Woe To You Luke (Part 1) 11:37-54

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

I will tell you that hearing that rocked my world.

I’m not sure that I still agree with the statement 100%, but I will say that hypocrisy is a stain on the church and in the life of believers.

And the reality is, hypocrisy isn’t something new, it’s something that has been a struggle or ages.

Jesus faced those who were hypocritical.

And He has some choice words for them.

And this is what we are going to examine this morning.

Jesus confronts 2 groups of people.

He confronts the Pharisees and he confronts the Lawyers/Scribes.

And He lays out 3 “woes” for each group.

So a total of 6 woes.

I know I’ve told you this before, but a “woe” is a warning of coming judgement or destruction.

If someone hears a “woe” they are doing something that displeases the Lord and will face his wrath.

However, there is space in the “woe” for repentance and correction.

It’s almost as if Jesus is saying…if you continue to go down this road it will not go well for you, but if you repent, salvation and forgiveness is available.

Though Jesus is talking to these men, I want us to know that we aren’t too far from falling into the same traps.

Before we dive in, I want to do two things.

First, I want to provide you with a general definition of hypocrisy and then I want to pray and ask the Lord to bless the study of his word.

For a general definition of Hypocrisy:

Being a hypocrite is when we believe that our observable conduct is what makes us Godly.

This is the trap that these religious men Jesus confronts are really good at.

They are good at looking religious and at doing the “right things” but all the while they aren’t right with God.

So as we study this passage, I pray that our hearts will be softened and our minds renewed so that we can live a life that doesn’t just look good on the outside, but has been transformed on the inside.

Let’s pray.

Luke 11:37–38 CSB

37 As he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him. So he went in and reclined at the table. 38 When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed that he did not first perform the ritual washing before dinner.

Dinner Party

Jesus is invited once again to another dinner party, this is one that is hosted by yet another Pharisee.

Remember the Pharisees were some of the religious elite during Jesus’ time.

They exercised strict obedience to the Law of Moses as given in the first 5 books of the bible.

Now, real quick, we need to know that this isn’t an incident that is isolated.

It runs in conjunction with what Jesus was just teaching about.

Remember in Luke 11:35 Jesus said,“35 Take care, then, that the light in you is not darkness.”

I explained last week that this phrase essentially means, don’t think that you are right with God when truly you are acting evil.

And immediately, we get this scene.

One of the things we need to know about the Pharisees is that they believed not just in the written Law of Moses, called the Written Torah, but they also developed what is called the Oral Torah or the law that is passed down orally.

This is where they took the law of Moses and added extra boundaries and rules to make sure that they don’t break the law.

One of the places we’ve seen this before is in the command to not work on the Sabbath.

That is what the written law said, but the Pharisees came along and said…don’t even mix water and mud together.

That’s the stuff that was used to hold bricks together.

Masonry is work. So therefore, mixing water and dirt together is work.

And a violation of the sabbath rule.

So that’s what they are doing here to Jesus.

They are adding to the law of Moses.

In fact, the washing and cleansing that they are referring to isn’t a law at all in the Scripture.

but their insistence on the validity of the oral tradition informs their understanding of the true Law given by God.

So for Jesus to not partake in this ritual washing, they see him as violating the law of moses.

which is why they are amazed.

So when they draw these lines and boundaries around God’s law and add their own expectations and regulations, they are adding to God’s Word.

Which is a big violation against the Lord.

For us, we need to make sure that we draw a sharp line between what God has demanded of us and what we try to demand of others.

There are plenty of times within church that we add extra biblical things as requirements for God’s holiness.

And I understand that it comes from a place of concern.

But we cannot add things to God’s law and then make it seem that it came from God himself.

If you want a good example, baptists are notorious for building restrictions.

Growing up for me, and I’m sure for many of you, you heard, that you shouldn’t drink or dance.

Those things are of the devil.

But nowhere in the Scriptures does it say that drinking alcohol and dancing is wrong.

And yet, we built fences around these things saying you can’t be a good christian and do these things.

That’s adding to God’s law.

Now I know why we did it.

We knew that when some people drink that can lead to drunkeness which is a violation of God’s Law.

So it’s easier to draw the line at don’t drink.

That’s the same logic the Pharisees used.

