Luke 11:45-54

[0:00] You can be turning to Luke chapter 11. Luke chapter 11. We've been in a situation, Jesus having left Galilee and made his way towards Jerusalem, a journey that would take many months.

[0:24] ! And there will be a lot of discussions that go on. In that journey, Jesus is going to focus on teaching his disciples.

[0:38] And yet there are situations that arise where he's still speaking to vast crowds. And he's sharing much, even though he's primarily speaking to his disciples.

[0:49] But people are getting to ask him questions and talk to him. And we looked some weeks ago where he casts out this demon and the religious leaders just go nuts.

[1:02] And they start accusing him of casting the demon out by Beelzebul. And they start saying, show us more signs. And Jesus deals with them directly.

[1:17] We'll say that. And so, in the course of that day, Jesus has been teaching. And he's come to the point where he's dealt directly with these who have argued with him about how he's doing these miracles.

[1:34] And what miracles they want him to do to be able to prove who he is. And one of the Pharisees, we mentioned this last time we spoke. One of the Pharisees says, I'd like to have you for a meal.

[1:46] And we talked about how that was a normal thing that theological discussion would go on at these meals. And so, I would be inclined to tell you not to be thinking he's going, oh, let's meet together because I love what you're saying.

[2:01] And I want to talk to you about it. Rather, he's saying, I want to talk to you about this. And he's got that little squint in his eyes. And he's thinking, I'm going to talk to Jesus about this.

[2:14] And remember, we talked about how as they came in, Jesus upset them. I'd like to pick up back in verse 37 where we begin this meal.

[2:35] Because the conclusion of where we are today will deal with this whole passage. And so, I'd like to have the whole passage in front of us. Let's read, starting in verse 37.

[2:47] I'm going to be reading a long section today. While 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.

[3:04] And the Lord said to him, Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish. But inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools.

[3:16] Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give his alms those things that are within. And behold, everything is clean for you.

[3:27] 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.

[3:41] But 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.

[3:53] And people walk over them without knowing it. One of the lawyers answered him, Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.

[4:05] And he said, 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.

[4:17] 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, I will send them prophets and apostles.

[4:33] Some of whom they will kill and persecute. So that the blood of 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.

[4:46] 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.

[4:58] And you did not enter yourselves. And you hindered those who were coming or entering. As he went away from there. The scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard.

[5:09] And to provoke him. To speak about many things. Lying in wait for him. To catch him in something he might say. I'm going to go into chapter 12.

[5:19] In the meantime. When so many thousands of people had gathered together. That they were trampling one another. He began to say to his disciples first. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.

[5:33] Which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up. That will not be revealed. Or hidden. That will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark.

[5:47] Shall be heard. In the light. And what you have whispered in private rooms. Shall be proclaimed. On the housetops. Let's pray together. Father I thank you for this passage.

[6:03] And I. If we've read our Bibles at all. I know we're people who will look. At the Pharisees and the scribes. And we'll look at them just like we look at Israel. How could they be so blind?

[6:14] How could they be so foolish? How could they be so mean? How could they be so. How could they be so hypocritical? Father I pray that you would open our eyes.

[6:25] To what you're doing here today. And I pray that you would be with us. That as Jesus says. At the end of this passage. Beware.

[6:36] Beware. Of the leaven of the Pharisees. Which is hypocrisy. And I pray that you would be with us. Open our eyes. To our own hearts.

[6:46] And in the end. Help us to run to Jesus. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. So last time we looked at this conversation.

[7:00] This meal. I don't know about you. I don't like to be in uncomfortable situations. You know. If people are arguing. I just don't like it. Some people love to argue. I don't like to argue at all.

[7:12] I will. I know that there are times that I have to. And so I do. But. I don't think I would have wanted to sit in this meal. At least I wouldn't have wanted to have been close.

[7:24] I just don't picture this. Being a very comfortable meal. I mean Jesus just starts right out. Insulting the host. And when the host.

