Title: Rebuking the Pharisees (Luke 11:37-44)
A Pharisee asked Jesus.
Jesus willingly responded.
So, in response to the Pharisee's invitation to lunch, Jesus entered his house and sat down.
The Pharisee was not a convert.
There are times when we too share a table with the ungodly.
We cannot become hermits away from these people.
But we must never forget the spirit of Christ.
Jesus was always doing <the work of the Father> even when he was always with the ungodly.
Through the text, we discover the folly of religious hypocrisy.
The Bible testifies that the Pharisee who had served the Lord was amazed <when he saw that he did not wash his hands before eating>.
The Pharisees thought that not washing their hands was ungodly, and that neglecting it was morally impure.
But our Lord pointed out the irrationality of that ritual, which emphasized only the cleanliness of the body while overlooking the cleanliness of the heart.
Jesus looked into the man and said that he was clean on the outside but full of greed and wickedness on the inside.
And you posed a poignant question.
<Didn't the one who made the outside make the speed?> Actually, what we need to keep our minds clean is the heart rather than the outside.
No matter how holy we are and how much we practice physical asceticism, it is of no use if our mind is wrong.
No matter how solemn you appear, if you do not cast away the wickedness in your heart, even if you say Amen, Amen, and if you are not filled with the Holy Spirit and are not changed again, in the sight of God, you will only be abominable.
Proverbs 4:23 says, “More than anything else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
We should always look for where our hearts are, rather than outward piety.
We discover the contradiction brought about by religious hypocrisy through the text.
“Woe to you Pharisees, you tithe mint and rue and all vegetables, but neglect justice and the love of God.” It was in a state of disparity.
He had betrayed his love of God and his duty to his neighbor.
Even today, many people value daily worship, feasts, and public prayers, but they neglect to show the heart of Christ through daily life.
If this is not following in the footsteps of the Pharisees, what is it?
The Lord compared the Pharisees to a “plain tomb” that people walked by and did not know it was a tomb.
Even though the center of the proud Jewish teachers was full of corruption and filth, the deluded audience did not realize it at all.
The corruption of the Pharisees was cleverly concealed so that people could not see it.
They boasted of the outward beauty of faith, but their center was far from God.
In particular, leaders of faith must avoid falling into hypocrisy.
Dear saints, How can we assert today that we are not walking in the footsteps of the Pharisees? In many ways we follow the Pharisees.
If we do not distinguish between what is more important and what is not important, what is practical and what is not, we will not be able to annihilate the Pharisees to this day.
If you know that all these things come from the motivation to maximize yourself, I hope that you will give yourself completely to humility, love, meekness, and spiritual work today, and have victory through the help of the Holy Spirit.
.new <Prayer> Loving Lord! Thank you for making us realize our hypocrisy and spiritual ignorance through your Word today.
We confess that there are many times when we who should give glory to the Lord alone, live for our own glory, neglect our duty to love God and love our neighbor, and become slaves to corruption.
Lord! Help us to watch and pray, lest we fall into religious hypocrisy, and remove every morbid part of our nature.
Since we have decided and confessed to live in Christ, let us live a life of truth every day, and let us live with inner holiness, not with external holiness, and with the heart of true love for God and neighbor, that is, the heart of Christ.
I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen