JESUS SAYS "WOE" TO LEADERS

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

In Luke 11:37-54 the increasing spirit of confrontation comes to a head when Jesus was invited by a Pharisee to dinner.
When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

"Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

"Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it."

One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also." Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

"Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.' Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.

"Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."

When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, waiting to catch him in something he might say.

I recently came across the writings of Donald Williams on the net and he opened to me three universal problems of the religious leaders Jesus was facing and it’s still with us today.

The FIRST problem is formalism—a commitment to outward forms—rituals, practices, creeds, type of worship, believing that these forms are key to true piety and make you acceptable to God. These forms aren’t bad in themselves, but there can be a tendency toward an external focus rather than what flows out of the heart. Jesus points out their excessive emphasis on washings and cleansings. He has already provoked this part of formalism by not following through on the ceremonial washing as He entered the house. The Pharisee gloried in his washings as one of the most important evidence of being so self-righteous.

Jesus offers two answers when the Pharisee questioned Him on not washing. The first was the parable of cup. Pharisees were so careful to wash the outside of the cup, but the leave the inside filthy. In other words, all that really matters is how someone looks. The second thing Jesus does is to fire away with some sarcasm. He says your fathers killed the prophets and you build the tombs. In other words, you are complicit in the process of even making the death of the prophets look good on the outside. Formalism is just too shallow to amount to anything genuinely spiritual.

The SECOND problem is legalism—Legalism is not just a strict stance on the Law. Legalism believes that by keeping a list of do’s and don’ts you will be able to earn God’s acceptance and salvation. The focus here is keeping whatever set of rules you have adopted and that devotion to keeping the rules becomes the empty activity, again proceeding without the heart for it. Jesus pokes fun at their practices of tithing. They took tithing to the point where they would go through their spice rack and carefully measure out a tenth of each jar—while ignoring the more significant matters of the Law, such as love. This practice became “burdensome”

You see, Pharisees are hypocrites. But they were hypocrites, not only in the sense of talking one thing and doing another. They were hypocrites, because they were “hyper-critical”—knit-pickers, feather-pluckers. The Sabbath also became a badge of legalistic righteousness. The practice of keeping the Sabbath also became an empty ritual or, in this case, Law that must be kept to the nth degree no matter what. So, legalists do things because they “have to”, not because they “want to.”

The THIRD problem is clericalism—Clericalism is the wrong kind of dependence on the position of clergy. Within clericalism there are two classes of people—first class and coach. First class believers are the clergy—those who are in the professional ministry. It’s the tendency to put clergy up on a pedestal above everyone else in the body of Christ.

When a person is in the hospital, get the pastor. Call the priest immediately. When someone needs prayer, we must wait for the pastor. I strongly disagree with this thinking. When a clergyman prays over someone, he puts his empty hands on a person’s empty head and prays for God to come through on his behalf. Anyone can do that.

Formalism, legalism and clericalism are all very much alive among us and act as dangerous cancers in our fellowships. Jesus was totally upset by those who seek the best seats of honor in the synagogues. He was livid over the fact that these pseudo-leaders took the key to knowing God and His ways as if they were the gate-keepers of faith. Yet, these same gate-keepers have never gone into a full faith relationship themselves while hindering others in the process.

For many years I’ve been saying, “We don’t need more ministers. We need more people ministering.” Lord, deliver us from thinking we’re something when we’re not, from following a man-made list of do’s and don’ts and from the pompous spirit of clericalism. Lord, deliver us from our tendency to be drawn to any of these Pharisaical practices that are empty and destructive. Lord Jesus, deliver us from ourselves.

THE LAMP OF THE BODY

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

In Luke 11:33-36 Jesus uses the image of a lamp that shines a light in your whole body—or not:

"None of you lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead you put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you."

The most effective use of a lamp is to place it on a prominent stand or shelf in the house, so that it is able to shine throughout the house. When a lamp is placed properly, then you can see everything within the entire house.

Jesus switches then from a house to your house—your body. He says the lamp of your body is your eye. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light. But when it is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness.

What is He saying? I see it this way. Since your eye is the window to your entire psyche, then maybe Jesus is referring to what your eye is focused on. This seems to fit His constant emphasis on those who have “ears to hear” and “eyes to see.”

