Luke 11:37 - 54 - Six Woes

Hey man, this morning. We are going to go directly to God's word as we continue on in our sermon series in the Book of Luke looking at Luke chapter 11 verses 37 through 54 encourage you to open up your Bibles to Luke 11 or turn on your device and get there. And as usual you can also find the passage on the back of the insert. That's inside your Bulletin. Luke 11 verse 37 through 54

Well, Jesus was speaking a Pharisee asked him to dine with him. So he went in and reclined at table. 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 are full of greed and wickedness. You did not he who made the outside make the inside also, but give his arms 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 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. One of the lawyers answered in teacher and saying these things you insult us also and he said woe to you lawyers also for you load people with burdens hard to bear new your cells do not touch the burns with one of your fingers what will to you for you build the tombs of the profits from your father's killed so you are witnesses and you can send to the Deeds of your father's or they killed them and you build their tombs. Therefore also the wisdom of God said I will send them prophets and apostles some of them they will kill and persecute so that the blood of all the prophets Shed from the foundation the world may be charged against this generation from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altering the sanctuary. Yes. I tell you it will be required of this generation. What would you lawyers? Are you taking away the key of knowledge you did not enter yourselves and you hindered those who are entering. As he went away from there the scribes and Pharisees begin to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things lying and wait for him to catch him in something. He might say let's pray.

Father God we come to you this morning. We come in the name of Jesus Christ. We ask you father God by your spirit to help us this morning.

What we said earlier on that our desire is that you would be glorified and worship this morning.

And father got it is Our intention to do that as we hear your word preached. And as I Proclaim at father God we can't do those things apart from your help. Would you help us to learn from your word? Would you help it to tip to pierce us deep in our soul? And use it to to change us to conform us to the image of Christ. And would you help me to Proclaim your word? In such a way that it does not detract from those ends.

Where do you are gracious and merciful? And you are Mighty and sovereign. We pray father God that as we come to your word this morning.

We would both. Understand and perceive Jesus correctly and respond appropriately. It's in his name. We pray. Amen.

So we have here in versus 37 through 40 or 41 in an introduction to another teaching of Jesus. This one directed at religious leaders. We see that he has been teaching the crowds and we've been looking at those passage over the last few weeks and then he is invited to dinner to go to dinner at the home of the Pharisee and which other religious leaders are present. Initially, there is no hostility here, but this quickly changes. We see in this back and forth between Jesus and the religious leaders. What we have been seeing the last few weeks is Jesus teaches the crowd we see the same thing and that's this that properly understanding and properly responding to Jesus. Hands to God is required by them. Just as much as it is required by the crowds. This is what we've seen over the last few weeks. Jesus teaching the crowds that they must understand and perceive him properly and they must respond appropriately. We see here that the Pharisee and the Pharisees in general were very concerned about ritual purity. Incense and their belief impurity could be transferred. Jesus would have been at this moment significantly in pure remember what he was doing. He was out in the crowds. He was killing sick people. He was casting out demons of people who were under the oppression of demons. He was in contact with these people there by and their eyes making him ritually in pure. And so then they were surprised that you didn't wash up before dinner. This surprise of this. Faraci is most definitely a critique.

It's a critique of Jesus's practices in regards to Purity in again. Like we seeing Jesus knows people's thoughts and he then indicates to the Pharisee that the Pharisees preoccupation with the external life. And their neglect there by of the internal life. Indicates that they neither understand correctly nor respond appropriately to God's kingdom. That's what Jesus is getting at here. There is a major Collision here of perspectives what Jesus is teaching about God and God's kingdom over and against what they believe and what they taught. In fact he calls them fools. In the Bible to be a fool is to be blind to God and blind to his purposes. Any calls them fools?

