A Six Pack of Woe

June 5

(Luke 11:42-54 NIV) ““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. {43} "Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. {44} "Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it." {45} One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also." {46} 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. {47} "Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. {48} So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. {49} 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.' {50} Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, {51} 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. {52} "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." {53} When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, {54} waiting to catch him in something he might say.””

Jesus condemned the Pharisees in six areas where they were fell short of God’s will. They failed to honor God in all things. They tithed to their church, but they discriminated against poor people. They put status ahead of servanthood. They loved themselves more than God. Everything they did was designed for maximum visibility. They strutted around like big shots, yet their flowing robes and moral opining failed to impact their culture. They didn’t influence people toward true godliness. Because they didn’t know the Lord personally, they hindered people from drawing near to God. They made faith harder than it needed to be. They always took people down a notch, instead of lifting them up. They honored those who killed God’s prophets, and eventually they would kill God’s greatest Prophet. Like unmarked graves, their lives would amount to nothing when they returned to dust. After His scathing critique, the Pharisees declared open war on Jesus, and eventually succeeded in crucifying Him. This same spirit of deafness, deference, and defiance cripples much of the Church today as we clamor for preachers who will prophesy pleasant things and teachers who will tell us what our itching ears want to hear. Rise above it Christian! Listen to Jesus. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day