Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Luke 11:29) And when the people were gathered thick together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation; they seek a sign, and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet."

At the end of the last post, Jesus had been speaking to a group of people, and it seems the crowd became larger.  Jesus may have been referring to those who had sought a sign from heaven in verse 16.  He called them an evil generation for wanting yet another sign.  They came for the thrill of seeing Jesus do another miracle when He had already done so much to awaken their consciences to His truth.  He said there would be no other sign given them except for the sign of Jonah the prophet.  It's not that Jesus would do no more miracles, but He certainly wouldn't be performing them just to give people a sign that He was who He said He was.  That generation could expect nothing more of Him until His resurrection, typified by Jonah's three days in the belly of a whale.

(30) "For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation."

Jesus said as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites in that he was three days and nights in the whale's belly and then cast out alive, a miracle confirming his mission and message to the Ninevites, likewise He would be a sign to that present generation when He was three days in the tomb and then rising from death on the third day to confirm His mission and message to them.

(31) "The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here."

Jesus spoke of the queen of Sheba, a country of Arabia, who came from her faraway country to hear the wisdom of Solomon.  In the judgment day, she would be considered greater than that present generation and would by her actions condemn them, because she, as a Gentile, sought the wisdom of Solomon, and that generation of Jews who had Jesus, far greater than Solomon, rejected Him, and sought more and more signs from Him.

(32) "The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, a greater than Jonah is here."

Likewise, Jesus said, the men of Nineveh would also rise up in the judgment day and would condemn that present generation because they had repented when Jonah preached to them, and that generation had the Messiah Himself, much greater than Jonah, and they did not repent.

(33) "No man, when he has lit a candle, puts it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they who come may see the light."

Still in answer to those who sought another sign, Jesus was the light of the world, and He shone His light in public where all could see.  He had not hidden His light from them, so that generation was inexcusable.  Another way to look at this was that Jesus would not hide His light in a secret place or under a bushel basket like He would be doing if He continued to show signs to a stubborn people who disbelieved every evidence of His Messiahship.  

(34) "The light of the body is the eye; therefore, when your eye is single, your whole body is also full of light, but when evil, your body also is full of darkness."

Jesus said the light of the body was the eye, not in the sense that that is where the light originates, but that is where it is received.  If it had a single clear vision of The Light that is Christ, then the whole body would be filled with light.  However, if the eye was evil, not clear, but clouded by stubbornness and prejudices, then the body would remain in darkness.

(35) "Take heed, therefore, that the light which is in you is not darkness."

Jesus gave a warning that they be careful about their eyes, that they readily receive the light of truth, and not be as that generation had been, never really desiring to know the light of Christ, but in obstinance and prejudice, could not see it, and therefore, were in darkness.  Note that Jesus said there would be some sort of light or lack thereof in each of us.  There would be either light or darkness, and they should take care that theirs be light and not darkness.

(36) "If your whole body, therefore, is full of light, having no dark part, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle gives you light."

Jesus said that if your whole body then be full of light, having no dark places of secret sin, then you would be as a bright shining light that gives forth its light to others in the room.  It was another way of saying, "Let your light so shine before men..." (Matthew 5:16)

(37) And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee sought Him to dine with him, and He went in and sat down to eat.

As Jesus was still speaking, a certain man, a Pharisee, asked Jesus if He would dine with him.  Jesus accepted and went into the house and sat down at the table to eat.  This was another occasion when Jesus accepted the invitation of a Pharisee to dine with him; the previous time was recorded in Luke 7:36.  

(38) And when the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.

The Pharisee noticed that Jesus did not wash before He sat down to eat.  He was amazed that so great a prophet showed no regard for such a common custom.  I couldn't help but think about the first time Jesus sat down with a Pharisee.  In Luke 7:44, Jesus told that Pharisee that he had not offered Him any water to wash.  I imagine it was the same way in this case.  However, Jesus used it for a lesson:

(39) And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness."

Jesus knew the Pharisee's thoughts and pointed out to him that Pharisees like him were fastidious with the cleanliness of the outside of their dishes, but the inside was filled with what had been unjustly taken from others through their dishonesty, greed, and extortion.  In the account in Matthew 23, Jesus used the words "extortion and excess" to describe what filled the inside of their dishes.