[7:36] Kind of lets him. Hey you know. That's wrong. Jesus just lays out the truth. And. And you know. I would have kind of imagined. In one sense.

[7:48] People feeling like this big. Because. Of the way Jesus spoke to the Pharisees. And eventually to the lawyers. But the lawyers were undimmed.

[7:59] They were getting more and more red faced. The Pharisees were becoming more and more hot under the collar. And it didn't deter them in their thoughts at all.

[8:10] And we see at the end. We will see their reaction. And it's very interesting. What Jesus is pointing out here. Just to remind you. Because we're going to make some application from this.

[8:22] A little later. The Pharisees were guilty of being clean on the outside. But filthy. On the inside. They were scrupulous about tithing. Even as.

[8:33] As the. You know. The quarter stock of dill. That it would cut and dice up for their meal. Tenth of that had to go to the temple. And. Their. The other spice that's mentioned there.

[8:46] And. So they. They were. Scrupulous about tithing. But they failed. Terribly.! In matters of justice. And they failed. Failed terribly. In matters.

[8:56] Of love. Towards God. I mean. They would say. All that they did. Was. Because they loved God. But here.

[9:07] Is Jesus saying. You do all this tithing. And you don't. You aren't concerned. About the things. That God is concerned about. You don't even have a heart.

[9:17] That loves God. And he goes on to talk about. How they. Love the glory. They want the best seat. You know.

[9:27] I think. If I remember. Two weeks ago. I read seats. But it's singular. They want the best. They don't want to just sit. In the front row. They want to sit. If you've been in a. In a band.

[9:38] Or an orchestra. They want to sit. First chair. First trumpet. First chair. First. First violin. First chair. They want to be in the. The most prominent.

[9:50] And Jesus. Sums that all up. Saying. You guys. Are just like. Unmarked graves. Nobody knows. That you're filthy inside.

[10:03] Why? Because they've been. Hypocrites. They're doing their best. To hide what's inside. Do they know what's inside? Sure they know. Some of what's inside.

[10:14] What one of us knows. All of what's inside of us. But we know. In many respects. When we're being hypocritical. And so Jesus. Sums up. His first part of the discussion.

[10:26] Saying. You're like. Unmarked graves. You're filthy inside. And anyone who brushes up. Against you. Becomes unclean. Remember we talked about. How if you touched. A grave.

[10:37] You were unclean. For a week. You couldn't go. To offer your sacrifices. And Jesus. I mean. They were scrupulous. About being clean.

[10:48] That's why they were so mad. At Jesus. For not washing his hands. Before he ate. It was just a matter of being. Clean. Ceremonially clean. And so Jesus. He's just.

[10:59] Buttered their bread. Said. You guys are just like. Unmarked graves. Jesus. And I love. How the lawyers. Jump in here.

[11:11] You know. Jesus. When you talk about. These Pharisees. You're offending. Us also. There was such a snooty.

[11:23] Attitude about this. Jesus is. They probably want. Jesus to feel rebuked. Because they feel.

[11:34] They're better. Than Pharisees. Now. Lawyers. Pharisees. You might see the word. Scribe. What's. What is this? What's going on here? Well now.

[11:44] The Pharisees. Were mainly lay people. But they were. Religious leaders. And. They were people. Who created. All kinds of traditions.

[11:56] To safeguard people. From. Breaking. The law. I. I have. All of you know. People like this. You know.

[12:06] If we can't do this. Remember. I talked about. The fence illustration. There's a fence behind the barn. So we're going to make up. A. A law. That you can't go out. The back of the barn. Or even a law.

[12:17] That you can't go in the barn. Or you can't even go out. The back door of the house. Why? Because. We don't want you getting shocked. By that fence. Well. The Pharisees. Did that. With the law. Made up all these. Other laws.

[12:27] You can't do this. You can't do this. Why? Because we don't want you getting close. To breaking. The law of God. So they were mainly lay people. Many. Were not.

