WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.960 If you have your Bible, why don't you stand and turn to the book of Luke, chapter number 11. 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:08.019 ! Luke, chapter number 11. Back in our series, I love this series in the Gospel of Luke. 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:12.080 Watching how Jesus lives His life and how He lives there on mission. 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:17.900 And we're going to see how He kind of interacts with some Pharisees, the religious elite. 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:26.600 You know, sometimes Jesus' most harsh confrontations are with the religious crowd. 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:30.220 We're the ones that kind of thought they knew it and had it together. 00:00:30.720 --> 00:00:33.240 Jesus reminds them, you're missing the point. 00:00:34.100 --> 00:00:38.420 And I want to preach a message today entitled this, Clean Hands, Dirty Hearts. 00:00:39.140 --> 00:00:41.859 Because that's what Jesus is going to show us right here. 00:00:42.380 --> 00:00:45.280 Verse number 37 of Luke, chapter 11. The Bible says this. 00:00:46.100 --> 00:00:49.680 And as He spake, a certain Pharisee besought Him to dine with Him. 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:51.680 And He went in and sat down to meet. 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:57.420 And when the Pharisees saw it, He marveled that He had not first washed before dinner. 00:00:58.420 --> 00:00:59.320 And the Lord said unto him, 00:01:00.019 --> 00:01:04.120 Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter, 00:01:04.219 --> 00:01:07.060 but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness? 00:01:07.960 --> 00:01:14.579 Ye fools, did not he that made that which was without make that which is within also? 00:01:14.579 --> 00:01:21.700 But rather give alms of such things as you have, and behold, all things are clean unto you. 00:01:22.739 --> 00:01:24.359 But woe unto you Pharisees! 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:30.959 For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs and Passover judgment and the love of God. 00:01:31.799 --> 00:01:36.299 These ought ye have done, and not to leave the other undone. 00:01:36.299 --> 00:01:38.719 Woe unto you Pharisees! 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:44.920 For ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues and greetings in the markets. 00:01:46.179 --> 00:01:49.560 Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 00:01:50.140 --> 00:01:58.920 For ye are as graves which appear not, and then men that walk over them are not aware of them. 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:03.759 I think you can tell right off the bat, we're going to dig in a little bit and see exactly what He means, 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:09.719 but when Jesus starts coming and saying, whoa, whoa, you need to watch out, He's serious about some things. 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:13.039 And these aren't things that are just for the Pharisees. 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:17.500 I think we're going to see, if we're not careful, some of the very things they were doing that Jesus was saying, 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:22.420 hey, don't do this, can easily creep up in our life. 00:02:22.460 --> 00:02:23.719 And so that's what we're going to look at this morning. 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:26.460 Let's go to the Lord and ask Him to bless this time together. 00:02:26.540 --> 00:02:29.540 Father, we thank You for this time we can open up Your Word. 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:32.580 Lord, I pray that You would help us just to focus on it for a minute. 00:02:32.580 --> 00:02:37.940 Lord, I pray that You would just speak to us and challenge us where need be, convict us. 00:02:38.040 --> 00:02:39.300 Lord, I pray You would encourage us. 00:02:39.820 --> 00:02:40.820 Lord, we need You. 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:44.820 We need to make sure that we're living the life You've called us to. 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:48.680 Because Lord, many times it's easy to start just checking some boxes off. 00:02:48.760 --> 00:02:51.040 But Lord, that's not what You've asked us to do. 00:02:51.580 --> 00:02:53.439 That's not the mission You've called us to live on. 00:02:53.500 --> 00:02:56.880 Lord, I pray that if there is someone here today that doesn't know You as their Savior, 00:02:56.879 --> 00:03:02.539 Lord, they would see it's not about what we are doing, but about what You've done already for us. 00:03:02.599 --> 00:03:03.539 Lord, I pray You'd be with me now. 00:03:03.620 --> 00:03:06.340 You would empty me of self, cleanse me of sin, fill me with Your Spirit, 00:03:06.379 --> 00:03:08.039 that I might be a help to Your people this morning. 00:03:08.099 --> 00:03:09.240 We ask it in Christ's name. 00:03:09.799 --> 00:03:10.079 Amen. 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:11.000 Thank you so much for standing. 00:03:11.099 --> 00:03:11.519 May be seated. 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:21.879 I think there is a difference on how people view cleanliness. 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:29.920 Like, let's just say, hypothetically, a child's view of how he brushes his teeth is probably different than his mother's. 00:03:31.500 --> 00:03:32.780 Because I'm like, hey, go brush your teeth. 00:03:33.100 --> 00:03:35.260 I mean, it's like, I'm like, did you brush your teeth? 00:03:35.340 --> 00:03:36.180 Yeah, I brushed my teeth. 00:03:36.219 --> 00:03:37.660 I'm like, that is amazing. 00:03:37.659 --> 00:03:42.039 And, you know, they have a dentist appointment this week, so now they're like, we've got to really brush our teeth 00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:43.099 because it's dentist appointment week. 00:03:43.299 --> 00:03:44.919 And I think we all do that as adults, too. 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:48.379 Like, man, I've got to brush my teeth because I've been brushing it, but, you know, 00:03:48.680 --> 00:03:53.659 maybe if I brush it good for one week, it will get rid of all the six months of eating candy right before bed. 00:03:54.500 --> 00:03:55.560 Am I the only one that does that? 00:03:56.259 --> 00:03:57.419 Okay, I guess, whatever. 00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:02.599 I would imagine maybe cleaning your car is different than how your teenager may clean their car. 00:04:03.259 --> 00:04:05.879 Cleaning their car is just moving stuff from the front seat to the back seat. 00:04:05.879 --> 00:04:07.299 You know, like, oh, I don't need this here. 00:04:07.359 --> 00:04:08.099 Let's just throw it back there. 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:09.859 And that may be how they do it. 00:04:10.900 --> 00:04:14.500 Sometimes there's a scientific test to determine if your clothes are clean enough to wear. 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:16.459 Yeah, that's good. 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:21.779 Maybe to you, but not to maybe everybody else around you. 00:04:23.399 --> 00:04:27.060 I was a youth pastor for almost eight years, and I learned at youth camp very quickly 00:04:27.060 --> 00:04:32.500 that a lot of the teenage boys thought that Axe body spray and cologne could replace a shower. 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:35.060 Not true. 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:38.079 You know, that was one of my, that was my number one rule at youth camp. 00:04:38.280 --> 00:04:39.500 You are taking a shower. 00:04:39.540 --> 00:04:41.240 That is on the docket. 