Luke 11:37-54 - Majoring on the Minors

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If you have your Bibles with you, please open them up to Luke chapter 11.

Luke 11 · chapter mention

We'll be finishing up this chapter today, starting in verse 37, going through the end of the chapter.

If you don't have a Bible, it'll also be on the screen behind me.

And we have deacons who will be going around to see if you're playing on Facebook or if you're listening to the sermon.

There's going to be a lot of similarities between the sermon this week and the sermon last week for several reasons that I'll go into.

So I'm going to dive right in and just read the text.

The primary difference is Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and lawyers this week.

And while we might see that as him tailoring his message to the leadership of the church,

I think we're going to find out today that there's a lot of it that has to do with all of us.

So please read with me, beginning in Luke chapter 11, verse 37.

Luke 11:37

While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him.

So he went in and reclined at table.

Now the Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.

And the Lord said to him,

Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you're full of greed and wickedness.

You fools!

Did not he who made the outside of everything make the inside also?

But give his alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.

But woe to you, Pharisees, for you tithe mint and rue and every herb and neglect justice and the love of God.

These you ought to have done without neglecting the others.

And woe to you, Pharisees, for you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

Woe to you, for you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.

And one of the lawyers said, Hold on a minute, teacher, in saying these things, you're insulting us also.

And Jesus said, Yeah, woe to you, lawyers, also.

For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

Woe to you, for you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.

So you are witnesses, and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs.

Therefore, also, the wisdom of God said, or in God's wisdom, he said, I'll send them prophets and apostles,

some of whom they will kill and persecute, so that the blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world

may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah,

who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.

Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.

Woe to you, lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge.

You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.

And as he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard

and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him,

to catch him in between something he might say.

Pray with me, please.

Father, these are difficult words for us, and as we explore them more this morning,

we pray for your mercy and your grace.

Send your Holy Spirit to illumine our hearts and our minds

to know what we are to do with a text like this.

I pray that you would be with the words of my mouth

and the meditation of all of our hearts.

They would be pleasing unto you.

And most of all, that the name of your son, Jesus, would be made great

and that we would know more of your love for us today than we did yesterday.

For the sake of our Savior, King Jesus, amen.

So last week, Ron spoke on many things about this generation of people

who Jesus said, this is going to fall on you.

And one of the bigger deals was back at the beginning in 1114

when Jesus cast a demon out of a man

and the people accused Jesus potentially of doing this because of Beelzebul

and saying he was in cahoots with the devil.

Pretty unfair accusation, and Jesus logically stepped through it with them,

saying, well, if that's the case, how did your sons do it?

What is actually happening here is the kingdom of God has come present, is there.

If we read in the book of Matthew, it says the son of David is here,

the Messiah, the very promised one, is here.

And people are casting division in that.

They're not unifying around the long-promised Savior.

Instead, they're becoming divided by it, and Jesus sees it happening.

And he says to the crowd, look, if you're not with me, you're against me.

There's no other place to be.

And he calls them a wicked generation.

And this wicked generation is represented by these leaders

that Jesus spent several verses here discussing the realities

of who they are in light of what the gospel says.

And we're going to dive right in this morning.

The first point in your bulletin that you see there is called response versus rebuke.

And the reason that I say that is because the gospel enables response,

and ignoring the gospel demands rebuke.

And the gospel is not something that magically started when Jesus came to earth.

God's been on about this in the whole Bible to this point.

We see the covenant starting with the covenant with Adam,

and then the covenant with Noah, and then with Abraham,

and then with Moses, and then with David.

And we think that somehow these covenants get replaced by each other.

But in reality, God is building a layer cake of covenants

where he knows that we aren't fulfilling our end of it.

And ultimately, he makes that promise in Jeremiah of the new covenant

that will be in the blood of the Messiah.

And so, here he is.

And in each of these terms, God's only requirement of his people

is that they embrace his covenant from the heart.

That we will see him for who he is,

and know who we are,

and therefore act accordingly.

