Luke 11:37-46, 52

By Matt Rose
http://www.mattrosewritings.net/
As He was speaking, a Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and reclined at the table. When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed that He did not first perform the ritual washing before dinner. But the Lord said to him: "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full greed and evil. Fools! Didn't He who made the outside make the inside too? But give from what is within to the poor, and then everything is clean for you.
"But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of mint, rue, and every kind of herb, and you bypass justice and love for God. These things you should have done without neglecting the others.
"Woe to you Pharisees! You love the front seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
"Woe to you! You are like unmarked graves; the people who walk over them don't even know it."
One of the experts in the law answered Him, "Teacher, when You say these things You insult us too."
Then He said: "Woe also to you experts of the law! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you yourselves don't touch these burdens with one of your fingers. [...]
"Woe to you experts in the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge! You didn't go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were going in." (Luke 11:37-46, 52, HCSB)
Awkward, right? I mean--how do you respond to these sorts of statements? And, for that matter, what happened to the mild-mannered, always-loving Jesus we all like to talk about? In a word--religion. Cold, dead, evil religion. And I find it interesting that Jesus could woo sinners to salvation with the love we love to talk about, but when it came to religious people, He used a totally different approach--a much harsher and more direct approach. Sinners ignore and disobey God's law, and that is bad enough. But religious people? They take God's law and pervert it. They use God's Name for their own selfish gain. It would be better to ignore God altogether than to play religious games, using God's Name in vain while following the evil one.
Let's talk dishes. Religion washes the outside of the cup but leaves the inside full of filth. Religion assumes that soap and water can soak through to the soul. Religion assumes that following rules will change your heart. Fake it until you feel it, right? Oh, God, help us all!
When we come to Jesus, we are changed from the inside out. God gives us a new heart, and all of a sudden we stop worrying about rules. We stop looking to rules and morality for salvation. We don't do what's "right." We just do what we know pleases Jesus. Because we love Him. Because He loved us first.
Let's talk giving. Religion says that God needs the first tenth of your income. Religion says that if you give 10%, God will be pleased, and all will go well for you. You'll unlock the favor, because you followed the formula. Let me be very honest with you: this approach has more in common with ancient paganism--where gods were appeased instead of loved--than it does with Christianity.
When God changes our hearts, we stop asking how much we owe Him, and we begin to realize that all we have is His. We are stewards of what He has given us, and we have no power to get wealth on our own. There is no such thing as being independently wealthy. And if God has given us much, it's because He wants us to give much. It's because He wants to use us to bless people who don't have much on this earth. The question is no longer how much we have to give. The question is how much does it take? How much does it take to bless those less fortunate than we are?
There is a freedom words can't express when we realize that what we have is not ours. We can give to others without needing to be repayed. And by giving freely--without expecting a return on the investment--we reflect the beauty of a God who freely gave His love, His grace--His Son--for us all.
Let's talk leadership. Religion seeks recognition. Religion insists on titles and offices. "My name is Pastor Steve!" Religion elevates leaders and abuses followers, making a divide that the Bible does not support. A divide that breaks God's heart.
There is no greater example of a leader than Jesus. But Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, served His followers. He washed feet. His every move was made with someone else in mind. He didn't push His agenda; He did the will of God on earth as it was--and is--in Heaven. And He taught His disciples to follow Him just as He followed His Father. I believe He also knew that those who claim titles tend not to deserve them, and those who deserve them tend not to claim them.
Religion says, "Follow me!" instead of, "Follow Christ!" Religion exalts itself into the place of God and demands absolute, unswerving loyalty and devotion. Religion expects you to blindly follow without missing a step. But when you can't live up to the standard set for you, you just start pretending. You wash the outside of the cup, hoping nobody can see through to your imperfections. And by living the lie, by hiding your faults with a mask of deception, you find yourself unable to be close to others. Even unable to be close to God.
Jesus' remark about the unmarked graves was very clear to the people of His day. To put it simply, Jewish people couldn't come in contact with a corpse. To do that would make them "ceremonially unclean," unable to come near to God. If they touched or ate something unclean, it polluted them as well. They, too, were unclean in God's sight, because they touched or ate what wasn't clean. So to walk across an unmarked grave was enough to make them unclean--even without them knowing it. And to embrace cold, dead religion? You guessed it. That makes us unclean--unable to approach a holy God. Because religion is unclean. Only Christ's righteousness given to us can make us righteous before God.
Religion offers salvation through rules and morality. Learn the rules and be sure not to break them. Live your life constantly wondering if you've forgotten something important--if you've sinned by mistake. Figure out what's right and what's wrong. Every time you pick what's right, God will love you more. But every time you pick what's wrong, you're back to square one, and you have to earn God's love and acceptance all over again. Jesus offers salvation through His work on the cross. Jesus offers rest for those who are worn out trying to please God by following a set of rules. Jesus offers a yoke that is easy and a burden that's light. Jesus offers His righteousness to those who will admit that they can never be righteous on their own. Jesus makes the way for us to come to the Father--for us to be ceremonially clean even though we daily touch things that are not. Oh, what a glorious Savior!
If you find these pictures of religion to be pictures of you, I want to warn you: there is no hope in religion. The path you are walking is leading you further and further away from God. I would even be willing to bet you're miserable. And you know it's true. You know you've never felt good enough to be loved by God. Maybe you've done all the right things today or this past week or these past few years even, but you know that if God was to look deep down inside your heart--inside your cup--He would see all sorts of evil.
Religion will never make it to Heaven, and it will hinder those who would. There is no hope in religion. But there is hope in Jesus Christ. There is rest from the demands of religion. There is peace and joy. There is love and acceptance. So run to Him! Run to Christ and don't look back! I promise that once you catch a glimpse of Jesus as He truly is, you will never want to leave Him! And you can rest assured He'll never leave you either.