So, if your eye is focused on hearing and seeing what Jesus is saying and doing, then your eye is focused on the right things. If your eye is focused on Jesus and His Kingdom, then your focus is pure and clear. And, when your eye is focused in this way, your whole insides is full of light. But if your eye is out of focus on Jesus and His Kingdom, then your insides will be filled with darkness.

This is just another way of saying, “He who hears my words and practices them” has a firm foundation for his life. But those “who hear my words and don’t practice them” have a shaky foundation and are vulnerable to destruction from the winds, floods and rains of life’s trials and troubles.

Well, what part of this is unclear? I spent most of my life doing life my way for Jesus. Jesus says that this will not work well and He has proven to be right in my situation. Now, I am determined to do my life in the way of Jesus. You see, He is the way, the truth and the life. I highly recommend you choose to do the same.

You know what? It’s like the process of elimination—NOTHING ELSE WORKS.

JESUS AND BEELZEBUB

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

At this point in Jesus’ ministry He is getting closer to Jerusalem. He began in the Galilee region and is making His way through Judea in this section. In verses 14-20 Jesus casts out a demon and really stirs up the crowds with strong reactions to this miracle.

By Jewish tradition there were three miracles that only the Messiah would be able to handle—healing a leper, a man born blind and a person who couldn’t speak. They would say, “When the Messiah comes, He will be able to heal them. We can’t do that ourselves, so we’ll wait for the Messiah.” Now, here we come to the healing of a man who couldn’t speak, because of a demon. This was just too threatening to many of the people. Jesus did it, but it just can’t be.

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, "By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons." Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Beelzebub comes from the same name as a Canaanite god the children of Israel faced—Baal. Baal literally means “god of the high place.” By the time Jesus showed up Beelzebub was considered the Devil, the prince of demons. This was a slanderous accusation, but the only comfortable alternative for many of the religious leaders.

Jesus responds by telling them how ridiculous their accusation is. He points out that if He were empowered by Satan, then Satan would be fighting against himself by casting out a demon. Then Jesus questions the Jewish exorcists, “Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out?” Jesus wasn’t the only one casting out demons. There was a variety of Jewish exorcists at that time.
Jesus is arguing here that the same could be said of their own exorcists, that they are empowered by Beelzebub.

Then Jesus turns the corner a bit and says, “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.” And, if this is true, then He is pointing out that they are too blind to see it as from God and not the Devil.
Next Jesus states two parables. One is to point out that He is doing these miracles because of His superior power. "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder. "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

The second parable is a warning. "When an evil spirit comes out of anyone, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first."

There are three basic responses to Jesus’ healing of the man who couldn’t speak. FIRST—Many were in awe and were even more attracted to this miracle worker from Galilee.

SECOND—Unwilling to see the hand of God in Jesus’ healings, there were some who accused Jesus’ acts as being from the Devil—Beelzebub. We see Jesus’ response to their accusation in Luke 11:27-28.

As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."

After a woman yelled out a blessing to the young rabbi, Jesus responds with an even greater blessing for the crowd. He says, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” His point is directly toward those who see His works as coming from the Devil rather than God. Because they refuse to hear or accept this sign from God through His Messiah and obey it, then they will miss out on the blessing of God.

THIRD—There were some who asked for a sign from heaven that He was from God. NOTE, this is as if Jesus hadn’t already given several signs through all of His miracles to date. They were saying, “That was pretty good, Jesus, but show us another one and another one.” Jesus responds to their demand for a sign in Luke 11:29-32.

As the crowds increased, Jesus said, "This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom; and now one greater than Solomon is here. The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now one greater than Jonah is here.

His accusers are always wanting more signs, yet He has given them many signs. And, in this particular sign of healing the man who couldn’t speak He is clearly doing a Messianic miracle longed for throughout the ages. So, if they are so blind as to reject Him after all He has shown them, then Jesus will not give them any more signs but one. The one sign He will give them is the sign of Jonah.

The sign of Jonah is the sign of the resurrection. Just as Jonah spent 3 days in the belly of the whale, so must the Messiah spend 3 days in a grave. But in the same way Jonah was delivered from this deep-sea grave, the Messiah will also be raised from His grave. We learn from Matthew’s gospel that from this point on, Jesus speaks only in parables. He speaks in parables so that those who have ears to hear can hear and those who do not have ears to hear will not understand any more. If they continue to reject the clear signs of God’s Messiah, they are piling up more judgment against them.

