42: Exposing Hypocrisy Smackdown (Luke 11:37-54)

Jackie Watts

The Gospel of Luke: The Greatest Story Ever Told • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

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Next week - I will be here at 8:30 Worship & teaching at a sister church at 11am. James Johnson will be teaching here as we continue our Luke Series & Big Kettle Drum leading 11am & 6pm Concert (love offering)

A prideful man was trying to show his class of boys the importance of living the Christian life. "Why do people call me a Christian?" the man asked. After a moment's pause, one youngster said, "Maybe it's because they don't know you.”

People hate hypocrisy when they see it in others; they just don’t seem to hate the hypocrisy they see from the person in the mirror. Today we discover why we must rid OUR LIVES of hypocrisy.

PRAY Would you pray this with me today? Father, please reveal any hypocrisy in my life and help me remove it from my life, for my good & Your glory. Amen.

Luke 11:37 (NIV)

37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.

We don’t know this Pharisee’s intentions, but he invites Jesus for lunch in his home. Maybe he wants to hear more or get some questions answered from the Someone Stronger than Satan & Someone Greater than Solomon & Jonah. But as they recline for the meal something strange catches the Pharisee’s attention.

Luke 11:38 38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

What’s THAT all about? Mark's writing mentions this:

Mark 7:3–4 (NIV)

3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)

So this washing wasn’t a Biblical command, but a man-made tradition. This tradition symbolized washing off the impurities of the outside world. Now, there’s nothing wrong with man-made traditions UNLESS it: 1) disagrees with God’s Word OR 2) claims to have the same authority as God’s Word. And this, in fact, is the problem. This happens in our world too.

Years ago I was on the sidelines of a football game, the chaplain of the team, I left my hat on my head during the prayer, not concerned in the least that this offended God. For a man to remove his hat during prayer - is NOT a biblical command, but a cultural expectation.

But after the game a man approached me with an attitude - acting as if I offended God, when all I did was somehow offend him. I asked, “How did you know I had my hat on DURING PRAYER? Why did you have your EYES OPEN during prayer?” - since that too is a cultural expectation of what we SHOULD do when we pray.

And this is exactly what happened when Jesus chose not to wash His hands before the meal. Jesus broke a cultural expectation, but not a Biblical Command. In fact, I think Jesus deliberately bypassed this man-made tradition to spotlight the difference between loving obedience and ritualistic hypocrisy.

As the Pharisee wonders how Jesus could possibly sidestep this tradition of the elders…

Luke 11:39-41 39 [Then] the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

What would parents say to the child who washes the OUTSIDE of the cup or bowl...while the inside remains untouched? Each day, the child eats from the same bowl, clean on the outside - nasty on the inside.

This is the point Jesus is making. The Pharisees were more concerned with being clean on the OUTSIDE instead of being clean on the INSIDE. They TALKED a good game, but they were full of greed and wickedness. If they were clean on the INSIDE, that would result in being generous to the poor, instead of being greedy.

And then Jesus brings the SMACKDOWN…listing of 6 woes on the Pharisees.

Way back in week 19 of this series - today is week 42 - we said that:

Woe (οὐαί) is an “intense hardship or distress—‘disaster, horror.’”

Woe is a term that OT prophets would use when warning people of God’s coming judgment.

And like prophets of old, Jesus says…

Luke 11:42

42 “Woe to you Pharisees [i.e. judgment is coming], because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

Mint & rue were garden herbs, small plants used to season food. So these Pharisees brought more than wine, oil, & grain from their fields…they were meticulous to bring stems & leaves of these tiny herbs too.

Imagine a person giving a tenth of their money ➠ $100 = $10 to the temple [prop]

Then they count their change and give a tenth of that ➠ 30 cents - 3 pennies

If you saw this, you would probably think, “These people are REALLY committed to giving back to God,” but that’s NOT what Jesus thought.

Jesus confronts them, “You give to the temple, but don’t care for the people, and you ought to do both! So here’s a thought. How about being as careful to bring justice and the love of God to the people as you are about counting your pennies…because that just makes…CENTS.”

* Note that the New Testament does NOT teaching 'tithing', but generous giving. See our teaching on ‘Giving and the New Testament'.

But Jesus is far from done. Here comes WOE #2:

Luke 11:43 43 “Woe to you Pharisees [i.e. judgment is coming], because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

Synagogues had a semi-circular bench at the front of the building, facing the congregation, a place of honor reserved for important men. Further, many people would bow & speak kind words to Pharisees in public settings - like marketplaces.

Jesus confronts them, “You guys crave the recognition of others. You are prideful egotists instead of humble servants, more interested in hearing others encourage you instead YOU being an encouragement TO others!”

WOE #3 hits a nerve…

Luke 11:44 44 “Woe to you [i.e. judgment is coming], because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”

Stepping on the grave of another made a person ceremonially unclean for 1 week. Figuratively, those standing on the Pharisees’ teaching were NOT standing on holy ground, but on a burial ground, making others who came into contact with them unclean too.

The hypocrisy of the Pharisees was leading people AWAY from God rather than TO Him!

This must have REALLY been a stick in the eye for these who most considered the purest of the pure. But much like those in Micah’s day (about 700 years B.C.) - their many sacrifices didn’t outweigh the most important commands God had given…

Micah 6:6–8 (NIV)

6 With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

- This is exactly why Jesus pronounces the judgment woes on these guys. They didn’t act justly, love mercy, nor walk humbly.

Jesus ISN’T Done. He’s just getting warmed up!

But before we move further, let’s discover what principle WE can apply from Jesus’ judgment against the Pharisees.

