Luke 11:37-12:7 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸ When the Pharisee saw this, he was surprised that Jesus had not first ceremonially washed before the meal. ³⁹ But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish; but your inside is full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ You foolish ones, did He who made the outside not make the inside also? ⁴¹ But give that which is within as a charitable gift, and then all things are clean for you.

⁴² “But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithes of mint, rue, and every kind of garden herb, and yet you ignore justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the seat of honor in the synagogues and personal greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you! For you are like unseen tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”

⁴⁵ One of the lawyers said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us too.” ⁴⁶ But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you load people with burdens that are hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ⁴⁷ Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you are witnesses and you approve of the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ For this reason also, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will persecute, ⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation.’ ⁵² Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ When He left that place, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to interrogate Him about many subjects, ⁵⁴ plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say.

12 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ² But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. ³ Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

⁴ “Now I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵ But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! ⁶ Are five sparrows not sold for two assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. ⁷ But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.”

In today’s text Jesus says: “But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithes of mint, rue, and every kind of garden herb, and yet you ignore justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”  Many people are critical of religious people today saying they too ignore love and justice. In some cases they may be right, but there is also a misunderstanding of what justice is and what the love of God looks like. Justice is: The maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments. Justice is getting what is deserved fairly whether punishment or reward. There are many people today who want leniency rather than justice. Fortunately for us, we do not have to receive the punishment we deserve for our unrighteousness. Romans 6:23 says: The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” Justice would be that we would die for our sins, but the love of God is given and demonstrated to and for the world in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus says: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” Hypocrisy is sin, but the world is not in a position to judge Christians as hypocrites if they do not know the love of God. Romans 12:9 says: Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. It is not love for us to embrace or even to tolerate evil and darkness. That would be the greatest hypocrisy. True love speaks the truth and shines the light of God’s love and goodness. Jesus says: “Now I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! Are five sparrows not sold for two assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.” The truth is, God has the power to throw us into hell. He is to be feared unless we know and receive His great love, mercy and grace. Each one is valuable enough to God that Jesus gave His life so that we could live. That’s the truth.

Thank You heavenly Father for Your righteous justice, that while the wages of sin is death, Christ paid that price for us in love. Amen.