Luke 11:37-41 (3)
Notes
Transcript
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-Let me encourage you to turn in your Bibles...
…back to Luke Chapter 11...
…and to follow along...
…as we work our way through Verses 37-41.
-What we have in these verses, is...
…a warning, that is very similar...
…to the one we had back up in Verses 24-26:
The danger of having an empty spiritual house.
Also, today’s warning picks back up...
…that long string of warnings and indictments...
…against the unbelieving Jews...
…that Jesus had begun to give back in Verse 29...
…with that diagnosis of them as “an evil generation.”
(Hopefully, you can remember all of that)
-And the particular warning of today’s text, is concerning...
“The Deadly Danger of Religious Externalism”
Or, you might say...
“The Danger of Spiritual Hypocrisy”
-And, I would submit to you...
…that this is an ever-present-danger...
…Regardless of when or where you live...
…or even, what particular denominational stripe you wear.
This is a warning that we all need to heed.
-Alright, let’s read our text...
…and go to the throne of grace for help.
Luke 11:37–41 (ESV)
37 While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table.
38 The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.
39 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.
40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?
41 But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.
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Pray
-I want to begin by reading a series of questions...
…that a commentary uses to introduce this section.
They are piercing.
And, they help us to begin making personal application...
…from the very outset:
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 (Chapter 49: When Your Soul Is an Unmarked Grave (Luke 11:37–44))
What is the biggest danger the church faces in the twenty-first century?
Is it secular hostility to biblical truth?
The spread of Islam and other false religions?
The doctrinal errors of postevangelical theology?
These are all serious dangers, but judging from what Jesus said in the Gospels, the gravest danger may come from theologically informed, religiously active, morally conservative people whose hearts are far from God.
Nothing is deadlier to the life of true godliness than spiritual hypocrisy.
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-Now, look back at Verse 37 with me.
And, notice the way Luke connects it...
…to that long list of warnings...
…that we’ve been looking at for the last several weeks.
He tells us, that it was:
Luke 11:37 (ESV)
37 While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him...
-Now, in order to properly understand our text...
We probably need to back up...
…and be reminded of the role that the Pharisees played...
…in the life of Second Temple Judaism.
These commentaries (collectively) summarize it well:
Faithlife Study Bible (Chapter 7)
While the Sadducees derived their religious influence from official priestly circles, the Pharisees’ influence stemmed primarily from their knowledge of biblical law and their ability to interpret that law.
As a lay association of legal experts, their biblical interpretations had a direct effect on Jewish life and practice.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 (Table Talk)
The Pharisees enjoyed an excellent reputation in those days. If anyone tried to lead a life that was pleasing to God, it was the Pharisees.
They were morally straight, keeping God’s law. They were theologically conservative, defending the faith.
In fact, they were generally considered to be the holiest people in Israel, with the most obvious concern for personal godliness.
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-So, this would have been the public perception of the man...
…who had just invited Jesus over to his house.
And Luke simply tells us (end of Verse 37):
Luke 11:37 (ESV)
37 ...so he went in and reclined at table.
-So, we have a familiar scene, right? (i.e., Chapter 7)
But, this time...
…it isn’t what happens...
…that scandalizes the Pharisee (the entrance of the sinful woman)...
Rather, it’s what didn’t happen.
Look at Verse 38:
Luke 11:38 (ESV)
38 The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.
Now, this didn’t scandalize the Pharisee...
…for the same reason that it would you and I.
His concern wasn’t for health and hygiene...
It was for ritual and tradition.
We get a hint of that at the outset...
…in that Luke uses the word “baptize” in the original.
That intimates to us that...
…the action had a religious, ceremonial connotation to it.
And you can see that in the way...
…many translators wrestle with how to put it in English.
For Example:
Luke 11:38 (NASB95)
38 ...he was surprised that He had not first ceremonially washed before the meal.
Luke 11:38 (HCSB)
38 ...he was amazed that He did not first perform the ritual washing before dinner.
-Now, we need to be very clear about something at this point:
Jesus (and Jesus alone) kept the Law perfectly!
He never broke any Law...
…that he was morally obligated to obey as a man.
He said:
Matthew 5:17 (ESV)
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come t o abolish them but to fulfill them.
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If he didn’t do that...
…then you and I have no hope!