So, we see with the Pharisees that that's not necessarily what's going on.

And he jumps right into it with rebuke number one there in verse 38.

The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.

And this is not a matter of hygienic washing.

This wasn't a question of did Jesus wash his hands.

What was going on here is that the Pharisees required an extra-biblical set of rituals

for people to do before they ate.

And please don't doubt the zealousy of these men.

These Pharisees were trying to protect what they thought was piety

and what they thought was humility in front of God.

And yet the God-man is sitting there with them,

and he doesn't wash his hands as the beginning of a series of terrible things

that you don't want said about you by, certainly not by Jesus.

And he moves directly to rebuke number two, neglect.

In verse 42.

Rebuke number three, pride.

And rebuke number four, death.

So going back to the washing, Jesus says,

You fools, didn't he who make the outside make the inside also?

Give alms within, and what comes out of you will surely match that.

Don't make things right on the outside.

There's no good there.

If you were truly embracing the covenant from the heart,

which you as the leaders of the church

and the people who are teaching the people of God

how to live with him and live with each other,

you would know that if you were to do that within,

it would certainly spread to without.

And rebuke number two, the neglect.

Woe to you Pharisees, for you tithe mint and rue and every herb,

and yet you neglect justice and the love of God.

These you ought to have done.

You should have done justice and the love of God

without neglecting the others.

Leviticus says, yeah, you've got to tithe that stuff.

But this is going to be the crux of our whole passage

because essentially what Jesus is saying is

the thing that he said to the gentleman earlier

in Luke 9, I believe.

All of the law and the prophets can be summarized

in the reality of loving your neighbor as yourself

and loving God with all of your heart

and your soul and mind.

And what Jesus is saying is

you're tithing mint and herbs and rue

and you're denying love for other people

and you're denying love for God.

We see this pictured in Micah 6.8

where it says that,

for he's shown you, O man, what is good

and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

I'm going to look up my other verse too

because it seems that we don't have those on the slides.

Colossians 3.

We're in sword drills now.

Somebody can beat me there.

Start reading Colossians 3.

There we go.

Study Bibles are great.

They're just long.

Colossians 3 starting in verse 12.

Put on then as God's chosen ones

holy and beloved compassionate hearts,

kindness, humility, meekness, patience,

bearing with one another

and if one has a complaint against another,

forgiving each other as the Lord's forgiven you.

That's how you're supposed to forgive.

And above all these things,

put on love which binds everything together

in perfect harmony.

Justice in the time of Micah

who had great success

preaching and speaking

and was able to turn the king's heart

toward the Lord

was the idea of the people

who were in control

looking out for those who had been oppressed,

looking out for those who were being suppressed.

We call it in our core values

looking out for the lost

and the lonely

and the littlest

and the left out.

That's the role of these people

but they're not doing that.

The Pharisees aren't doing that.

Instead, we move to rebuke number three

starting in verse 43.

Woe to you Pharisees

for you love the best seat in the synagogues

and greetings in the marketplace.

That means that they like to go

and sit in the front of the synagogue

and be seen.

They like to see

and they like to have other people

to know where they were.

And the greetings in the marketplace

wasn't a simple,

hey, how you doing?

It's good to see you today, pastor.

It was a ritualistic,

extra-biblical thing

that they made people do.

They had to stop

and go through an entire rite with them

publicly

just so they could be seen.

Scratch that itch of pride.

And then he bookends it

with the worst woe, number four.

For you are like unmarked graves

and people walk over them

without knowing it.

In the beginning,

they had accused Jesus

because he didn't wash his hands

and Jesus is saying,

look, you're an unmarked grave.

And the significance of that

to this culture

is that touching anything dead

or being around anything dead

made you ceremonially unclean

for seven days.

And Jesus is saying,

not only are you doing that to people,

but they don't know

you're doing it to people.

In fact, they think

they're approaching

the leaders of the church,

the leaders of the people of God,

who are giving them good information.