He says there to give alms of internal things and if they were to give alms of internal things they would be pure in regards to external thing. What does that exactly mean to to give alms to internal things sacrificial attention to the inner life. It means that a person should give energy to the care of his or her heart. And that in doing so their external life would be pure Jesus knew that a neglected heart will become blind and will become hard and this initial confrontation that of the internal and external in and how the Pharisees are living their lives set the stage for Jesus's exhortation, which again just like his words to the crowd pertain to their understanding of him and their response to him. What's the main idea this morning could be articulated like this, right understanding and response to God is seen in prioritizing the internal over the external. I'll say that again, right understanding and response to God is seen in prioritizing the internal over the external remember when I say responding and understanding to God that's not just responding to God the father but responding understanding and responding his kingdom classes. Jesus is describing the people but also responding and understanding his Savior King. That is Jesus himself. Now before we go any further, I will need to just stop and think about something here.

I have just suggested that was Jesus's teaching here is that the external is less important than the internal? The external is less important than the internal, but we need to understand something very clear. Because something is less important does not mean it is unimportant. Because something is less important does not mean it is unimportant because the internal is more important does not mean that the external is unimportant. That's the path our society and culture often takes. If someone suggests something is more important than the other then we immediately take this path. Will that other thing must be of no value? I think our society does this because one of the things that's altimate in our culture and Society now is the pursuit of victimhood and the desire to be offended.

But think about this is true in so many ways. Here's a way I can describe this think about important relationships. Think about a poor relation to me like I use myself as an example. My relationship with my children as their father is a very important. Those are very important relationships. I think we all agree with that. My relationship with my wife is more important than those relationships. That doesn't make them less important.

We need to understand that as we look at what Jesus is saying here. If you consider the relational importance value the riv, I just made that up.

If we look at the riv the relationship importance value of my relationship with my kids. It is a 9. My relationship importance value with my wife is a nine and a half. That doesn't change the value of my relationship with my children's. It's still mine. The big mistake coming out of everything we're going to look at yours to say the external life isn't important. Pastor Jude said internal life is more important than external life there for the external life is not important. No. The external life is important. The internal life is more important. Alright, keep that in mind. Let's look at how Jesus exhorts the religious leaders. He uses a a special form of exhortation called a woe w o e he's got three woes for the Pharisees and three wolves for the lawyers. We see the three rollers for the Pharisees and verse 42 in through 44 understand that a woe is an exclamation of pain and and pity. For The Misfortune that awaits someone in a certain condition. It's a it's a warning of danger in Nearness of judgment. It's a type of curse that is warning against catastrophe should certain Behavior or conditions continue. And this is how Jesus teaches the Pharisees in the lawyers? And all of the woes that Jesus pronounce is in this teaching deal with these religious leaders projecting something externally. Well having an internal condition that is contradict contradictory. They demonstrate a lifestyle of prioritizing the external and neglecting the internal all of these woes speak to that and I speak to the fact that they don't understand God. They don't understand God's kingdom. They don't understand God's King Jesus and they aren't responding in the way they should. Let's start won't number one of the Pharisees to you Pharisees for you tithe mint and Rue and every herb and neglect Justice in the love of God. God these you ought to have done without neglecting the others. UCD Pharisees were appearing Godly while lacking godliness. They were appearing Godly on the external. But they were lacking godliness internally through the herbs and garden plants the Pharisees extremely project faithful adherence to God's law. Can you imagine I'm walking? to the temple going up to one of the priests and saying I picked 20 mint leaves from my garden this morning. Here's to for God's work. I mean they were serious about looking like they were hearing to God's law. And you're internally the condition of the heart of such that they do not obey the very Foundation Commandments. We learned a couple weeks ago. The summary of The Law of the most important part of a law is to love the Lord your God as we sang with all your heart mind soul and strength to love others as yourself, but they're neglecting the love of God. They're neglecting love of neighbor because they don't pursue Justice. So here's my two leaves of mint and Rue and other herbs, but I'm not doing the thing that matters. I'm showing a form of godliness on the outside, but internally. I'm lacking godliness. That's the first of all. Second. Woe woe to you Pharisees for you. Love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. That is they were trying to appear great externally while lacking humility internally. Appearing great while lacking humility. We've already learned this from Jesus Luke 9:46 to 48 an argument arose among them the disciples as to which of them was the greatest. But Jesus knowing the reasoning of their hearts took a child and put them by a side instead of them. Whoever receives this child in my name receives me and whoever receives me receives him who sent me for he who is least among you all is the one who is great. Or Matthew 18 for whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Pharisees were trying to externally project significance and importance by taking the special seats and by demanding special greetings yet internally. They lacked the humility, which is necessary for greatness in God's Kingdom. I don't understand God they don't understand his kingdom. And they don't respond appropriately will number 3 for the Pharisees woe to you for you are like unmarked Graves and people walk over them without knowing it see they were trying to appear spiritually clean and spiritually alive and you're internally they were lacking Purity and in fact lacking spiritual life. It was death inside of them. Understand a Jewish traditions and Jewish practices. They were supposed to keep their graves very well marked. It was supposed to be obvious to everyone there is a grave here because coming in contact with that grave would leave someone ritually unclean for a week. It's what they were supposed to make it very clear death is here. Stay away. Don't walk through here. Don't walk over. It don't come in contact with it's because you'll be unclean. And yet the Pharisees weren't projecting the spiritual death that was true of their inner being.

