Those who think they know so much about God.

Luke 11: Woes on the Pharisees and the Experts in the Law

³⁷ When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸ But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

      
³⁹ Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

- The hypocrisy of these <religious people> The Pharisees who are fixated to the juridical observance of the Law, neglecting what is essential.

- Practicing almsgiving is the best form of spiritual cleansing and purification.

⁴² “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

- Woe : literally means “Curse” - an ill Will of Jesus to those who give so much money to the religious groups, churches and associations but then who don’t do what is correct and honest to the people.

- Giving the Tenth Percent as an Offering but neglecting what is fair and just causes bad fortune and disaster.

- It’s opposite to God’s favor and protection.

⁴³ “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.
⁴⁴ “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”
⁴⁵ One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

- It’s terrible to think that a person who gives so much care of his personal image as honorable and distinct, considering ones glory as the highest regard; then cursed by our Lord as equivalent to nobody, estimated like an unmarked grave where people walks over with no care and respect.

⁴⁶ 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.

- Putting loads to the shoulder of the common people without giving a hand, is the same as telling them certain difficult obligations and precepts to be done without considering the possibilities and the means of certain category of persons. Like for example creating fears and threats in the minds of the believers without giving them a glimpse of hope.

⁴⁷ “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ ⁵⁰ Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.

⁵² “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

- There’s a saying : the shoemaker left with no shoes. Experts of the Law who don’t observe the law and prohibit others to know it too. Curse to them. Hypocrites!

⁵³ When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, ⁵⁴ waiting to catch him in something he might say.