Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces. “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.” One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.” 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. Luke 11:43-46 (NIV)
Jesus was having dinner at a Pharisee’s house, and He uncovered several issues that challenged the status quo. Why was Jesus concerned about the most important seats and the greetings in the marketplaces? How are those things religious? One can sit in an important seat and be greeted respectfully and still love God!
According to Strong’s Concordance: Definition of love ( Agapeo):
of persons
to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly
of things
to be well pleased, to be contented at or with a thing
The word “love” in the above scripture has the same meaning as the one Jesus used when He gave the two greatest commandments to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. The Pharisees “loved” the most important seats and the respect they received in the marketplace. If they really loved God and their neighbor, they could not equally love the best seats and the respect they enjoyed in the marketplace.
This is a reminder of Jesus’ declaration in (Matthew 6:19-24) that we cannot have two masters. He also stated that where our treasure is, that is where our heart is as well. We either are captured by loving God and others, or we are focused on self-exaltation. Based on the above definition of “love”, the Pharisees received their contentment and satisfaction from the important seats and being respected in the marketplace.
Those things that are not spiritual matters yet they capture our hearts cause us to become religious. For some it could be loving the most important seats. For others it could be the need for admiration by others. For another group, it could be the desire to be important and significant. We can even use our so called spirituality to get our way in life. Anything that captures our imagination and fills our hearts apart from the love of God and His desire for our lives can turn into idolatry. The idols that look spiritual make us religious. What are the things that give you satisfaction, contentment, and importance? Would their absence make you feel empty or insignificant?
It’s interesting that one of the lawyers was honest enough to admit that he was insulted by Jesus’ statements. Jesus always had a way of rocking the religious’ boats and observing how people reacted to it. Maybe all of His statements did not apply to every Pharisee, but most likely, one or more of them applied to all of them. Therefore, before getting insulted with Jesus’ statements, it would be best to allow His words to examine our hearts. If we are going in a wrong direction, the sooner we find out, the easier it is to get redirected.
Lord examine our hearts according to Psalm 51 and expose anything that is offensive to you! We desire truth in our inner parts.