Mixing mud and water makes a type of mortar, and for some people that may cause them to work on the Sabbath.

So don’t mix them.

I want to be careful b/c we can tend to over correct and view all Pharisees as hypocrites.

Not all Pharisees fell into the category of who Jesus addresses here.

There were good ones and there were bad ones

It just happens b/c of the type of ministry that Jesus did and the stories that the gospels tell, we get to see way more bad pictures of Pharisees than good ones.

However, there are at least two that are mentioned by name in the gospels that were good or at least not antagonistic toward Jesus.

Nicodemous and Joseph of Arimethia.

So we don’t need to go around just assuming that every Pharisees is bad or against Jesus,

That just isn’t the case at all.

However, for those that opposed Jesus, there was an intense hatred and anger toward him.

Why?

Jesus didn’t meet their expectations that’s why they were taken aback by him.

He didn’t fall into the categories they thought he should fall into.

So they tended to look at him crossly.

did they respond vocally, but Jesus knows how to respond to them.

He responds to their heart.

Luke 11:39–41 CSB

39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil. 40 Fools! Didn’t he who made the outside make the inside too? 41 But give from what is within to the poor, and then everything is clean for you.

Foolish Hypocrites

Jesus pounces on the Pharisees

And what he claims is that though they look good on the outside they are wicked and unclean on the inside.

As I was picking through this passage, I couldn’t help but think about an experience I had as a young boy.

My dad used to dip a lot.

And one time when we were outside having a little get together, I saw a soda can sitting next to where my dad was sitting.

I wanted a drink

And thinking nothing about it, I picked it up and took a sip

When I tell you the vile taste that touched my tongue was too much, I almost vomited.

On the outside, it looked like a regular soda can, but the inside was discarded tobacco juice.

This is what Jesus is telling these men...They look clean and pristine on the outside, but that's about it.

They care more about outward appearances than they their heart.

Jesus calls them out and says they are full of greed and evil.

Now listen, Jesus calling them fools is a big deal.

He’s casting judgment on them based on the OT scriptures.

In the wisdom literature, specifically, Proverbs, God talks about two ways to live, a righteous way and a foolish way.

The fool doesn’t listen to or follow the heart of God, while the righteous live according to his commands.

But as we see here it’s more than just following God’s commands that makes one wise, it’s actually knowing and seeking after the heart of God.

That’s what these Pharisees are missing.

That’s what all hypocrites miss, when we care more about what’s on the outside than we do the heart of the matter, we are foolish.

When we care more about outward signs than we do our heart and motivations than we are hypocrites.

We can be doing all the “right” things and completely miss what God desires of us.

The Pharisees believed that “cleanliness is next to godliness” and so when Jesus didn’t wash up they were offended, all the while their hearts were full of greed and evil.

Can we notice how completely insane this is?

Jesus then in verse 41 shows us what they need to be clean.

They need humility and service.

Give to the poor from the heart and not out of obligation.

This demonstrates the heart of God.

Showing compassion and love to their neighbor demonstrates a heart that has truly been cleansed from self-righteousness and hypocrisy.

Unfortunately, these Pharisees aren't in the space to hear this and Jesus continues his rebuke.

Luke 11:42 CSB

42 “But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of mint, rue, and every kind of herb, and you bypass justice and love for God. These things you should have done without neglecting the others.

Missing the Big Picture

Jesus points out to the pharisees that they are missing the big picture.

They are focused on the minutia of the law while forfeiting the things that truly honor God.

I am not saying that tithing doesn’t matter.

They were obeying the laws laid out in the OT about giving.

Jewish men were required to offer up 1/10th of all they gathered.

But the picture painted here is that they are slicing and dicing each leaf to make sure that they are abiding by the law.

They are more concerned about the rules of tithing than they are about the Law of Justice and love.

Their obsession was with the small things.

When the big things are more important.

We even see this in the OT scriptures

Micah 6:7–8 “7 Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousand streams of oil? Should I give my firstborn for my transgression, the offspring of my body for my own sin? 8 Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

These men were following the law, but they weren’t loving their neighbors.

Think about it this way in your life.

Imagine that you meticulously give 10% of every dime that you make.