But you're defiling them.

And while they're ceremonially unclean,

you're spewing more

of what you're spewing at them,

more of the venom that you have.

And you're leading them to death.

And that's a terrible thought

for people who are supposed to be

the ones leading people to life.

And all four of these rebukes

center on the title of this sermon.

The Pharisees are majoring on the minors.

They're not paying attention

to the heart of what the covenant is

and the heart of what the gospel is.

And instead, they're piling on to people.

And we'll see more of that in a minute

with the scribes.

I abhor abortion

with every fiber of my being.

Yet I was raised,

and I think many Gen Xers like me

were raised in a time

where I was not taught very well

how to think about abortion.

I was taught a lot of answers

that became more ideology

than they became interacting

with the gospel

on a terrible, heartbreaking issue.

It became politicized,

which is one of the problems, I think.

And I'm not condemning any people

in my past.

I'm saying the net effect

of that on me

was that I looked at abortion

as a set of things

that were an ideology

rather than the heartbreaking reality

of a life being lost.

and the heartbreaking reality

of someone

who could have been going

through the worst circumstances.

Instead, she's just kind of condemned

and lost and forgotten about.

And open and public displays

of condemning that

without the other side of that

being the compassionate

coming toward those people

in love,

men and women

who would have found themselves

in that situation.

And I can't help but think

that that's happening again

with a different issue now,

especially as I deal

and speak with the youth on it.

Emily and I,

and the boys,

well, three boys at the time,

moved to St. Louis

in the August of 2012.

And a few things happened

while we were living there,

none bigger than,

on August 9th,

Michael Brown was shot

by a police officer

and killed.

And I remember walking into work,

I worked full-time for the seminary,

and looking at a guy

that I worked with

and saying,

hey, this is going to end up

being a really big deal.

And he looked at me

and was like,

no, this happens all the time.

And I said,

yeah,

I think this is going to end up

being a really big deal

and I didn't know why.

And that was the beginning

of me walking

for the rest of the time

we lived there

with African-American brothers

and sisters,

many of whom were in the PCA,

through a situation

that I kind of thought

I knew about.

Most of my friends growing up

were African-American.

I'd seen a few things

being in that situation.

But what I was experiencing there

was something different

because there was

some kind of a heart change

that was going on

inside of me

toward the issue.

And for the first time

in my life,

I truly began

to understand

my neglect

and my pride

toward the issue

of racial reconciliation

and of systematic injustice

and things like that.

And really what Jesus

is talking about here

is that,

is the response to that,

not the conclusions

we draw from that.

And I saw that my response

was really steeped

in an ideology

that I'd either developed

or been taught,

culturally, personally,

I don't know.

And yet here I was

face to face

with believers

who I knew

and who I trusted

who were telling me things

that were wholly other

than what I had ever experienced

or known.

and my heart

began to break

because of how much sin

I saw inside of myself

in that situation.

As God's people,

we are to be rushing

to those situations

and leading the way,

not in solving

all of the problems

because that's not

what we can do

and that's not

what God calls us to do

but he calls us

to rush to the situations

with compassion

and with mercy

and with patience

and with understanding

and with love.

All of those things

I read that Paul spoke

of in Colossians.

Not to mention

the historical reality

of who God's people

are in the earth.

We're meant to be

a taste of the kingdom

for everybody

that comes in contact

with us.

And a lot of the time

we're judged

on that first thing

that happens,

that response.

How do we respond?

And that's where

I felt condemned

because my first response

is always a knee-jerk thing

that's not very indicative

of what I should be rushing to.

I rush to my ideology

and I don't rush

to the gospel.

I don't rush

to consider

how might God

be working

in this situation.

What is broken?

What is not broken?

How do I engage

with that

trusting

that my role

is not to be the fixer

or to hold on

too tightly

to things

that I don't want

to change

but it's actually

just to be present

and to act

like a Christian

the way that God

has called me

to be.

And don't hear

what I'm not saying.

