37 Jesus finished speaking. Then a Pharisee invited him to eat with him. So Jesus went in and took his place at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised. He noticed that Jesus did not wash before the meal.
39 Then the Lord spoke to him. “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish,” he said. “But inside you are full of greed and evil. 40 You foolish people! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 Give freely to poor people to show what is inside you. Then everything will be clean for you.
42 “How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give God a tenth of your garden plants, such as mint and rue. But you have forgotten to be fair and to love God. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first.
43 “How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the most important seats in the synagogues. You love having people greet you with respect in the market.
44 “How terrible for you! You are like graves that are not marked. People walk over them without knowing it.”
45 An authority on the law spoke to Jesus. He said, “Teacher, when you say things like that, you say bad things about us too.”
46 Jesus replied, “How terrible for you authorities on the law! You put such heavy loads on people that they can hardly carry them. But you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
47 “How terrible for you! You build tombs for the prophets. It was your people of long ago who killed them. 48 So you show that you agree with what your people did long ago. They killed the prophets, and now you build the prophets’ tombs. 49 So God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them. They will kill some. And they will try to hurt others.’ 50 So the people of today will be punished. They will pay for all the prophets’ blood spilled since the world began. 51 I mean from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah. He was killed between the altar and the temple. Yes, I tell you, the people of today will be punished for all these things.
52 “How terrible for you authorities on the law! You have taken away the key to the door of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered. And you have stood in the way of those who were entering.”
53 When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law strongly opposed him. They threw a lot of questions at him. 54 They set traps for him. They wanted to catch him in something he might say.
Read Luke 11:37-54 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
During one of the meals Jesus was invited to with some Pharisees, Luke tells us that the host is surprised (and maybe even a little offended) when Jesus doesn’t ceremonially wash before the meal. In response Jesus challenges several issues that God had with how the Pharisees were living their lives and acting towards others.
However, at this meal were more than just Pharisees. Luke describes another group who were offended with Jesus’ words. “An authority on the law spoke to Jesus. He said, ‘Teacher, when you say things like that, you say bad things about us too.’” (v. 45)
Whether the authority on the law (i.e. a lawyer) expected Jesus to shift His attention onto his group or not, it seems as though this statement extends the invitation to challenge this other group of people present at this meal.
However, while Jesus has a challenge for this group, it is interesting in my mind that simply by speaking up, we see a subtle thing happening in what Jesus was doing. In Jesus’ challenges to the Pharisees, He was convicting those present of the sin in their lives, and He was challenging them all to live to a much higher standard than they were living at that time.
While the challenging statements Jesus made may have sounded mean, they are meant to redirect those present towards God’s ideal rather than simply being insults that have no redeemable characteristics.
In Jesus’ challenge, He opened the door for the Holy Spirit to convict those present of the sin in their lives, and when the lawyer speaks up about how Jesus’ remarks also sound relevant to him, this shows that the Holy Spirit was convicting him of sins that he was holding onto in his heart.
After this meal, Luke tells us that the Pharisees and lawyers set out to trick, trap, and oppose Jesus. Maybe Jesus came on too strong with His words, or maybe the Holy Spirit’s conviction hardened the hearts of these leaders and closed their minds off to the truth about who Jesus came to be.
Reading this event helps remind me that when the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, we can either choose to reject what the Holy Spirit is showing us (which is what these religious leaders did), or we can choose to reject the sin by repenting and move closer to Jesus. Jesus had intended to help these leaders grow towards God’s ideal, but they instead decided to keep their sin and reject God’s Messiah.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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