18; 1 Thess. 2:14–16; 2 Tim. 3:13; Titus 1:10; 2 John 7)—including the need for repentance from sin (Jer. 6:14; 8:11; 23:21–22; Lam. 2:14; Ezek. 13:10, 16, 22). Left unchecked, the demon doctrines they peddle (1 Tim. 4:1) will ravage souls and corrupt the church (Acts 20:29–30; 2 Tim. 2:17–18), lulling many into a false sense of security regarding their salvation. (Luke 6–10, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 2011], 112)
THE CASE
And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.” (21:1–4)
The previous section ended with a warning of judgment (20:47), and the next section (21:5–36) resumes that theme. The question arises as to how this intervening passage fits into that context. Why did Luke inject this story of a widow giving an offering between a diatribe against false leaders, and a pronunciation of future judgment?
This little vignette is commonly, if oddly, interpreted as a lesson on giving, in which the widow’s sacrificial offering is presented as a ray of sunshine in the darkness of hypocrisy and judgment. Not only is such a perspective alien to the context, but also if Jesus is teaching a lesson on giving, is the lesson to give everything you have, go home, and starve? On that, commentators differ.
Some argue that the story teaches that the true measure of a gift is not what was given, but what was withheld; not the amount of the gift, but the amount the giver kept back.
Others insist that a gift should be measured by the giver’s self-denial, as reflected by the percentage given.
Another view, related to the first two, is that a gift’s value is directly related to the attitude with which it is given. Was it given selflessly? Humbly? As an expression of love and devotion to God? Since the widow had the least amount possible left after her gift, she must have had the attitude most pleasing to God.
The only real option is that the gift that truly pleases God is everything.
All those ideas, however, are imposed on the narrative; Jesus drew no principle regarding giving from her behavior. The text does not record that He condemned the rich for their giving, or commended the widow for hers. There is no judgment made regarding the true nature of her act, nor is anything said about her attitude, or the spirit in which her gift was given. Since Jesus made no point about giving, neither should the interpreter.
To frame this incident as a lesson on giving isolates it from the obvious theme of divine judgment on false religious leaders, their followers, and, ultimately, on the nation as a whole. Such interpretations also assume that Jesus was pleased with the widow’s gift, which He does not state or even imply. Further, she was giving to a false, apostate system, not honoring to God. What is clear from the narrative is that the widow’s involvement in that system cost her everything she had. That is the obvious lesson. False religion can and does divest the weakest of their resources down to the last coin. That is all the story means. It is an illustration of the corruption that was dominant in the religion.
Mark’s account of this incident reveals that the Lord was sitting down near the temple treasury. It was nearing the end of a long, exhausting Wednesday spent in the midst of massive crowds. Jesus had dialogued with the people, taught them, confronted and denounced the religious leaders (Matt. 23:1–36), and lamented the coming judgment on the nation (vv. 37–39). In addition to His physical weariness, Jesus felt deeply the agonizing, sad reality of Israel’s coming judgment.
The Lord’s eyes must have been downcast as He contemplated the damning false religion that had the nation in its grip, the corruption of the temple, and the divine judgment that would hit the city of Jerusalem and the temple (cf. Luke 21:5–36). As Luke’s account opens, Jesus looked up and saw the people (Mark 12:41), in particular the rich, putting their gifts into the treasury. The treasury, located in the Court of the Women, consisted of thirteen trumpet-shaped receptacles into which the people deposited their offerings.
The word translated rich (plousios) refers to those who have enough; who are fully supplied. But what caught the Lord’s attention was not the wealthy putting their lavish gifts into the treasury, but a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. Penichrōs (poor) describes someone who is poor and needy, but not destitute. Her offering of two small copper coins (lepta; the smallest denomination of Jewish currency) was a tiny fraction of what the rich would have given. Yet this poor widow, hoping to purchase blessing by following the Jewish religious system’s legalistic requirements, put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering, while those two small coins were all that she possessed.
This is clearly an example of what the Lord had spoken of earlier (see the discussion of 20:47 above). The legalistic works system had devoured this impoverished widow by taking from her all that she had to live on. The second use of poor in verse 3 reflects that reality; it is the word ptōchos, a different word than the one used in verse 2. Ptōchos describes those who have nothing and are reduced to begging. The Old Testament commanded that widows be cared for, as noted above, but the religious leaders set aside those commands for the sake of their traditions (and their greed). Mark 7:9–13 records Jesus’ condemnation of them for another practice that set aside the clear teaching of the Old Testament:
He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to be put to death’; but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
As the story of this widow reveals, deceptive, self-righteous religion preys on the weak, the desperate, and the defenseless. Far from being pleased with her giving, Jesus was angry that the so-called worship she had bought into had taken her last cent. The Lord would go on to pronounce judgment on that very apostate Judaism in the next section.
Money has always been at the heart of satanic religion (cf. Luke 16:14; 19:46; 1 Peter 5:2), consequently abuse of the poor by false religious systems has continued from our Lord’s day down to our own. For example, the medieval Roman Catholic Church defrauded the desperate by selling indulgences, purportedly to free the purchasers’ loved ones from purgatory. Like modern religious hucksters, those who sold them used fear tactics to relieve the poor of their money.
One very successful seller of indulgences was the Dominican friar Johann Tetzel. In the fall of 1517, Tetzel began selling indulgences in Germany, raising money to help build the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. Historian James M. Kittleson describes a typical Tetzel sales pitch:
“Do you not hear the voices of your dead relatives and others, crying out to you and saying, ‘Pity us, pity us, for we are in dire punishment and torment from which you can redeem us for a pittance’? And you will not?” Finally, there was the appeal: “Will you not then for a quarter of a florin receive these letters of indulgence through which you are able to lead a divine and immortal soul safely and securely into the homeland of paradise?” A money chest, a supply of blank indulgences, a scale to make certain that people’s coins were good, and the scribes were all ready and in their places. Then came Tetzel’s last exhortation: “Once the coin into the coffer clings, a soul from purgatory heavenward springs!” The transactions were finished quickly. Soon the entourage was on its way to the next town. (Luther the Reformer [Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1986], 103–104)
To Martin Luther, such “pious defrauding of the faithful” (Kittleson, 104) was intolerable. Like any true pastor, Luther was outraged at this fleecing of his flock. In response, he railed against indulgences and posted his famous Ninety-Five Theses condemning them along with other deadly aberrations. That act sparked the Reformation.
This passage is instructive in today’s context, as it reveals how Jesus dealt with those who did not believe the truth. His approach was radically different from that of today’s evangelical trends. The charismatic movement leads the list in taking money from the most desperate, weak, sick, and poor on the promise of health, wealth, and prosperity. The means is to send the minister “seed” money and wait for the Lord to fulfill all desires. Instead, like any Ponzi scheme, only the false teacher becomes rich.
Jesus taught in this passage that those who are purveyors of false religion will face the most severe divine condemnation. They are not fellow truth seekers, to be engaged in “conversation,” but dangerous opponents of biblical truth (cf. Matt. 7:15; Acts 20:29). While Christians are to compassionately present the gospel to them, pray for their salvation, and grieve when they reject the truth and are eternally lost, the true church of Jesus Christ must warn them and all who follow them of the grave and eternal danger awaiting.