Lucas 16:18

Jesus next cited an example of the continuing validity of the Old Testament and the Pharisees’ disregard of it. God still expected and expects submission to His Word. The Pharisees did not condone adultery, though they permitted divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). Some Pharisees permitted a man to divorce his wife and then remarry another woman, though most of them did not grant women the same privilege. [Note: Marshall, The Gospel . . ., p. 631.] Jesus condemned such conduct as a violation of the seventh commandment. This was an example of the Pharisees justifying themselves in the eyes of men but not being just before God (Luke 16:15). Jesus both affirmed and clarified the Old Testament revelation. Therefore for the Pharisees to disregard His teaching about money was equivalent to rejecting other divine revelation.

This teaching on divorce supplements other statements that Jesus made on the same subject on other occasions (cf. Matthew 5:32; Matthew 19:9; Mark 10:11). Matthew 19:9 and Mark 10:11 evidently record one teaching incident. Matthew 5:32 occurs in the context of the Sermon on the Mount. Luke’s reference reflects a third context. As in Mark 10:11, Jesus omitted the exception clause here (cf. Matthew 5:32; Matthew 19:9). He evidently did not want to draw attention to the exceptional case because to do so would weaken His main point, namely, that people should not divorce. Matthew included Jesus’ permission to divorce for fornication because the subject of how to deal with divorce cases involving marital unfaithfulness was of particular interest to the Jews.

"The basic application to this small unit is to respond with obedience to the kingdom demand for ethical integrity, whether it be in how we deal with our resources or how we approach our marriages." [Note: Bock, Luke, p. 429.]