According To Luke: Hard-Hearted Hypocritical Haters Part 2

According To Luke: Hard-Hearted Hypocritical Haters Part 2

Opening Illustration:

Have you ever heard of Robert Robinson? Probably not but you have certainly heard his song. Robinson is sort of a one hit wonder. He wrote one of the most famous hymns ever. What is that hymn? Well we sang it just this morning. That’s right, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” He wrote it early in his life. In stanza three, Robinson speaks of being "prone to wonder, prone to leave the God I love". This seems to be a forecast of his later life, when he lapsed into sin, unstableness and involvement with Unitarianism. You might sat that poor Robert Robinson had a lapse in theology. 

There is a well-known story of Robinson, riding a stagecoach with a lady who was deeply engrossed in a hymnbook. Seeking to encourage him, she asked him what he thought of the hymn she was humming. Robinson burst into tears and said, "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds if I had now to enjoy the feelings I had then."

Point:

Brothers and sisters, have you ever had a lapse in theology? What about a lapse in judgement. Robert Robinson was sadly guilty of both. Thankfully, Robinson came back to his roots and rediscovered his love for the church and recommitted his life to Christ. That is not what happens for everyone. This morning we are going back to Luke 11 where we encounter Jesus having a meal with a Pharisee. This Pharisee had it all figured out. He was religious. He was smart. He was theologically on point. At least that is what he thought in his own mind. In this conversation with Christ however, this Pharisee comes to grips that his beliefs were a burden and his theology was terrible. This morning, I believe that we can learn from this Pharisee’s lapse in both judgement and poor theology. 

We Can Learn From The Pharisee’s Lapse!

Point:

Just to cover briefly what we discovered about the Pharisees from last week, I want you to remember that the Pharisees were narrow in their focus. The believed that being righteous, performing acts of piety in public, and displaying their religious behavior would please God. You might say that the Pharisees were myopic. 

Next, you might say that the Pharisees loved themselves some Pharisees. They loved the applause and praise of the people. They loved being first, taking the finest seats, and being respected. The Pharisee’s were narcissistic. They were egotistical. They had a serious “ego” problem. Remember, they were always edging God out. 

Lastly, we learned that their teachings were like a disease infecting everyone. Their instructions were endemic of the influence of the law and they were a noose around the necks of the common man. 

So fill in these blanks this morning! The Pharisees were myopic, egotistic, and endemic. 

The Pharisees Were Myopic, Egotistic, and Endemic! 

So, let’s dive into the Scriptures this morning and finish this two week message. Let’s open our Bibles to Luke 11:37-44. This morning and I reading from the ESV. 

Scripture:

Luke 11:45-54 ESV

45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. 52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, 54 lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

The Pharisee’s 6 Woes!

IV. The Pharisee’s Were Ironic vs. 45-46

Luke 11:45-46 ESV

45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 

Point:

Irony is defined by these words: “happing in the opposite way to what is expected, and typically causing amusement because of this”. 

Illustration:

When I was a kid there was a music album released by Alanis Morissette. I believe that the year was 1995 and I was a senior in high school. The song was named Ironic. The song exploded and became an instant hit and propelled her album “Jagged Little Pill” to the top of the charts.  The lyrics start off like this…

An old man turned ninety-eight

He won the lottery and died the next day

It's a black fly in your Chardonnay

It's a death row pardon two minutes too late

Isn't it ironic, don't you think

Point:

Jesus was clearly way ahead of his time because He is pointing out the irony of a “religious” man burdening people with impossible standards while not living up to those standards himself. Perhaps it is more hypocritical than ironic. Either way, there is nothing funny about what the Pharisees and teachers were doing to the people. 

We see this sort of behavior even today. 

When someone calls others to give, but they do not give themselves. 

When someone demands that others serve, but they do not serve.

When someone says that we should pray but they themselves withhold prayer.

When someone demands kindness and mercy but refuses to give kindness and mercy to others. 

Friends, these are all symptoms of the disease that the Pharisees possessed. 

For the Pharisees it was always one rule for us and another rule for you. Jesus knew that the rules of the Pharisees did nothing to help people follow God. He knew that their rules just brought guilt and gutted the Gospel of it’s salvation power. These religious leaders demanded that others keep their law while they seemed to always find the loopholes for themselves. 

We must examine ourselves to see if these attitudes exists in us. Do they exist in me? If they do, we must ask forgiveness today, here and now. 

Remember, there is no room for hypocrisy while seeking holiness. 

Matthew 15:7-9 ESV

You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

The Pharisee’s 6 Woes!