Rather they were whitewashing their lives so that they would appear holy and pure and full of spiritual life to other people when internally they were far from it. This is not the way of God. This is not the way of God's kingdom. This is not the way of God's King. They don't understand it in the not responding as they should.

Jesus also has three woes for the lawyers. We CDs in 46 through 52. So this lawyer speaks out with frustration with in terms of what Jesus is saying and he sides with the Pharisees. Did I stop something? Where did he think this was going to go? Oh, you're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that it's like he got his attention in Jesus looks at him and says okay your turn now going to speak to the lawyers Now understand this idea of lawyers might not be the best best translation in in our society. The lawyers were law Scholars. They were people who study the law who interpreted the law and then presented their teaching and understanding of the law to people so that they could obey. Los collares I think is a better way to think about this and so they are studying trying to understand interpreting God's law but then making it the making it applications for the people of their time. Add Jesus is clearly antagonistic to the law Scholars to the lawyers and he has some Lowe's for them as well. As first one for the lawyers lawyers all for you load people with burdens hard to bear and you yourself do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. The lawyers were appearing Pius but lacking compassion. They're projecting piety, but lacking Mercy. on the outside they looked Like they were faithful to God, but in the inside they clearly weren't the lawyers to their interpretation of of God's law were piling on duties and responsibilities on the people. They were making God's law and obedience to that lost far more cumbersome that even God desired or commanded. And they were doing nothing to help the people. Obey. So they project this seriousness about God's law but they're legalistic interpretations and their reluctance to help belied what they were really about. They were really about themselves. I was the first while the second whoa, whoa to you for you build a tombs of the profits from your father's killed in regards to this. They were appearing zelle to honor God's revelation. But they were lacking the ability to discern that very thing. In building the tombs for the prophets. They were trying to show people look we care about God's word. We care about God's revelation. We're going to make this amazing tomb. for the prophets and yet they couldn't even discern what God's will was.

Jesus says they had the same motivation as their parents did who killed the prophets? How does he know that? Because they're rejecting him they're rejecting him and is he already knows they're going to kill him. He is God's prophet. He is God's revelation. And they're rejecting him and they're going to kill him. They're going to kill the people. He sends his disciples.

