One of the most sobering passages in the New Testament is spoken by Jesus in Luke 11:37-53. The NIV places a heading before this text that simply says, “Six Woes.” Luke records these as a conversation Jesus had with one of Israel’s religious leaders. It is always easy for us to point the finger at the Pharisees of Jesus’ day and accuse them of hypocrisy and legalism. But we need to examine ourselves from time to time to see if we have slipped silently into one of the religious habits that Jesus warned about.
In the beginning of this section, Jesus is eating with a Pharisee who questions him because he did not go through the typical ritual hand washings of the Jews before eating. Undoubtedly Jesus passed on the ritual because he knew it would be a conversation starter with his religious host. Jesus began by speaking a hard truth to the man. He told them that he and other Pharisees were very concerned about washing the outside of a dish while ignoring the inside which might be full of rotten food – greed and wickedness. He then proceeds to express six “woes” toward the religious elite of Israel. “Woe” is not so much a declaration of judgment in the original language as it is a statement of how deplorable and pitiful their condition is because they have missed the heart of God.
The first woe describes men who are meticulous at keeping religious ordinances while treating people poorly or while being indifferent to people who are struggling or hurting. Often the Pharisees saw sinners. broken people, the poor, and those in bondage as being in that condition because of their sin. They often saw their condition as God’s judgment on sinful people. He spoke of the Pharisees as men who were so careful to keep the law that they would even go into their herb gardens to count out a tenth of the produce to meet the demands of the law and to take to the temple while, at the same time, neglecting justice and their love for God. Before we raise our eyebrows at such “religious” behavior we might ask ourselves a few questions.
How many of us are faithful in giving, faithful in church attendance, faithful in our small group Bible studies and are the first to register for every church conference but rarely give series thought to the poor or the oppressed in the world or in our communities? How many of us have actually taken action on behalf of the unborn that are being aborted by the millions or have stood up to slumlords on behalf of the poor? How many of us have opened our homes or our pocket books to the homeless or foster children who have been removed from abusive parents? How many of us have actually worked at soup kitchens or serve at homeless shelters on any consistent basis?
It’s easy to work for the poor or the homeless or for the unborn one day or one weekend a year so that we can “check the box” on caring for the poor. Serving on a weekend is a good thing but do we actually have a heart for the poor, the oppressed, and the broken? Do we give thought to injustice, poverty, and oppression on all the other days? I find myself being very willing to serve those I know and those I am confortable with but I also find myself shying away from the poor, the junkies, the prostitutes, and the homeless. And yet Jesus steers us in that direction on multiple occasions. Remember the parable of the sheep and the goats that were divided on the basis of their caring for the poor and visiting the imprisoned? Jesus said, “I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.“ (Mt. 25:43-45).
This blog is dedicated to helping every believer find freedom and healing in the Lord and to help every believer move in the power of the Holy Spirit. But to find freedom, healing, and power we must keep our hearts aligned with the heart of the Father. If he cares for the poor we must care for the poor. If he cares for the weak, we must care for the weak. If he cares for the oppressed, we must also. As we grow in the gifts of the Spirit we cannot allow ourselves to become self-edification societies who simply sit around and prophesy over one another in our living rooms or keep our healing gifts within the walls of the church.
As much as we talk about relationship versus ritual it is still easy to slide into religion where we are meticulous in keeping the rules of the church and staying in good standing with the brethren while the world around us is falling apart. The gospel, the gifts, and the power of God have not been given to the church for safekeeping but have been given to the church to be taken into the world on behalf of the oppressed, the abused, those suffering injustice, and those in bondage. If we were honest, we would have to say that many churches want to keep “those people” out instead of drawing them in. That is the heart of the Pharisees and that is the heart Jesus warned us about. He also said that while tithing meticulously, they also neglected their love for God. According to Matthew 25, we love God when we love the poor, the down and out, and all the others beaten up and discarded by the world. The church can have great preaching, great worship, great facilities, great youth programs, great marriage ministries and so forth but if we reserve them for the saved, the members in good standing, the affluent, or those like us rather than spending them on the lost and the broken then we are close to the first “woe” Jesus uttered toward those who claimed to know God best. I know I am prone to insulate myself from the world but I must remember that Jesus died for those still outside the walls of the church.
God give me the heart to care about those used and abused by the world and give me the love and wisdom to do something about it so that your heart might be blessed, Jesus might be glorified, and your Spirit might move with power. Amen
Tomorrow – the second “woe.”
