Luke 20:45-47 | Devouring Widows Houses
Notes
Transcript
Luke 20:45-47
Luke 20:45-47
King James Version Chapter 20
Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples,
46 Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;
47 Which devour widows’ houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.
Merchandise
Merchandise
Engage
As I walked through my house this morning I passed by a lot of things that make statements about my religion. In my closet there are T-Shirts and Sweatshirts with various Christian statements printed on them. We have mounted monarch butterfly in a frame with words from the book of Job written next to it “Stand Still, and consider the wondrous works of God.” then as you head towards our stairway above the soffit is a sign mounted that reads that well known quote from Joshua 24:15 “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Even here in my office aside from my books I have a wooden ark from our trip to the Ark encounter and a Charles Spurgeon bobble head.
All of these things are an indication of a remarkable number. Religion annually in the United States accounts for $1.2 trillion dollars of our economy. That is roughly 5.6% of the national GDP and more than twice the global revenues of America’s 6 largest oil and gas companies. $84 billion of that is estimated to be for congregations alone, almost 600 million in Christian books, almost 700 million in Christian music and a staggering 4.5 Billion spent on Christian clothing.
So it should be of no surprise that businesses see Christians as source of revenue. The label Capital Christian Music Group for instance is where we many popular Christian artists are signed, including many of the artists that I have in my music collection. But at the end of the day we have to appreciate that this is a for profit business operated by the same company, Universal Music Group, that has signed artists such as the Beatles, Elton John, Jay-Z, and Lady Gaga. Zondervan, who is the largest Christian book publisher is a subsidiary of HarperCollins which itself is owned by News Corp. HarperCollins, along side of classic books from Mark Twain and J.R.R. Tolkien also publish trashy romance novels under the Harlequin name.
I am not saying any of this for the intent of bashing these companies, or to suggest that we should avoid them because of their connection to the secular world. But, I do think it is wise that we know what we are dealing with.
2 Peter 2: speaks of those who
King James Version Chapter 2
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
The word ”merchandise” in the Greek is the word word we get our word “emporium” from. And it is evident the Peter’s warning in his letter is all too contemporary of a concern, Christianity is a 1.2 Trillion Dollar Emporium. We can’t have any expectation that everyone competing for a piece of that pie has the best interest of the Kingdom of God as the motivation for their actions.
And this mornings messages in entitled “Devouring Widow’s Houses”
pray
Making a buck
Making a buck
Tension
Mishnah Prohibitions
Mishnah Prohibitions
The Mishnah, which is the oral traditions of the Jewish people which would later to be written down and codified as law, stated that it was unethical to use the Law of God, the Torah, for self gain. But that didn’t stop the scribes for finding a way to make money. Instead of charging for their services, the scribes pushed heavily on the idea that people would be blessed by God if they supported them financially.
Paul Disagrees
Paul Disagrees
Now, before we continue it is important to remember that Paul had to clarify some of this traditional law and
King James Version Chapter 5
17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.
When Paul says “double honour” what he is saying is double value, or double income. So it would be fair to say that it is right for an elder in a church to be compensated at a rate that is double the median income of whoever he is ministering to. Now why I do think that this would be appropriate, It really isn’t the norm in most congregations. As a matter of fact Paul himself made a point that he denied asking this for himself when he wrote in 2 Cor 11:9
King James Version Chapter 11
9 And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.
and when he was in Corinth he worked plying a trade, not just freeloading on the faithful, so it’s recorded that he wrought, meaning he worked in Acts 18:3
King James Version Chapter 18
3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
Loopholes
Loopholes
The scribes unfortunately weren’t so noble in their in their pursuit of funding
Look what Jesus says in Luke 20:46
King James Version Chapter 12
38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,
39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:
And they had to support this lifestyle that they had come to love off of the backs of the poor and widows.
A recent study found that Elderly men and women in our country have become the target of religious cults like Krishna and The Way International. To quote Dale Griffis and expert on fraud for the FBI:
Older people are being bilked out of their savings, Social Security checks and property,
And we hear something like this is certainly causes us to shake our head in disgust, but in March of this year a Mega Church pastor of a very mainstream Christian denomination plead guilty for a 3.5 Million dollar bond fraud scheme targeting the elderly.
While this is a high profile example we wouldn’t have to look far to find those who purporting to be clergy are really following in the tradition of scam artists, casino’s, and the first century scribes. Taking advantage of the trusting nature of the faithful elderly to line their own pockets.
Jesus Condemns
Jesus Condemns
Truth
Jesus come down on the scribes hard and in a very public way. Look again what it say in Luke 20:45
King James Version Chapter 20
Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples,
He had just gotten done humiliating first the Pharisee’s and then the Sadducees as they tried to theologically trip him up. Then he pointed out their ignorance on the subject of the Messiah.
Keeping that in mind, and that he is still in full view of these religious leaders and all of the people he just finished addressing. Imagine Jesus turning to the disciples and he warns “Beware the Scribes” followed by the accusation “They devour widows houses”
And what we have here is the difference between true and false religion.
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
In fact we can go on
Learn to do well;
Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed,
Judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Even with that said, I have been surprised to hear, even from ministries I respect, publically calling for widows to plan their estates so that the church receives their inheritance. If someone wants to leave a portion of their wealth to the church when they pass that is good thing and I would be thankful for it, but in the shadow of such strong language to the scribes, I would be very hesitant to make that sort of ask.