I'm not discussing

conclusions.

I'm discussing

initial response.

And we can see

the hearts

of the Pharisees

in this situation

not responding

but instead

deserving rebuke.

And the gospel

of Jesus Christ

lets me know

where I stand

as a humble sinner

completely in need

of saving.

And I can't stand here

and bind anyone's conscience

based upon conclusions

or outcomes.

Can't do that.

But I can absolutely

point to a scripture

that demands

for you

and me

to humbly

and patiently

and compassionately

and lovingly

seek out

and to listen

to our brothers

and sisters

and to listen

to people

of all sorts

of races

because we are

the ones

who are the dominant

culture

not differently

than what Micah

was speaking to.

And it's important

that we understand

as the church

our responsibility

to be out

in front of that.

Our posture

is what is at stake

well before the outcome

of any of these situations.

And defensiveness

and self-preservationist motives

are exactly

what Jesus

is condemning here.

And this isn't lost

on the audience

as we see

when we move on

to the lawyers

who said,

hey man

wait a second

you're talking about them

we're the ones

who supply them

with a lot

of our information

so what you're saying

you're talking about us too

slow down buddy

we invited you to dinner.

Actually

the verb

or the noun there

would suggest

it was earlier

in the day meal

but anyway

we invited you

to eat with us.

And Jesus starts

levying some woes

on them

and your second point

there in the outline

is repentance

versus reaction.

what does being faced

with the reality

of the gospel

cause you to rush to?

Does it prick your heart

in a way

that would

cause you

to desire

to repent

and even seek out

what those things are

to repent of?

Or do we just

viscerally react?

Let's see what

the lawyers did

lawyers, scribes

they studied the law

they advised the Pharisees

ultimately they're the ones

who killed Jesus.

Woe number one

was unnecessary burdens

we see in verse 46.

What are you lawyers also

for you load people

with burdens

hard to bear

and you yourselves

don't touch the burdens

with one of your fingers.

It was interesting

to read different commentators

discuss this

because they're discussing

a couple of different things.

