(Matthew 12:38-42; Luke 11:16, 29-32)
Then some of the experts in the law along with some Pharisees answered him, “Teacher, we want to see an authenticating sign from you.” As the crowds were increasing, Jesus answered them, “This evil and adulterous generation[1] asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation.
In fact, the people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them—and now, something greater than Jonah is here!
The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon—and now, something greater than Solomon is here!”
In other words, those hearing his words had the authenticating sign of Jesus himself, with his teaching and miracles; in addition, they were going to have the most blatantly obvious sign ever given in human history: Jesus’ resurrection. If prior pagan audiences (Ninevah and the queen of the South) responded to a fraction of this, how much more responsible were the people seeing Jesus in person. Next, Jesus uses the image of a lamp to challenge them to see the truth right in front of them.
“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a hidden place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light (if you’ve got light, you should use it). Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is pure/healthy/clear, your whole body is full of the light of truth, but when it is diseased/evil/clouded, your body is full of the darkness of spiritual ignorance and moral decay.[2]
“If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Therefore see to it that the light in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part in the dark, it will be as full of light as when the light of a lamp shines on you.”[3]
And now, an example of what happens when the light within you is darkness.
(Luke 11:37-54; Matthew 23:2-4, 13-36; Mark 12:40)
As he spoke, a Pharisee invited Jesus to have a meal with him, so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was astonished when he saw that Jesus did not first wash his hands before the meal. But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed, wickedness and self-indulgence.
You are foolish, lacking understanding! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside as well? You Pharisees are spiritually blind! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too! Give alms[4] of what you have (what’s in the cup and plate) to those in need, and then you will be clean.[5]
What terrible sorrow awaits you Pharisees! You love (to be rewarded for your religiousness with) the best seats in the synagogues and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces! You love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; you love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. Meanwhile, you cheat widows out of their homes.
What terrible sorrow awaits you! You are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them, becoming unclean without realizing it!” One of the experts in religious law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too.”
Jesus replied, “What terrible sorrow awaits you experts in religious law as well! You tie up heavy loads (of religious laws that are) hard to carry, and put them on the shoulders of others, yet you yourselves refuse to touch the burdens with even one of your fingers in order to help them!
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
What terrible sorrow awaits you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites (two-faced actors)! You have taken away the key to knowledge[6] and you keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! For you neither enter yourselves nor permit those trying to enter to go in. (You self-appointed gate-keepers have shut the gates.)
“What terrible sorrow awaits you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, and when you get one, you make him twice as much a child of Gehenna as yourselves!
What terrible sorrow awaits you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’ You are foolish[7] and blind! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’ You are blind! 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 the one who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.
What terrible sorrow awaits you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of your mint, dill, cumin, rue and every herb, yet you neglect what is more important in the law—justice, mercy, faithfulness and love for God! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. You are blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel![8]
What terrible sorrow awaits you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
What terrible sorrow awaits you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous[9] whom your ancestors killed. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
By saying this you testify against yourselves concerning whose children you are: you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. You approve of the deeds of your ancestors, because they killed the prophets and you build their tombs (while you continue their legacy)[10]! Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to Gehennah?
“For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I am sending you prophets, and apostles, and wise men and experts in the law, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.’
So, this generation will be held accountable for the blood of all the righteous prophets shed on earth since the beginning of the world, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Yes, I tell you the truth, this generation will be held responsible for all these things!”
When Jesus went out from there, the experts in the law and the Pharisees began to oppose him bitterly, and to ask him hostile questions about many things, plotting against him, to catch him in something he might say.
* * * * *
“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.” What terrible sorrow awaits those who live as hypocrites. Of all the ‘call outs’ Jesus gave, what he said to hypocrites is the most sobering.
I’d like to offer a contrast today: how to be a hypocrite vs. how to be a committed disciple.
How To Be A Hypocrite: A Guide For Beginners
· Don’t worry about your heart. Nobody can see it; all they can see is the outside. The best way to cover up is to overcompensate by being legalistic. Don’t worry about Big Picture principles like justice, mercy and love. Learn how to focus on good, observable things that are much smaller and that you can do really well. So, don’t worry about your crude thoughts; just never use crude language. Don’t worry about pride; just always use self-effacing language. Don’t worry about your bitter unforgiveness; just raise your hands during worship. Do small things everyone can see and approve of. Keep the outside of the cup clean!