00:04:41.620 --> 00:04:47.699 The simple idea is this, that everybody maybe has a different standard of what clean looks like 00:04:47.699 --> 00:04:49.840 and how to go about it. 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:55.500 And as we come to our text here in Luke chapter number 11, Jesus is kind of running head on 00:04:55.500 --> 00:04:59.979 into a group of men who thought that they had holiness all figured out. 00:05:00.519 --> 00:05:04.899 That they would look at themselves in the mirror and they would go into the market as we saw 00:05:04.899 --> 00:05:09.620 and they would be in the synagogue and everybody would look at them and say, man, they are clean. 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:14.739 I mean, they're the most spiritual, religious people that I have ever met. 00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:19.220 But yet when Jesus shows up, that's not what he sees. 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:23.620 That's not, that's not how he viewed these men. 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:28.000 But we saw there in verse number 37, he's there and he's with this crowd. 00:05:28.100 --> 00:05:28.720 He's been teaching. 00:05:28.840 --> 00:05:29.420 He's been preaching. 00:05:29.540 --> 00:05:30.920 He's doing all of these things. 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:36.300 And really kind of last week was reminding them, hey, you got to be careful of, of what is in your life. 00:05:36.379 --> 00:05:37.079 Is it light? 00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:38.259 Is it truth? 00:05:38.439 --> 00:05:41.540 Or have you kind of pushed the truth out with your own darkness? 00:05:41.540 --> 00:05:47.140 And so these Pharisees, they were always looking for an opportunity to kind of trap Jesus. 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:53.480 They wanted to get him in an environment kind of where they were kind of making the rules as they went. 00:05:54.020 --> 00:05:55.980 So this Pharisee, he invites him to lunch. 00:05:56.439 --> 00:05:58.920 He invites him to have a meal with him. 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:04.540 And Luke tells us that something shocking to them happens at the end of verse number 37. 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:09.180 It says, and he, talking about Jesus, went in and sat down to meet. 00:06:09.180 --> 00:06:11.780 We think, isn't that what he was supposed to do? 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:13.720 Wasn't he invited to have a meal? 00:06:14.180 --> 00:06:14.620 Absolutely. 00:06:15.879 --> 00:06:21.939 But we notice there in the next verse that Jesus did not wash his hands before dinner. 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:24.900 How many of your mama made you wash your hands before dinner? 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:29.699 You know, it's like, I mean, it's like mud all over the place. 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:32.840 And we look at him like, didn't Mary teach Jesus manners? 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:37.300 Didn't she say, didn't she remind him that you have to wash your, your hands before dinner? 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:39.360 Why did Jesus do this? 00:06:40.280 --> 00:06:44.259 Well, I think it's, it wasn't because he was against hygiene. 00:06:44.980 --> 00:06:47.100 It wasn't because he was careless. 00:06:47.960 --> 00:06:56.340 I think what we're going to see as we walk through this text is Jesus is refusing, refusing to play their religious performance game. 00:06:57.720 --> 00:06:59.639 That, that's really what's taking place here. 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:01.500 That's what he's doing. 00:07:01.500 --> 00:07:07.120 And, and, and, and verse number 38, it says, and when the Pharisees saw it, he marveled. 00:07:07.899 --> 00:07:11.279 This word carries the idea of just utter shock. 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:13.060 We've been somewhere like that. 00:07:13.100 --> 00:07:15.939 We see somebody do that and we think, can you do that? 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:19.980 And they're thinking to themselves, he's a rabbi and they don't agree with him. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:21.660 And he's from the wrong side of the tracks. 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:22.459 He's from Nazareth. 00:07:22.519 --> 00:07:27.300 He's not some elite, wealthy Pharisee like many of these would be. 00:07:27.300 --> 00:07:31.259 And they think to themselves, how can a rabbi do this? 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:40.060 How can a man that so, so-called loves the law and teaches others just completely disregard it himself? 00:07:41.460 --> 00:07:44.100 See, to us, we might kind of read over and think, okay, what's the big deal? 00:07:45.080 --> 00:07:51.580 But to these men and to this man that invited him to his house specifically, this wasn't a, a small slip in etiquette. 00:07:51.579 --> 00:07:55.939 This wasn't a small slip like, oh, I just forgot to wash my hands. 00:07:56.620 --> 00:08:05.500 No, really what's going on here, the reason he was shocked by it is that this was proof of something that they had all highly suspected. 00:08:05.819 --> 00:08:07.740 That Jesus wasn't serious about the law. 00:08:08.719 --> 00:08:12.019 That Jesus wasn't serious about holiness. 00:08:12.819 --> 00:08:15.579 Because that's what the Pharisees were all about. 00:08:15.579 --> 00:08:26.699 And Jesus is going to use this moment, he's going to use this interaction, this lack of hand washing to expose a truth that can still offend people today. 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:30.539 That God is after the inside. 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:34.100 That God wants your heart. 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:40.579 Because we are much like the Pharisees, you know, we can put a good facade on the outside. 00:08:40.580 --> 00:08:43.600 But Jesus says, hey, what's it look like on the inside? 00:08:44.660 --> 00:08:47.139 What's your life really like? 00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:55.160 And before we really jump into the meat of this text, so to speak, I want us to understand who these Pharisees were. 00:08:55.420 --> 00:08:57.480 We hear this group all the time. 00:08:58.440 --> 00:09:05.800 Many of the Pharisees were scribes, which would have been like a lawyer or an expert in the law of God. 00:09:06.660 --> 00:09:10.060 Like I'm going through the book of Leviticus right now, it's kind of in my daily Bible reading. 00:09:10.059 --> 00:09:14.399 Like, yeah, you know what I'm saying? 00:09:15.779 --> 00:09:18.199 And you're thinking, this is the most boring thing. 00:09:18.359 --> 00:09:19.459 And a lot of it doesn't apply to us. 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:20.899 I just want to say this to you, though. 00:09:21.059 --> 00:09:21.879 You know what it reminds us? 00:09:22.039 --> 00:09:23.519 That God is a God of detail. 00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:25.879 And he cares greatly about you. 00:09:25.939 --> 00:09:29.779 And he was giving that to a people that had just come out of slavery and Egyptian bondage. 00:09:29.959 --> 00:09:33.279 He was helping them live their life in just simple matters. 00:09:33.839 --> 00:09:36.379 But these men, they love that kind of stuff. 00:09:36.919 --> 00:09:38.839 I mean, they were all about the law. 00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:41.800 And I mean, if you mess up one of those things, because sometimes you read through Leviticus, 00:09:41.860 --> 00:09:43.820 you're like, man, I wouldn't have made it back then. 00:09:44.019 --> 00:09:45.139 I'd have been done for. 00:09:46.160 --> 00:09:47.700 And that's kind of where these men were. 00:09:48.259 --> 00:09:54.360 To say that they loved the Scripture, to say that they loved the law, the first five books of the Bible especially, 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:56.399 would have been a gross understatement. 