One

they're talking

about several things

that they add on

to the requirements

of the law

and the gospel

I mean I'm sorry

the law

and

two things

are probably happening

one

the people can't

meet the requirements

that they're adding

they're burdening the people

and the people

have no ability

to rise to it

and so

and it's hopeless

because if you can't

rise to it

there's no other way

these are the people

who are telling you

the way to God

and so if you can't

rise to that

and the other part

of that is

they weren't even

doing it themselves

and they didn't care

it was hypocritical

of them

and Jesus

is pointing that out

saying this is

this is not right

this is not good

so going back

to what he said

to the Pharisees

in place of justice

and mercy

you're actually

levying

undue burden

and hypocrisy

on these people

stay with me

for these next couple

because they're

they're a little bit

it was difficult to read

I'm sure it was difficult

to hear

and I'll try

to explain it

a little bit

because it's

it's very important

what Jesus was saying

the second woe

was the woe

of the tombs

verses 47

and 48

woe to you

for you build

the tombs

of the prophets

whom your fathers

killed

so your witnesses

and you consent

to the deeds

of your fathers

for they killed them

and you built

their tombs

these people

obviously didn't

kill the prophets

what he's speaking

of there

is their complicit

response

to what

their fathers

had done

their motivations

show their collusion

and much like

he does

in Matthew 5

when we see

Jesus talking

about

if you even

think

sexually

about a woman

you have

committed adultery

and even

if you

think

hateful thoughts

about your brother

you've committed

murder

this is another

floor and ceiling

type of a thing

they would say

well

they killed him

back several hundred

years ago

this didn't have

anything to do

with us

and Jesus is saying

no you're not

you're missing the point

you are complicit

in this

willingly complicit

in this

so

verses 49

and 51

this will be more

of an explanatory

aside

but therefore

also

the wisdom

of God

said

the NIV

I really like

there

it said

God in his

wisdom

said

that

I lost

myself

there

I will send

the prophets

and apostles

some of whom

they will kill

and persecute

so this is part

of God's plan

that this is

going to happen

so that the

blood of all

the prophets

shed from the

foundation of the

world may be

charged against

you guys

this generation

from the blood

of Abel

who we don't

usually think

about as a

prophet

but he was

someone who

embraced love

for God

we could say

embraced the

covenant

from the

heart

to Zechariah

and Zechariah

is a little bit

hard to pin down

but most likely

if you have a

study Bible

in front of you

you'll look at

the note there

most likely

it was Zechariah

in 2 Chronicles

which in the

Hebrew Bible

means that

Jesus was laying

out for them

Abel

in the beginning

of the Hebrew

Bible

all the way

to Zechariah

at the end

of the Hebrew

Bible

you're responsible

for all of this

this blood

is on you

and woe number

three

which is

going again

back to

similar

to the

final rebuke

against the

Pharisees

with the

unmarked graves

verse 52

woe to you

lawyers

for you've

taken away

the key

of knowledge

you did

not enter

yourselves

and you

hindered

those who

were

entering

key of

knowledge

that idea

that they

had the

key

as the

teachers

of the

law

and the

ones who

review

and translate

and advise

on the

law

that they

never even

knew it

themselves

and not only

that but

because of

what he said

at the

beginning

that they

were burdening

unnecessarily

the people

of Israel

God's chosen

people with

all of these

other things

was hindering

them from

getting inside

as well

they didn't

have the

key

you don't

have the

key

and you're

keeping other

people who

want to go

in from

going in

pretty harsh

stuff

and then we

see in

53 and

54

what reaction

looks like

because in

repentance

you hear

that and

tear your

clothes

right

lay in

sackcloth

and ashes

like the

Ninevites

and as

Jesus alluded

to in the

sign of

Jonah

you realize

who you

are

how you've

acted

before a

holy God

how much

more so

for the

people who

were supposed

to be the

leaders

but they

don't

repent

they react

and this

language

is so

strong in

the original

language that

it's hard to

catch in

English but I

think in

English it's

pretty strong

also

as he went

away from

there the

scribes and

Pharisees began

to press him

hard and to

provoke him to

speak about many

things lying in

wait for him to

catch him in

something that he

might say and

as I was reading

this the visual

image I had was

someone trying to

leave and like a

pack of dogs

circling him and

foaming at the

mouth and

seething and

angrily going

at Jesus

trying to get

him to show

that he's not

who he's claiming

to be

because if he's

who he's claiming

to be

who are they

there are many

difficult things

facing us as the

church of Jesus

Christ today

and we

we can't help

but look and

see that we

stand in the

midst of some

kind of a

transition in our

country and it's

scary to think

that the things

that were might

not be the

things that are

or the things

that will be

and we clutch

and we grasp

and that's that's

my I shouldn't

lay that on you

that can be my

reaction

to what's

happening

and what's

going on

we think of