Whether it be from your day job, from the interest on your savings account, from the sale of your stuff at a garage sale.

That’s all well and good, I would even applaud this type of giving.

But you are so focused on doing these things that you miss the opportunity to fight for others.

You can’t pursue Justice and mercy b/c all your time and energy is taken up by this obsessive counting.

You count every dime that you make, and yet you don’t love your neighbor who can’t put food on the table b/c of a job loss.

Does that honor God?

Does that paint a picture of God’s heart?

Which does more good?

Serving and loving your neighbor or obsessing over the small things?

It is hypocritical to care about the small things and miss the bigger things.

What else were these Pharisees guilty of?

Luke 11:43 CSB

43 “Woe to you Pharisees! You love the front seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

Searching for Praise

Jesus points out here that they wanted to be seen and known for their religious activities.

They sought after recognition more than quiet service.

They wanted to be seated in the front of the synagogue so that people could notice how important and pious they are.

Now as baptists in the south we don’t get this, but the front seats in the synagogue were viewed as seats of honor.

We would rather sit in the back so we can get to lunch quicker.

The Pharisees that Jesus is condemning here thrived on people knowing how holy they are.

We may not understand where they are coming from with the sitting in the front seat, but I know we can relate to this.

How many times do we do something for the church, community or even one another with the hopes that people will see us a better than we are?

How often do we want people to notice what we are doing so that we can get kuddos for it?

Only to then stop doing it if we don’t get the response or recognition that we think we deserve.

Many of us want to live curated and “perfect” lives.

We want everyone to see all the good and none of the bad.

This is true with our worship too.

However, that’s hypocrisy.

We shouldn’t come to church just to be seen.

We shouldn’t volunteer just to be patted on the back.

We shouldn’t do good, just so we can go and brag about it on social media.

Having the wrong heart and doing the right thing is hypocritical.

Now some of you may be saying…I know someone just like that.

But stop and ask yourself, are you ever like that.

Do you have that corrupt heart?

If so, do a heart check, renew your mind and repent of your own hypocrisy.

So far we have seen Jesus confront the Pharisees as dirty vessels pretending to be clean, loving the minute over the more important, and seeking recognition from others.

But in this last woe to the Pharisees Jesus is going to lay down the gauntlet

Luke 11:44 CSB

44 “Woe to you! You are like unmarked graves; the people who walk over them don’t know it.”

Causing Death

What is Jesus saying here?

He’s saying that these guys are dead in inside.

Though they may believe that they are alive, truly they are like unmarked graves.

But not only are they spiritually dead.

They are causing others to become unclean.

You see to step over a grave in Judaism would cause your body to be defiled.

Graves were unclean and that uncleanliness is passed on to those who walk over the grave.

So to have an unmarked grave was a…grave disservice to the community around.

This grave would cause others to be defiled and unclean in the sight of the Lord.

Jesus is then pointing out that these religious officials are not the epitome of purity, but rather they are the bearers of death and uncleanliness.

Their teachings and their lives are causing others to be dead.

They are the most theologically informed, religiously active, and morally conservative people, yet their hearts are far from God.

And because they are looked up to and seen as the religiously correct, they are causing others to stay on the road to hell.

Because they aren’t about pursing the heart of God.

They aren’t about living a life of true godliness.

Rather they are concerned with living a life of perceived godliness and other people are following them toward destruction.

What a weighty woe Jesus points out here.

How many so called “Jesus followers” are morally upstanding.

Are religiously active.

Are even theologically informed.

And they completely miss the heart of God.

How many pastors, teachers, and preachers are out here marked as the moral standard, while they are ignorant on the things God really cares about.

These Pharisees are spiritually dead, and I’m not even sure they know it.

That’s sad to think about.

They wanted to do the right thing.

They had good intentions and yet they were the most spiritually dangerous people in all of Israel.

This is the question all of us most ask.

Am I doing godly things b/c I love God or am I doing them out of obligation b/c I think its what God expects of me.

A quick way to check the status of our hearts is to ask am I growing in the fruit of the Spirit.

Am I growing in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?

This is a fruit of the spirit meaning, that it is through our connection with God that we grow in these areas.

If we aren’t growing in these areas then maybe we are spiritually dead inside and have convinced ourselves that we aren’t.