[12:38] Truly educated. I mean. Just the normal education. But we have this group. Called the lawyers. Now. Some lawyers. Were Pharisees.

[12:50] But not all lawyers. Were Pharisees. The lawyers. Were sometimes Pharisees. Sometimes they were Sadducees. Sometimes they were priests. But they were lawyers.

[13:01] Well. What is a lawyer? A lawyer is a person who's paid to study. And interpret the law for people. As I said. They were part of. Of various religious groups. But they considered themselves.

[13:13] To be. Religiously better. Than the Pharisees. You know. Like the difference between. You know.

[13:24] I'm not knocking any of this. But you'll get the gist of it. I just want to qualify it. The difference between. A. Car mechanic. Legalist.

[13:37] Versus a PhD. Legalist. Okay. The PhD. Legalist. Is going to say. Don't lump me with that group. Because I'm educated.

[13:48] Because I've gone to school. I know how to form an argument. And. That's the snooty attitude. They're coming to Jesus with. Jesus. You've just talked about some things.

[14:01] Probably the things like tithing. They're real big on tithing. And some of the other things. And they said. Jesus. You've. You've just. Railed against all these people.

[14:11] For their hypocrisy. And you ought to be careful. Because some of us. Are very concerned about. The very things. That they're concerned about. And Jesus. In the way he acts.

[14:22] Or reacts. Is almost like saying. Yeah I know. And that's why I'm going to say. What I'm going to say. So they were real upset. And so. As we get into verses.

[14:33] 46 to 52. We find that Jesus. Says woe to them. And he pronounces. Three woes on them. Just like he did. With the Pharisees. And it's.

[14:48] Interesting. He doesn't hold anything back. He says. In verse 46. Woe to you lawyers. Also. For you load people.

[14:58] With burdens. Hard to bear. And you yourselves. Do not touch the burdens. With one of your fingers. Now. He doesn't tell us. What those burdens are. But they had.

[15:13] The responsibility. At least they had taken on themselves. The responsibility. To be interpreters of the law. And so they would interpret the law. I wished I'd put.

[15:23] I mentioned one of these last time. I wished I'd put another quote. By. From the Mishnah. Which is. This gathering of laws. Laws.

[15:35] That they put together. To protect people. From breaking. The law of God. One of them was the Sabbath. And what you could pick up. On the Sabbath. You could not pick up. More than a. Dried fig.

[15:45] On the Sabbath. Picking up more. Something that weighed more. Than. The weight. Of a dried fig. Well that is certainly work. And so they defined.

[15:56] What it was. To say that you were working. On the Sabbath. And so they made all these rules. But it was really interesting. The Mishnah went on to say.

[16:08] Now you couldn't. I'm going to set my cup of water up here. You couldn't. Pick the dried fig up. Or whatever was heavier. With your hand. I'm not going to illustrate this.

[16:21] Because I know I would make a mess. But the Mishnah went on to say. If it was placed in the back of your hand. That's not work. Or if somehow you would be able to. Scoot your robe under.

[16:32] And catch it in the hem of the robe. And carry it in your robe. That wasn't work. Or if you could grasp. The cup in your teeth. And carry it.

[16:42] That was not work. They may. And that. But they didn't tell. The regular people. All these rules. They told the regular people. That you can't pick up anything.

[16:53] More than a dried fig. Or it would be work. But they made all these rules. That made it so that they could do. What they. Wanted to do.

[17:03] And they made all these rules. And they. And they told people. And they'd be going around. And saying. People's names. Oh you can't do that. Remember how. They got upset with the man. Who was healed by the Lord Jesus.

[17:14] Who had been. Carried in by four. And let down through the roof. On this mat. And Jesus. Says. Your sins are forgiven. And.

[17:27] They're like. How can you say. You forgive sins. And then. To show that I can forgive sins. He says. Take up your bed and walk. And he takes up his bed and walk. And he goes out. And he's part way home.

[17:38] And what does he meet. He meets religious leaders. Who say. You've broken the law. You're carrying. Now they don't say this. You're carrying more than. Than something. You're carrying something.