We might want to see if maybe, just maybe, there is hypocrisy in our OWN lives. Why does that matter? It matters for the same reason Jesus is pronouncing WOE on the Pharisees:

BIG TRUTH: My hypocrisy means others will NOT see.BIG TRUTH: My hypocrisy means others will NOT see.BIG TRUTH: My hypocrisy means others will NOT see.BIG TRUTH: My hypocrisy means others will NOT see.

BIG TRUTH: My hypocrisy means others will NOT see.

As was true with the Pharisees, our hypocrisy can lead people AWAY from God instead of TO Him! You’ve heard of it happening.

A child sees her parents ‘play church’ then cuss each other out at home.

An employee hears his employer talk about Jesus & His servanthood, yet the boss treats him poorly, while making shady business decisions.

But let’s take a moment to get your eyes off of others and ask YOURSELF these 3 questions that will help EXPOSE HYPOCRISY in your own life.

Do I demonstrate False Humility? Do you consider yourself humble, yet crave the spotlight? If you have to TELL people how humble you are…YOU AREN’T. You wouldn’t likely buy a book entitled “Humbleness, and How I’ve attained it.”

Humble people don't seek out the ‘best seat,’ they give it up to others.

Humble people don’t seek others to encourage them, they seek others to encourage.

Do I practice Pretend Purity? Do you call others to walk in purity, yet hide secret sins?

Pure people don’t cover up their sins. They quickly repent & choose purity - even when others aren’t looking.

Am I a Spiritual Scrooge? Do you recognize that God has been generous to you, but refuse to be generous to others?

A spiritual scrooge expects others to give of their time, talents, & treasure, but won’t lift a finger to help others.

A spiritual scrooge expects others to quickly forgive them, but won’t forgive others as quickly.

And why should this bother us?

First, you WON’T know the Presence & Power of God if you live hypocritically.

Second…

BIG TRUTH: My hypocrisy means others will NOT see.

Do you want to lead people AWAY from God instead of TO Him?

This is EXACTLY what Jesus was saying about the Pharisees. One of the scribes, the more learned professor & prosecutor of God’s law, was certain Jesus wasn’t taking about him & his cronies, so he approached Jesus and said…

Luke 11:45

45 [One of the experts in the law answered him,] “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

I guess he was expecting Jesus to say, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that. Please forgive me.” But he was in for a rude awakening. If this were a pro wrestling match, Jesus was about to jump off the top ropes onto this guy with WOE #4

Luke 11:46 46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

Weightlifters sometimes attempt to lift more weight than what they thought they could…with the help of a spotter. The spotter stands behind the person to encourage & help them lift the bar if the one lifting is struggling. How cruel would a spotter be to intentionally load much more weight than the other person can lift, and then REFUSE to help when the weight is crushing his chest?

This is what these scribes - experts in the law - had added thousands of extra laws to God’s laws, laws they could NOT possibly fulfill on their own. And then the scribes sat down and watched people struggle to get it off their chests.

Can you see why Jesus was so upset with them? Their hypocrisy was leading people AWAY from God instead of TO Him.

WOE #5

Luke 11:47–49

47 “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49 Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’

While the Pharisees might have honored the past prophets with their lips, they rejected what the prophets said about the coming Messiah.

Just as their ancestors rejected the prophets and their message - even killing them, so we see these leaders reject Jesus & His message, and soon call for His death, as well as His followers.

And since there is no greater rejection than to reject God Himself, and since all the prophets in the Scripture ultimately pointed to Him…Jesus issues the most terrible judgment…

Luke 11:50–51a

50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary.

If the order of the Hebrew writings was the same in Jesus’ day as in the present Hebrew Scriptures, then Abel to Zechariah would represent the entire OT collection.

Abel's murder is recorded in the 1st book of Scripture - Genesis.

Zechariah was a high priest who confronted his sinful people in 2 Chronicles (24:20-22), - the last writing in the Old Testament Scriptural order - and it records him being stoned to death in the Temple courtyard, as Jesus says - between the altar and the sanctuary.

Finally, with WOE #6, Jesus throws the verbal punch that starts the fight.

Luke 11:51b-54 Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.

52 “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

Years ago a man who didn’t like me very much, a man who heard me teach many, many times - told others that I didn’t preach ‘the Gospel’. Call me names, say I’m a sorry preacher, make fun of my favorite teams…but tell a PREACHER he doesn’t preach the gospel? Now them’s fightin’ words. If he was right, then I am leading others AWAY from God instead of TO Him.

And this is EXACTLY what Jesus was telling these hypocritical religious leaders - they have taken away the key to knowledge - how to know God. Consequently, not only do THEY not enter the Kingdom, but those they lead don’t either! They are responsible for keeping others out of the Kingdom of God!

These leaders didn’t need to hear anymore. Jesus was not ‘public enemy #1’, and…

53 When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54 waiting to catch him in something he might say.

They REFUSED to respond to the rebuke of God in skin. Like many of us, they didn’t like being told they were wrong.

➲ When Jesus exposed their hypocrisy, they bowed up instead of bowing down.

Is THAT how we’ll respond? Or will we humbly bow, recognizing our hypocrisy, confessing it, and turn from it?

If so, then we will not only find forgiveness, but we can help lead others TO Jesus instead of away from Him.

While…

BIG TRUTH: My hypocrisy means others will NOT see.

Those who act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God will help others to see that God’s forgiveness & Presence is for real.

Close: So what IF your children, grandchildren, & your friends followed YOUR example?

Would they be living lives full of hypocrisy, saying one thing and doing another - leading others AWAY from God?

Or would your example of humility & sincerity lead those you care about TO right to the feet of the Savior?