IV. The Pharisee’s Were Ironic vs. 45-46

V. The Pharisee’s Were Dramatic vs. 47 

Luke 11:47 ESV

47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.

Illustration:

Growing up as a kid, I was a huge Batman fan. I can remember going every week on Sunday to the local book store in Montgomery and buying new Batman comic books. One of the best memories I have as a boy is when my Dad surprised me by taking me to the midnight showing of Batman starring Michael Keaton in 1989. I was 11 years old and it was the best night of my young life and I thought that my Dad was the coolest. Growing up, I purchased more than 3000 Batman comics. I loved Batman so much that I actually wanted to be a comic book illustrator like Bob Kane, or Stan Lee, or my favorite Alex Ross. 

One of the best villains in the Batman comics is a character by the name of Harvey Dent. Dent suffered a terrible accident that left him physically and mentally scared. One half of his face looked normal while the other half was badly scared. They called him Two Face and he terrorized Gotham City and Batman. 

Two Face would make all his decisions with the flip of a coin. If the coin came up on the scared side, it meant death. If he came up on the clean side, life. 

Two Face was a terrific villain. Being two faced can make anyone a villain. 

Point:

What Jesus is saying here is that these Pharisee’s were two faced. Jesus is saying here that these Pharisees built monuments to the Old Testament prophets but they ignored what these prophets actually said. Instead of following Micah’s advice in Micah 6:8, 

Micah 6:8 ESV

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

They ignored it. It was easier to acknowledge the great prophets of the past than to follow their example and message in the present. It was easier to play the part of a holy man, embrace the drama of being religious than actually following through with the commitment and sacrifice that is required. These Pharisees thought they were connected to the Old Testament prophets. Jesus said they were but not in the way they thought. The Pharisees believed that they were the continuation of the Prophet’s teachings. Jesus says no. Jesus says that they are connected to the prophets because it was their fathers who murdered them and now they are just finishing the job by burying them behind fancy monuments. 

Ouch. 

This is the reason Jesus says these words in verses 48-52. 

Luke 11:48-51 ESV

48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.

Brothers and sisters, let’s commit to not being like the Pharisees. Let’s embrace the Gospel in our hearts and not worry so much about the external trappings of religious behavior. Let’s care for the hurting, embrace the broken, and give more grace to the sinner. Let’s not be two faced. Rather let’s be synced up with the heart of God and the mind of Christ. 

The Pharisee’s 6 Woes!

IV. The Pharisee’s Were Ironic vs. 45-46

V. The Pharisee’s Were Dramatic vs. 4

XI. The Pharisee’s Were Toxic vs. 52

Luke 11:52 ESV

52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

Illustration:

Friends, have you ever heard of William Tyndale? Tyndale was the first to translate the Bible into English from the original languages of Hebrew and Greek. He is thought to be one of the greatest Biblical translators to have ever lived. Up until Tyndale, the Bible was locked in Latin. Latin at that time was the language of the church. That’s right, everything that was done, said, or sang happened in Latin. This was a real problem because the only people who knew Latin were priests. The only people who could tell the people what the Bible said and what was being done were priests. A normal person could not read the Bible. Tyndale felt that the Bible should be available to everyone, not just the priests who would often twist and misuse Scripture to benefit themselves. 

The people loved Tyndale but the “church” and the priests hated him. One day while visiting a small town, a priest verbally attacked him. Tyndale, not one to lay down replied to the priest saying "If God spare my life, before very long I shall cause a plough boy to know the scriptures better than you do!"

Tyndale kept that promise and unlocked the secrets of the Scripture to the common man. In doing so, Tyndale contributed to the church being cleansed and eventually put an end to corruption in the church. 

Point:

The Pharisees knew the Old Testament law better than anyone. They had memorized the Torah from front to the back and the common man was dependent on the Pharisees to lead them, and teach them how to be closer to Christ. Instead of unlocking the door to the Scriptures the way William Tyndale did, the Pharisees locked the door and threw away the key. In doing so, the Pharisees retained their power and kept the people in the dark. 

Point:

Jesus is revealing to the people that the Pharisees are not the key to understanding the Scripture, He is. Jesus is the key. When you take away Jesus, you cannot understand Scripture. Jesus methodically, purposefully, stripped away the mask of the Pharisees. People finally could see them for what they were. 

Point:

So what is your action point today? Pretty simple. Avoid being a hypocrite. 

Luke 12:2 ESV

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

Quote: 

As someone once said: “Be what you are, cause if you aint what you are, then you are what you aint!”

Don’t embrace the lifestyle of a Pharisee, rather dig deeper to discover Christ. 