(40) "Fools, did not He who made that which is outside make that which is inside also?"

Jesus called them foolish for not realizing that God made the outside and the inside of people.  They did things in view of the public to show how clean and fastidious they were about the visible things of God, while inside they were filthy.  How could God be pleased with their outward demonstrations of purity when inside they were impure and wicked?

(41) "But rather give alms of such things as you have, and behold, all things are clean to you."

Jesus told them they should be inwardly clean as well, giving of their possessions to people in need.  They would be clean in all ways then, and when their inside hearts were clean, they would find that all the outside cleansing would become unnecessary.  The outside things could not make dirty the inside hearts of men.

(42) "But woe to you, Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God; these you ought to have done and not leave the other undone."

Jesus proclaimed woe to the Pharisees who were so careful to tithe every single little herb, but neglected justice and demonstrating God's love to the poor and needy.  He told them they should be doing both things.

(43) "Woe to you, Pharisees! For you love the uppermost seats in the synagogues and greetings in the markets."

Again Jesus pronounced woe to the Pharisees who loved the best seats in the synagogues and to be seen and greeted in the marketplaces, both resulting from their pride and vanity.

(44) "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are as graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."

Jesus then addressed both Pharisees and scribes and called them hypocrites.  He said they were like unmarked graves that men walked upon and came in contact with unaware.  Coming in contact with the dead made one unclean.  Jesus was suggesting that they were secretly unclean to those they came in contact with.  They appeared pure and clean on the outside, but were unclean and wicked on the inside, defiling those who came in contact with them.

(45) Then answered one of the lawyers, and said to Him, "Master, thus saying You reproach us also."

One of the lawyers who must have been dining with them spoke to Jesus, and said that in what He was saying, He condemned lawyers as well, apparently because they, too, liked the uppermost rooms in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces.

(46) And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens oppressive to be borne, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers."

Jesus admitted that yes, He was indeed pronouncing woe on lawyers, too, because they made the laws so oppressive and burdensome on the people that they could not bear it, while they themselves did not adhere to the same oppressive laws.

(47) "Woe to you! For you build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them."

Jesus called them all out because they were hypocritical in that they built fine tombs for the prophets when their fathers, and very likely they would have also if they had been there, killed the prophets.

(48) "Truly you bear witness that you allow the deeds of your fathers, for they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchres."

Jesus told them that their deeds truly bore witness to the deeds of their fathers.  They showed approval of their fathers' deeds by building those fine sepulchres; they tried to cover up what their fathers had done with a pretense of godliness by building beautiful tombs for the prophets their fathers killed.  Additionally, by building those beautiful tombs, it was as if they were glorifying what their fathers had done, setting up monuments in honor of it.  

(49) "Therefore also said the wisdom of God, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute.'"

However, the wisdom of God would reveal their true colors when He sent them more prophets and apostles, and they themselves would persecute and kill some of them.

(50) "That the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, (51) From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple; verily I say to you, it shall be required of this generation."

Jesus here foretells the coming destruction by the Romans and calls it vindication for the blood of the innocent since the beginning.  They were just as guilty as their forefathers who had murdered the innocent, and even more so, because they knew the history and kept up the trade of persecution and murder, and even tried to cover it up.  God would tolerate it no more, especially after the persecution and crucifixion of Jesus, and the persecution of His apostles after Him.

(52) "Woe to you, lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."

Again Jesus declared woe to the lawyers because they had taken the key to knowledge away from the people to whom they were entrusted to teach.  They so corrupted the scriptures that the people did not learn the truth about the coming Messiah and the gospel message.  They themselves did not enter into that knowledge that led to eternal life in the kingdom of heaven, and by their corrupt teaching, they hindered those who may have otherwise accepted and clung to the truth.

(53) And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press Him vehemently and to provoke Him to speak of many things, (54) Lying in wait for Him and seeking to catch something out of His mouth that they might accuse Him.