the immigrants

from Syria

and from Haiti

from the

Dominican Republic

from Cuba

from Central

and South

America

from other

places

we have been

in war

at war

for a long

time in one

place and now

we're scared

of a war

starting in

another place

potentially

and then

we even

think about

in our

recreation

which is going

to be interesting

to see today

how many players

if not whole

teams in the NFL

are going to

respond to the

call from many

for them to be

silenced

and the question

that faces us

is what about

us

what about you

and what about

me

the church

the people

of God

we're called

to lead

in these

things

we're not

called to sit

back and wait

for others

to respond

and then

see how it

goes

we're to

lead

so that

others

can have

a taste

of the

kingdom

do we

begin

to think

about

situations

with

compassion

and with

mercy

with a

desire

and a

passion

for justice

and patience

and kindness

and loving

do we

pray

do we

care

to

and if

we do

do we

do we

pray

with

passion

and

heartbreak

for those

who stand

to suffer

greatly

or do we

begin

with

ideology

do we

rush out

with bleeding

hearts

to seek

a quick

fix

until the

next thing

flashes across

the news

screen

that we

need to

go

and be

championing

that next

cause

do we

react

with

condemnation

and premise

coldness

and a

lack of

willingness

to engage

or do we

understand

who we

are

at the

foot of

the cross

Jesus

calls

I think

this is

in your

bulletin

I'm not

sure

Jesus

calls his

followers

to examine

their heart

motivations

at every

turn

and the

question for

us is

when we

lead

do we

follow

my wife

looked at me

cross-eyed

when I told

her that was

going to be

in the

bulletin

and here's

what I

meant by

that

all of

our

situations

are

impossible

whether we

levy our

ideology on

others

as was done

by the

Pharisees

and the

scribes

or we

have

ideology

of others

levied

upon us

both of

those

situations

they create

impossible

outcomes

and completely

hopeless

outcomes

which is

probably the

real tragedy

that we

read in

this passage

that the

people could

not meet

these

standards

and there

was no

hope for

them

and Jesus

also presents

us with an

impossible

outcome

if we're

left to

ourselves

but the

difference is

that he

covers the

impossibilities

we are

unable to

respond in

and of

ourselves

because it's

not natural

to be inclined

to the

things of

God

and we're

not able

to repent

not because

just because

we lack

the

inclination

but we

also don't

have the

ability

and that's

the beauty

of where

we are

as the

people of

God

when found

in Christ

because through

Jesus

who's our

perfect

covenant

representative

our

Savior

our God

the one

through whom

all things

have been

made

when he

condescends

to sinners

like me

and sinners

like you

we have

the ability

to do

these things

not because

suddenly we

want to

but because

he brings

that about

in us

and in

our hearts

he sends

down

closely to

us

and he

says

follow me

and when

you follow

me

I'm going

to give

you the

ability

to follow

me

how can

this not

humble us

as the

people of

God

how can

this not

drive us

to lead

how can

this not

spur

conversations

of the

gospel

and the

goodness

of the

grace

of Jesus

Christ

with everyone

around us

how can

our hearts

not be

pricked

at signs

of injustice

at signs

of people

running to

ideology

for comfort

passionately

screaming

about politics

or anything

other than

the love

of Jesus

Christ

and so

when we're

out there

leading with

those

conversations

that are

put on

our hearts

because of

the Holy

Spirit

that's coming

from both

the Father

who loves

us

and his

Son

who is

our King

and Savior

the Holy

Spirit is

driving us

into those

situations

and we

don't have

to be

afraid

you don't

look dumb

when you

walk into

a situation

because it's

not politically

right where

we live

you're part

of the

kingdom of

God

as God's

people

we lead

in those

situations

and when

we lead

in those

situations

by following

Jesus

that's when

reconciliation

happens

not because

we bring it

about

but because

we're willing

to be

there

and be

patient

to respond

and to

repent

we're known

into the

deepest parts

of our

being

by a

God

who still

loved us

and pursued

us while

we were yet

sinners

Christ died

for us

we don't

have to be

afraid of

that

so I

want to

encourage us

as we

leave today

after our

15 minute or

so

congregational

meeting

I want to

encourage us

to consider

how do we

respond

and how do

we repent

because we

have a

father who

loves us

very very

much

and his

son stands

there on

our behalf

interceding

for us

and we're

his church

we're the

taste of

his kingdom

here on

earth

and we're

called to

do that

pray with

me please

father we're

grateful for

your love

and your

care for

us

we're

grateful for

the

responsibilities

you put

on us

as your

people

not because

we can rise

to the

challenge

and not

because we're

worthy of

them

but because

you're not

going to

leave us

or forsake

us

it's a joy

to respond

to your

Holy Spirit

it's a joy

to repent

because we

know how

much you

love us

help us

to look

to your

son

help us

to lead

as your

church

in the

world

in his

great name

we pray

amen

for more

information

visit us

online

at

southwood.org

and

and

and

and

on

and

up