"The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses" seat: all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that
observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not".
If we read the passage, as follows, we get a clearer conception of the Lord's meaning:
"The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses" seat: all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, YE
OBSERVE AND DO. But do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not",
and are spared the overwhelming difficulty presented by a passage indicating that the Lord actually
instructed men to "observe and do" the bidding of those whom He was to denounce immediately as
"hypocrites, fools, and blind guides". All that Matthew 23 says is that the people, overawed by the
authority assumed by the Scribes and Pharisees, did their bidding, whereas the Lord pronounced woe
upon these self-same, self-placed authorities whose works belied their pretended authority, and whose
traditions were so completely repudiated by Him.
Returning to Luke's Gospel we find in 18:1-8 another instance of contrast in the parable of the Widow
and the Unjust Judge. In Luke 19:12-27 we have an example of the Lord's method of taking something
that was believed by a man, though wrong, and showing that his actions were not consistent with his
beliefs, even though those beliefs were in themselves wrong. The servant admitted that his conception of
the lord was that he was an austere man, etc. Is there anyone with any knowledge of the Lord who would
say this was true simply because it is found in one of the Lord's own parables? If anyone did he would
find reproof awaiting in the verse that follows: "Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked
servant".
In Luke 16 the Pharisees realized that it was they who were referred to by the Lord as the unjust steward,
"and they derided Him". He then judged them out of their own mouths, for their traditional views
concerning hades, though contrary to the teaching of the Law and the Prophets, should have held them
back from the course of life they pursued.
Is Luke 16:19-30 Pharisaic tradition?
This is the crux of the whole matter, and demands immediate and complete explanation. In the
providence of God we have preserved the writings of an orthodox Jew (Josephus), who lived from A.D.
37 to about the year A.D. 100. He tells us that he was a Pharisee, and that from the age of 19 he sought to
conduct himself according to their rules. Among his writings is part of a discourse to the Greeks
concerning hades, and if we find that practically all the imagery of the parable we are dealing with is
given by Josephus, we shall be compelled to face the fact, and must honestly accept the consequences.
Luke 16:19-30
Josephus on hades
"It came to pass, that the beggar
"There is one descent into
died, and was carried by the
this region, at whose gate we
angels into Abraham's bosom".
believe there stands an
archangel with an host: which
gate when those pass through
that are conducted down by the
angels appointed over souls ...
are guided to the right hand ...
while they wait for that rest
and eternal new life in heaven,
which is to succeed this region.
This place we call The Bosom
of Abraham".
Here are two items exactly parallel: (1) the ministry of angels to the dead, and (2) the name of this portion
of hades - The Bosom of Abraham.
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