00:09:57.139 --> 00:10:03.639 In fact, they revered God's law so deeply that they built extra rules around it. 00:10:03.639 --> 00:10:08.819 Jewish tradition would say this, that their tradition is a fence around the law. 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:13.419 I mean, because God, we saw in the book of Exodus chapter 20, that he gives the Ten Commandments. 00:10:14.059 --> 00:10:15.259 And those are to follow. 00:10:15.379 --> 00:10:19.059 And it kind of helps us in our relationships with other people. 00:10:19.139 --> 00:10:24.399 But it helps us in our relationship with God that those two things can help us live a better life. 00:10:25.399 --> 00:10:28.899 But you think to yourself, man, I have a hard enough time with the Ten Commandments. 00:10:28.899 --> 00:10:31.360 I don't need all these extra ones. 00:10:31.939 --> 00:10:36.019 And some scholars tell us there was up to over 600 laws. 00:10:36.860 --> 00:10:37.519 That's crazy. 00:10:38.139 --> 00:10:39.340 Why would they do that? 00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:44.259 Well, the idea initially was rooted out of a good place. 00:10:45.079 --> 00:10:50.720 They thought to themselves, if there's extra boundaries that we build around this, 00:10:50.899 --> 00:10:55.079 we're never going to come close to breaking God's commandments. 00:10:55.919 --> 00:10:56.759 That's a good thing. 00:10:56.759 --> 00:11:01.419 Listen, we're not out here just trying to live our life, just break all these commandments like it's no big deal. 00:11:01.620 --> 00:11:02.460 No, it is a big deal. 00:11:03.159 --> 00:11:05.139 And that was kind of their heart initially. 00:11:05.939 --> 00:11:10.639 But by the time we get to the first century, by the time Jesus is on the scene, 00:11:10.919 --> 00:11:14.080 it is kind of spiraled completely out of control. 00:11:15.419 --> 00:11:17.419 See, these Pharisees, they were disciplined. 00:11:17.939 --> 00:11:18.759 They were meticulous. 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:22.799 They were admired by all those around them. 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:27.939 And really, when you kind of really study their life and you study even Jewish history, 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:31.799 they drew a hard line between themselves and the common people. 00:11:33.099 --> 00:11:35.639 It's not that they didn't necessarily love them, so to speak. 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:38.099 They just wanted everybody to know, hey, we're better than you. 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:39.979 I mean, that's kind of their idea. 00:11:40.539 --> 00:11:42.759 Like, I know you're Jews, but we're better Jews. 00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:44.559 I mean, look how we dress. 00:11:45.179 --> 00:11:48.599 Look at all our fancy prayers that we pray in public in front of everybody. 00:11:49.099 --> 00:11:50.359 That's kind of where they were. 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:59.019 And really, when it came down to it, they were especially hard-nosed about tithing and possessions and money. 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:03.220 And outwardly, they were this picture of religious devotion. 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:10.440 But inwardly, we're going to see something had gone terribly wrong. 00:12:11.320 --> 00:12:12.720 And Jesus is going to address it. 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:16.980 Not because he's trying to call them on the carpet and make a fool of them. 00:12:17.139 --> 00:12:18.860 No, it's because he loves them. 00:12:18.860 --> 00:12:22.879 Because Jesus didn't come to prop up this religion. 00:12:23.700 --> 00:12:25.800 No, he came to give them a relationship. 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:27.779 He came to give them something real. 00:12:27.980 --> 00:12:34.180 Because all of those laws and all of those sacrifices and all of those feasts that they were so particular about doing, 00:12:34.419 --> 00:12:35.600 here's what they were pointing to. 00:12:35.820 --> 00:12:38.379 All the Old Testament is pointing to this, Jesus. 00:12:39.580 --> 00:12:41.300 And yet, he's standing there. 00:12:41.720 --> 00:12:42.899 He's speaking to them. 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:43.940 He's loving them. 00:12:44.139 --> 00:12:44.960 He's doing miracles. 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:46.860 And they're completely missing it. 00:12:46.860 --> 00:12:51.379 As we walk through our text here this morning, we're going to see this truth. 00:12:52.340 --> 00:12:57.519 That the Pharisees believed holiness worked from the outside in. 00:12:58.620 --> 00:13:05.460 But Jesus teaches them, as he teaches us, that holiness begins from the inside out. 00:13:05.460 --> 00:13:10.379 See, they worked so hard to make sure the outside looked great. 00:13:11.300 --> 00:13:18.639 But Jesus wants them to know, and he wants us to know, that real life change, real transformation starts in our heart. 00:13:19.300 --> 00:13:22.480 That that's where it begins, and that's where it must begin. 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:27.560 And just like Jesus does over and over, he doesn't leave it as theory. 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:30.139 He immediately illustrates it. 00:13:30.820 --> 00:13:33.539 He shows us things and things they would have understood. 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:36.480 In verse number 39, he looks around the table, and guess what? 00:13:36.500 --> 00:13:37.139 He sees a cup. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:38.820 He sees a platter. 00:13:39.180 --> 00:13:40.300 Everybody understood that. 00:13:40.299 --> 00:13:49.179 And what he shows them in this conversation is he's going to lay out five dangers of outside in religion. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:55.159 He's there, and they've gathered around, and they're just baffled he didn't wash his hands. 00:13:56.719 --> 00:14:00.240 He said, listen, I want to show you kind of where you're missing the point. 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:09.799 So the first danger that we see about outside in religion is this, is that it cleans the outside, but neglects the heart. 00:14:10.680 --> 00:14:13.299 It cleans the outside, but neglects the heart. 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:15.139 That's what we see in verse number 39. 00:14:15.139 --> 00:14:20.159 And the Lord said unto him, now do you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter, 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:24.340 but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness? 00:14:24.340 --> 00:14:32.379 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? 00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:39.220 So he sets down to dinner with these men, and no doubt there would have been a crowd gathered. 00:14:40.040 --> 00:14:43.480 Because we're going to see in a minute, the Pharisees loved the attention. 00:14:44.340 --> 00:14:46.500 They wanted everybody to see how fancy they were. 00:14:46.560 --> 00:14:50.800 They wanted everybody to see how big a spread they had for just a light meal, 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:54.839 and how fancy their house was, and all of these different things. 00:14:55.559 --> 00:14:58.000 And I want us to kind of picture sitting at this table. 00:14:59.079 --> 00:15:04.459 Their hands are probably still damp from the ritual washing, the washing of the hands. 00:15:04.459 --> 00:15:08.899 They outwardly, as they sat there and all the people looked around, I mean, they looked spotless. 