"And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. 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. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. 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. Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. 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. Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. 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. Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; 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. 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. 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: Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him."
In today's lesson, when the Pharisee challenged Jesus as to why He had not washed His hands before eating, according to the law and custom of the Jews, Jesus took the opportunity to expose the hypocrisy of the Jewish religious leadership.
He explained that, although they took great pains to leave the outward appearance of following the letter of the law, in truth, they were wholly corrupt and full of evil intent.
Jesus openly charged those leaders, as a people, with the collective murder of many of God's prophets, from Abel all the way through Zacharias. Not only had they betrayed the covenant with God, they had made themselves a stumbling block before those who were earnestly seeking God's grace.
Many of our modern "religious" representatives, and "Church" leaders, are guilty of conducting themselves in the exact same way as did those lawyers, scribes, and Pharisees of Jesus' day.
They present a beautiful picture on the outside, never missing an opportunity to warm the padded pew, while being inwardly rotten to the core.
As is said in today's quote, the Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers, sacrificed small, insignificant things of themselves while demanding all others to sacrifice the more precious and costly things. As we learned in a previous lesson, some even sold sacrificial animals, for profit, inside the temple.
I believe the warning Jesus gave to those Jewish religious leaders should also be given to the vast majority of today's "religious" leaders, those who elevate themselves above the rest of us while passing judgment on those who do not walk their falsely conceived and hypocritical line.
Paul put it very well when he said, "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way."(Romans 14:10-13)
Unlike the Pharisees of old, and the hypocrites of today, as children of God, we should ALWAYS remain humble in our worship and spiritual efforts. We should ALWAYS raise those around us above our own station, so as to present ourselves as true Christians in the manner laid out for us by Jesus Christ Himself.~
Paul put it very well when he said, "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way."(Romans 14:10-13)
Unlike the Pharisees of old, and the hypocrites of today, as children of God, we should ALWAYS remain humble in our worship and spiritual efforts. We should ALWAYS raise those around us above our own station, so as to present ourselves as true Christians in the manner laid out for us by Jesus Christ Himself.~
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