[17:48] That weighs more than. The weight of a dried fig. So they'd fashioned all these. Rules. And these rules. Were such a burden.

[18:01] What if. Your infant. Needed. You know. Some sort of food. And you happen to have left it. In a one gallon pot. And the lid was heavy.

[18:15] Well. You couldn't feed your infant. If you kept that. There were all kinds of things. That made. Life. Hard for people. Because they had to keep in mind. I think there were.

[18:26] 610. Or 612. Rules. They weren't. The 10 commandments. They were rules. To protect people. From the 10 commandments. You had to keep. All these things.

[18:37] And everyone went around. All the time. Wondering. Am I breaking these rules? And Jesus says. You make all these rules. And yet.

[18:48] You don't lift. A finger. To help people. With those. You don't encourage them. You don't. You just make the rules. And make them live by them.

[18:59] And sit on your throne. And glory. And the fact. That you've made these rules. Rules. They didn't help people. But neither did they. Observe those rules.

[19:12] For themselves. As I mentioned. They could carry. Their burden. On the back of their hand. Or somehow. Slide it into the. Pocket of their robe. And avoid these rules.

[19:22] But they wouldn't tell people. They were finding ways. To bear these burdens. But laying these burdens. Heavy on people. He's saying. You're nothing. But hypocrites. This. And then he goes on.

[19:36] In verse 47. Woe to you. For you build. The tombs of the prophets. The tombs of the prophets. Whom your fathers killed. Now you can read. All through Isaiah.

[19:47] And Jeremiah. And see. How people. Treated the prophets. You can go to the minor prophets. And see. That the people of Israel. Even the religious leaders.

[19:59] Despised the prophets of God. And many of them were killed. Isaiah was thrown in a pit. At one point. God spared him. Jeremiah. Suffered. Because of his prophecy.

[20:10] Some were killed. Because of their prophecies. And their service to the Lord. And so these people. Were going around saying. You know.

[20:20] It wasn't right. For our fathers. To kill the prophets. And we're going to honor the prophets. We're going to build. A nice memorial. Over their tomb. And point it out.

[20:31] And let people look. And say. There. There's a prophet there. He was a great man. We're thankful for God. To God. For this prophet. And Jesus says. No.

[20:43] Your fathers killed the prophets. And you're just finishing the job. By building. A tomb over them. Now. We would have to be careful. How we address.

[20:54] The lawyers in this. Because we don't know their hearts. But Jesus knew. Their hearts. And so. He's about to reveal something.

[21:07] That shows their hypocrisy. In the greatest way. You honor the prophets. By building these. But really. You're just consenting.

[21:18] Verse 48. Consenting. To the deeds. Of your fathers. Your fathers. And odd phrases. In verse 39. Wherefore also.

[21:29] The wisdom of God said. Now. There are all kinds of interpretations. But basically. Comes down to. God in his wisdom. Said. I will send them.

[21:39] Prophets. And apostles. Some of whom. They will kill. And persecute. I'll stop there. So. Jesus is telling them.

[21:51] That God in his wisdom. Is sending prophets. And apostles. To these people. And he did. To the people of that day.

[22:02] They heard. The prophet. John. John the Baptist. They will hear. The apostles. The 12 apostles. And disciples.

[22:13] From them. And from the Lord. Who will stand. And give witness. And testimony. To the Lord. And who he is. And what he's done. But they have.

[22:23] Right before them. The greatest prophet. That ever has. Or ever will. Walk the earth. And he is in their presence.

[22:36] And what are they about to do. Some few months later. They're about to grab. Some Roman soldiers. And find Jesus.

[22:48] In a garden. They're about to have. Those Roman soldiers. Take Jesus. To the high priest's house. Where Jesus will be beaten. And then those Roman soldiers.

[23:00] Will take those. They will take the Lord Jesus. To Pilate. Where he will be scourged. And beaten. And judged. And falsely accused.