· Fall in love with power and reputation. See the church as your platform for glory. There are lots of opportunities. Make the spotlight your goal. To not be noticed is to not matter. In general, remember, bigger is better, so see small opportunities for what they are – stepping stones to the greatness that awaits you.
· Require standards not written in Scripture. How do you observe the day of rest on Sunday? That’s the only way. Demand that your standards for entertainment are the only godly way. Sit in Moses’ seat when it comes to how long and how often people should have devotions, or what the best way is to study the Bible, or just how healthy you have to be to treat your body like a temple. If your adding to their yoke, make it heavy.
· Practice guilt by association. Accuse people of being unclean, unrighteous or full of compromise when they are friends with people of other faiths, or no faith at all, or who have lifestyles contrary to Scripture. Ask them why they eat and drink with sinners. (If that was a good enough question for Pharisees then, it’s a good one now!)[11] Meanwhile, only hang out with people just like you in as many ways as possible. If there is one thing you don’t want to do, it’s be in uncomfortable, uncertain spaces where you constantly have to rely on Holy Spirit wisdom.
· Expect more from others than you expect for yourself. Be hard on others and easy on yourself. Learn how to give yourself a pass when you would demand an apology from others. I mean, you have reasons you snapped at someone, or unwittingly ignored them, or gossiped, or judged them unfairly. You’re only human. You were hangry. Work was terrible. There are plenty of excuses. But when it happens to you? It’s time to rise in indignant judgment and demand an apology, followed up with a clear message that they are fortunate to have a long – suffering and forgiving friend like you.
· Refuse to help others on their spiritual journey. You don’t have time to help people walk in the path of Life. It’s exhausting to keep the outside of the cup as pristinely clean as you do. Besides, the more they struggle, the better you can feel about yourself. You can always convince yourself, “Well, I’m not THAT bad. I must be doing alright!” As far as techniques for avoiding holy self-reflection, this is gold!
· Feel free to really dislike people who sin differently than you do. Never forget your excuses for your clearly minor sins that a more like mistakes, really. But give no quarter for those whose sins are different and clearly major. Odds are good that, while your heart is really in the right place and you are just prone to mistakes, they are almost certainly gleefully evil and should be feared. After all, it’s their sin, not yours, that is a threat to everybody around them.
· Learn to use the word “discernment” when you unrighteously judge the heart and intents of others. Call it judgment when someone else does it to you because, well, it is. Except when you do it.
· Demand humility, repentance and self-awareness in others, but do not practice it yourself. Being wrong is a sign of weak. Acknowledging sin to others means you can’t maintain that near-perfect facade. Asking forgiveness suggests you failed to do the right thing, and you might be tempted to think that all your justifications were lies. This is not okay.
· Find ways to interpret the Bible that let you do what you want to do. It’s important to ignore the full testimony of the Bible and rich history of church teaching. You have to get good at isolating individual verses that fit and ignoring the ones that don’t. Also, find a teacher online who tells you what you want to hear, and then just sit in that information bubble. When done correctly, you can convince yourself that the Bible to say precisely what you thought it said about, well, anything.
· Major on the minors. This is so important. Did someone bring a physical copy of the Bible with them to church? Can they instantly recite verses from all over the Bible? You need to make that matter more than whether or not they follow the teachings of the Bible during the week. On Easter and Christmas, be sure to note who dressed the best or the worst. What’s more important: that someone showed up to seek God, or how they showed up to seek God? Easy call.
· Refuse to learn from the sins/mistakes of others. You will need to become efficient at whitewashing history rather than studying it seriously. That way you can put people on pedestals, and they will never fall, and you don’t have to do the hard work of separating wheat from chaff. Truth is dangerous; ignorance is safe. Stay safe.
· Undermine those who are living righteously around you. How are you going to look good in the presence of those who actually are good? Downplay their successes. Continue to point out things they can still work on rather than rejoicing when they rejoice. Be sure to keep majoring on the minors; when you find out how generous they have been financially with someone in need, highlight how successful you have been in tithing your mint. When they talk about the beauty of finally being able to forgive someone, be sure to have a story about a worse offense and how quickly you let it go. Maybe suggest to them that they are enabling instead of forgiving. Be creative.
· Never let anybody question you, correct you, or disagree with you. If they do, dodge, deflect, bully them, shame them until they leave you alone. You HAVE to be right and good in every way. If the outside of the cup cracks, they are going to see what’s inside. You weren’t mean; you were speaking truth boldly. You weren’t gossiping; it was a prayer request. You weren’t judgmental – THEY are judgmental right now, and how dare they?