00:15:09.979 --> 00:15:13.319 These were religiously impressive people. 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:17.219 And Jesus said, wow, you're so impressive. 00:15:17.220 --> 00:15:21.300 That is not what Jesus said. 00:15:22.820 --> 00:15:25.840 Sometimes I think people, like if Jesus were here, he'd be so popular. 00:15:26.139 --> 00:15:29.399 I don't think Jesus was as popular as we even think he was in his day. 00:15:30.500 --> 00:15:32.580 Because he told the truth, and guess what? 00:15:32.940 --> 00:15:36.560 From the beginning of time, we haven't really cared for the truth that much. 00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:38.300 Because the truth exposes. 00:15:38.440 --> 00:15:40.360 That's what Jesus talked about last week with light. 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:49.360 No, in fact, what he said, he said, hey guys, your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. 00:15:51.480 --> 00:15:53.539 Inside, they were decaying. 00:15:53.740 --> 00:16:00.960 We don't use that word very often, but ravening has this idea of grabbing and devouring and taking whatever they wanted. 00:16:02.019 --> 00:16:04.340 See, when they would walk through the markets and they would be in the synagogue, 00:16:04.539 --> 00:16:08.460 everybody would be like, man, they're so pious and they're so spiritual. 00:16:08.460 --> 00:16:11.200 Jesus said, that's not what you are on the inside. 00:16:12.460 --> 00:16:13.620 You're a hypocrite. 00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:16.340 A hypocrite is just somebody that plays two parts. 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:19.100 And that's why he keeps calling them out over and over again. 00:16:19.340 --> 00:16:24.620 Because the idea is they wanted everybody to think they were generous and everybody to think they were holy. 00:16:24.920 --> 00:16:27.940 But Jesus says, listen, greed is what's ruling your heart. 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:30.620 Greed is what's on the inside. 00:16:30.920 --> 00:16:36.400 They talked a big religious game, but they didn't really live it out. 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:40.120 They taught everybody about how they should love God. 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:48.000 And Jesus shows up at this dinner and says, listen, you may look like you love God on the outside, but that's not what's on the inside. 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:49.899 And they didn't like this. 00:16:50.539 --> 00:16:51.379 Who is this guy? 00:16:51.500 --> 00:16:53.299 How does he know who we are inside? 00:16:53.799 --> 00:16:55.360 Well, he's God. 00:16:56.179 --> 00:16:57.480 And that's what he does. 00:16:57.959 --> 00:16:59.279 That's what he's interested in. 00:16:59.500 --> 00:17:03.819 Listen, we can fool everybody around us, but we can't fool God. 00:17:03.820 --> 00:17:06.160 That he knows what's on the inside. 00:17:06.519 --> 00:17:07.559 He knows our hearts. 00:17:07.820 --> 00:17:08.680 And here's the beautiful thing. 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:09.980 He still loves you. 00:17:11.140 --> 00:17:12.600 But he also tells us the truth. 00:17:12.700 --> 00:17:14.799 Listen, that shouldn't be in there sometimes. 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:19.059 See, these men, they didn't desire God. 00:17:20.299 --> 00:17:21.660 Maybe that's what they did for their job. 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:26.700 But really what they desired, and you can see it throughout the Gospels, they wanted power. 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:28.759 They wanted that prestige. 00:17:29.379 --> 00:17:31.940 They wanted that influence in Israel. 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:34.140 They wanted to accumulate that wealth. 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:36.859 And when Jesus showed up, guess what they started losing? 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:39.839 Prestige and power and influence. 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:42.379 Because they were on the rigidity of the law. 00:17:42.539 --> 00:17:44.279 And you have to do this and this and this. 00:17:44.379 --> 00:17:45.940 Because that's the only way that God loves you. 00:17:46.140 --> 00:17:50.319 And yet Jesus shows up and says, come unto me, all you that labor and heavy laden. 00:17:50.599 --> 00:17:52.900 Come unto me, all you that are struggling. 00:17:52.900 --> 00:17:55.839 And he was preaching the Gospel. 00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:57.440 That's not what they were looking for. 00:17:58.759 --> 00:18:04.900 See, these men were certain when the Messiah showed up, he'd pat them on the back and say, hey everybody, be like him. 00:18:06.140 --> 00:18:08.579 And Jesus said, hey everybody, follow me. 00:18:09.420 --> 00:18:10.779 This is what it looks like. 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:13.819 Simply put, they weren't living for God. 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:19.119 These were men that were living for themselves and nobody knew it. 00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:19.440 Why? 00:18:20.339 --> 00:18:24.019 Because their religious performance, it hid their corrupt desires. 00:18:24.019 --> 00:18:28.799 Now, when you come to the end of the Gospels, you see it all eking out, don't you? 00:18:29.539 --> 00:18:33.819 These men that were in charge of all the religion, they said, Liz, let's kill this man. 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:36.960 That didn't just happen overnight, by the way. 00:18:37.579 --> 00:18:38.720 That was already in there. 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:40.920 That was already what they were feeding. 00:18:41.900 --> 00:18:46.279 See, even though they had freshly washed hands and they followed all the ceremonial laws, 00:18:46.279 --> 00:18:49.119 their hearts contradicted all of that. 00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:54.039 And just like Isaiah said and Jesus repeated to them in the book of Matthew, 00:18:54.500 --> 00:18:58.539 this people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth and honoreth me with their lips, 00:18:58.700 --> 00:19:02.500 but their heart is far from me. 00:19:02.500 --> 00:19:08.720 And we think, man, these guys, they need to get it together. 00:19:09.460 --> 00:19:11.059 How dare they do that? 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:17.480 But let me just remind you that this mindset still exists today. 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:20.039 Because here's the reality. 00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:25.400 It's a lot easier to make the outside look good than what's on the inside. 00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:31.019 Because we're just, all we can see about each other is the outside. 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:37.860 Sometimes, just bringing it where we live, we think holiness is about church attendance. 00:19:39.740 --> 00:19:40.519 That's not. 00:19:41.940 --> 00:19:43.259 Don't misinterpret that. 00:19:43.580 --> 00:19:44.540 I'll see you next Sunday. 00:19:45.980 --> 00:19:48.400 Preacher said, preacher said it's not about church attendance. 00:19:51.420 --> 00:19:53.200 It's not about a religious routine. 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:56.539 It's not about a generous appearance. 00:19:57.360 --> 00:19:59.640 It's not about a spiritual vocabulary. 00:20:00.100 --> 00:20:01.700 Listen, we can say all the right things. 00:20:02.200 --> 00:20:03.180 We can say all the things. 00:20:03.259 --> 00:20:04.100 We can know all the words. 00:20:04.180 --> 00:20:05.860 We can say all the Christian lingo. 00:20:06.140 --> 00:20:09.259 Listen, it's not about keeping things looking clean. 