And he tells them they will be judged accordingly. Third. Woe woe to you lawyers for you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter your cells and you hindered those who were entering. They were appearing. externally as guides for God's people but they lacked any sense of the destination. They were supposed to be going to and if I could prevent it others from getting there. I don't know if you've ever had the experience of getting in a taxi. And the taxi driver doesn't know where he's going. And he tries to fake it. You got it exactly. Like you're supposed to be the guy. I got in this car for you to get me to where I need to go, but you don't even know where we're going and now you're preventing me from getting there. Their study of the law had not resulted in proper understanding of God and God's Kingdom. We see Jesus correcting as we've already seen this many times in the Gospel of Luke correcting this. And correcting their interpretation of what God expected of his people. Furniture that their enforcement of their interpretation ensure that God's people would be misdirected as well. When are for God's people couldn't? Turn end up with true knowledge either. So these are the six roles that Jesus teaches with In this passage 6wal was for these supposed spiritual leaders. Could you not understand God or God's Kingdom and who don't respond appropriately is very clear that we are supposed to perceive and respond appropriately just like with the crowds Jesus has press the crowds to perceive and understand him properly and to respond and properly and appropriately and he has the same intent for these leaders. We know that because he spoke to them and woe is very means of communication suggested. They were in a bad place.

They were to place actually where they were in danger of judgment and Calamity catastrophe. That's why he used those to teach. Any explicitly includes them with the generation in the crowds the generation who would be judged by the queen of the South and the generation would be judged by the men of Nineveh because they responded appropriately he includes them in that generation in ads on top of them the blood of all the prophets have been killed.

And we see this in the contrast of the beginning and end of this passage the start of this they're inviting Jesus for dinner. They're honoring him there bringing them in for fellowship and as we leave this passage, They wanted to dishonor him trick him and ultimately kill him. Proving his original point that they don't understand God or God's Kingdom.

So this morning as we think about these walls as we think about these religious leaders, let's take a few moments to apply this as we continue. To do our best to understand who this Jesus is and to perceive him correctly and then to respond appropriately.

Regards to application what star just in general terms. What is the main thing is Jesus speaking against her is hypocrisy. Is looking one way on the Xterra looking one way externally, but being different internally those two things not being not corresponding. Let's go to J C. Ryle recorded him so much as we've gone through Luke, but he's so good and his expository thoughts on the Book of Luke. He says this about this passage in about hypocrisy.

He says forever. Let us bear in mind that if we would know what we are in religion the state of our hearts is the principal thing that demand our attention. You say that again. The state of our hearts is the principal thing that demands our attention bodily Washings and fastings and gestures and postures and self-imposed mortification of The Flash are all utterly useless if the heart is wrong. External devoutness of conduct a graveface about had a solemn countenance and allowed. Amen are all abominable in God's sight as long as our hearts are not washed from the wickedness and renewed by the holy spirit let this caution never be forgotten. So let's take that caution this morning, but typically those of you here who are believers who have faith in Christ who have been trusted yourself to his work on the cross and have been reconciled to God understand that the state of your heart is the principal thing. And you can do all you want externally you can do all the right things and make all the right choices.

But if your heart isn't as it should be it's useless. Let's understand that in a general way about hypocrisy. It's not that what we do externally isn't important. It is important scriptures clear on that. The condition of your soul the condition of your heart is more important than that. Let's make sure that the state of our hearts is the principal thing.

Royal doesn't just address Believers in terms of hypocrisy heat addresses unbelievers to he goes on to say the idea that men can be developed before they are converted is a Grand Illusion of the devil and one against we are which we all need to be on our guard there to scriptures with your very weighty on this subject subject and one it is written out of the heart are the issues of life. That's Proverbs 4:23 and the honor it is written man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart that's for Samuel 16:7. There is a question which we should always ask ourselves and drawing near to God whether in public or private. We should say to ourselves. Where is my heart? If you're here this morning and you're an unbeliever, let me suggest to you that it's not just believers who can be charged with hypocrisy.

Unbelievers, you can be charged with hypocrisy to because the state of your heart is the principal thing just like it is for the believer. And apart from the regenerating work of God Spirit showing you your sin enabling you to repent giving you the gift of faith to Believe In Christ and all that. He's done apart from your heart is Stone your heart is dead. It's deceitful and it's desperately wicked. And yeah. You live your life as if everything is okay. Live your life as if you don't need God live your life as if he's not the Sovereign ruler of the universe.