[23:11] And condemned to die. And even when. An option was offered them. A Barabbas. They scream out. No.

[23:22] We want Barabbas. Well what do you want me to do with Jesus? Crucify him. And they do. They kill the greatest prophet.

[23:32] There ever was. Is. Or shall be. Then of course. We know the first martyr. In the book of Acts. Chapter 6 and 7. We see Stephen come on the scene.

[23:44] And he begins to give testimony. He's a deacon. He's not even. He's not even an apostle. But he's the first one to die. For the testimony of the Lord Jesus. And it's at the hands of these people.

[23:55] And James was taken. And he was killed. At the hands of these people. And so there would be.

[24:11] Prophets. And apostles. Who would die. And what's Jesus saying? You said. And this is taking it from a different gospel. If we had been there.

[24:22] We wouldn't have killed. These prophets. Jesus says. The greatest prophet is before you. And you will kill that prophet.

[24:33] Don't tell me that you're honoring. These prophets. By building their graves. You're shown to be. Prophet killers yourself.

[24:46] And so. Jesus goes on. Says. Some they will kill and persecute. So that the blood. The blood of all the prophets. Shed.

[24:57] From the foundation of the world. May be charged against. This generation. From the blood of Abel. To the blood of Zachariah. Who perished. Between the altar.

[25:08] And the sanctuary. Now in our Bible. You would not say. You would say Abel. Was the first prophet. To die. First person to die. A martyr. But if you look in our Bible.

[25:19] You'd see. There's someone else. Who was the last prophet. To die. But if you picked up. A Hebrew Bible. Genesis. Is the first book.

[25:30] Of the Bible. But. They wouldn't call it. Second Chronicles. They would call it. Chronicles. They didn't divide. The book. But second Chronicles. Is the last book.

[25:42] Of the Bible. And Zachariah. Was the last person. Written down. In their Old Testament. Who suffered martyrdom. At the hands.

[25:53] Of these kinds of people. For the prophecy. That he gave. And so Jesus said. To these people. For their hypocrisy.

[26:05] You say. You're honoring the prophets. But you will kill. The greatest prophet. And so God. Will place.

[26:15] The. The. Condemnation. Of all the prophets. Who were killed. On that generation. That's a.

[26:26] That's a scary thought. To bear the responsibility. For all the prophets. Who ever died. And then he goes on. Woe to you lawyers. For you have taken away.

[26:37] The key of knowledge. Remember. They were the ones. Who studied the law. To understand it. To be able to teach it. But that's not what they did. In fact.

[26:48] They never. If you look back. Through the Old Testament. Now. I know it's not. Absolutely easy to see. But it is easy enough.

[26:58] To see. When the wise men. Came to Herod. And said. Where is he that is born. King of the Jews. What did the. Scribes do. They searched the scripture.

[27:10] And what one of us. Would have caught it. But they caught it. Oh Bethlehem. In Judah. You're. Lowest amongst. All the villages. Of the area.

[27:20] But out of you. Shall come forth. He. Who is to rule. It was there. And they didn't see it. And if they.

[27:32] These. The people of this day. Had looked at Isaiah. Fifty six. Fifty three. Rather. Fifty two and fifty three. And on in other places. They would have seen. The servant of the Lord.

[27:43] And they would have known. That this was. That prophet. This was the one. That was prophesied. But they chose to ignore it. So.

[27:55] They didn't see it. And they didn't tell others. About it. And so they were. Judged for it. They were just like their fathers.

[28:11] They saw. Rather the Old Testament. As a system. To earn salvation. Instead of that. Which points to. And pictures the one.

[28:23] Who would provide. Salvation. In seeing the Old Testament. As a way to earn salvation. They did not enter. The truth of salvation.

[28:33] Themselves. And instead. They hindered. Those who desired. To know the truth. Of salvation. Verses fifty three. And fifty four.

[28:44] We have an interesting reaction. And as he went away. From there. The scribes and Pharisees. Began to press him. Hard. And to provoke him. To speak about many things.