As Jesus spoke these things, the scribes and Pharisees were enraged and violently pressed Him for answers, asking Him about many things, hoping to trap Him into saying something they could use against Him.  The prophet Isaiah spoke about those who watched for iniquity and made a man an offender for a word (Isaiah 29:20-21).  The scribes and Pharisees were not at all sincere in any of their questions, nor did they sincerely listen to Jesus's answers; they only asked to keep Him talking and only listened to catch something they could use against Him.  Boy, does that sound like our present time!  People don't discuss and sincerely debate issues anymore; they only seek sound bites they can use against the other side.  And just as this led up to the destruction of Jerusalem, we seem to be heading for the destruction of the world in this and many other ways.

Jesus Teaches About Earnest Prayer and Demon Spirits

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Luke 11:1) And it came to pass that as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had been in the home of Martha and Mary, but apparently had left there, and was later in a different place, praying.  When He had finished praying, one of His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray, as he said John the Baptist had taught his disciples.

(2) And He said to them, "When you pray, say, 'Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.'"

Jesus then began instructing them on how to pray.  Biblical scholars say that this was at a different time than in Matthew 6:9-13.  I don't know why that has to be.  Luke says only that Jesus was praying in a certain place at some non-specific time, but there are subtle differences in the way Matthew and Luke described Jesus's instruction and prayer.  In Matthew, Jesus had instructed that they pray "after this manner," and proceeded to give them an example of prayer.  If, indeed, this disciple was asking again to be taught how to pray, and adding as John had taught his disciples, perhaps he was asking for a more specific prayer.  Jesus had taught them the manner in which they were to pray, but perhaps they still struggled with the words.  Here in Luke, Jesus says, "Say this...."  This may indicate to us that this is one prayer that we may recite as Jesus did.  In Matthew 6:7, Jesus said they were not to use vain repetitions as the heathens did.  I always took this to mean that we should speak from our hearts and not recite the same prayers all the time, as they did in the Catholic church I attended as a teenager.  However, the rest of Matthew 6:7 states that those heathen think they will be heard because of their many words.  That says to me that they used vain repetitions within one prayer.  They kept repeating themselves so as to give longer wordy prayers.  I now understand Jesus to mean it's always okay to recite His Word, and to also use it as a model of how we should otherwise pray.

First, Jesus said we were to address and acknowledge our Father in heaven.  We recognize and declare that His name is holy and to be given great reverence.  We recognize and declare that God's kingdom has come to earth, and we desire that it be successful, as our prayers should always align with that goal in mind.  We ask that God's will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.  Not our wills, but His will, as He always knows best.  We see short-term, but God sees the future and the big picture, and we should always desire that our prayers align with His perfect will.  Romans 8:26 tells us that the Holy Spirit within us helps us with groanings which are not uttered to make intercession for us according to the will of God, because we don't know how to pray as we should.  James 4:3 tells us that we don't receive what we pray for because we "ask amiss" for our own selfish desires.  We can be thankful that Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to pray for the best outcome according to God's will.  And we can rest assured that God's will is always better than our short-sighted wills.

(3) "Give us day by day our daily bread."

Jesus continued with His model prayer.  He indicated that it was okay to voice an honest desire for care and maintenance for the day.  However, we should not be anxious about more than that.  In Matthew 6:34, Jesus said not to be anxious about tomorrow, that sufficient for the day is its own troubles.  In Matthew 6:32, He also said that our heavenly Father knew our needs.  We are to seek Him first and all our needs will be given to us.  "Our needs," not necessarily our wants.  It is okay to ask for our needs, but we should trust the Holy Spirit of Father God in heaven to take care of the true desires of our hearts that we may not even recognize, but in the end, we will look back and realize that His will was better than what we could have ever asked for.

(4) "And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Jesus taught that we should ask for forgiveness for our sins, not just once, but continually in our prayers.  We can ask this because we have also forgiven those who have wronged us.  In Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus went on to add that if we indeed forgave others, our heavenly Father would forgive us.  However, if we did not forgive, neither would God forgive us.  Finally, we ask that God not lead us into temptation.  It's not that God would otherwise lead us there; the sense is that we ask God to lead us away from temptation, and to deliver us from evil.

