Luke 11:44-54 - Jesus Exposes Religious Hypocrisy

In this passage, Luke 11:42-52, as a guest, in the veryhouse of a Pharisee, Jesus courageously exposes the hypocrisy of the religiousleaders of His day, the Pharisees and lawyers. Jesus is making it very clearthat there is no room for hypocrites in the church, especially in the pulpitand in the church leaders. Jesus is not only exposing them, but He is declaringcondemnation and judgment upon them with these six “woe” pronouncements. Threewere for the Pharisees and three were for the lawyers. The first three"woes" denounce the Pharisees for their wrong priorities. In verse 42, the Pharisees were careful about tithing eventhe tiny leaves and seeds from the herbs, but they forgot about importantthings like justice and love (Micah 6:7-8). They majored on the minors! Jesusdid not say they should stop tithing but that they should put their religiousactivities into proper perspective. In verse 43, Jesus points out that they also put reputationabove character. They thought that sitting in the right seats and beingacknowledged by the right people would make them spiritual. Reputation is whatpeople think we are; character is what God knows we are. But it was the comparison Jesus made in Luke 11:44, thatmust have infuriated the host and the other Pharisees who were present. TheJews had to be especially careful about ceremonial defilement from dead bodies(Num. 19:11-22; note especially v. 16), so they made sure the graves werecarefully marked. But the Pharisees were like unmarked graves that did not looklike graves at all! This meant that they were unconsciously defiling otherswhen they thought they were helping them become holier! Instead of helpingpeople, the Pharisees were harming them. In verse 45, the lawyers felt the sting of our Lord's wordsand tried to defend themselves. Jesus used three vivid illustrations inanswering them: burdens, tombs, and keys. The lawyers were good at adding tothe burdens of the people, but they had no heart for helping them carry thoseburdens. What a tragedy when "ministers" of God's Word create moreproblems for people who already have problems enough! Jesus might have hadthese "religious burdens" in mind when He gave the graciousinvitation recorded in Matthew 11:28-30. The scribes were also good at "embalming" thepast and honoring the prophets who had been martyred by the religiousestablishment to which they belonged. Both Bible history and church historyreveal that true servants of God are usually rejected by the people who mostneed their ministry, but the next generation will come along and honor thesepeople. The Pharisees were like "hidden graves," but the lawyersbuilt elaborate tombs! The first recorded martyrdom in the Old Testament is thatof Abel, and the last is that of Zechariah (see Gen. 4:1-15; 2 Chron. 24:20-27).Jesus did not suggest that the scribes and Pharisees were personallyresponsible for killing the Old Testament prophets. Rather, He was affirmingthat people just like the scribes and Pharisees did these terrible things toGod's servants. Their ultimate crime would be the crucifixion of the Son ofGod. You can only imagine the tension that is in the room atthis point. But the lesson for us today is very clear: Jesus has no patiencefor hypocrisy in religious leaders or even in any of us! God bless!