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:13.460 Because you can do all of those things. 00:20:14.779 --> 00:20:20.299 And still be ruled by pride and greed and bitterness and control. 00:20:20.299 --> 00:20:23.160 You can look all clean and nice on the outside. 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:27.299 But be corrupt and ravening and full of wickedness on the inside. 00:20:29.299 --> 00:20:30.160 I get it. 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:32.259 This is not popular preaching this day. 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:34.519 But it's so true. 00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:37.779 I'm thankful that God loves us enough. 00:20:38.580 --> 00:20:40.420 That he wants our heart that much. 00:20:40.620 --> 00:20:43.279 That he knows that we're prone to this. 00:20:43.840 --> 00:20:45.660 And yet he still comes after. 00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:47.960 Listen, he's there with this man. 00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:50.059 And he wants him to get a hold of this truth. 00:20:50.500 --> 00:20:52.779 He wants him to understand how much he loves him. 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:54.519 But here's the beautiful thing. 00:20:55.059 --> 00:20:57.480 Jesus doesn't just expose the disease. 00:20:57.759 --> 00:20:58.940 He exposed the problem. 00:20:59.180 --> 00:21:00.279 He points to the cure. 00:21:01.299 --> 00:21:03.180 Jesus doesn't say, hey, you're out of luck, man. 00:21:03.480 --> 00:21:04.640 No, he reminds us. 00:21:05.460 --> 00:21:08.019 Yeah, the outside might be clean. 00:21:08.460 --> 00:21:10.500 But I can help you on the inside. 00:21:11.240 --> 00:21:14.080 And what he shows us is how the inside actually becomes clean. 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:17.319 Because outside in religion, here's what it does. 00:21:17.679 --> 00:21:21.279 It promotes performance, not heart change. 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:25.460 That's the issue that these men have. 00:21:26.299 --> 00:21:27.500 Look at verse number 41. 00:21:27.500 --> 00:21:32.579 But rather, give alms of such things as you have. 00:21:32.579 --> 00:21:36.460 And behold, all things are clean unto you. 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:39.559 In other words, Jesus is saying this. 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:40.819 Get rid of the greed. 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:42.299 Repent of the wickedness. 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:45.039 Let God cleanse your heart. 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:49.819 And when the inside changes, the outside is going to change as well. 00:21:50.539 --> 00:21:51.960 That's what he wanted them to see. 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:53.299 Listen, don't misunderstand. 00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:56.720 Jesus wasn't calling them to wash their hands harder. 00:21:57.419 --> 00:22:01.399 He was calling them to surrender their hearts. 00:22:02.899 --> 00:22:04.220 See, it was a lot easier. 00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:06.500 Their religion was a lot easier to follow. 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:08.220 Because all you had to do was just check a box. 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:09.899 Hey, go to synagogue. 00:22:10.539 --> 00:22:10.940 Tithe. 00:22:11.659 --> 00:22:13.099 Act like you're being nice to people. 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:15.680 And they just checked it off. 00:22:15.859 --> 00:22:16.180 You know what? 00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:16.700 Then they're good. 00:22:16.700 --> 00:22:22.240 But when Jesus showed up on the scene, he didn't destroy the law. 00:22:22.700 --> 00:22:23.799 He fulfilled it. 00:22:23.940 --> 00:22:26.880 And honestly, he actually raised the bar. 00:22:27.940 --> 00:22:30.200 You read the Sermon on the Mount, that's exactly what he's doing. 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:31.460 Because he says things like this. 00:22:31.779 --> 00:22:32.940 You've heard it said. 00:22:33.620 --> 00:22:34.940 He's talking to the commoners. 00:22:35.180 --> 00:22:36.259 You know where they heard it said? 00:22:36.859 --> 00:22:37.759 The Pharisees. 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:40.819 Because the Pharisees said, hey, as long as you don't kill anybody. 00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:43.720 Jesus said, you've heard it said you shouldn't kill somebody. 00:22:43.720 --> 00:22:47.079 But I say unto you, if you have hate in your heart for your brother, you've already killed him. 00:22:47.079 --> 00:22:50.019 See, Jesus wasn't destroying the law. 00:22:50.299 --> 00:22:52.460 He was making it even more difficult. 00:22:52.579 --> 00:22:54.319 Because the Pharisee was never the bar. 00:22:54.399 --> 00:22:54.939 Here's the bar. 00:22:55.240 --> 00:22:55.859 Jesus Christ. 00:22:57.839 --> 00:23:01.279 And we're never going to get to Christ by what we do. 00:23:01.539 --> 00:23:02.779 It's not about a performance. 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:04.919 It's about a heart change. 00:23:06.139 --> 00:23:12.819 See, real holiness, spiritual cleanliness always flows from the heart. 00:23:12.819 --> 00:23:15.299 But that's what Jesus is teaching. 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:17.759 He isn't saying, don't misunderstand what he's saying. 00:23:17.980 --> 00:23:21.299 He's not saying, hey, if you just start giving to a bunch of people, you give alms. 00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:22.740 Because they love to give their tithes. 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:23.679 They love to give their offerings. 00:23:23.919 --> 00:23:26.579 He's not saying if you do that, you're going to earn cleanliness. 00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:28.319 You're going to earn holiness. 00:23:29.639 --> 00:23:31.679 No, here's what he's teaching in verse 41. 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:35.119 That generosity, it exposes true repentance. 00:23:36.379 --> 00:23:38.899 If God has really changed the inside. 00:23:38.900 --> 00:23:44.100 If God really has a hold of your heart, it's going to be exposed in a good way. 00:23:44.820 --> 00:23:45.900 It's going to come out. 00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:48.780 Because if you love God, guess what you should also love? 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:49.920 People. 00:23:52.759 --> 00:23:54.580 These Pharisees didn't love either one of them. 00:23:54.900 --> 00:23:55.560 Who did they love? 00:23:56.060 --> 00:23:56.420 Them. 00:23:57.500 --> 00:23:58.780 That was their issue. 00:24:00.140 --> 00:24:04.860 See, when God breaks the grip of selfishness and greed and wickedness on the inside, 00:24:05.160 --> 00:24:07.140 listen, it should change the outside. 00:24:07.140 --> 00:24:10.320 Listen, think about before you knew the Lord as your Savior. 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:12.500 And I hope everybody here knows Christ as your Savior. 00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:15.000 He came so we could have a real life. 00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:18.840 A life that's worth living of joy and peace and purpose. 00:24:19.540 --> 00:24:20.540 That's why he died on the cross. 00:24:20.600 --> 00:24:22.100 Because we have a sin debt we couldn't pay. 00:24:22.860 --> 00:24:24.280 And he paid that debt. 00:24:24.540 --> 00:24:26.340 He willingly laid down his life. 00:24:26.600 --> 00:24:30.820 And when you get a hold of that truth that you were dead and your trespasses and your sins, 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:32.540 and Jesus gave you a brand new life, 00:24:32.660 --> 00:24:34.640 you shouldn't be mad about that. 00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:37.500 Well, Jesus changed me. 00:24:40.080 --> 00:24:41.180 Well, I don't want to be your friend. 