(5) And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend and shall go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, (6) For a friend of mine in his journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'"

Jesus began a parable by first asking his disciples a question.  Which of them could relate to the man in his parable?  That man had a friend to whom he went at midnight, a most inconvenient time, to ask for three loaves of bread, because another friend of his had shown up at his door and he had nothing to feed him.

(7) "And he from inside shall answer and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you.'"

Jesus continued with his example which concluded his question about which of them had such a friend who would then reject him and tell him it was too late, he was in bed, and he couldn't get up and help him.

(8) "I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needs."

Jesus said that mere friendship might not make the man willing to get up at midnight to give food to his friend, but because he persisted in asking, he would get up and give him as much as he needed.  Jesus's point was that we can go boldly to the throne of God and be persistent in asking for something in prayer.  Jesus said in Luke 18:1, "Men ought always to pray and not to faint."  This parable served as an example of prayer.  We may approach God at any time with the same confidence we would have when approaching a friend.  We come in prayer for needful things, as bread is needful, as we know that God gives us our needs, but not necessarily our wants.  We come in prayer for others, not for our own selfish desires, but that we may accomplish our Godly purpose in helping others.  Finally, if God doesn't seem to answer right away, it's okay to be persistent.  More than okay, it's pleasing to God; "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  Jesus implied that God would answer such a prayer.

(9) "And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you."

Indeed, Jesus told them that if they asked as modeled in His parable, it would be given to them.  If they sought something in prayer, like mercy, knowledge, or wisdom, they would find it.  And doors would be opened.

(10) "For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened."

Jesus confirmed that everyone who asked for something would receive it, and those who sought something would find it, and those who knocked would have the door opened.  It's important to remember that we should pray for things within God's will and according to Jesus's model.  Remember James 4:3, "You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may consume it on your lusts."

(11) "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?"

As an illustration, Jesus asked if a son asked for bread from a father, and here Jesus personalized it by asking any of them who were fathers to especially consider what He was saying, would they give a stone to their son who asked them for bread?  Would they give something that in no way solved their son's problem?  If their son asked for a fish, would they give him a serpent instead?  Would they give him rather something that would endanger him?

(12) "Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  

Likewise, if a son asked for an egg, would the father give him a scorpion, something that would not help him but would hurt him?

(13) "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them who ask him?"

Therefore, Jesus concluded, since they as flawed sinful fathers knew how to give appropriate gifts to their children, how much more they could expect from the perfect just heavenly Father.  Jesus said their heavenly Father would give the Holy Spirit, the very best gift, from Whom all good gifts would come.  Our heavenly Father gives more than we could ask for, "for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He who searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God." (Romans 8:26-27)  We don't always know what is best in a situation, but the Holy Spirit does know because His mind is aligned with the will of God, and as Romans 8:28 continues, "...all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."  But once again, our Father will not give us our lustful desires that He knows will hurt us; He gives us our needs for a greater end than we can imagine.  Would a father give his son a deadly scorpion just because he asked for it?

(14) And He was casting out a devil and it was mute. And it came to pass when the devil was gone out, the mute spoke, and the people wondered.

At what appears to be another time, Jesus cast a demon out of a mute man.  When the demon had been cast out, the formerly possessed man spoke, and the people who witnessed this miracle marveled.

(15) But some of them said, "He casts out devils through Beelzebub, the chief of the devils."

Some of the people who witnessed this said that Jesus cast out devils by the spirit of Beelzebub, Satan himself.  The account in Matthew said that these were Pharisees who suggested that.  The account in Mark said it was the scribes.  That is, if this is the same account.  I suppose it is possible this happened more than once, and Jesus would have the same answer.

(16) And others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.

Others in the crowd tested Jesus to see in what spirit He operated and wanted to see a sign from heaven.  This was not included in the accounts in Matthew and Mark, so this possibly is another instance where people claimed Jesus must be working through Satan to be able to do such miracles.

(17) But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house against a house falls. (18) If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? Because you say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub."

Although they had not spoken what they thought to Him, Jesus knew what they thought and told them He knew what they thought, and demonstrated to them what an absurd idea it was that He would be doing good through Satan.  Satan's evil kingdom, if working against itself doing good, would fail.  