I wish that the people who were scammed out of money by that Pastor who was recently put in jail, or that were scammed by those religious cults, I wish they s would have first read James 1:27 before writing their checks. If they had they would have come to the understanding that any religion that has to stand on the backs of the vulnerable doesn’t deserve to stand.
Rabbi Problems
Rabbi Problems
Application
I have personally seen the exploitation of the elderly and of other vulnerable people on more than one occasion. It happens in families all of the time. But I would hope and expect that this isn’t the type of thing that any professing Christian would engage in. This is pretty basic stuff.
But let’s focus again on Jesus’ warning. There is a desire that leads to the devouring of widows houses.
Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;
There are three things that drive the actions of the scribes.
Walking in Long Robes
Walking in Long Robes
They loved walking in long robes, and there was some precedent for part of their outfit.
Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:
So having fringes on their robes makes sense, but the Scribes took it to a whole other level. They didn’t just have fringes, but they elongated the fringes so that their appearance of piety would be the first thing that people recognized when they saw them.
Their appearance didn’t carry with it the practical utilitarianism that most of the people had. Throughout history we have seen that those who would see themselves in a place higher than those who engage in manual labor would often times wear clothing that made it obvious that no work could even be done in the outfit they were wearing. it is why women wore corsets and to it’s furthest extreme why foot binding was practiced in China.
The scribes and pharisee’s saw themselves as above the common people and they wanted to make sure that when they were seen in the markets or at synagogue they were dressed to impress.
Greetings in the Markets
Greetings in the Markets
Jesus says that they also loved greetings in the markets. They liked to be recognized when they went out. To feel important. And while it isn’t written here in Luke Matthew says that they loved that title to be greeted by.
And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
See in their minds being called this title, of Rabbi, or teacher put them higher than those calling them that. It was a subservient action. and Jesus goes on to warn about such titles in
High Seats in Synagogues
High Seats in Synagogues
And then to top it off they loved the high seats in synagogues. In a typical synagogue of the time three walls of the room were lined with benches, and the most important people in the synagogue sat on these seats. Common people sat on the floor.
This isn’t an idea that has totally been left in the past either. Synagogues today don’t relay on the tithe model or the love offering model, but instead they charge dues to attend holy days. Now nobody is typically turned away if they cant pay but the best seats in the house go to those who can afford to pay a little extra. One synagogue was the subject of a piece in the New York Times. To quote:
While nearly all congregations offer discounts or free tickets based on need, the regular ticket price can prompt sticker shock. To take an extreme example, Temple Emanu-El, on East 65th Street in Manhattan, charges $2,970 for the best seats, which includes annual membership.
Certainly it didn’t hurt anyone's ego to be seen sitting in one of the seats up front at almost $3,000
And of these leaders who liked to be seen in their fancy outfits and for people to take note. For these who loved being called by their title of prestige, putting the common people below them. And for these leaders who loved to be recognized in places of honor. Jesus says Beware.
A Humble Heart
A Humble Heart
Inspiration
The mathematician Copernicus is known as the father of Astronomy. To his credit is the understanding that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun and that the rotation of the earth is the reason for the sun going up and going down. Up to that point scientists belived that the sun, moon and stars revolved around the earth. But let me read this of him
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 2309 Copernicus’ Desire
Copernicus was a great mathematician. His studies and calculations revolutionized the thinking of mankind about the universe. When he lay dying, The Revolution of the Heavenly Body was placed in his hands. It had just been printed. At death’s door, he saw himself, not as a great scholar, or astronomer, but only as a sinner in need of the Saviour.
On the tombstone at his grave at Frauenberg are carved the following words which he chose for his epitaph: “I do not seek a kindness equal to that given to Paul. Nor do I ask the grace granted to Peter. But that forgiveness which Thou didst grant to the robber—that, earnestly I crave!”
Very few of us will contribute as much to our understanding of the world, but so many think so much more of themselves. And if the contribution and humility of Copernicus doesn’t move you perhaps the words of the Apostle Paul
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
See, at the end of the day Paul could find nothing of his own worth bragging about. Only the work of the Lord.
Leaven
Leaven
Action
Earlier in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is recorded saying
Luke 12:1 “Beware the Leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy”
This is the kind of statement that you might see on a sign posted to a junkyard fence. “Beware of the Dog”. It is a notice that you should expect harm to come to you if you aren’t cautious. And what are we told to beware of. The Leaven of the Pharisee’s.
We need to be be careful because the hypocrisy demonstrated by the Scribes and Pharisees spreads like leaven, yeast. It is contagious. It transfers more quickly and is more deadly than any virus, no matter how severe.
In Matthew’s parallel account of our passage in Luke today, Jesus goes on to say
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
The teachings and the example set by religious leaders who care more about their prestige and status, who would gain for themselves at the expense of the vulnerable, and who at the end of the day only care about themselves. Those teachings are deadly and make the followers of those teachings 2x more the child of hell.
We need to Beware. But we also need to be thankful that our God looks upon the heart, and not the trappings of religion that so many would use to measure holiness.
Pray