Today’s Reading: Luke 11:37-54, 18:9-14
DO YOU KNOW HIM?
As Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. So he went in and took his place at the table. His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom. – Luke 11:37-38
Jesus was calling the crowds to get to know him, but he was also giving the religious leaders the opportunity to walk away from their obsession with religion and get to know the source of their salvation. Their focus was misdirected and he was giving them the chance to align their focus on the eternal. They were focused on the outside instead of the inside.
Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness! Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over. — Luke 11:39-41
The religious leaders were focused on tithing but ignoring justice and the love of God. They were caught up in the glory of their religious position instead of positioning themselves to get to know the Savior. They were demanding legalistic compliance with the law instead of inviting God’s people into a covenant relationship with their Creator.
DO YOU SEEK HIM?
“What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law! For you remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.” — Luke 11:52
Jesus used the prophetic language familiar to the Pharisee — What sorrow awaits the proud and rebellious (Isaiah 28:1, 30:1). What sorrow awaits those who destroy and scatter those they were called to care for (Jeremiah 23:1). What sorrow awaits the shepherds who feed themselves instead of feeding their sheep (Ezekiel 34:2). What sorrow awaits those who have deserted me (Hosea 7:13). What sorrow awaits those who feel secure (Amos 6:1, Habakkuk 2:9). What sorrow awaits those who think up evil plans (Micah 2:1). What sorrow awaits the shepherd who abandons the flock (Zechariah 11:17).
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” – Luke 18:9-14
It is easy to get caught up in the routine of religion and the trap of self-righteousness and lose all perspective of our salvation. It is by grace that we have been saved. When we recognize the gift that we have been given and our own unworthiness of that gift, we fall on our knees and cry out to God, “Have mercy on me, for I am a sinner!”
DO YOU KNOW HIM? DO YOU SEEK HIM?
“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never KNEW you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” – Matthew 7:21-23
Father God, we are so unworthy of this journey of grace that we are on. Fill us with your spirit and remind us daily of the impact your presence is making on our sinful hearts. Give us a growing faith and an eagerness to know you more. Fill our cups with your sanctifying power, and give us a burning desire to know you and be known by you. Amen.