Turn This Information Into Your Inspiration!According To Luke: Hard-Hearted Hypocritical Haters Part 2

Opening Illustration:

Have you ever heard of Robert Robinson? Probably not but you have certainly heard his song. Robinson is sort of a one hit wonder. He wrote one of the most famous hymns ever. What is that hymn? Well we sang it just this morning. That’s right, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” He wrote it early in his life. In stanza three, Robinson speaks of being "prone to wonder, prone to leave the God I love". This seems to be a forecast of his later life, when he lapsed into sin, unstableness and involvement with Unitarianism. You might sat that poor Robert Robinson had a lapse in theology. 

There is a well-known story of Robinson, riding a stagecoach with a lady who was deeply engrossed in a hymnbook. Seeking to encourage him, she asked him what he thought of the hymn she was humming. Robinson burst into tears and said, "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds if I had now to enjoy the feelings I had then."

Point:

Brothers and sisters, have you ever had a lapse in theology? What about a lapse in judgement. Robert Robinson was sadly guilty of both. Thankfully, Robinson came back to his roots and rediscovered his love for the church and recommitted his life to Christ. That is not what happens for everyone. This morning we are going back to Luke 11 where we encounter Jesus having a meal with a Pharisee. This Pharisee had it all figured out. He was religious. He was smart. He was theologically on point. At least that is what he thought in his own mind. In this conversation with Christ however, this Pharisee comes to grips that his beliefs were a burden and his theology was terrible. This morning, I believe that we can learn from this Pharisee’s lapse in both judgement and poor theology. 

We Can Learn From The Pharisee’s Lapse!

Point:

Just to cover briefly what we discovered about the Pharisees from last week, I want you to remember that the Pharisees were narrow in their focus. The believed that being righteous, performing acts of piety in public, and displaying their religious behavior would please God. You might say that the Pharisees were myopic. 

Next, you might say that the Pharisees loved themselves some Pharisees. They loved the applause and praise of the people. They loved being first, taking the finest seats, and being respected. The Pharisee’s were narcissistic. They were egotistical. They had a serious “ego” problem. Remember, they were always edging God out. 

Lastly, we learned that their teachings were like a disease infecting everyone. Their instructions were endemic of the influence of the law and they were a noose around the necks of the common man. 

So fill in these blanks this morning! The Pharisees were myopic, egotistic, and endemic. 

The Pharisees Were Myopic, Egotistic, and Endemic! 

So, let’s dive into the Scriptures this morning and finish this two week message. Let’s open our Bibles to Luke 11:37-44. This morning and I reading from the ESV. 

Scripture:

Luke 11:45-54 ESV

45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. 52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, 54 lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

The Pharisee’s 6 Woes!

IV. The Pharisee’s Were Ironic vs. 45-46

Luke 11:45-46 ESV

45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 

Point:

Irony is defined by these words: “happing in the opposite way to what is expected, and typically causing amusement because of this”. 

Illustration:

When I was a kid there was a music album released by Alanis Morissette. I believe that the year was 1995 and I was a senior in high school. The song was named Ironic. The song exploded and became an instant hit and propelled her album “Jagged Little Pill” to the top of the charts.  The lyrics start off like this…

An old man turned ninety-eight

He won the lottery and died the next day

It's a black fly in your Chardonnay

It's a death row pardon two minutes too late

Isn't it ironic, don't you think

Point:

Jesus was clearly way ahead of his time because He is pointing out the irony of a “religious” man burdening people with impossible standards while not living up to those standards himself. Perhaps it is more hypocritical than ironic. Either way, there is nothing funny about what the Pharisees and teachers were doing to the people. 

We see this sort of behavior even today. 

When someone calls others to give, but they do not give themselves. 

When someone demands that others serve, but they do not serve.

When someone says that we should pray but they themselves withhold prayer.

When someone demands kindness and mercy but refuses to give kindness and mercy to others. 

Friends, these are all symptoms of the disease that the Pharisees possessed. 

For the Pharisees it was always one rule for us and another rule for you. Jesus knew that the rules of the Pharisees did nothing to help people follow God. He knew that their rules just brought guilt and gutted the Gospel of it’s salvation power. These religious leaders demanded that others keep their law while they seemed to always find the loopholes for themselves. 

We must examine ourselves to see if these attitudes exists in us. Do they exist in me? If they do, we must ask forgiveness today, here and now. 

Remember, there is no room for hypocrisy while seeking holiness. 

Matthew 15:7-9 ESV

You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

The Pharisee’s 6 Woes!