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:45.840 Listen, the idea is, you know, we sing that song in children's church, 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:47.680 I got the joy, joy, joy, where? 00:24:47.940 --> 00:24:48.880 Down in my heart. 00:24:49.040 --> 00:24:52.060 You go back there, the kids singing, they're jumping all around, jumping up and down. 00:24:52.259 --> 00:24:53.320 You think, I can't believe that. 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:56.259 Listen, I hope you're still excited that Jesus changed your life. 00:24:56.259 --> 00:25:01.920 Because I would imagine many of you, like myself, like, well, I'm a good person, and I go to church. 00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:04.240 My mom and dad made me go to church, but at least I'm a good person. 00:25:05.879 --> 00:25:09.039 And Jesus said, hey, hey, hey, it's not about what you're doing. 00:25:10.180 --> 00:25:11.940 That's not going to get you where you want to go. 00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:15.039 Why don't you give me your heart and let me take you somewhere? 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:17.799 Why don't you surrender it and lay it down? 00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:24.079 And before we move on, I just want to make sure we understand that salvation does not begin with cleaning yourself up. 00:25:24.079 --> 00:25:26.199 That's not what Jesus is saying. 00:25:26.379 --> 00:25:28.359 He said, you start doing things, and then you're going to get better. 00:25:28.599 --> 00:25:31.259 No, he says it starts with your heart. 00:25:31.579 --> 00:25:35.179 And when God does that, he's saying, I didn't come to prop up your religion. 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:37.619 He came to give a relationship. 00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:43.460 Because when he has your heart, everything changes, not just the outside, the inside. 00:25:45.679 --> 00:25:51.799 But even after salvation, I think we can focus more on religion than relationship. 00:25:51.799 --> 00:25:55.759 Listen, you can know the Lord is your Savior. 00:25:56.279 --> 00:26:02.799 You can trust him with your eternity, but it's easy to slip back into checking boxes. 00:26:03.720 --> 00:26:06.240 Because it's just kind of how we operate in our life. 00:26:07.079 --> 00:26:15.200 And Jesus shows us how that played out in their lives, not by what they ignored, but by what they emphasized wrongly. 00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:18.200 That's what we see here in verse number 42. 00:26:18.539 --> 00:26:26.019 That inside out, outside in religion, it majors on minor things and misses what actually matters the most. 00:26:26.860 --> 00:26:27.860 Look at verse number 42. 00:26:27.859 --> 00:26:39.459 But woe unto you Pharisees, for you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs and Passover judgment and the love of God. 00:26:40.099 --> 00:26:45.419 These ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone. 00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:49.859 This is not going to be a message on giving, but he's not saying stop giving. 00:26:51.959 --> 00:26:54.000 I knew that would go over real well. 00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:56.680 That's not what he's saying. 00:26:57.640 --> 00:26:59.480 He's saying you can do both. 00:27:00.180 --> 00:27:02.220 And you should do both because it's not about the outside. 00:27:02.299 --> 00:27:03.640 It's about what God is doing in your heart. 00:27:04.099 --> 00:27:05.819 And how God is working in your life. 00:27:06.099 --> 00:27:09.319 And he's reminding them, hey listen, you're faithful givers. 00:27:10.019 --> 00:27:14.740 And to say they're faithful givers, man, that's getting, they were beyond that. 00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:17.700 You know, they weren't just bringing 10% of their income. 00:27:18.380 --> 00:27:20.220 Every time they would go tithe, you know what they would do? 00:27:20.220 --> 00:27:24.420 They would go in their garden and they would get all their herbs and they would tithe 10% of all their herbs. 00:27:24.680 --> 00:27:28.100 Don't bring your cinnamon and spice and put it in the offering plate. 00:27:29.140 --> 00:27:31.140 We don't, you know, we don't need that. 00:27:31.980 --> 00:27:33.059 But that's what they would do. 00:27:33.819 --> 00:27:37.299 They weren't going to just go 10% of their actual money. 00:27:37.620 --> 00:27:39.279 They're going to go 10% of everything they had. 00:27:39.559 --> 00:27:41.900 And they're measuring out leaf by leaf. 00:27:42.120 --> 00:27:45.400 Well, I got 10 mint leaves, so I'm going to give one to the synagogue. 00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:48.600 I mean, that's the level that they were on. 00:27:48.599 --> 00:27:52.539 And Jesus says, listen, listen, you're great givers. 00:27:53.099 --> 00:27:54.399 You do a lot of things. 00:27:54.719 --> 00:28:01.679 You can measure all these percentages of your herbs, but you won't lift a finger to help somebody that has a burden in their life. 00:28:03.199 --> 00:28:05.279 What are you missing right there? 00:28:06.379 --> 00:28:09.980 Like, you see somebody in need and you're just going to run right past them. 00:28:10.939 --> 00:28:12.719 Listen, they knew what to do. 00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:15.459 They knew what God expected of them. 00:28:16.019 --> 00:28:17.259 They knew the Old Testament. 00:28:17.259 --> 00:28:18.960 We've already made that clear. 00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:20.480 The prophet Micah said this. 00:28:20.779 --> 00:28:23.099 He has showed thee, O man, what is good. 00:28:23.859 --> 00:28:32.640 And what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God. 00:28:33.420 --> 00:28:34.779 I don't think they're doing that. 00:28:35.640 --> 00:28:37.220 They wanted to uphold all the law. 00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:39.819 But Jesus said, listen, I think that's what you need to do. 00:28:39.819 --> 00:28:43.480 John the apostle tells us in 1 John 3, 17, 00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:52.700 But whoso hath this world's good and seeth his brother have a need and shuteth up his bowels of compassion for him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 00:28:53.740 --> 00:28:56.940 Listen, we may not be able to meet every need that we see. 00:28:57.579 --> 00:29:03.900 But the idea is this, that when we love God and we're following God, sometimes God lays a burden right in our path. 00:29:03.900 --> 00:29:05.960 He lays a person on our heart. 00:29:06.280 --> 00:29:11.420 And sometimes it's a simple thing of going to lunch with him, shooting a text, being kind, praying for him. 00:29:11.519 --> 00:29:13.820 And we think, well, I don't need to do that right now. 00:29:14.340 --> 00:29:15.900 But we look all real good on the outside. 00:29:16.620 --> 00:29:17.580 We love God. 00:29:18.120 --> 00:29:20.680 And yet God is saying, hey, they need somebody to love them. 00:29:21.220 --> 00:29:23.680 Why don't you tell them how much I love them? 00:29:23.840 --> 00:29:25.640 And the application is simple. 00:29:25.640 --> 00:29:30.580 It's possible to give faithfully and love shallowly. 00:29:31.620 --> 00:29:32.880 That's what Jesus is saying. 00:29:34.080 --> 00:29:39.160 He said, listen, you do a great job of tithing, but what about the love of God? 00:29:40.200 --> 00:29:41.840 You kind of miss that part. 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:43.800 That's what he's calling them out for. 00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:52.380 It's possible to support the ministry of the church and to support worldwide missions and completely ignore people. 