Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Christ And His Righteousness - Isaac Watts, 1709.

1 No more, my God, I boast no more

   Of all the duties I have done;

   I quit the hopes I held before,

   To trust the merits of thy Son.

2 Now for the love I bear his name,

   What was my gain I count my loss;

   My former pride I call my shame,

   And nail my glory to his cross.

3 Yes, and I must and will esteem

   All things but loss for Jesus’ sake:

   Oh may my soul be found in him,

   And of his righteousness partake!

4 The best obedience of my hands

   Dares not appear before thy throne:

   But faith can answer thy demands,

   By pleading what my Lord has done.

Of all the duties I have done;

Of all the duties I have done;

Luke 16:14-5

I quit the hopes I held before, To trust the merits of thy Son.

2 Now for the love I bear his name,

   What was my gain I count my loss;

   My former pride I call my shame,

   And nail my glory to his cross.

3 Yes, and I must and will esteem

   All things but loss for Jesus’ sake:

   Oh may my soul be found in him,

   And of his righteousness partake!

4 The best obedience of my hands

   Dares not appear before thy throne:

   But faith can answer thy demands,

   By pleading what my Lord has done.

I quit the hopes I held before, To trust the merits of thy Son.

2 Now for the love I bear his name, What was my gain I count my loss;

   My former pride I call my shame, And nail my glory to his cross.

3 Yes, and I must and will esteem All things but loss for Jesus’ sake:

   Oh may my soul be found in him, And of his righteousness partake!

4 The best obedience of my hands

   Dares not appear before thy throne:

   But faith can answer thy demands,

   By pleading what my Lord has done.

“God’s Children” and Money Grabbers?

The Pharisees - By way of reminder, the Pharisees are the religious elite of the nation of Israel.

They are the conservative scholars and regulators of worship.

There are four primary ways the these “separated one” are described in the New Testament:

The Pharisees - By way of reminder, the Pharisees are the religious elite of the nation of Israel.

They are the conservative scholars and regulators of worship in the nations.

There are four distinct ways the these “separated one” are described in the New Testament:

(1) positions of religious authority in the community

(2) concern for outward recognition and honor

(3) enthusiasm for making converts,

(4) emphasis on observing the legalistic minutia of the law.

However, Luke gives describes them in another way in this passage, who were lovers of money.

They were immoderately desirous of acquiring wealth.

This group of leaders and elites used their specific influence for financial gain.

Often, at the expense of others.

Jesus has already said they were filled to the brim with an intense and selfish desire for money and possessions.

Luke

Later on we will see Jesus warning others of the Pharisees.

The key phrase for us today is “who devour widow’s house”.

These religious elite, who should be serving those who were most destitute and vulnerable were taking advantage them Robert Stein writes, “This statement may refer to the teachers’ cheating widows of their houses and estates while serving as the executors of these properties.

This is more likely than the view that they were abusing the hospitality of poor widows.”

These men were unprincipled, hypocritical lovers of money.

They schemed and plotted to gain and accumulate.

They were overcome with the desire for riches and wealth.

They thrived on the calm of comfort and the reputation of prestige.

They also believed themselves to be the chosen of God because of their geneologies and morality.

Luke continues...

Luke continues

Luke

Luke continues

The Money Grabbers Mock

Heard all these things - They have just heard Jesus tell the group listening to him this phrase we saw in previous weeks:

They have just heard Jesus tell the group listening to him this phrase we saw in previous weeks:

And they ridiculed him - In response to the warning of Christ about loving money before God, they ridiculed him.

This word describes an extremely hostile attitude.

They mocked him or sneered at him.

Said another way, they turned their noses up at him.

They absolutely hated and despised him for what he said and they were like this because they were guilty of and did not want to change.

They were concreted in their hearts and would not be moved.

Let’s pause to consider what is happening and how bad this situation is.

This great teacher is none other than God the Son, second person of the Trinity and The Son of God enfleshed to be to the Messiah of God.

He is the anointed One that all the Old Testament foretells.

He is the fulfillment of all the Messianic prophecy and the promises of God.

He is ministering the truth of God’s kingdom so that lost humans can enter into it by the grace of God.

These Pharisees, who are the supposed best interpreters of the Old Testament, are mocking the One who is supposed to be their Savior.

Rebuking Self-Righteousness

Jesus is not phased and is undaunted by their ridicule of him.

He is the embodiment of the truth and is trusting his Father every step of the way.

He responds with his pride devastating insight of reality.

You are those who justify yourselves before men- You can almost imagine Jesus pointing his finger to make sure they know with certainty he is addressing them.

The Pharisees attempted to display their righteousness to others through merely external behavior.

Jesus is telling these men they are hypocrites.

They only have the desire to appear righteous.

They only want to give the impression they are living for God.

The are only acquainted with acting like they are the children of God in public settings and venues.

He condemns them in for many things, but play-acting to be righteous is among them.

L