Break Every Chain

Do you want to be delivered?

“WOE . . . “

Luke 11: 42-46:   “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 salutations in the market places. Woe to you! for you are like graves which are not seen, and men walk over them without knowing it.” One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying this you reproach us also.” And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! for you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of  your fingers.

Why does Jesus single out the teachers and lawyers for some rather strong words of rebuke?  The word woe can also be translated as alas.  It is as much an expression of sorrowful pity as it is of anger.  Why did Jesus lament and issue such a stern rebuke? Jesus was angry with the religious leaders because they failed to listen to God’s word and they misled the people they were supposed to guide in the ways of God. The scribes devoted their lives to the study of the Law of God and regarded themselves as  legal experts in it.  They divided the ten commandments and precepts into thousands of tiny rules and regulations.  They were so exacting in their interpretations and in trying to live them out, that they had little time for anything else.  By the time they finished compiling their interpretations it took no less than fifty volumes to contain them!  In their misguided zeal, they required unnecessary and burdensome rules which obscured the more important matters of religion, such as love of God and love of neighbor. They were leading people to “Pharisaism” rather than to God.

Jesus used the example of tithing to show how far they had missed the mark. God had commanded a tithe of the first fruits of one’s labor as an expression of thanksgiving and honor for his providential care for his people (Deut. 14:22; Lev. 27:30).  The scribes, however, went to extreme lengths to tithe on insignificant things (such as tiny plants) with great mathematical accuracy.  They were very attentive to minute matters of little importance, but they neglected to care for the needy and the weak.  Jesus admonished them because their hearts were not right.  They were filled with pride and contempt for others. They put unnecessary burdens on others while neglecting to show charity, especially to the weak and the poor.  They meticulously went through the correct motions of conventional religion while forgetting the realities.

Why does Jesus also compare them with “unmarked graves”?  According to Numbers 19:16, contact with a grave made a person ritually unclean for seven days.  Those who come into contact with the Pharisees and listen to their teaching are likewise defiled by their false doctrine. They infect others with wrong ideas of God and of his demands.  Since the Pharisees are “unmarked”, other people do not recognize the decay within and do not realize the danger of spiritual contamination.  The Pharisees must have taken Jesus’ accusation as a double insult: They are not only spiritually unclean themselves because they reject the word of God, but they also contaminate others with their dangerous “leaven” as well (see Luke 12:1).

What was the point of Jesus’ lesson? The essence of God’s commandments is love — love of God and love of neighbor.  God is love and everything he does flows from his love for us.  Love is sacrificial; it both embraces and lifts the burdens of others.  Do you allow the love of God to transform your mind and heart? And are you willing to carry your neighbor’s burden?

“Lord, inflame my heart with your love that I may always pursue what matters most — love of God and love of neighbor.  Give me wisdom and courage to act with justice, kindness, and mercy in all that I do and say.” 

~ Blessings