IV. The Pharisee’s Were Ironic vs. 45-46

V. The Pharisee’s Were Dramatic vs. 47 

Luke 11:47 ESV

47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.

Illustration:

Growing up as a kid, I was a huge Batman fan. I can remember going every week on Sunday to the local book store in Montgomery and buying new Batman comic books. One of the best memories I have as a boy is when my Dad surprised me by taking me to the midnight showing of Batman starring Michael Keaton in 1989. I was 11 years old and it was the best night of my young life and I thought that my Dad was the coolest. Growing up, I purchased more than 3000 Batman comics. I loved Batman so much that I actually wanted to be a comic book illustrator like Bob Kane, or Stan Lee, or my favorite Alex Ross. 

One of the best villains in the Batman comics is a character by the name of Harvey Dent. Dent suffered a terrible accident that left him physically and mentally scared. One half of his face looked normal while the other half was badly scared. They called him Two Face and he terrorized Gotham City and Batman. 

Two Face would make all his decisions with the flip of a coin. If the coin came up on the scared side, it meant death. If he came up on the clean side, life. 

Two Face was a terrific villain. Being two faced can make anyone a villain. 

Point:

What Jesus is saying here is that these Pharisee’s were two faced. Jesus is saying here that these Pharisees built monuments to the Old Testament prophets but they ignored what these prophets actually said. Instead of following Micah’s advice in Micah 6:8, 

Micah 6:8 ESV

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

They ignored it. It was easier to acknowledge the great prophets of the past than to follow their example and message in the present. It was easier to play the part of a holy man, embrace the drama of being religious than actually following through with the commitment and sacrifice that is required. These Pharisees thought they were connected to the Old Testament prophets. Jesus said they were but not in the way they thought. The Pharisees believed that they were the continuation of the Prophet’s teachings. Jesus says no. Jesus says that they are connected to the prophets because it was their fathers who murdered them and now they are just finishing the job by burying them behind fancy monuments. 

Ouch. 

This is the reason Jesus says these words in verses 48-52. 

Luke 11:48-51 ESV

48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.

Brothers and sisters, let’s commit to not being like the Pharisees. Let’s embrace the Gospel in our hearts and not worry so much about the external trappings of religious behavior. Let’s care for the hurting, embrace the broken, and give more grace to the sinner. Let’s not be two faced. Rather let’s be synced up with the heart of God and the mind of Christ. 

The Pharisee’s 6 Woes!

IV. The Pharisee’s Were Ironic vs. 45-46

V. The Pharisee’s Were Dramatic vs. 4

XI. The Pharisee’s Were Toxic vs. 52

Luke 11:52 ESV

52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

Illustration:

Friends, have you ever heard of William Tyndale? Tyndale was the first to translate the Bible into English from the original languages of Hebrew and Greek. He is thought to be one of the greatest Biblical translators to have ever lived. Up until Tyndale, the Bible was locked in Latin. Latin at that time was the language of the church. That’s right, everything that was done, said, or sang happened in Latin. This was a real problem because the only people who knew Latin were priests. The only people who could tell the people what the Bible said and what was being done were priests. A normal person could not read the Bible. Tyndale felt that the Bible should be available to everyone, not just the priests who would often twist and misuse Scripture to benefit themselves. 

The people loved Tyndale but the “church” and the priests hated him. One day while visiting a small town, a priest verbally attacked him. Tyndale, not one to lay down replied to the priest saying "If God spare my life, before very long I shall cause a plough boy to know the scriptures better than you do!"

Tyndale kept that promise and unlocked the secrets of the Scripture to the common man. In doing so, Tyndale contributed to the church being cleansed and eventually put an end to corruption in the church. 

Point:

The Pharisees knew the Old Testament law better than anyone. They had memorized the Torah from front to the back and the common man was dependent on the Pharisees to lead them, and teach them how to be closer to Christ. Instead of unlocking the door to the Scriptures the way William Tyndale did, the Pharisees locked the door and threw away the key. In doing so, the Pharisees retained their power and kept the people in the dark. 

Point:

Jesus is revealing to the people that the Pharisees are not the key to understanding the Scripture, He is. Jesus is the key. When you take away Jesus, you cannot understand Scripture. Jesus methodically, purposefully, stripped away the mask of the Pharisees. People finally could see them for what they were. 

Point:

So what is your action point today? Pretty simple. Avoid being a hypocrite. 

Luke 12:2 ESV

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

Quote: 

As someone once said: “Be what you are, cause if you aint what you are, then you are what you aint!”

Don’t embrace the lifestyle of a Pharisee, rather dig deeper to discover Christ. 

Turn This Information Into Your Inspiration!