What is the greatest threat to the Christianity in the 21st century? Is it widespread secular hostility to biblical truth? Is it the spread of radical Islam through terrorist groups like Al Qaeda or ISIS? Is it the pervasive immorality in modern American culture? Is it the rapid erosion of religious freedom? These are all serious dangers, but none of them fit the bill. So, what is the greatest threat to Christianity today? It is dirty dishes and unmarked graves, which are code words for hypocrisy! Nothing is deadlier to the life of true godliness than spiritual hypocrisy. (Ryken 618)
After reading the life of Christ as presented in the Bible and in the writings of some renowned Christian authors, Mahatma Gandhi, the Hindu pacifist and Indian civil rights leader, admired the Sermon on the Mount (which shaped his whole philosophy of life) and hoped to see Christians live up to its standards. While living with Christians in England, South Africa and India, Gandhi expected to experience the qualities of Christ like unconditional love, forgiveness, willingness to sacrifice, meekness, etc. To his utmost dismay, Christians in his era never lived up to the standards preached by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount and on the Cross.
Seeing Gandhi live, the Christian missionary E. Stanley Jones once asked him: “Mr. Gandhi, though you quote the words of Christ often, why is it that you appear to so adamantly reject becoming a Christian?” His reply was clear: “Oh, I don’t reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It is just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
This very well may be the reason why Jesus addressed the issue of hypocrisy so often in his ministry. It is precisely the topic he took up with the Pharisees and teachers of the law in today’s Scripture reading from Luke 11:37-54. Let’s take a closer look!
Eating with the Enemy (37)
As Jesus continued to preach the gospel on his journey from Galilee to Judea, he received an invitation to a dinner party from a most unlikely person: a Pharisee. The Pharisees were a group of religious leaders who acted as the moral watchdogs of Israel. They had been keeping a close eye on Jesus. At every turn, they questioned his teachings and were skeptical of his miracles. Their whole Pharisaical establishment felt threatened by Jesus’ ministry and his ever increasing popularity. By this point, the Pharisees viewed Jesus as an enemy, and Jesus knew that they were trying to trap him into saying something blasphemous so they could bring a charge against him. This is why it is so surprising that Jesus took up the invitation to feast with the Pharisees. He was willing to eat with his enemies!
By this, we see Jesus practicing exactly what he preached. Back in Luke 6:27, Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”
I believe that loving our enemies is one of the most difficult tasks in life. It is completely counterintuitive. When we don’t like someone or we know that someone doesn’t like us, our instinct is to distance ourselves from them. When we have vastly different political positions, religious perspectives, or worldviews, it is easier to easier to ignore people or talk behind their backs. Are you willing to eat with your enemies? Are you willing to dine and dialogue with those whom you disagree?
The Lethality of Legalism (38)
When Jesus reclined at the table, the Pharisee was shocked and disturbed by the fact that Jesus did not wash his hands before the meal. We don’t know if Jesus simply forgot to wash or if he intentionally avoided it to create an opportunity to confront the Pharisees’ legalism and hypocrisy. I suspect it was the latter. Now not washing your hands before eating might not sound like such a big deal according to modern standards (although it is still recommended for good hygiene and proper manners), but this was socially unacceptable to the Pharisees because they really did believe that cleanliness was next to godliness. The issue for them was ceremonial purity. So before they had anything to eat, they “had water poured over their hands to remove the defilement contracted by their contact with a sinful world.” (Morris 203)
This ceremonial washing was not required by God’s law, but it had become a customary practice and a litmus test for godliness among the Pharisees. They were well known for obsessive legalism—that is, enacting a bunch of extra laws to prohibit people from breaking the original law. The Pharisees had a thousand and one of these extrabiblical rules which they imposed on everyone in Israel. It is important to understand that there was nothing morally wrong with what Jesus did. The only thing Jesus violated was a man-made rule for religiously appropriate conduct.
Listen to what Philip Ryken says:
As Christians we need to learn to tell the difference between the laws of God and our own personal preferences. We may have all kinds of opinions about things like what people ought to wear, what they should eat, how they should run their household, how they should spend their money, or what political position ought to take. Some of these opinions might be strongly held. We may even believe that there are good spiritual reasons for our opinions. The Pharisee certainly had spiritual reasons for thinking that Jesus should wash his hands before dinner. But are we properly distinguishing between the commands of God and our own code of conduct. When we get offended, we need to make sure it is only for the things God himself truly finds offensive, instead of just pontificating on the basis of our own opinions.
For instance, do you know what three things make God really angry? When people get tattoos, drink cheap beer, and wear flip flops to church! Can you imagine the audacity of people? I am obviously joking, but I hear church folk say things like this all the time!
Legalism is lethal to the grace and gospel of Jesus Christ. Although Christianity has moral demands upon our lives, it is not a religion of rules and regulations. It is a religion based on a real personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is a faith that is lived out in love and creative compassion toward others. Whatever we do, let us not kill the gospel by pushing our petty personal preferences on others! If it is in God’s law, obey it! If it is just a personal preference, let it go!