[28:55] You remember. There was one point. They said. Should we pay taxes? Why did they do that? They were simply trying to get him in trouble. If he said no.

[29:08] He could be reported to Rome. If he said yes. He could have been reported to the Sanhedrin. Either group.

[29:20] Would have punished him. And taken him out of the situation there. They went along. Trying. Trying. To. Trick him. Press him. Lying in wait.

[29:33] And they were doing that. So that they might accuse him. I think this is. For a couple reasons. I think the big thing here is. These people. Didn't like being told.

[29:45] They were hypocrites. They didn't like their sin. Being pointed out. No one likes that. They wanted him out of the way. But I think Luke. Put these two verses in here.

[29:56] Because remember. Luke is writing to Gentiles. And I don't think this would have made any sense. To the Gentiles. Or part of Jesus' story. Wouldn't have made sense.

[30:08] If Luke had included. These things that Jesus said. And these two verses. I think Luke put these here. As a way among other things. To explain to Gentiles.

[30:21] Why. The religious leaders. Turned against Jesus. I mean. If you're in Greece. And you hear the gospel. Up to this point. And they were telling you.

[30:34] You need to trust Jesus. You as a Gentile. Or as a Greek. Might say. Why? The Jews didn't. But here's Luke saying. Well this is why they didn't.

[30:47] He pointed out their sin. And they didn't like it. He pointed out how they were hypocrites. And they didn't like it. So.

[30:58] What should we learn from this interaction? Well one is the fact. That the religious leaders did hate. Ended up killing Jesus. John 7.7 says.

[31:10] The world cannot hate you. But it hates me. Because I testify about it. That its works are evil. But. I decided to read into chapter 12. The first three verses today.

[31:22] Because I think. Luke. Well Jesus plainly points out. Why he is. He's saying what he's saying here. In the meantime. While so many thousands of people.

[31:33] Were gathering together. That they were trampling upon one another. Tells us this is a great crowd there. He began to say to his disciples first. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.

[31:45] Which is hypocrisy. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Which is hypocrisy. These people. They were doing their best.

[31:58] To look like followers of God. And yet they weren't. They were doing their best. To look like. The best followers of God.

[32:13] But they weren't. And thinking about how we can apply this. To ourselves.

[32:28] We can see. Some things here that. That talk about how. If we look back through what Jesus said to them. We can see how we need to be careful. As people.

[32:39] Just as Jesus warned. That we. Not. Get caught. By this leaven of the Pharisees. Which is. Hypocrisy. In thinking back through the six woes.

[32:51] That. Jesus gave them. Hypocrisy is a problem. When Christians. Try. Or people try to look like Christians.

[33:03] But end up having a. Greedy. Wicked heart. You can go out in the world today. And talk to all numbers. Of people who claim to be Christians. But inside.

[33:17] They're evil. And wicked. They serve the Lord. For what they can get out of it. And yet.

[33:30] We don't have to go out in the world. What Jesus. Deals with these people about. Are things that we ourselves. Can be.

[33:41] Guilty of. Do we serve the Lord. For what we can get out of it. Used to be a big thing. That people in churches. Or people would come to church.

[33:52] Just so that people would know. They were church goers. In their business dealings. And they would have the church people. As people who would come. And use their services.

[34:06] People trying to serve the Lord. For what they can get out of it. The Pharisees certainly did this. Outside they pretended to be clean. But inside they were filthy. They didn't really care.

[34:18] Whether their heart was right with the Lord. We can also see that. In his warning to these people.

[34:28] He warns of people. Who try to look like Christians. But have no love for God. Or desire. To do what is right. For others. Of course this is something.

[34:43] That the world can do. But it's something that the Christians. Christians can do also. How many of us. Are Christians.

[34:59] And yet don't want to be involved. In the worship of God. Or the service of God. All kinds of areas.

[35:16] I have wrestled so with this week. So this week. With how far to say. How far to speak. Let me just. Let me just. Keep it.