(19) "And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges."

Additionally, if it was only through the power of Satan that Jesus was able to cast out demons, then He asked them how it was that their own followers cast out demons, as some of the Jews had been able to do.  The actions of these "sons" would stand as judgment against what these people were suggesting.  They certainly weren't professing to cast out demons through Satan, so how could such an absurd accusation be made of Jesus?

(20) "But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God has come upon you."

By saying "the finger of God" Jesus may have been referring to Exodus 8:19, when Pharoah's magicians admitted that their tricks did not nearly measure up with the miracles wrought by Moses "with the finger of God."  Jesus's ease and His immediate perfect result in casting out the demon was likely very superior to any casting out of demons they had ever witnessed and should be considered as it was with Moses against Pharaoh's magicians, only by "the finger of God."  Thus there could be no doubt that the kingdom of God had come to them and they were rejecting it.

(21) "When a strong man armed keeps his palace, his goods are in peace."

Still referring to Satan, Jesus compared him to a strong and armed man who kept his palace and goods safe.

(22) "But when a stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoils."

When one stronger than the strong man, that is Jesus Christ in this example, comes upon him and overcomes him, as when Jesus cast the demon out of the man, the stronger Jesus also takes from Satan all his power he had over the one he possessed, and He divides his spoils, taking possession of the formerly possessed man's mind and body, and makes him whole again.

(23) "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters."

At first glance, "He who is not with Me is against Me" seems at odds with what Jesus said in Mark 9:40, "he who is not against us is on our side."  In Mark 9, the man who was casting out devils in Jesus's name could not be said to be against Jesus and His disciples.  He was doing what he was doing for Jesus and His purpose of bringing souls to salvation.  In this case, those who asserted that Jesus performed miracles through Beelzebub were certainly against Him.  If the man in Mark 9 had been casting out demons in Satan's name, then He would have definitely been against Jesus.  However, he was working in Jesus's name trying to gather souls for salvation.  These people who called Him of the devil were not only not gathering souls, but were scattering souls with their blasphemy against Jesus.

(24) "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'"

Jesus then said that when a demon spirit had gone out of a man, it sought another soul to possess.  Dry desert places to a demon spirit would be places where the Gospel of Christ was preached and accepted; it could certainly find no peace there.  Therefore, it would decide to return to the vessel from which it had left.  

(25) "And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order."

When that demon spirit in Jesus's example came back to its previous home, it found that body empty, as is meant by "swept and in order."  There was nothing else in there, just the empty body, as the account in Matthew 12:44 also added "empty."  In this example of Jesus, the person who had been possessed by a demon, but then cleansed of it, did not seek to fill himself with the spirit of Christ.  A person will be filled with one thing or another; he does not remain an empty vessel.  He who did not accept Jesus and His gospel was against Him, and empty, but not for long.

(26) "Then he goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last of that man is worse than the first."

If that demon found the man not filled with Jesus, then it would come back with seven other demons even more wicked than it was, and they would all inhabit the man.  There have been instances of multiple demons possessing one body in scripture; there was the man possessed by "Legion," so called because there were many demons, and there was Mary Magdalene who had been possessed by seven demons.  The last condition of the man who had been possessed by one demon, but did not seek to fill himself with Jesus, would be much worse when possessed by multiple demons than he was with the one.

(27) And it came to pass, as He spoke these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts which You have nursed."

After Jesus had spoken these things, a woman in the crowd of people listening, raised her voice and declared to Jesus that His mother was blessed to have given birth to and nurtured Him.  She surely meant it as a compliment to Jesus that He did and spoke such great things, that His mother was blessed to have been chosen as His mother.

(28) But He said, "Yea, rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it."

Jesus answered and said to the woman, that yes, His mother was indeed blessed, but much more blessed were those who heard His word and accepted it and kept it.  That was the most important thing, not to be merely associated with Christ, even as His mother, but to fully accept Him and His Gospel, and be counted among the saints in heaven.  Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus's closest associates, but he rejected Jesus.

As this is a rather long chapter, and has had much commentary up to this point, I will end this post for now, and finish chapter 11 in the next post.