(Because we certainly can’t and won’t)
(And God’s Nature requires it of us)
-So, what is Jesus “violating” . . .
…by not washing His hands before he eats?
It was “Sacred Tradition” that he was setting aside
NOT “Sacred Scripture!”
He never disobeyed that!
He always fulfilled the will of His Father!
-Now, the Law DID prescribe...
…certain ceremonial washings at times...
(usually in preparation for worship)
(sometimes as part of a ceremonial cleansing ritual)
But it didn’t extend that requirement out...
…into the arena of everyday meals.
The Pharisees (and others) had...
...by their own logical deductions...
…taken the biblical command...
…and stretched it out...
…beyond the scope of its original application.
-We can glean some insights into this...
…from a similar event...
…that Mark recorded in Chapter 7 of his Gospel:
Mark 7:1–5 (ESV)
1 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem,
2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.
Then Mark gives this inspired editorial explanation:
3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders,
4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.
The following excerpt from the Mishna (200 A.D.)...
…helps us to understand this for what it was:
The hands are susceptible to uncleanness, and they are rendered clean up to the wrist.
Jews are Holy
The rest of the world is unclean
The hands are the members that have to interact with the realm of the unclean
Ergo, they become defiled in everyday life.
Thus if a man had poured the first water up to the wrist and the second water beyond the wrist, and the water flowed back to the hand, the hand becomes clean;
but if he poured both the first water and the second beyond the wrist, and the water flowed back to the hand, the hand remains unclean.
If he poured the first water over the one hand alone and then bethought himself and poured the second water over the one hand, his one hand is clean.
If he had poured the water over the one hand and rubbed it on the other, it becomes unclean;
but if he rubbed it on his head or on the wall it remains clean. — Yadayim 2.3
And Mark goes on to say:
And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)
(One commentary I read, said that...
…they had 1,001 such authoritatively binding “sacred traditions”)
This is all helping us to...
…better understand what Jesus meant...
…when he said, this, in...
Matthew 23:2–4 (ESV)
4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders...
Well, Jesus had this to say about it...
…back in Mark 7...
Mark 7:6–9 (ESV)
6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
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-Now, like I’ve said before...
It’s easy to read this condemnation of the Jews...
…and think that it doesn’t apply to us.
And, we would be gravely mistaken...
…to do so.
-This isn’t our ultimate or final application...
But, it is a good one to consider now:
As Christians we need to learn to tell the difference between the law of God and our own personal preferences.
We may have all kinds of opinions about things like what people ought to wear, what they should eat, how they should run their household, how they should spend their money, what priorities they should have in ministry, or what political position they ought to take.
Some of these opinions may be strongly held.
We may even believe that there are good spiritual reasons for our opinions. The Pharisee certainly had spiritual reasons for thinking that Jesus should wash his hands.
But are we properly distinguishing between the commands of God and our own code of conduct?
When we get offended, we need to make sure it is only for things that God himself truly finds offensive, instead of just pontificating on the basis of our own opinions. — Ryken
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And, those are wise words...
…that I believe we would ALL (myself included)...
…be wise to heed!
-Alright, look at Jesus’ response to the Pharisee...
…back in our text, in Verse 39.
Luke 11:39 (ESV)
39 And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish...
Remember, that they were going to be eating a meal
This was an object lesson.
He was making an allusion...
…to the way the dishes would have been prepared for the meal.
Just think about it:
Imagine that the used cups and bowls from yesterday’s dinner...
…were being prepared for today’s meal.
And, their outside surfaces...
(The parts that are readily visible)
…are cleaned and polished to perfection...
...and are taken out and set on the table...
…without the insides even being touched!
Does it look (from a distance) like the dishes are clean?
But, are they actually and objectively clean?
Does it look like they’re sanitary and safe from afar?
But are they actually sanitary and safe...
…or are they, in fact, a hazard to your health?
-That’s the point that Jesus is making here.
Philip Ryken, again, says:
The Pharisees were like that. For them the really important thing was their observable conduct—the part of their spiritual lives that other people could see.
So they maintained strict outward conformity to their rules for godly conduct.
They went to public worship. They made a big show of saying their prayers. They let other people know about their charitable giving.
By performing these external rituals, they were cleaning the outside of their cup and dish...