[35:28] General. Do you. Do you. Involve yourself. In the worship of God. Is it something. You see as important.

[35:41] Or. You. You claim yourself. A Christian. Do you burden yourself. With how. Anyone else. Is doing. You walk in.

[35:53] Sit down. Listen. And walk out. And not have a clue. As to how. Any around you. Whether they're discouraged.

[36:05] Whether they're. Overwhelmed. Whether they're. Financially. Suffering. These.

[36:16] These Pharisees. Were people. Who wanted everybody. To know. They serve God. But when it came to justice. And loving God. They didn't.

[36:28] Really care about it. And Jesus is warning. These people. He's. He's warning. His disciples. That's the thing. That's amazing. He's not.

[36:39] Screaming. To the cloud. Crowds. And saying. You people. Who don't know God. You need to beware. The Pharisees. He's talking. To his disciples. Because.

[36:51] Disciples. Are people. Who can be hypocritical. Who try. To only keep up. The outside. And have no concern.

[37:04] About thought life. Motives. All the things. That go on inside. Do they hate people? People. The Pharisees.

[37:20] Were. Burdened. About. Pretending. To serve. The Lord. Or. Wanted. People. See that. Or. They were. Pretending. To. But. They were. Doing.

[37:30] Doing. Doing. Everything. For their. Own. Glory. Remember. They wanted. The chief seats. And. Hopefully. This is nothing. That any of you.

[37:40] Would ever. Struggle with. I say that. And I know. That it's absolutely. Not true. I know. It's something. That all of us. Struggle with. In different ways. We do things.

[37:55] Even when we. Most want. To serve the Lord. We do things. And struggle. With. What people. Think of us. I'm thinking. In the way.

[38:05] Of. That guy's. Amazing. The way. He teaches. People. In school. Or that guy's. Amazing. The way. He does. This. Or that.

[38:17] Wanting. Self-glory. Do we. Pretend. To serve. The Lord. And do things. For self-glory. Do we. Talk about. Our Bible. Reading. So that we.

[38:28] The people. Know. We're people. Who read. The Bible. But when we. Sit down. To read. The Bible. We're just. Threading. Words. Through our eyes. And none. Of it. Sticks. Are we.

[38:39] People. Who talk. About our. Prayer. Life. And have. No. Real. Concern. For the people. We're. Praying. For. Do we.

[38:52] Talk. About. Ways. We serve. The church. Maybe. We mentioned. Office. Or title. Or ministry. But really. Don't involve.

[39:03] Ourselves. In that. Office. Title. Or ministry. In any way. We just. Ride. The wave. Don't.

[39:13] Don't. Don't get involved. The. The. The. Lawyers. One of their woes. Was demanding. The others. Keep their standard.

[39:23] Of what a real. Christian. Is. While they. Excuse themselves. From all the. Obligations. They cast. On others. The lawyers. Did this. By creating.

[39:34] All kinds. Of regulations. They prohibited. For instance. All kinds. Of things. On the Sabbath. But as I mentioned. Built these secret. Exceptions. Into the regulations.

[39:45] That made it. So they could basically. Do anything. Who wanted. On the Sabbath. And I know. There are disagreements. On exactly. How one should observe. The. The Sabbath. And that should be.

[39:56] Worked out. Scripturally. And. And we have. Latitude. For people. To have different. Beliefs. But in your.

[40:07] Beliefs. In what you. Tell people. Is right. Or what you. Stand on. As people. What you. Stand on. Is right. Do you live.

[40:17] By that. Oh. I. I would never. Do this. Or I would never. Do that. On the Sabbath. And yet. Do you. The Pharisees.

[40:32] Or the lawyers. Rather. Were guilty. Of committing. The same sins. They condemned. Others for. Oh. We would never. We would never. Kill the prophets. And yet. They killed. The greatest. Prophet. There was.

[40:48] Do you. Have standards. That you. Have. That you. Condemn. Others for. All.