00:29:53.740 --> 00:29:54.700 That's what they did. 00:29:55.640 --> 00:29:58.480 And listen, this is a hard thing to hear. 00:29:59.280 --> 00:30:07.100 But it's possible we can fall into this same idea of them, that we can do all the right activity with the completely wrong heart. 00:30:10.040 --> 00:30:15.480 And if you trace the problem back far enough, you're going to discover something deeper than neglect. 00:30:16.380 --> 00:30:17.560 You're going to find motive. 00:30:18.560 --> 00:30:22.160 Because the truth is this, when compassion disappears in our life, 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:25.520 pride is usually hiding somewhere nearby. 00:30:25.640 --> 00:30:27.700 And that's where they were. 00:30:28.280 --> 00:30:34.540 And what Jesus does here is he kind of pulls the curtain back on what was really driving their religion. 00:30:35.580 --> 00:30:40.900 An outside-in religion loves praise more than it loves God. 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:42.800 That's where they were. 00:30:42.860 --> 00:30:43.700 Look at verse number 43. 00:30:43.700 --> 00:30:53.000 Woe unto you Pharisees, for ye love the uppermost seats in synagogues and greetings in the marketplace. 00:30:54.259 --> 00:31:00.000 As we've seen even already in this text, when it came to the Pharisees and the religious elite, 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:03.299 Jesus didn't mince words. 00:31:04.599 --> 00:31:08.299 I would imagine, I don't know how long this conversation took, 00:31:08.799 --> 00:31:13.680 but maybe those kind of freshly washed hands are sweating now. 00:31:14.500 --> 00:31:17.220 You ever been in a situation like that where you just kind of feel like it going downhand, 00:31:17.259 --> 00:31:20.059 and you're like, man, I need this dinner to end like right now. 00:31:20.259 --> 00:31:21.460 I don't want to be here. 00:31:22.380 --> 00:31:24.840 That's kind of where they are right now. 00:31:25.740 --> 00:31:28.680 And we look at this verse, and we kind of think, what does that mean? 00:31:30.420 --> 00:31:33.940 Well, in this day and in the synagogue there in Israel, 00:31:34.500 --> 00:31:38.039 the most important seats, we know this wasn't a Baptist church, 00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:41.079 the most important seats were in the front. 00:31:43.019 --> 00:31:44.839 And we're not talking like this front. 00:31:45.700 --> 00:31:48.119 We're talking these seats were up on the stage. 00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:51.259 Listen, some of y'all would die. 00:31:53.200 --> 00:31:56.000 If we were so full one day and you came in a little bit late, 00:31:56.139 --> 00:31:57.599 and the only seats were up here, you'd be like, 00:31:57.819 --> 00:31:59.619 God doesn't want me to be in church today. 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:02.740 I mean, that's what it is. 00:32:03.379 --> 00:32:04.799 That's just how it goes. 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:06.859 But not the Pharisees. 00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:12.000 Man, they got to church early so they could sit in these seats. 00:32:12.779 --> 00:32:14.680 They loved to be seen. 00:32:15.319 --> 00:32:18.680 They loved looking spiritual while the Scripture was read. 00:32:18.919 --> 00:32:21.680 They loved appearing holy during worship. 00:32:22.019 --> 00:32:25.159 They loved long, elaborate greetings in public. 00:32:26.019 --> 00:32:27.299 That's what they were about. 00:32:28.099 --> 00:32:30.440 They loved, and you see it all throughout the Gospels, 00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:33.039 they loved the praise of men. 00:32:33.039 --> 00:32:36.519 They weren't really pointing people to praise God. 00:32:36.839 --> 00:32:39.420 What they were really doing in all of their things, 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:41.440 people would look at them and say, wow. 00:32:44.099 --> 00:32:46.960 They'd walk by in the market, and people would think, man, 00:32:47.180 --> 00:32:49.139 I could never be that holy. 00:32:50.099 --> 00:32:52.819 I could never be that good of a Christian. 00:32:53.839 --> 00:32:55.920 I mean, my life is a disaster. 00:32:56.740 --> 00:32:58.019 I mean, they got it all together. 00:32:58.019 --> 00:33:00.839 They don't ever do any wrong. 00:33:03.440 --> 00:33:05.859 But sometimes our perception is not always reality. 00:33:07.759 --> 00:33:10.460 Because plain and simple, their religion had become a performance. 00:33:11.559 --> 00:33:17.759 And the tragedy is that their pride left no room for the very God they claimed to serve. 00:33:19.160 --> 00:33:20.579 You can have all these things. 00:33:20.599 --> 00:33:22.019 You can do all the stuff in the church. 00:33:22.079 --> 00:33:22.839 But here's the question. 00:33:23.079 --> 00:33:23.859 Where's your heart? 00:33:23.859 --> 00:33:27.339 Why are you doing it? 00:33:28.019 --> 00:33:31.879 Because if we aren't careful, we can fall into the trap of serving to be seen, 00:33:32.619 --> 00:33:35.979 giving to be admired, living for the applause of others. 00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:39.539 Listen, I just want to remind us, it's not about us. 00:33:40.619 --> 00:33:41.619 It's all about Him. 00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:45.759 Remember what John the Baptist said in John 3, verse 30? 00:33:45.759 --> 00:33:48.619 He must increase. 00:33:49.640 --> 00:33:50.960 But I must decrease. 00:33:51.940 --> 00:33:53.980 That's the heart that God calls us to have. 00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:56.240 The Pharisees, they flop that around. 00:33:56.400 --> 00:33:57.279 I need to increase. 00:33:57.359 --> 00:33:58.400 We've got to get rid of this guy. 00:33:58.940 --> 00:33:59.980 And we're going to see that next week. 00:34:01.160 --> 00:34:04.700 They're trying to find a place to trap Him in His words so they can get rid of Him. 00:34:08.119 --> 00:34:09.179 We're not the master. 00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:11.139 Jesus is the master. 00:34:11.960 --> 00:34:12.840 He's in control. 00:34:13.179 --> 00:34:13.820 He's the Lord. 00:34:13.820 --> 00:34:16.220 We are just servants. 00:34:17.539 --> 00:34:22.100 If you go through almost every letter in the New Testament, it will start something like this. 00:34:22.600 --> 00:34:25.500 Paul, a servant of God. 00:34:26.019 --> 00:34:27.860 Peter, a servant of God. 00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:30.440 John, a servant of God. 00:34:31.200 --> 00:34:33.019 That's how they viewed themselves. 00:34:33.160 --> 00:34:33.340 Why? 00:34:33.539 --> 00:34:35.400 Because Jesus was their master. 00:34:35.740 --> 00:34:41.160 And we need to look at our own life and have a servant's heart and a servant's mentality that we don't give to be seen. 00:34:41.159 --> 00:34:50.460 We give because God has blessed us and we want others to have the opportunity to hear the gospel in Spain and across the street and wherever God allows this church to have an influence. 00:34:52.119 --> 00:34:53.819 How do you know if you're a servant? 00:34:54.379 --> 00:34:55.639 If you have a servant's heart? 00:34:55.639 --> 00:34:58.819 How do you act when you're treated like one? 00:35:00.719 --> 00:35:01.679 That's a good thought. 00:35:02.619 --> 00:35:04.219 And Jesus is kind of meeting them where they are. 00:35:05.400 --> 00:35:10.879 And the sad thing is that pride was the engine of their religion. 00:35:10.880 --> 00:35:17.660 And when pride becomes the engine of why you're doing what you're doing, here's the bad news. 00:35:17.960 --> 00:35:19.160 It doesn't stay contained. 00:35:20.200 --> 00:35:22.820 It doesn't stay in just your life. 00:35:24.119 --> 00:35:28.940 Jesus kind of ends this confrontation with one of his strongest images yet. 00:35:29.059 --> 00:35:35.619 And he gives us this final warning that outside in religion, it spreads corruption quietly. 