What were they really like on the inside? Jesus said they were filthy! — Ryken
And we see that, at the end of Verse 39:
Luke 11:39 (ESV)
39 ...you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
Back in Matthew 23, Jesus added:
Matthew 23:25–28 (ESV)
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.
28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
-You see, the Pharisees had two major errors in their thinking.
Both of which, share a common cancerous root:
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Religious Externalism.
1. They were scrupulous to avoid defilement from without...
(Meaning, from outside of themselves)
But the reality, was...
Mark 7:18–23 (ESV)
18 ...whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him,
19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.
21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
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That’s the first error in their thinking.
-The second was a consequence of the first:
2. Their tendency to fixate and focus their pursuit of holiness...
…on those things that set them apart from the world...
Outwardly
Visibly.
-You see, physically speaking (as they were seen in the eyes of men)...
They were a very “holy” group (define)
But, from the very beginning...
…God had called them to:
Jeremiah 4:4 (ESV)
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts...
It was never a merely ritual obedience...
…that God desired and commanded of men...
(It wasn’t less than that!)
What the Law had always ultimately commanded...
…was the sincere and undivided devotion of the heart!
Deuteronomy 6:5–6 (ESV)
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
-I think this is essentially what Jesus is getting at, in...
Luke 11:40 (ESV)
40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?
In other words...
Doesn’t the obligation to holiness extend beyond the physical...
…and into the heart and soul and mind?
Doesn’t it extend into the realm of...
...our very affections and desires?
Of course it does!
Because, the God who called you to that holiness...
Created both spheres...
And is Lord of Both...
And he requires BOTH...
The Worship of the Body
The Adoration of the Soul!
-And, here’s the thing:
The one will inevitably lead to the other.
But, it only happens in one direction:
The Adoration of the Soul...
Will produce the Worship of the Body!
But, the Pharisees had the order reversed.
Hence, we see the remedy...
…Jesus prescribes in Verse 41:
lk11.41
Luke 11:41 (ESV)
41 But give as alms those things that are within...
I think Matthew 6 will help us...
…to better understand what Jesus is saying, here:
Matthew 6:1–2 (ESV)
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them...
2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others....
In other words...
…Don’t give alms to others...
…TO BENEFIT YOURSELF!
Be motivated by a genuine desire to...
Help them...
Bring glory to God!
In other words...
...The point is this:
Matthew 23:26 (ESV)
26 ...First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
You see, if the heart is circumcised (consecrated to God)...
...that will lead you to a holiness...
...in the external aspects of life as well.
Or, to use the language from our text:
Luke 11:41 (ESV)
41 ...behold, everything is clean for you.
Meaning, both the inside and the outside of the cup!
When the heart gets cleaned...
…it will clean up the rest (in due time).
-So, what does this mean for us?
It means that we ought to be most concerned with...
The condition of our hearts.
Our spiritual health and holiness.
(The Pharisees had this backwards...
…and it put them in grave danger)
-Now, I know that our time is short...
But, I feel like we must take the time...
…to clarify something, here:
We read this before:
Matthew 23:26 (ESV)
26 ...First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
But, how do we do that?
We also read a verse that conveyed this idea:
Deuteronomy 10:16 (ESV)
16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.
(Notice the connection between...
...the heart and the actions of the body, here also)
But again, how could they do that?
Could an infant circumcise himself?
No! He was the passive recipient of it.
Well, the Scripture went on to give them/us this hope:
Promising them, that...
...if they would essentially, turn to the Lord...
...in repentance and faith...
Deuteronomy 30:6 (ESV)
6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
And after centuries of their failure to do so...
…the Lord further clarified the promise:
Ezekiel 36:25–27 (ESV)
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
This is how you clean the inside of the cup!
AND... by an extension of that work of God...
...this is how the outside of the cup gets cleaned up, too!
And, if you or I attempt to reverse the order...
At best, we’ll become “white-washed tombs.”
-We must do what they were told to do:
Look away from our own righteousness:
(Our own performance)
(Our own goodness)
(Our own abilities)
We must forsake all hope...
…in the outside of our cups.
And, we must:
Turn to Christ in repentance and faith...
Implore the Father...
To send the Spirit...
To Circumcise the foreskin of our hearts!
And, if HE thus changes our hearts...
Luke 11:41 (NIV)
41 ...everything will be clean for (us).
Let’s pray.