Serving Two Masters
TRANSLATION
(13) (Jesus said,) “No person can serve two masters, for either you will hate the one and love the other or you will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (14) When the Pharisees who loved money heard these things, they sneered at Jesus. (15) He then said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. For what people value highly is detestable in God’s eyes. (16) The law and the prophets held sway until John. From then on the good news of the Kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is forcing their way into it. (17) It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one letter of the Law to fail. (18) Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and the one who marries a divorced wife commits adultery.”
OBSERVATIONS
Jesus’ concern in this segment was to show his disciples the dangers of divided loyalties, that is, attempting to serve two masters simultaneously. We simply cannot straddle such a fence. We are eventually forced to choose one side or the other. Either we submit to God and the truth of his Word or we serve our own interests. If we serve ourselves, we come under the condemnation of God’s revealed truth. Jesus then used the example of divorce to show how the Pharisees with their perspectives distorted by their self-serving traditions justified unbiblical actions instead of following God’s will. Repetitions again help us grasp the significance of Jesus’ teaching. These included “serve” (twice in vs. 13), “love/loved” (vss. 13 & 14), “money” (vss. 13 & 14), “the law” (vss. 16 & 17), “divorces(d)…adultery” (both found twice in vs. 18).
OUTLINE
I. Jesus set forth the principle that no one can serve two masters simultaneously. (13)
II. Jesus explored the principle using the Pharisees’ teaching on divorce as an example. (14-18)
IDEA STATEMENT
When loyalty to God is supplanted by self-interest, we go astray in understanding and applying his Word to our lives.
APPLICATION
Occasionally, we come across a passage in which something totally unexpected emerges. Such was the case when Jesus dealt with the Pharisees’ love of money. We readily follow his argument as he first stated the principle regarding the impossibility of serving two masters and then defended himself against the ridicule of those whose outlook on life was distorted by their love for material things. We easily follow his reasoning as he warned about the Pharisees mishandling the Word of God to justify their warped perspectives. However, we are surprised by his suddenly raising the issue of divorce. What does this difficult topic have to do with the principle regarding serving two masters?
Many Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day allowed men to divorce their wives for any number of reasons in addition to infidelity. By raising the issue of divorce in this context, Jesus strongly affirmed that God’s intent for the marriage relationship has always been that one man remain permanently united to one woman until their “one flesh” relationship is broken by death (Gen. 2:24). Any teaching that leads to the dissolution of that which God intended to last a lifetime violates his purpose for this most ancient and sacred of human relationships and representes a futile attempt to serve two masters, God and self.