Justice and the Love of God
This morning our men had a thoughtful study in Luke 11:37-44. This passage tells of Jesus being asked to dine "with a certain Pharisee." Jesus accepted the invitation, but I would say that the Pharisee got more from Jesus than he could handle.
It all began when Jesus did not ceremonially wash his hands like the Pharisees did, because they followed the Oral Traditions, but Jesus did not. This Pharisee was looking down his nose at the King of Kings. He was thinking that hand washing made him righteous, and the lack of washing made Jesus unrighteous. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Jesus let him know just that.
Jesus told him that the Pharisees were washing the outside of the dishes, instead of the inside which was far more important. Just think of how disgusting a dish would be after 4 or 5 meals of one food loaded on top of the dried scum. Jesus was saying that the hearts of the Pharisees were getting crusty and hard like those dishes. That is why they could think that hand washing brought righteousness.
However, His big blow came when He told the man that the Pharisees neglected justice and the love of God while being careful to tithe the smallest herbs. What an indictment! However, we need to step back and look at ourselves. Do we pursue justice for the weak and the poor? Do we elevate the love of God to it's rightful place in life, or do we put more emphasis on ritual and outward appearances? We must be careful not to fall into the same hypocrisy as the Pharisees. God values justice and divine love, so we must do the same. In fact, Christians should be the loudest ones in our society calling for justice and love for all. If we fall short of this, we are not pleasing to God, no matter what else we do.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Obadiah and Jonah 1-2.
It all began when Jesus did not ceremonially wash his hands like the Pharisees did, because they followed the Oral Traditions, but Jesus did not. This Pharisee was looking down his nose at the King of Kings. He was thinking that hand washing made him righteous, and the lack of washing made Jesus unrighteous. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Jesus let him know just that.
Jesus told him that the Pharisees were washing the outside of the dishes, instead of the inside which was far more important. Just think of how disgusting a dish would be after 4 or 5 meals of one food loaded on top of the dried scum. Jesus was saying that the hearts of the Pharisees were getting crusty and hard like those dishes. That is why they could think that hand washing brought righteousness.
However, His big blow came when He told the man that the Pharisees neglected justice and the love of God while being careful to tithe the smallest herbs. What an indictment! However, we need to step back and look at ourselves. Do we pursue justice for the weak and the poor? Do we elevate the love of God to it's rightful place in life, or do we put more emphasis on ritual and outward appearances? We must be careful not to fall into the same hypocrisy as the Pharisees. God values justice and divine love, so we must do the same. In fact, Christians should be the loudest ones in our society calling for justice and love for all. If we fall short of this, we are not pleasing to God, no matter what else we do.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Obadiah and Jonah 1-2.