There is no better example than the perfect example; the original article. Making a copy from a copy begins to lose its luster, but to copy from the original is entirely different.
Jesus is that original, perfect article. How He did it and why He did it should be our greatest aim.
Speaking of that, we are told insistently by our culture that we should act more like Jesus and be more nice. Sounds wonderful, except when Jesus interacted with other world-views it was rarely ever cordial. In fact, in Luke alone from 5.17—24.20 there is conflict at every turn with the religious opposites: Pharisees and Scribes. Every ‘conversation’ with Jesus turned ugly, quick. Guess who turned it ugly? Jesus provoked the hostilities, by simply doing the right thing, saying the right thing, and in some cases, just being at the right place to be. Sound familiar? We are not Jesus, but we are to emulate Him. Jesus exposed their error and stood for truth. So should we. We are not in anyway to seek the charge, but when it comes, do the right thing.
Look at how He references His opposites: Luke 11.40— “Ye fools…”; Luke 12.1— “…Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”; Luke 13.15— “The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite…”; and in Matthew 23.24 we read— “Ye blind guides…”
I want you to see the need, see the practical application, but more than anything I want you to encounter the text of scripture from which we draw our answers and strength. Looking at Luke 11.37-54, we find some practical how-to’s for taking a stand. Verse 37-38 say— “And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.” This is not about hygiene, but about ceremony. “Washed” in greek referred to the ceremonial ablution. Nothing in the law commanded such washings, but the Pharisees practiced them and they set the rules. It was part of an added list of rules called the “oral law” passed down by the religious elite. Their oral law superseded the written law of God’s word. They believed the ritual cleansed them from accidental defilement. In Mark 7.3 Mark addresses the real reason for doing so— “…except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.” It was tradition, which trumped God’s Word. Still happens. Here is what I dug up referencing their procedure: Someone would pour water over your hands as fingers point up and water runs off of your wrists; Then, step two was to do it again with fingers pointed down and water runs off of your finger tips; Then, you would wring your hands together allowing them to air dry. End of perfect hand washing procedure. This all done, again, just in case they accidentally touched something normal or someone normal. Now you can eat without going to hell for it. Ridiculous!
Verse 39 goes on with— “And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.” They were so preoccupied with external ceremonies that they overlooked the more important issue of the internal soul. Jesus continues— “Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?” (40). The phrase— “ye fools” is not a cut down, it’s truth. In a biblical sense they did indeed lack spiritual understanding. There was no faith there. Jesus forbids us to insult with coarse name-calling. He isn’t. He is stating a biblically based fact from Proverbs. He further instructs them in verse 41— “But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.” He is contrasting the inner virtues with external ceremonies. They are not for show, but from a burdened or blessed heart. How can you not see this Pharisees? Religion cloud your judgement any? Yes. In fact, 42 and 43 says— “But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.” They had gotten so uppity that they required elaborate greeting ceremonies to call out one’s own pedigree for all to hear. They wanted everyone to hear how detailed and perfect they were, yet have left off the most important matters of character, morals, and souls. Jesus turns up the heat a bit in verse 44 with— “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.” Ouch! These hidden sources of defilement, carefully concealed the true condition of their hearts, but not from Him. The “scribes” were supposedly the experts on the law. But, they had given over to the oral law as a justifiable substitute and superior standard to live by. The scribes tell Jesus that this exposing of their error was insulting, because He used His often repeated phrase: “Scribes, Pharisees… Hypocrites”. He apparently hurt their one feeling they had left. “Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. (45)
So Jesus immediately turned to them and fired off a few rounds— “And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.” (46-47). They had more in common with those who killed the prophets; than being a prophet themselves. Just in case that wasn’t enough, He now elaborates on it in 49-52— “Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.” Wow, even for me that’s a hard hit. They had locked up the Truth of Scripture and thrown away the key, by imposing their faulty interpretations and human traditions on God’s Word.
They then did what the world still does today, tempt Him. They misread His passion for right and wrong for hate. They still do. They came at Him with intensity, tempting Him to go full-throttle, maybe catching Him to say something He would regret in front of others. So in verse 53 and 54— “And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.” The word “catch” is the same word used for hunting down an animal’s habits and snaring that animal in a trap. They still do this to us today. Be aware. He intentionally called out those within religious ranks and exposed their false doctrine. How does that set with our modern no-offense at-all-cost culture? Today we have been groomed that peace with the world is only on us. It is not. Even when we are at loving peace, they may not be. Even in our emotionally based, anti-bible churches, peaceful speech is at the highest level of virtue with God. When in reality, truth is.
The scripture says in: Proverbs 15.1— “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”; Titus 3.2— “To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.”; 1 Timothy 3.3— “Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;”. Is Jesus contradicting scripture? No. He Is Truth! We can ascertain from what we have read: 1) To the believer— we must exhort using truth with love. Using the Bible as our final authority on all matter; 2) To the lost— we must give the truth with love, balanced and intently intwined; 3) To the religious hypocrite and detractor of the True Jesus— we must give them truth with love as well.
Then why all of the hard speech? Because, what you believe matters. And their beliefs have ruined eternity for so many people. They were ushering people away from God and His truth. Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of England said: “Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become habits. Watch your habits for they become your character. Watch your character for it becomes your destiny. What we think, we become.” The scripture says— Proverbs 23.7a— “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:”; Proverbs 4.23— “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life”; Proverbs 25.28— “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.”
Jesus knew what we must realize— Who influences those beliefs matter. We must not allow the Pharisees to pollute the minds of the hearers. We must not allow the Pharisee to dilute the intensity of truth. We must not allow the Pharisee to continue unconfronted and unprovoked with truth. They were causing others to break fellowship with God through ritual and procedure. This is why in the next couple of verse He calls them out in front of His Disciples; exposing their error to others. Luke 12.1-2— “In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.”
It is the enemies plan to rob us of spiritual growth and freedom. His plan is simple: Substitute hypocrisy for reality; Be more concerned about the outside than the inside; Reputation matters more than character.
If we sit idly by and allow others to be moved away from Jesus, the blood will be on our hands. We have to make the choice to be like Christ and stand for truth. We need to engage, by declaring Jesus as He was and is, in an anti-Christ culture, with and in love.