00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:37.740 Look at verse number 44 and we'll be done. 00:35:37.739 --> 00:35:42.179 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 00:35:43.319 --> 00:35:50.079 For ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. 00:35:51.259 --> 00:35:52.919 What is Jesus saying here? 00:35:54.639 --> 00:35:55.539 He's saying this. 00:35:55.759 --> 00:35:58.879 An unmarked grave is dangerous because you don't avoid it. 00:35:59.519 --> 00:36:03.099 And you end up stepping on it without knowing it. 00:36:03.819 --> 00:36:06.139 And to us that may not be a huge deal. 00:36:06.139 --> 00:36:11.500 I know that when I visited a cemetery before, my parents would be like, don't run on the graves. 00:36:11.559 --> 00:36:12.000 Don't do this. 00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:15.359 You know, we have kind of some protocol when it comes to that. 00:36:15.839 --> 00:36:19.420 But just a little bit of background, and we won't labor the point a lot. 00:36:19.679 --> 00:36:28.719 But Jewish law, back in Leviticus and all these other things, touching a grave of a person made somebody ceremonially unclean. 00:36:28.719 --> 00:36:30.959 And for them that was a big deal. 00:36:31.459 --> 00:36:36.199 It wasn't a long process, but there was a, when they became ceremonially unclean, they had to go through all of these steps. 00:36:36.259 --> 00:36:37.980 That's what Leviticus is telling us. 00:36:38.039 --> 00:36:40.179 And the law, they would tell them all these things. 00:36:41.219 --> 00:36:46.379 And the idea is they wouldn't be able to go to the synagogue, and they wouldn't be able to go to be a part of the tabernacle in the Old Testament. 00:36:46.659 --> 00:36:50.139 They had to set aside for a while, and it would affect their life. 00:36:50.139 --> 00:36:54.599 And that's why graves were normally marked clearly. 00:36:55.119 --> 00:36:56.319 So people could avoid them. 00:36:56.379 --> 00:36:57.239 They wouldn't step on them. 00:36:57.299 --> 00:36:59.279 They wouldn't break the ceremonial law. 00:37:00.019 --> 00:37:06.179 But an unmarked grave was dangerous because you didn't know it was there until it had already happened. 00:37:06.639 --> 00:37:07.579 Until you already sat on it. 00:37:07.779 --> 00:37:09.639 And then you've got to go through this whole process. 00:37:10.980 --> 00:37:12.819 So I hope you kind of see what he's saying. 00:37:13.539 --> 00:37:14.500 He's saying this. 00:37:15.139 --> 00:37:18.339 You Pharisees are not just hurting yourselves. 00:37:18.340 --> 00:37:21.300 You're damaging people all around you. 00:37:22.019 --> 00:37:26.579 It's not just confined to your heart and to your inside. 00:37:26.860 --> 00:37:29.460 No, their outward religion looks safe. 00:37:30.340 --> 00:37:31.579 Everybody look around and say, wow. 00:37:32.539 --> 00:37:34.340 Man, I wish I could pray like that. 00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:36.059 I mean, hear how long he prays? 00:37:36.059 --> 00:37:38.340 He says all these names, and I've never even heard them before. 00:37:38.600 --> 00:37:40.500 And he says these and thousands and all these things. 00:37:40.519 --> 00:37:41.680 He's so spiritual. 00:37:44.300 --> 00:37:46.260 But the inside was full of decay. 00:37:46.260 --> 00:37:50.400 In another place, Jesus says, listen, you're like whitewashed sepulchers. 00:37:50.720 --> 00:37:52.200 You look really good on the outside. 00:37:52.440 --> 00:37:53.460 You see all these tombs. 00:37:53.540 --> 00:37:56.000 I love watching the History Channel and the Egyptian mummies. 00:37:56.220 --> 00:37:57.860 Man, they look so beautiful on the outside. 00:37:58.260 --> 00:37:59.400 Overlaid in pure gold. 00:37:59.960 --> 00:38:00.700 Guess what's inside? 00:38:01.520 --> 00:38:02.240 Dead people. 00:38:03.940 --> 00:38:04.900 He said that's what you are. 00:38:05.540 --> 00:38:06.500 That's what a Pharisee is. 00:38:06.500 --> 00:38:12.760 And when people followed the Pharisees and they admired them and they learned from them, here's what happened. 00:38:13.099 --> 00:38:14.780 That decay spread. 00:38:16.380 --> 00:38:19.000 Hypocrisy always multiplies. 00:38:19.880 --> 00:38:20.960 It doesn't stay private. 00:38:20.960 --> 00:38:25.000 And to kind of bring it where we are. 00:38:25.380 --> 00:38:26.880 When the heart isn't changed. 00:38:28.000 --> 00:38:30.720 When God is speaking to you and all we're worried about is the outside. 00:38:30.820 --> 00:38:31.539 You know what's going to suffer? 00:38:32.059 --> 00:38:32.599 Your home. 00:38:33.599 --> 00:38:34.400 Your family. 00:38:35.760 --> 00:38:36.639 This church. 00:38:37.720 --> 00:38:38.539 Your faith. 00:38:38.960 --> 00:38:39.940 It's going to grow shallow. 00:38:39.940 --> 00:38:43.860 This type of hypocrisy. 00:38:44.039 --> 00:38:46.440 It leaks into our families and our conversations and our churches. 00:38:46.840 --> 00:38:49.639 And people can get hurt by what looked safe. 00:38:50.860 --> 00:38:52.559 Jesus said we've got to avoid that. 00:38:53.320 --> 00:38:53.820 We don't want to have. 00:38:54.019 --> 00:38:56.440 Jesus is not calling us to an outside in religion. 00:38:56.720 --> 00:38:59.420 And when you step back and you look at all of these warnings. 00:39:00.240 --> 00:39:02.440 This one truth kind of rises to the surface. 00:39:02.720 --> 00:39:05.720 That outside in religion it produces hypocrisy. 00:39:06.519 --> 00:39:08.400 But this inside out religion. 00:39:08.400 --> 00:39:11.079 This transformation that Jesus wants to do in our life. 00:39:11.320 --> 00:39:12.300 Here's what it's going to produce. 00:39:12.760 --> 00:39:13.780 Holiness in your life. 00:39:14.420 --> 00:39:15.940 And we should strive for that. 00:39:16.079 --> 00:39:19.500 Because the Bible tells us be ye holy for I am holy. 00:39:20.320 --> 00:39:21.539 Listen if we're going to be a Christian. 00:39:21.680 --> 00:39:23.160 If we're going to be a Christ follower. 00:39:23.579 --> 00:39:24.639 Jesus and his mission. 00:39:25.019 --> 00:39:26.880 We need to be like him. 00:39:27.820 --> 00:39:28.800 And that's how he is. 00:39:30.320 --> 00:39:32.880 See Jesus doesn't just want clean hands. 00:39:33.760 --> 00:39:35.320 He wants transformed hearts. 00:39:36.840 --> 00:39:38.280 This man was so appalled. 00:39:38.400 --> 00:39:39.780 That Jesus didn't wash his hands. 00:39:40.579 --> 00:39:41.280 Jesus said listen. 00:39:41.880 --> 00:39:43.099 I want to wash your life. 00:39:44.940 --> 00:39:47.980 Your life is much more than checking boxes. 00:39:49.460 --> 00:39:50.940 And the same is true for us today. 00:39:51.940 --> 00:39:54.460 Jesus didn't say hey everybody come here and check some boxes off. 00:39:54.500 --> 00:39:55.420 And feel good about your week. 00:39:56.119 --> 00:39:57.160 Listen I'm glad you're here. 00:39:58.200 --> 00:40:00.599 But your life is not about this religion. 00:40:00.599 --> 00:40:04.820 It's about the relationship that you have with Jesus Christ. 00:40:04.820 --> 00:40:08.180 Because we're not trying to fix the outside. 00:40:08.780 --> 00:40:12.500 That will happen all by itself when God gets a hold of our heart. 00:40:13.539 --> 00:40:16.900 Listen God isn't impressed with our appearances. 00:40:17.320 --> 00:40:19.940 He's interested in our hearts. 00:40:19.940 --> 00:40:22.980 Would we respond to that today? 00:40:23.780 --> 00:40:24.880 Would we maybe take an inventory? 00:40:25.579 --> 00:40:26.039 Is my. 00:40:26.280 --> 00:40:29.300 Have I kind of slipped back into this outside in? 00:40:30.200 --> 00:40:30.780 Like Lord would you. 00:40:30.900 --> 00:40:32.400 Would you take my heart in. 00:40:32.800 --> 00:40:33.960 Make it what you want it to be. 00:40:34.460 --> 00:40:35.659 Would you stand with your heads bowed. 00:40:35.820 --> 00:40:36.820 And with your eyes closed. 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.260