The fifth Sunday of Lent – April 6, 2025

 

Scripture reading: Isaiah 1:2-4

The text with comments: Luke 11:37-54

When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

  • “invited” – common to invite rabbis to a meal. The purpose was to test Jesus.
  • “wash” – ritual cleaning per Pharisaic traditions. Was never prescribed in OT.
  • “surprised” – All “pious” Jews (Pharisees) did it to be ritually clean before God.

39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

  • Jesus goes after them! He did it publicly before (e.g., 11:29-32).
  • Issue: A preoccupation with religious appearances rather than purity of heart (See Mt 6:1-18). The specific problem here was greed and wickedness.

42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

  • Issue: A fixation on minor religious observances while neglecting major heart issues like justice and the love of God.
  • Corrective: obey all the Mosaic law and major on the majors (Micah 6:8).

43 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

  • Two criticisms: seats at the front of synagogues and flattering greetings in public.
  • Issue: A lust for being treated as important (James 4:10).

44 “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”

  • Unmarked graves made it impossible for people to avoid corpse contamination, the severest type of ritual uncleanness (no fellowship, no temple worship, etc.)
  • Issue: A corrupting influence on unsuspecting people who associate with them.

45 One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

  • Experts in the law (“Scribes”) worked closely with the Pharisees as ritual lawyers.
  • Issue: A habit of burdening people with onerous traditions while offering no help in fostering a loving, joyful, obedient relationship with God.
  • Just the opposite of Jesus (see Mt 11:28-30). Jesus gives his spirit to obey his instruction (Torah in OT; Gospel in NT).

47 “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49 Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ 50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.

  • Issue: A tacit collusion with their guilty ancestors by building prophet’s tombs.
  • This generation will be held responsible for the blood of Abel to… Zechariah?
  • Why was their guilt so great? They rejected not only God’s messengers but his Son: God’s very self!
  • How did God hold that generation of Jews accountable? (A.D. 66-73)

52 “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

  • Issue: A failure to enter the kingdom by faith and lead the people to do so.
  • As Israel’s teacher-shepherds, their job was to help others walk in God’s ways.

53 When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54 waiting to catch him in something he might say.

  • Result: humility? repentance? They doubled down on rejecting him.

Takeaways

  • What does this text teach us about Jesus?
  • What does this text tell me about ourselves? Do we major on minors? Do we do religious stuff while neglecting love and justice? Are we loving God and loving others?