* * * * * *
Matthew’s account contains Jesus' conclusion right after his critique.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing, Look, your house is left to you desolate...'" (Matthew 23:37-39)
“What terrible sorrow awaits you.” Luke’s account notes that Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44). He’s angry, but he’s also mourning, because he sees the spiritual desolation and knows it doesn’t have to be like this. This isn’t a story about Jesus writing people off. He’s challenging their hypocrisy for their good. He knows that their path leads to spiritual desolation (and probably relational disaster), and He cares about that. He loves His children. God’s disciple and pruning is intended to be redemptive, to bring life and flourishing in place of death and failure.
Jesus knows the goodness of lives lived with integrity in the Kingdom. Here, then, is my attempt at offering a practical contrast that shows God’s plan for what it looks like to live a life that leads away from terrible sorrow and desolation rather than more deeply into it.
How To Live With Righteous Integrity Starter Pack
· Integrate a righteous heart with righteous hands. The cup has two sides - the inside and outside – and you should be committed to cleanliness of both. You can do one without neglecting the other. Be generous - while praying for a generous heart and studying what the Bible has to say about the blessedness of generosity. Guard your eyes from lust-inducing things - while praying for a pure heart and meditating on Scripture’s teaching on how to honor others. Guard your tongue - while praying for a heart that is passionate to bring life into the world through words. Study the Word so that it transforms the way you think and feel about the world. Find some people with whom you can do life in transparent friendship and deep accountability.
· Learn to love humble service. The greatest in the kingdom often seem like the least in the eyes of the world because they aren’t fixated on how the world measures success. See the church as a platform for God’s glory, which is highlighted by the gospel transformation of our heart, soul, mind and strength so that we remind people more and more of Jesus. You won’t need the applause of people to be fulfilled - though, no doubt that is gratifying and often appropriate for others to give to you. But’s that’s not why you do it. The applause of heaven is enough. You do good because you love doing good in response to the good God has shown you.
· Expect more from yourself than you expect from others. Learn how to give others a grace-filled pass instead of holding grudges. Practice assuming the best in people unless they force you to conclude otherwise. Give the benefit of the doubt until you are proven wrong. Remember: they might be hangry; they might have had a horrible day at work; maybe they are dealing with physical pain, or deep grief – the kinds of things that scrub out filters and leave us pretty raw. Whatever kind of grace you hope others extend to you, extend to them. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. That rule is Golden.
· Help others on their spiritual journey. Walk with them in their struggles (“bear one another’s burdens”[12]). Weep and rejoice with those who do the same. We are all in this together. You can learn from others. You can grow together. If was prophesied of Jesus, “A bruised reed he will not break.”[13] Pass on that legacy. There are bruised reeds all around you. Please, don’t break them. Nurture them. Stabilize them. Offer hope. As you do this, you will increasingly enter into a relational rhythm with those around you of knowing and being known, learning to love them more fully the more fully you know them.
· Be consistently generous and compassionate. Be unrelentingly kind. Look for opportunities to help those around you. Just like Jesus “saw” people in crowds,[14] pray for the discernment to “see” those around you who are struggling. It will feel overwhelming if you try to help everybody, but there’s a reason we live in community. There are others who can help too. Find a need that matches the resources God has given you and meet that need with loving provision.
· Conform your life to the Bible, not the Bible to your life. Get to know all of the Bible. Read from a variety of Christian traditions to broaden and deepen your understanding of our faith. Then, be honest about what the Bible is saying, and let the Bible critique you. It’s good to do this in groups. In a multitude of counselors there is wisdom.[15] It will sometimes be rewarding, sometimes unsettling, sometimes revelational, sometimes convicting. It will all be important.
· Major on the majors and minor on the minors. Both are important; keep them in the right place. Discern what hold in a ‘closed hand’ and which to hold in an ‘open hand’. (For example: Close your hand around the truth that Jesus will return; hold an opinion about end times theology in an open hand.) Have your daily devotions - and love mercy. Tithe your mint - and fight for justice. Memorize the Bible - and walk humbly with God.
· Learn from the sins/mistakes of others. Study biblical, family, church, and national history honestly. Know the historical legacy into which you have been placed so you can know where to build on it and where to do some remodeling. The Old Testament writers modeled this by showing the successes and failures of so many key figures in our Judeo-Christian history. It turns out that a fight between good and evil rages in our of our hearts, and none of us can cast the first stone[16], because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.[17] Let’s not turn a blind eye to the complex reality of being human. Even the redeemed have not entered into perfection. Look. Learn. Be honest. Grow. Mature. Like Jesus when he was a boy, we can increase in wisdom, in health, and in favor with God and others individually and corporately.
