This continues a teaching series on the arguments Jesus had and caused. Here we find Jesus is not a polite dinner guest. But the stakes are high, the discussion is about the true cause of evil and the help we need to deal with it. [Audio | Notes]
Michael Flynn
Audio
Luke 11.37-52 | Blindness
Jesus is not the ideal dinner guest
Reasons for woe – the marks of hypocrisy
- Concerned to appear good but not be good (deceitful)
- Unwilling/unable to change the inside life (blind)
- Blocks others from the grace of God (hateful)
Clean hands or hearts?
Detailed giving or a passion for justice and love?
Obscuring the words of God or explaining them?
Hypocrisy is all of us
- Romans 1-3
For further thought
Q: Jesus often asks his followers to compare their internal lives with their outer actions (eg. Here and Matthew 5-7). Why is our character as much part of our motivations as it is our actions?
Q: A major theme in Jesus’ teaching is to challenge hypocrisy. How does hypocrisy damage our family life, our work life, our church life?