Sermon Tone Analysis

The truth hurts

Old fashioned insults

BESPAWLER

To bespawl means to spit or dribble.

A bespawler is a slobbering person, who spits when he talks.

DEW-BEATER

An 18th century word for an especially large shoe, and consequently a clumsy or awkward person.

FOPDOODLE

An insignificant or foolish man.

GOBERMOUCH

An old Irish word for a nosy, prying person who likes to interfere in other people’s business.

TALLOWCATCH

Another of Shakespeare’s inventions directed at the gross, womanizing knight Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 1. It’s probably derived from “tallow ketch,” literally “a barrel of fat.”

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/61819/42-old-english-insults

In our story today, Jesus brings home some pretty hard hitting truths to the Pharisees and teachers of the law.

And it hurts!

What do we learn from the harsh words Jesus has for these people in our passage today?

Well let’s set it in context, first:

Look at the Light (Lk 11:33-36)

Jesus’ message, his teaching is a lamp that ought to shine brightly so that people can see it.

To recieve the light of Jesus, we need to look at Jesus and recieve the light.

But there are people who are not willing to do this.

They are unhealthy, they refuse to look at Jesus and so they are full of darkness.

So make sure you’re looking at Jesus, sitting at his feet, spending time with him, doing what he says.

For then you will be full of light.

An Awkward Dinner (Lk 11:37-54)

Now, Pharisees thought they were full of light.

They thought they had the whole being a good religious person thing sorted, and so now that Jesus has finished teaching one of them invites Jesus around to his place for dinner.

At this point we should be thinking, bad idea.

Don’t invite Jesus around for dinner, it doesn’t end well for you.

Martha did and she learnt the hard way the importance of listening to Jesus, of putting first things first instead of worrying about the many other good things in life.

Now a Pharisee has been bold enough to invite Jesus over but it doesn’t go well from the begining.

And of course Jesus has done this presumably to allow the opportunity for himself to teach the Pharisees how wrong they’ve got this whole worshipping God thing.

He essentially saying, you guys are hypocrites, you’ve got it all around the wrong way.

What have they got wrong?

External rather than internal focus (Lk 11:39-41)

The Pharisees had chosen a certain set of external laws that they decided meant you were on the in with God, even if it meant you had neglected the really important things of God.

That is as we heard back in Ch 10, in the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus is saying to them that they have failed to love their neighbour!

And we Jesus rebuke them for this failure:

Wrong Priorities (Lk 11:42)

It’s not that tithing wasn’t important.

It’s that they had got it out of balance.

They thought because I tithe I must be ok.

And they were willing to look over a whole bunch of other really important things.

And because they had set up their own set of external rules they were full of:

Pride and Arrogance (Lk 11:43)

They kept their own rules.

They were the most holy.

They got the best seats.

One of the wonderful things about being a minister in 2019 is that I don’t really get that many respectful greetings in the marketplaces or very many important seats.

In fact as I introduce myself I can occasionally hope my job doesn’t come up just because it can make the conversation so horribly awkward.

But for the Pharisees, they were well respected and they loved it.

They made the external rules, fulfilled them to the letter and enjoyed the importance and praise they recieved.

But you know what this meant?

Look what Jesus says:

You’re dead inside!

These Pharisees were so focussed on the wrong stuff that they had missed the light of life.

They thought they were walking in the light, but instead they were full of darkness.

And when Jesus confronts you with this reality it hurts!

A teacher of the law, another group like the Pharisees, comes up to Jesus and says, hey we’re feeling a bit bummed (v45).

A bit insulted…

...and Jesus’ response.

I’m not even finished!

and so he continues:

Unhelpful Burdens (Lk 11:46)

You lay these burdens on people.

Do this to be holy.

Do that to be holy.

And then you simply tell them about all they have to do but then stand back and don’t help.

They are not the kind of servant hearted leaders of God’s people they are supposed to be.

Jesus’ final criticsm probably stings the most:

Ignore the Prophets/Word of God (Lk 11:47-52)

They loved building tombs for the prophets as a way to try and honour them.

But Jesus points out in fact this is just a testimony to the fact that just as God’s people in the past rejected God’s prophets and God’s word.

So they have done the same.

And In doing this they’ve not only missed the whole point themselves, but they’ve also made it harder for people to come to know God (v52)

They are meant to be the people who lead people to know and understand God.

And who trust in his messiah.

But instead they are rejecting Jesus, because he doesn’t fit their way of doing things.

How terrible it is, when the people of God get so caught up in their own way of doing things, they stop looking at the truth light of Jesus and they start looking at their own way of doing things.

Their man made assumptions.

Their rules and regulations.

Two ways this happens today:

Rejection of the word of God

Anglican Church - SSM.

People have gotten so caught up in their own way of thinking, and have been so keen to recieve that commendation of the secular world in which we live that they have walked away from the clear teaching of scripture from Genesis to Revelation regarding human sexuality.

We now have two dioceses in the Anglican Church in Australia who have voted to call what is sin, sex outside of christian marraige between a man and a women, blessed.

And in doing so they are hindering those who might be entering God’s kingdom, just like Jesus says in v52.

You can’t enter the kingdom of God if you call sin, holy.

Legalism.

I think that sadly in the recent past we have made the Christian gospel about good works leading to salvation.

We have bought into the idea that many of us have that if we are good people we will go to heaven.

We have focussed on external things rather than internal things, just like Jesus condemens the Pharasiees for back in v39.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve met with long term church attending people in our nursing homes and when I ask them about their views on eternity they say, I hope I’ve done enough.

NO YOU HAVEN’T!

YOU HAVEN’T DONE ENOUGH.

I HAVEN’T DONE ENOUGH.

WE ARE NOT GOING TO GET THERE WITHOUT JESUS!

Without his grace, mercy and forgiveness.

And if you think otherwise you’re as misguided as the pharisess and teachers of the law in Jesus’ day were.