· Love truth. As Proverbs 23:23 says, “Buy truth, and do not sell it.” Seek truth about God, His world, yourself. Fill yourself with Scripture; study God’s world; learn from truth-tellers of all kinds. Speak truth (with grace). Let the Bible be a mirror in which you see yourself honestly. Pray for wisdom, humility, and boldness. You need all of those if you want to not only love but also live truth.
· Be humble enough to consider questions, disagreements or rebukes with an open mind. None of us have arrived; none of will arrive on this side of Heaven. We can always think more clearly about God and His creation; after all, as Paul said, we see through a darkened window until we see God face to face.[18] That’s all of us. We always have room to grow. So… maybe you are wrong – or right; challenges are an opportunity to confirm which one it is. New information is not an enemy; it’s an opportunity to either put down deeper roots or grow new branches, and sometimes both. Listen; pray; seek counsel; study. Learn. God has started a good work in you; He continues it because you haven’t arrived. Embrace the journey that unfolds as we await God’s completion of His work in us.
I assume that the opposite of “what terrible sorrow awaits you” is something like, “what glorious joy awaits you.”
This path will not leave us desolate. It is life, life more abundant[19] that is only found through the person and in the path of Jesus.
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[1] “Under the old covenant, the Jewish nation was represented as in a marriage contract with the Lord of hosts; as believers, in the new covenant, are represented as the spouse of Christ. All unfaithfulness and disobedience was considered as a breach of this marriage contract; hence the persons who were thus guilty are denominated adulterers and adulteresses. But, independently of this, there is the utmost proof, from their own writings, that in the time of our Lord they were most literally an adulterous race of people: for, at this very time, R. Jochanan ben Zacchai abrogated the trial by the bitter waters of jealousy, because so many were found to be thus criminal.” (Adam Clarke)
[2] “The good eye belongs to the person whose motives are pure, who has a single desire for God’s interests, and who is willing to accept Christ’s teachings literally. His whole life is flooded with light.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary)
[3] “Luke’s point is that Jesus’ ministry is a public light to those entering the kingdom of God. Failure to respond properly is similar to failing to see properly because of a diseased or blind eye.” (Africa Bible Commentary)
[4] “Not only in this passage but also in others you have revealed how great grace is. ‘Alms deliver us from death.’ (Tobit 12:9) ‘Store up alms in the heart of the poor, and it shall obtain help for you on the evil day.’ (Sirach 29:12)” (Ambrose, 300s. Tobit and Sirach were popular among the Jews.)
[5] “Meaning either what was within the dishes spoken of before; or what was within their houses or power: or what they had at hand…Cease from spoiling the poor by wicked exactions, rather give them alms of every thing you possess; and when a part of every thing you have is sincerely consecrated to God for the use of the poor, then all that remains will be clean unto you; you will have the blessing of God in your basket and store, and every thing will be sanctified to you. These verses are very difficult, and are variously translated and interpreted by critics and divines. I have given what I believe to be our Lord's meaning.” (Adam Clarke)
[6] “The knowledge of our Lord’s manifestation which was in the prophecies.” (Ephram the Syrian, 300s)
[7] We get our modern word “moron” from this Greek word, moros.
[8] Pharisees would strain the water they drank to make sure they did not drink a dead insect, as being in contact with anything dead made them unclean.
[9] “For the martyrs do not rejoice when they are honored by gifts for which the poor paid for with their tears. What kind of justice is it to give gifts to the dead and to despoil to living….and offer it to God?” (Anonymous, recorded in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)
[10] “By determining to honor those who were killed, they accused the others of doing wrong. They, who condemned their ancestors….were about to become guilty of equal crimes and commit the same, or rather more abominable, offenses.” (Cyril of Alexandria)
[11] Got the previous two from here: https://mycharisma.com/culture/r-t-kendall-you-might-be-a-pharisee-if/
[12] Galatians 6:25
[13] Isaiah 42:3
[14] “Jesus Sees The Individual.” https://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/story/lifestyle/faith/2020/02/13/jesus-x201c-sees-x201d-individual/1302944007/
[15] Proverbs 15:22
[16] John 8:7
[17] Romans 3:23
[18] 1 Corinthians 13:12
[19] John 10:10