That is self is hypocrisy. That's why I challenge you this morning the same way. I challenge the Believers make sure you understand this morning that can dition of your heart the state of your heart is the principal thing. And if you don't believe you never come to faith in Christ do so this morning.

Let me move on now and our last moments and talked about specific types of hypocrisies. This this passage. You can apply in many different ways to life and I encourage you to do so, I'm convinced that the Holy Spirit has already convicted some of you about specific things in your life. Would you are projecting externally, but which for which internally there is nothing that corresponds. And as the spirit has done that my prayer for you would be respond appropriately. Repent and pursue God and pray and all those things that we've talked about over the last couple weeks. But let me dryer tension to a couple specific things that I saw in these walls. The First wall about tithing mint and herb and neglecting Justice and love but appearing golly while lacking godliness.

We attend a church the values theological precision. I'm thankful for that. We are a church that is rigorous in terms of doctrines and tenants and beliefs. I appreciate that but brothers and sisters. Let's not be experts on Orthodoxy, but amateurs and orthopraxy. That's not be people who know every jot and Tittle of God's word. Thank God we do and understand it and yet not practice it we are called to love God and to love our neighbor.

So here's my first 100 for us this morning. Woe to you who emphasize the illogical Precision yet ignore practical application. You ought to be serious, theologically without neglecting its practicality.

What about Jesus's second woe to the Pharisees that they love the best seats and they love the greetings in the marketplaces that they want to appear great and important and significance, but they lack humility. Will there is a subtle form of Pride which is worked its way into Christianity in North America. Largely as a result of the truth growth growth movement and the Riu ologies of attractional church.

And it's particularly noticeable in the posture of consumerism. the people who attend church take It scene in the question is this church meeting? My needs is a church meeting my knees. Like that's the most important question. You would have to ask when you come on a Sunday morning.

coming to church primarily to consume to get my needs met and coming instead of coming to church to serve can very well be an indication of a lack of humility and pride for blindness.

Are you that important in your own mind, but that's your main question that you come with on a Sunday morning is our my needs going to get mad. Here's my second. Woe. Woe to you who love the meeting of your needs. Can you come to church not to serve but to be served?

The Third Woe to the Pharisee was in regards to the unmarked Graves. They were appearing spiritually clean and alive and yet they lacked internal Purity and spiritual life. There is a phrase from one of the commentaries that just struck me.

It said the Pharisees were conductors of spiritual death. conductors of spiritual immaturity Let us understand this and particular this morning. I'm thinking about parents.

When we fail to model spiritual maturity.

We become conductors of spiritual in Purity in death.

Parents, we have a huge responsibility. 2 model a sincere Faith to our children To have integrity so that the way we live on the outside corresponds with what's going on on the inside. It doesn't mean we're perfect. It doesn't mean we're without sin. But it means there's an understanding there of what the kingdom of God is and who the king is. And we respond appropriately to him. There's my third wall. Woe to you who spread your spiritual apathy and even apostasy. by neglecting your inner spiritual life

Let's look at the three woes to the lawyers. first of all, they were loading up people with burdens and not helping them with those burdens. They were appearing Pius but lacking compassion. They were projecting piety, but devoid of Mercy.

I want to be a church that has high standards that has high expectations that makes high demands. Of God's people. I want to be that kind of church, but I want that to be coupled with high levels of help and high levels of equipping and high levels of leading and shepherding and walking alongside people. I don't want to lower the bar. Let's just make it easier. I don't think that's what scripture calls us to main cause a scripture cause us to those high standards in those high expectations and those High demands, but I want to be a church that helps. It's people and helps one another meet those demands. A church that has people who are willing to get their hands dirty in terms of living life with their brothers and sisters. We study the book on eldership this past year as a group of Elders and one of the phrases and and teachings from that church that are from that book that I just love is that Elders the shepherd's of a church should smell like sheep.

