Luke 11 :: If You Can't Say Something Good...

Luke 11

I was no different than most kids I know.  When I was a kid my mom used to tell me, "If you can't say something good, don't say it at all."  I may have even thought, at one point, that this was one of those "bible verses" that aren't found in the bible.  But Jesus didn't seem to follow this teaching.  At the end of Luke 11, Jesus appears to be fed up with the religious leaders.  His harshest words up to this point are not given to a thief, a prostitute or a murderer.  Nope.  They have been reserved for good, religious people - the Pharisees.  These were the ministers of the day.  As a pastor today, I must look closely at these words that Jesus had for these people.

Check out the list of warnings Jesus gives to these strict, religious people:

• Hypocricy - v39-41
• Inequality - v42
• Pretentiousness - v43
• Impossible Demands - v46
• Intolerance - v47-51
• Exclusiveness - v52

Did you know that Pharisees were originally a group of normal, laymen, who desired to separate themselves from impure things and people?  I believe that their original intent was not much different than the small group of guys who go and meet for breakfast every week to help ensure that each one is living the standard to which Christ calls us.  Eventually these men became leaders in their faith.  Once there they began to impose on people things that Jesus never meant to be imposed.  I am blown away by the intensity in the words of Jesus.

All of us struggle with each of these things, don't we?  We can't really cast stones at the Pharisees because our own behavior often looks very similar.  Underneath the strong language of Jesus, is a man with a very deep connection to the people the Pharisees are offending.  The value that those people have to Jesus is what causes him to be so stern.  I see a bit of a momma-bear image at the protection Jesus has for the poor and the vulnerable.  This has been consistent in the life of Jesus from the very beginning.

How are we to respond?  Are we advocates for the poor and the suffering?  Are we standing up for the rights of people who cannot stand?  Are we creating opportunities for everyone to come to Jesus, in spite of their bondage to sin today?

Remember that Luke is the same man, who in Acts 15, recorded James' speech to the Jerusalem church, where he said “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. (19)"