There’s still time to repent and turn toward the Lord.

Don’t let the opportunity pass you by.

Listen, it is so easy to fall into the trap of hypocrisy.

It’s so easy to check all the boxes of what we think Christianity is all the while missing the beauty of God.

We can come to church.

We can give generously.

We can lift our hands in worship.

We can do all the right things.

Even with a heart of sincerity, but if we don’t truly know the the Lord, then it is all for naught.

Hypocrisy is a disgrace to the Lord.

It’s a disgrace to his church.

So what can we learn from these Pharisees.

How can we avoid these hypocritical traps.

The first step is to know what the traps look like.

First, I’m a hypocrite when I care more about outward appearance than inward godliness.

If I care more about how I appear to be then who I actually am then I am a hypocrite.

What does this look like?

This is those who appear clean on the outside, but are stained on the inside.

This can be as simple as showing up at church just so people can know you are there, but then going out an treating your family, friends, and neighbors without love or compassion.

I’ve known people in my own life who have fit this bill.

They went to church, they worshipped with their hands held high, around certain people they would talk about godly things, but get them around family or some one not in their religious circle and they were vile and wicked.

They were living in sin, sleeping around, and carried bitterness, pettiness, and gossip around like a badge of honor.

They may have appeared clean on the outside, but they were rotten to the core.

And It may have fooled some people, but it didn’t fool those who were closest to them.

In fact, it caused some of their family members to give up on Jesus b/c they praised him with their lips, but denied him by their lifestyle.

Second, I’m a hypocrite when my manmade rules are more important than the things that Matter to God.

This has turned people off to church and to Jesus as well.

What does this look like?

Much like the pharisees who chopped up the mint, dill, and other herbs, they wanted to be seen as holy rather than living holy lives.

We want to build barriers and fences around things that truly don’t matter.

Or around things that will get chipped away during discipleship.

I have been in churches that shun or make people feel less than b/c of the way they look, act, and speak.

We there are those who would balk if someone walked in this building with tattoos on their face, neck, or arms.

There are some who would make someone feel uncomfortable if in a normal conversation they said some four letter words.

If you saw someone smoking outside would you go and talk to them or walk by with judgmental eyes.

All of these extra rules that we set up around coming to Jesus are the walls that Jesus is breaking down during his ministry.

He isn’t calling perfect people.

He’s calling people who are spiritually sick and need his help.

So we should be just as open and willing to accept them while helping them walk toward Jesus.

It’s ridiculous to think that people who claim to Love Jesus will avoid those who do things that we don’t like.

When we care more about the minor things than we do about the major things, then we are hypocrites.

I’m a hypocrite when I want praise and recognition for my spiritual accomplishments.

Look walking with Jesus, reading your bible, and memorizing scripture are good things, but they aren’t necessarily things we should seek attention for.

Serving in the nursery, on the hospitality team or putting in work on the church grounds should cause us to demand recognition.

If we get bitter and upset b/c someone neglects to tell us how good we are doing, then we are doing it for the wrong reasons.

We work as unto the Lord, not for the praise of men.

Now that doesn’t meant that we don’t encourage one another.

We need to be encouraging, but we shouldn’t seek encouragement.

Finally, I’m a hypocrite if I am spiritually dead inside, and nobody knows it…not even myself.

Listen, in our country and culture we use a lot of religious talk.

We have Jesus sayings on bumper stickers, coffee mugs, and even tattoos.

But the reality is many of those outward things, deceive us into thinking that we have been changed by God.

There are some of us who are tricked into believing that we have been raised to Life in Christ b/c of the actions we took as children.

A walk down the aisle at VBS, being baptized in the water, or even believing that b/c you have been in church your whole life you must be a true believer in Jesus.

But the reality is, there are many people sitting in our churches.

Many people who call themselves Christians who are still dead in their sins and trespasses.

They are still lifeless.

They have a heart for self-righteousness, not God’s righteousness.

They are self-deceived.

I pray that if that is you this morning, please repent of your sin and follow Jesus.

Lift up your heart and mind to the Lord and ask for his forgiveness.

Ask him to transform your life.

Repent of your sin and Submit to him and he will save you.

Don’t be a hypocrite.

Let’s pray.

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