Luke
11:37-54
Lesson 132
11:37-54
Lesson 132
Luke 11:37-54
Hypocrisy 37 And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. 38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. 39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. 40 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? 41 But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. 42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. 44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. 45 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. 46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. 49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: 50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; 51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. 52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. 53 And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: 54 Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him. |
Margin notes:
"A certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him." (11:37) - "A Pharisee asked Jesus to dine with him." "Sat down to meat." (11:37) - "Sat down to eat." "Washed before dinner." (11:38) - Washing was for ceremonial, not hygienic reasons. The Pharisees cleaned their hands to wash away their sins. This was a common practice among priests, but the Scriptures did not require people to follow this ritual. "Full of ravening." (11:39) - Means "Full of greed." "Did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?" (11:40) -"Didn't God who made the outside make the inside as well?" "Ye tithe mint and rue." (11:42) - The Pharisees were careful to tithe, even things of insignificant value. But they ignored the more important things. "Pass over judgment." (11:42) - "Neglect justice." "Ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues." (11:43) - "You love the important seats in the synagogues." See also Matthew 23:6-7 and Mark 12:38-39. "Ye are as graves which appear not." (11:44) - "You are like unmarked graves." Jews defiled themselves if they touched a grave (Numbers 19:16), even accidentally. So they marked them by painting them white. Here, Jesus is accusing the Pharisees of being like unmarked graves that defile their unsuspecting followers. "Lawyers." (11:45) - "Scribes." "Thou reproachest us also." (11:45) - "You insult us too." "Lade men with burdens." (11:46) - The Pharisees and scribes laid more and more "laws" on the people to the point where no one could comply with them all. Yet, they always found loopholes for themselves. These man-made rules created a man-made religion and disqualified the scribes and Pharisees as religious leaders. Jesus told this to a crowd of followers in Matthew 23:1-4. Here He tells the scribes and Pharisees' to their face. "Ye build the sepulchres of the prophets." (11:47) - "You build burial vaults for the prophets." These burial vaults honored the very prophets their forefathers persecuted and killed. "Ye allow the deeds of your fathers." (11:48) - "You agree with your forefathers." "From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias." (11:51) - From the killing of Abel (the first murder victim) to the killing of Zacharias (the last Old Testament murder victim). "Zacharias." (11:51) - Also called Zechariah. Zacharias was a man of God and Old Testament prophet who was martyred by a mob of (supposedly) godly people who stoned him to death. You can learn more by reading 2 Chronicles 24:20-22. "The key of knowledge." (11:52) - Because of their false interpretations, the Pharisees and scribes obscured the truth of the Scriptures and made it harder to find. "Abel." (11:51) - A shepherd and the second son of Adam and Eve (Genesis 4:2). With great faith, he honored God by offering Him "the firstlings of his flock" (Genesis 4:4) as an atoning sacrifice. This pleased God, which made his older brother Cain jealous. In a rage, Cain killed Abel, making him history's first murder victim (Genesis 4:8). Jesus refers to "the blood of Abel" in Luke 11:51 and calls Abel "righteous" in Matthew 23:35. You can read more about Abel in Genesis 4:1-17. "Urge him vehemently." (11:53) - "Oppose him furiously." "Seeking to catch something out of his mouth." (11:54) - The Pharisees repeatedly tried to catch Jesus in a verbal trap (Mark 12:13). |