Place of Honor:

Luke 14:8-11 “...When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted...”

Context:

• Jesus was dining with a ruler of the Pharisees.
• He had healed a man of dropsy, and sent him away.
• Others had been invited to dine with the Pharisee, and Jesus had been watching them.

What suggestion did Jesus make?

• Don’t presume to take a place of honor.
• Allow others to be in control of your position.

Why did Jesus offer this counsel?

• People like to elevate their own status (disciples wanting to be great in the kingdom).
• People like to be in control of their status.

Is this counsel new with Jesus?

• Proverbs 25:6-7 “...Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble...”

Does Jesus watch how you go about living?

Is there an appropriate way to go about living?

How can we live our lives more appropriately?

• John 14:6 “...Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life...”

• By learning from the one who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Why is it important to pay attention to Jesus?

• Romans 12:2 “...Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect...”

• The world’s way of thinking is typically upside down and backwards.
• We tend to be conformed to the world’s way of thinking.
• We must be transformed by the renewal of our minds.
• Transformation leads to discerning God’s will.
• Transformation reveals what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Luke 14:11 “...For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted...”

Is it more important to exalted by man or by God?

• Isaiah 2:12 “...For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up - and it shall be brought low;...”

• Works of charity are more important than works of show.

Sabbath Healing:

Context:

• Jesus is dining with a ruler of the Pharisees.
• It’s the Sabbath.
• A man with dropsy is ‘before him’.

Luke 14:3-6 “...And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” And they could not reply to these things...”

Did Jesus know the correct answer to His question?

• Of course.

Did Jesus know the Pharisees answer to His question?

• This isn’t the first time this issue presented itself.
• In Matthew 12:11-13, Mark 3:3-5, and Luke 6:8-10 a man with a withered hand ”...stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other..."
• He had healed on the Sabbath before, and the Pharisees did not like it.

What is dropsy?

• A term once used to describe the swelling of soft tissues due to the accumulation of excess water.
• A person with edema from Congestive Heart Failure would have been said to have dropsy.

Did Jesus care about people who were unhealthy?

• Mark 6:7 “...And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits...”
• Mark 6:12-13 “...So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them...”

Does Jesus still care about people who are unhealthy?

• John 14:12 “...Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father...”

Has Jesus gone to the Father?

Do we believe in Jesus?

What works should we be doing?

• The works that Jesus did.

What were the Pharisees concerned about?

• Their religious doctrine.

What should they have been concerned about?

• The will of the Father for the people who were entrusted to their care.

Why is this still a problem?

• There is more interest in rules than relationship.

How can it be avoided?

• Learning doctrine is not the same as having a true relationship with the Trinity.
• A person can learn doctrine and not know God.
• When a person knows God, a person knows what is required.
• When a person knows God, a person knows that what is required is expected, and possible.

Unwilling Jerusalem:

Context:

• Jesus had harsh words for the religious leaders of the day.
• They shut off the kingdom of heaven from people.
• They work hard on making converts, which are ‘sons of hell’.
• They put value in the wrong things.
• They tithe, but fail in justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
• They work on appearance, but are really self-indulgent.
• They appear righteousness but are full of hypocrisy.
• They are offspring of those who shed the blood of the prophets.
• They will mistreat the prophets and wise men sent by God.
• Now certain Pharisees come to tell Jesus that Herod is seeking to kill Him and He should “get away from here”.

Luke 13:32-33 “...And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem...’

Do you think the Pharisees were really concerned about Jesus well being?

• Many think they were probably sent by Herod to get Him to move along.
• The response that Jesus gives is consistent with the idea that Herod would like Him to move out of the area.

What did Jesus know?

• He was going to perish at Jerusalem.

Matthew 23:37,38 “...Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!...”

Luke 13:34-35 “...O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’...”

What did Jesus want for Jerusalem?

• Jesus longs to gather His people together, but they are unwilling.

What happens when Jerusalem wants what Jerusalem wants?

• It rejects the voice of God that is sent to it.
• It misses out on the unity and safety that God offers.
• The end result is desolation.

What happens when we want what we want?

• We reject the voice of God that is sent to us.
• We miss out on the unity and safety that God offers.
• The end result is desolation.

When does Jesus say Jerusalem will see Him?

• When it is said "...blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord..."

• Psalm 118:26 “...Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD...”

• Luke 19:37-38 “...As he was drawing near - already on the way down the Mount of Olives - the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!...”

•  The people will say this during the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

The Flow of Woe:

Matthew 23:2-4 “...The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger...”

What problem did Jesus identify within the religious people of the day?

• They preach, but do no practice.
• They lay heavy burdens on people without offering assistance.

Matthew 23:5-12 “...They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted...”

What was the source of this problem?

• Vainglory - inordinate pride in oneself or one's achievements; excessive vanity.

How should people live?

• Not to be seen by others.
• To serve others.

What does Jesus mean when He says ...Woe to you...?

• He is warning that grievous distress, affliction, and/or trouble is on it’s way.
• This trouble is directly related to a person’s behavior.

Woe 1:

Matthew 23:13 “...But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in...”

Luke 11:52 “...Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering...”

Why was the first woe given?

• Religious people were failing to enter the kingdom.
• These same people were preventing others from entering.

How does this still happen today?

Woe 2:

Matthew 23:15 “...Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves...”

Luke 11:46 “...And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers...”

Why was the second woe given?

• Religious people are always trying to make converts.
• Converting someone to the wrong thing destroys people.

How does this still happen today?

Woe 3:

Matthew 23:16-22 “...Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it...”

Why was the third woe given?

• Simply stated, the religious guides were blind in there teaching on oath taking.
• There is a more complicated discussion that we’ll pass on for now.

How does this still happen today?

Woe 4:

Matthew 23:23-24 “...Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!...”

Luke 11:42-44 “...But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it...”

Why was the fourth woe given?

• The weightier matters were being neglected.
• Justice, Mercy, and faithfulness.
• Micah 6:8 “...He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?...”
• Always do what is right and just.
• Always extend kindness and mercy to others.
• Always walk faithfully and humbly with God.

What did Jesus recommend regarding the less weighty matters, like tithing?

• They shouldn’t be neglected either.

Woe 5:

Matthew 23:25-26 “...Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean...”

Luke 11:39-41 “...And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you...”

Why was the fifth woe given?

• The religious people cared more for ritual cleanliness than for heart cleanliness.
• They cared more for how things appeared than for how things are at the core of one’s being.

How does this still happen today?

Woe 6:

Matthew 23:27-28 “...Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness...”

Why was the sixth woe given?

• The religious people looked righteous outwardly, but their real life didn’t match their beautiful appearance.
• Hypocrisy and lawlessness filled their inner life.

How does this still happen today?

Woe 7:

Matthew 23:29-36 “...Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation...”

Luke 11:47-51 “...Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation...”

Why was the seventh woe given?

• The religious people say they respect the prophets, God’s voice to His people.
• The religious people are guilty of killing, crucifying, and persecuting those that God sends to them.

How does this still happen today?