Luke 16:17Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Their minds have been darkened, and they have rejected the light of the glory of Christ because they did not recognize Him. He declared this about the Jewish populace, saying, ‘I have likened your mother to the night. My people are like those who have no knowledge. Since you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from My priesthood. And you have forgotten the law of your God, and I will forget your children.’ You will notice that the multitude of the disobedient is appropriately compared to darkness and night, while the radiant day-star and Sun of righteousness illuminate the minds and hearts of believers. Those who disdain such magnificent grace remain shrouded in darkness and ignorance. This aligns with the proclamations of the holy prophets concerning Israel. Yet for those who recognized the revelation of Christ's glory, the Savior of all, God the Father promised through one of the holy prophets, ‘And I will strengthen them in the Lord their God, and in the name of their God will I establish them.’ Similarly, the Psalmist, inspired by the Spirit, declares to our Lord Jesus Christ, ‘They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy face, and in Thy Name shall they rejoice every day. For Thou art the glory of their strength, and in Thy righteousness our horn shall be exalted.’ We boast in Christ, and being justified by Him, we rise, having shed the degradation of sin. Living in the fullness of virtue, we also gain an accurate and pure knowledge of the doctrines of truth. God has assured us of this, as expressed through Isaiah: ‘And I will lead the blind in a way which they know not, and in paths which they have not known, I will compel them to walk. And I will make their darkness light, and all their steep places smooth.’ We, who once were blind, have received enlightenment and now walk in the unfathomable pathways of righteousness, while those who prided themselves on the law as their guide have fallen into darkness. As Christ articulated, ‘darkness hath blinded their eyes, and blindness hath partly happened to Israel, that seeing they should not see, and hearing they should not hear.’ They have sinned against the holy prophets and even dared to raise their hands against Him who called them to salvation and eternal life. Even so, though they are disobedient and mock His guiding words—to attain what is beneficial—it is evident that such behavior was foreseen and foretold by the law and the prophets. God's proclamations are certain to be fulfilled, for He has announced what He knows must inevitably come to pass. Consequently, unbelief leads to destruction, as does the arrogance of the proud heart rebelling against Christ, our Savior. To Him, alongside God the Father, be glory and power, with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever, Amen.

Just as a man who divorces his wife and remarries another (without just cause) violates the law not only in its current expression but also within himself, so too does one who abandons their relationship with God and elevates themselves or their righteousness to a god-like status. Moreover, just as one who weds a divorced woman sins, you too stand guilty before God when you cling to the former Old Testament practices, legal standards that you have transformed into a means of self-serving interest.

He said, “Think not, saith He, that I am come to break the law, or the prophets; I am not come to break it, but to fulfil it.” The law must be upheld in all its rigor until it is completely realized, indicating that one who disobeys even a single commandment “shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven,” while those who observe the law and guide others to do the same will be honored in that kingdom. Furthermore, He declared, “unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-20).

He completed every commandment and, in a more profound sense, filled the law with meaning, revealing that it represented only a shadow of what was to come.

While the ceremonial and preparatory laws have ceased to hold authority since Christ’s arrival, the moral law, encompassing faith and piety, as well as the genuine spirit of revelation, remains intact and unshaken for eternity. Thus, adhering to the teachings of the Gospel in the New Testament simultaneously fulfills the commandments found in the Old Testament, not in their literal sense but in the highest and most complete manner. "Amen I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, a single jot or a single line shall not pass away from the law, Till all be accomplished." The smallest Hebrew letter, a jot, or even the tiniest stroke of a pen signifies that even the seemingly trivial aspects of Divine law have purpose and importance. Consequently, those who disregard even the least of these commandments and teach others to do the same will be deemed insignificant in the Kingdom of Heaven; however, those who practice and teach them will be regarded as great.

The categorization of commandments into major and minor was a contrivance of the Pharisees to excuse themselves from fulfilling the lesser ones, ignoring that these could address the very essence of the law — justice, mercy, and faith. Contrary to the misunderstandings of the Pharisees, the Lord emphasized the necessity of upholding the law in its entirety. The law of the Gospel carries equal weight, as the Lord referred to the least of the commandments as those He intended to impart; violations of these often appear trivial to those who focus only on the literal text instead of understanding the deeper law of the spirit inscribed on their hearts.

The Lord also emphasized that unless one’s righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, they shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The scribes and Pharisees, who falsely claimed strict adherence to the law, overlooked its deeper dimensions and crafted their own version of righteousness that was proud, hypocritical, and solely superficial, stopping short of true understanding. In essence, the righteousness of the Old Testament is insufficient for the followers of the Gospel, as noted by St. Isidore Pelusiot, who remarked that those adhering to the Gospel's rigorous standards are destined for heavenly rewards, while those from the Old Testament were credited only with earthly blessings. The Old Law was designed for the people of Israel, and any perceived inadequacies are not due to God’s commandments but rather to the limitations of those who enforced the law.