Table Talk (39a)
Now before we jump into the heart of hypocrisy in verses 39b-54, allow me to take a moment and point out how Jesus engaged his enemies. He didn’t publically lambast the lawyers by writing a letter to the editor in the Jerusalem Times! He didn’t denigrate the Pharisees by posting poisonous remarks on his Facebook page. He didn’t even gather a religious leader support group to gossip behind their backs. He confronted the them directly; he took his issues right to the source. He laid out his objections at the dinner table, face to face and heart to heart. Sure, Jesus had some hard words for the Pharisees and lawyers, but he still practiced courage and civility.
We certainly have a lot to learn from Jesus in this regard. When we have a conflict with someone, instead of avoiding the issue or gossiping behind their backs or publically ridiculing them, confront the person directly. Sit down with your enemy (buy them a lamb sandwich and a glass of wine) and literally lay your issues out on the table! Sending angry e-mails and passive-aggressive texts strips away the humanity from confrontation. As we see here with Jesus, there is no substitute for good old-fashioned face-to-face communication.
The Heart of Hypocrisy (38b-54)
As Jesus reclined at the table, he used the whole issue of not washing his hands to confront the Pharisees’ hypocrisy. He was most likely holding a cup or bowl in his hand when he said, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.” Whoa! Now that is some way of opening a dinner conversation! Jesus is obviously comparing their hearts to dishes that sparkle on the outside but are filthy on the inside. The Pharisees had a great public image; they appeared to be holy and righteous because they obeyed all the rules. But God could see the inside of their hearts and they were filled with pride and selfishness. There religious motivation was all wrong.
From there, Jesus lodged three woes or rebukes against the Pharisees’ hypocrisy. The first one gets at their greed. Sure, they always tithed their income, whether coin or herbs, but they gave begrudgingly. They were so obsessive about their arithmetic that they lost sight of love for God or justice for their neighbor.
The second woe points out their pride. The Pharisees appeared to be holy because they never missed a worship service, but underneath they desired the best seats in the synagogue and they coveted compliments and praise because of their high position. They looked for the VIP treatment wherever they went!
The third woe is my personal favorite. When Jesus compared the Pharisees to an unmarked grave, he uttered one of the greatest insults of all time. An unmarked grave may have pristine and manicured grass on the surface, but there is nothing but corruption and decay right underneath. So, it was with the Pharisees. The surface of their lives were spotless, but underneath they were spoiled. Their hearts were full of hypocrisy.
As Jesus leveled these rebukes at the Pharisees, the lawyers (or teachers of the Law of Moses) realized that these insults had implications for them too. Jesus basically responded by saying, “Oh right, here is a little for you too! And he launched three rebukes toward them as well. He criticized them for loading the people down with extra and unnecessary moral burdens. Instead of helping people obey God’s commands (which is what they were supposed to be doing), they were making it more difficult by adding more rules. Likewise, the teachers of the law were guilty of rebelling against God’s word. Sure, they paid homage to the prophets in their sermons, but they neglected the prophets teaching in their daily lives. These lawyers were like their ancestors who refused the message and murdered the prophets, and there is a long list of victims from Abel to Zechariah (literally from A to Z).
Jesus lit into these lawyers for failing to fulfill their responsibility of ministering God’s word to God’s people. They had the key to knowledge, but instead of using it to unlock the door and enlighten the people, they locked the door and kept God’s people in the dark. This was one of the worst form of hypocrisy and Jesus had no problem shining the light upon it.
Jesus’ six woes to the Pharisees and teachers of the law challenge us search our own hearts about hypocrisy? They compel us to ask ourselves questions like: Do I ever try to make myself look better than I actually am? Do I ever try to appear generous but actually have a heart of greed? Do I expect to be treated better than others because of my status or position? Do I hold other people to standards that I do not meet?
Reflecting on these six woes this week has caused me realize something, and I just have to say it: You all are a bunch of hypocrites! This is a church full of two-faced phonies, double-dealing derelicts, and counterfeit quacks! Like the Pharisees, you are a bunch of dirty dishes and unmarked graves! And so am I…and so is everyone else in this world! You might be thinking, “Wow, that sounds a bit harsh.” If you don’t think you are a hypocrite, just ask your spouse or one of your kids? Also let me ask you: How many of you have ever done something that you knew was wrong? Exactly, that is why, to some degree, we are all hypocrites.
This is precisely the reason why we need Jesus Christ! We need a perfect Savior to deliver us from our sinful selves. This is the good news of the gospel: Jesus hung on the cross for our hypocrisy. He died to pay the penalty for all of our sins. If we ask him, he will forgive us and wash all of our sins away. If we give our lives to him, he will make us righteous in his sight, even though we have no righteousness of our own! Yield your heart to Jesus!
And the next time someone says to you, “The church is full of hypocrites!” You tell them, “That’s right! It sure is! Why don’t you come and join us?”