They should smell like sheep because they're in amongst them and they're carrying them and they're caring for them.

So let's have these high demands. Let's be people who walk alongside each other and help them eat at yours. My fourth woe to you who are zealous in your standards and expectations, but lethargic and you're helping people reach those standards and meet those expectations.

Jesus is next World of the lawyers was in regard to building the elaborate tombs and yet having the same posture as their predecessors who killed the prophets. They were appearing zealous the honoring God's word and God's revelation, but they lack the ability to discern of themselves. See the lawyers were naive. In regards to the repeated fault of their predecessors and they were naive and regards to the very posture of their predecessors hearts. And they ended up because of that sharing the same false. There's a danger here for us West London. We have certain distinctive Sears Westland Alliance Church, which I think are incredibly important which we hold to which we teach which we promote things like reformed theology like Elder rule, like complementarianism like expositional preaching.

These are Historical Traditions, which I feel strongly about the let's not ignore the fact that all of those things have historical false as well.

Let's not naively assume that we are not like our present predecessors in regards to those things and that we won't make the same mistakes they make we need to check our hearts on these things. Here's my V whoa, whoa to you who proclaim a historical faith and you practice the historical false.

finally Jesus talked about the lawyers taking away the keys knowledge of preventing other people from entering in they were appearing as guides, but they lacked any sense of the destination for God's people and they prevented there for them from getting there. It's a question for us this morning is how are we obstacles to truth? Because lots of ways were obstacles for truth. But let me suggest to We are obstacles to Truth by not pursuing truth and by not declaring truth.

Back to the story of Mary and Martha and this is additionally part of Jesus's point. The internal life is more important.

What Mary has been given she has chosen the good thing. It's not going to be taken away from her. Remember that doesn't mean what Martha was doing with less important? That's important too but not as important as learning who Jesus is in responding to him appropriately. So don't be an obstacle to the truth by neglecting Truth by not pursuing it in your own life by not going to God's word but not attending church and attending life group and learning. And don't be an obstacle the truth by not declaring the truth. Be someone who declares the truth of God's word to your family and your friends and your co-workers and declares the truth of the Gospel to them. That the Holy Spirit might help them to perceive and understand God and God's kingdom and gods King. It might help them respond appropriately. Here's my last whoa, whoa to you who are obstacles to the truth because you do not pursue it then you do not declare it. Pretty happy way to end a sermon. with six rolls And I'm sure you have more Wolves of your own that occurred to you as a spirit convicted you and hearing this word.

So I finished this morning reminding you that the point is the point Jesus was trying to make is that their neglect of the internal life.

Overemphasis of the extra life show that they didn't understand God and they didn't understand God's kingdom and they didn't understand. God save your king. And they weren't responding appropriately to him. So let's be people respond appropriately to him this morning as we understand how his kingdom Works. Let's do those things. We've talked about the last couple weeks repenting and receiving in pursuing and obeying. All of those things which Jesus continues to teach the people about God's kingdom. Let's respond in that way. That's my prayer for you this morning. Let's pray together. Father God we thank you for your words. And we thank you for your word. Even when it's got a a sharp edge to it. Maybe especially when it has a sharp edge to it. Father God we don't want to be so naive as to think.

That your declaration and exhortation of woes to the Pharisees and the lawyers couldn't possibly apply to us. In fact, we know they can and we know they do. That's why I pray father God that you by your spirit would help us this morning.

I trust that you by your spirit have spoken and convicted each one of this us this morning. Can I pray we would respond appropriately to that because we understand who you are and understand how your kingdom works and they understand who the Savior King is and what the Savior King has done for us.

That we would be honest with ourselves. We would repent of those things. We make a commitment this morning. to be people Who live out our faith and our beliefs internally? Even as we do externally I pray this in Christ's name. Amen.