I don’t want you to miss the underlying point Jesus is making in this section. In my opinion, the key statement in this passage is “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” If Jesus is using the mighty finger of God to work His works, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. If He is not, then nothing changes. If Jesus isn’t from God, then we can remain in our own quiet desperation—alone. However, if Jesus is from God, then He, the King, has brought His kingdom to us. That’s the good news! In a sense, it’s a pragmatic thing. What have you got to lose by following Jesus—hearing what He says and obeying it?

I’m reminded of my favorite Snoopy saying, “It doesn’t make any difference whether you win or you lose—until you lose.” And then it makes a lot of difference.

JESUS, TEACH US TO PRAY

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

We come now to Luke 11. One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."

He said to them, "When you pray, say: "'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. 
And lead us not into temptation.'"

Jesus was a man of prayer. He was praying when the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove (Luke 3:21). He began His ministry with a 40-day fast in the wilderness (4:1-15). Other times He withdrew into the wilderness to pray (5:16). Then before choosing the 12 He was up all night praying (6:12). Just before Jesus asked that famous question, “Who do you say that I am?”, He was praying (9:18). Just before He was transfigured He took Peter, James and John up on the mountain to pray (9:28). And He was praying here at the beginning of our text in Luke 11:1.

The example of Jesus praying so much is a powerful one. The reason the disciples wanted Him to teach them how to pray is because they witnessed Him in prayer so often. If Jesus, their teacher and master, feels the need to spend time in prayer, then how much more do they need to pray? Or, how much more do we?

Then Jesus said to them, "Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' And suppose the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened. "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Jesus gives them one of the most vital ingredients to praying effectively. The ingredient? God, your Father, will answer your prayers. You can count on it. In fact, you are to pray believing that He will.

Then Jesus amplifies on what a disciple’s role is in praying. In addition to praying in confidence that you will receive what you ask for, you are to keep on asking, keep on seeking and keep on knocking. And if you do, He will give you what you ask, you will find what you seek and the door will be opened to you. This is one of the most beautiful promises Jesus makes and it’s all for the asking, seeking and knocking.

I know what you’re thinking, “Yeah, but what if this or that.” If your mind is anything like mine, it races to a whole list of excuses for unanswered prayer. Yet Jesus makes it clear that we are to pray, believing and God will answer our prayers.

I must close with the only thought that makes sense to me on prayer. I come back to it often and repeat it to myself for comfort. PRAYER DOESN’T NEED PROOF; IT NEEDS PRACTICE.

AT THE HOME OF MARTHA AND MARY

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

At the end of Luke chapter 10 is the renowned setting in the home of Martha and Mary.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Martha was probably the older sister to Mary and they obviously had two very different personalities. Martha found herself doing all the work in preparing for her guests and Mary was focused on the guests, namely the guest, Jesus. When she realized what was happening, she complains to Jesus about her sister and wanted Him to tell her to help out a bit. Martha displays three problem issues with a fourth that most assuredly was present in her heart.
1. Martha was distracted from paying attention to her guests.
2. Martha was worried whether the preparations would get done.
3. Martha was upset with her sister’s lack of concern and help.
4. Martha was most likely harboring some resentment that she was the only one concerned about getting all of the preparation work done.

Jesus’ response to Martha’s complaint was classic. He points out two things here. FIRST—Very few things are really necessary. SECOND—Only one thing is needed—only one focus is necessary. Jesus seems to be saying that Martha has lost her focus. Jesus says there is one thing that is necessary for her focus. What do you think it is?

I think it is precisely what was quoted in the previous paragraph. Remember? LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. Jesus is saying nothing else is necessary.

This has been my life theme for quite some time. In fact, I have said many times that this is something I want placed on my tombstone—IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER!

There may be one more thing here in this scenario. It is too easy to become distracted by the many things pulling on our lives throughout the day—and, throughout the night. It’s so easy to be caught up in thinking that we must be busy doing something all the time. This busyness seems to be the dues we pay for playing in this game of life. We wouldn’t want anyone to think that we are slowing down or that we have too much time on our hands.

Everyone wants to feel like he is accomplishing something, keeping up with the Joneses, or winning in the rat race in this pressure-cooker world. The problem is that even if you win the rat race, you’re still a rat.

Years ago I delivered a message on Jesus’ encounter with Martha and Mary and I think the words still ring true today. I leave them with you for your personal and prayerful consideration. DON’T JUST DO SOMETHING, SIT THERE!