[41:00] Kinds. Of ways. I'm sure. There are things. Maybe. In your own. Mind and heart. You're thinking about. Yeah. What about that. I always talk about that.

[41:11] But I never do that. I always talk about. How important it is. To tie. And yet. I don't. I always talk about. How important it is. To do this. Or to do that.

[41:21] And yet. I don't. To do this. may get myself in a little trouble some of the things that went on during COVID COVID were like that our interpretations we need to be careful about keeping others from the word of God by dictating to others what seems right to us rather than what is according to scripture DEI does a lot of this oh I know but you've just got to feel for these people and do this or do that what does the word of God say now in chapter 2 or 12 verses 2 and 3

[42:45] Jesus goes on to explain God sees every motive he knows every motive and that we ought to live as though God sees and knows everything because he does live as though your thoughts and motives will be revealed to all so we've talked about hypocrisy and hypocrisy is always a dangerous thing to talk about it's an important thing to talk about but you know you think about these Pharisees did Jesus just hate them?

[43:28] did Jesus just say well these guys are going to hell I don't think it was that we know from scripture that some of the Pharisees and lawyers did later come to Christ Nicodemus he was involved in Christ's burial Joseph of Arimathea Saul of Tarsus probably one of the biggest hypocrites amongst the Pharisees that there was God saved them Jesus can save even the most hard-hearted of hypocrite but I think because we know these truths Jesus didn't say condemned to hell he says whoa there's judgment coming of course there's judgment coming on all of us who don't know Christ and the greatest blessing that we can give to those who don't know Christ is to warn them of the judgment that's coming and that's exactly what Jesus did he warned them of the judgment that was coming they were under the warning from God under the warning of pending judgment but saving grace was offered to them illustrated I believe by the fact that Jesus was willing to warn them

[44:59] God's saving grace is offered to us so Christian what do you do when you fail in the area of hypocrisy remember Jesus didn't address the crowds and say beware of the leaven of the Pharisees he addresses his disciples to be aware of the leaven of the Pharisees it's not if we happen to fall prey to hypocrisy we do Galatians 2 11 through 13 but when Cephas that's Peter when Cephas came to Antioch I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned for before certain men came from James he was eating with the Gentiles but when they came he drew back and separated himself fearing the circumcision party and the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him so that even

[46:08] Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy my point being Jesus is pointing out it's not those out there who become hypocritical we become hypocritical we as disciples become hypocritical what do we do can we just expect woe to you Dave being a hypocrite well if I had never turned to Christ it certainly would be woe but woe to me Dave as a hypocrite now I'm speaking let me just say it there's I've already run to Christ but as a hypocrite Christian my response should be repent and confess and run to Christ remember remember that if you are one who is trusting

[47:11] Christ even the sin of hypocrisy God knew that you would commit and it's been placed on Christ it's been paid for and you are accepted in Christ now if you're here and you have not trusted Christ okay we're not throwing stones we're not sitting up here saying you'll never be a part of us we're saying we're a bunch of hypocrites you know that's the argument against the church it's just a bunch of hypocrites amen we are and we'll wrestle with it to the day we die but come join us not that we just revel in our hypocrisy but hypocrites need to come to Christ they need what Christ has provided if you don't know Christ as Savior and you find that you're a person who's certainly guilty of hypocrisy there is a

[48:18] Savior who will redeem and so I urge you to run to him let's pray Father I thank you for your word and Lord I pray that you would be with us it's so easy to misstep when you talk about hypocrisy and I've tried very hard to be careful this morning but I pray that you would be with us Lord may your spirit work because all of us all of us struggle with hypocrisy I pray that you would help us to be quick to confess your spirit would open our eyes to it and quick to stand on the work of Christ and Lord if there's one here who doesn't know you today who's now seeing the sin of their hypocrisy I pray they would also run to Christ we pray in Jesus name amen the best way I can think to end this consideration of hypocrisy is to turn to 254 alas and did my savior bleed and did my sovereign die let's stand as we sing who do to to to