The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at (ridiculed) Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight (Luke 16:14-15).
SNEERING
When the Pharisees heard Jesus tell them that they should make friends by giving their money away, they responded by making fun of Jesus. Mockery is a typical reaction of people who take short cuts in debate. Rather than debate Jesus about what is right or wrong about saving money; rather than talk to him about what the Law says about saving money, they made fun of him, mocking him.
Sarcasm, put downs, mocking, and making light of an opponent are commonly used short cuts that political and religious debators use against their opponents. Often mockery is best used when there aren't enough solid reasons and/or arguements to combat the opponent. I think in this case, the Pharisees were so caught off guard with Jesus' attack on them (Jesus accused them of loving money), and with Jesus' teaching that the rich have to make friends with poor people (who are generally considered sinners), the only response that they could come up with was making light of Jesus and what he said.
By laughing at what Jesus said, the Pharisees and their audience could feel better about rejecting what he said. There was no valid argument refuting what he said; there was only a general consensus among many that what Jesus said was stupid. It works like this: "I don't agree with you, deep inside I feel that you are wrong, so what you say is messed up and not worth thinking about too much."
In mocking Jesus, the Pharisees lost the ability to hear something very important about money and how the use of our money can determine eternity.
What is it about our possessions and money that we don't want to hear?
What is it about our possessions and money that we don't want to hear?
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