Luke 11: 37-54  A Pharisee asked Jesus to lunch.. and He came.  Now, Jesus would have known the expectation that the man would have.. the ceremonial washings were not new to Jesus.. but He deliberately ignored that tradition. This opened up a serious discussion where Jesus exposed the most urgent needs of the hearts of God's people. 

Jesus said, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness."   He reminded them that the inside.. their hearts and minds.. and souls were made by God.. He sees everything, not just their "outside" lives.  Cleanliness inside is much more vital than washing a plate or cup.. or even your hands.  A heart of compassion or "charity" is what God desires.  Nothing wrong with cleaning your body.. but to have a pure heart, uncorrupted by sin, is what God desires.  

Jesus pronounces 3 "woes" upon the Pharisees.  Because their hearts were  not clean the Lord was grieved by those who should have been holy.. they had the Word.. they had the Son of God standing with them.. they saw the marvelous miracles that He had done.. but their hearts remained unchanged.. corrupt.. dead.  The  three statements prove this:

They "tithed" mint and rue and herbs... the small and unnecessary things.. but failed when it came to justice and "the love of God".... that which the Lord God desired most from His people. "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8)

The second "woe"... The Pharisees loved to be seen and respected and honored.  They looked down on everyone else and were only focused on theirselves.  They knew the commandments, but ignored the most important ones.. to love the Lord their God with all their heart and soul and mind and their neighbor as their self. 

The third woe.. "...you are like concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it."  The Jewish Law said that anyone who touched a dead body was considered unclean for a certain period of time and they had to wait and then wash before they could worship.  But, if you were not aware of touching something dead, then you would be contaminated and commit a trespass against the Law without any knowledge of doing it...  In other words the Pharisees were causing the rest of the people to be contaminated and not even know it so they could take appropriate actions. Their uncleanness was spreading to everyone that came near them. 

Now the "lawyers" .. those who interpreted and taught the Law took what Jesus said as an insult to them too.  So, Jesus spoke to them too, revealing the sin that they needed desperately to repent of... that which God was not pleased with..that was separating them from the God they thought they served.. 

First, the lawyers were weighing down others with heavy burdens.. and didn't care about helping anyone but themselves.  They used the Law as a hammer and not as a blessing. There was no love or kindness in the teaching of the Law.. it was all about the do's and don'ts.. totally missing the love of God who gave the Law to guide and teach His ways. 

The lawyers were also guilty of building the "tombs of the prophets".  They were trying to cover up the guilt of their own ancestors who had killed the prophets. They honored their evil ancestors and were implicated in their guilt.  This was such a serious offense to God that He said " that the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world..:" would be "charged against this generation." 

The lawyers were also guilty of keeping "the key of knowledge" from any others who wanted to enter into God's kingdom.. and they would not enter themselves.  They knew the Word of God like the back of their hands.. but they did not know the God of the Word. And.. they kept what they knew hidden from any others. 

Jesus grieved over the sins of His people.. all of them.. even the Pharisees and Lawyers. He gave them a message that could have brought them to examine their own hearts and repent.. but instead they "began to be very hostile" and "plotted against Him." 

Father in heaven, may we stop and examine our own hearts lest we become like these Pharisees and Lawyers who grieved the heart of Jesus.  May we love You with all our hearts and love others with kindness and compassion. May we do what is just and care for others who are hurting and heavy-ladened with the cares of this life.  Mold and make our hearts like the heart of Jesus.. sharing the truth of Your Word and living it out before all men.  Thank You for giving us the Light of the World so that we can shine Your Light into a world of darkness.  Change hearts and minds and lives with the Word freely shared with all those who will listen.  Let Your Kingdom come and Your will done in us today we pray... in Jesus' name.Amen