"An Outspoken Dinner Guest" - a sermon on Luke 11:33-54

In our church newsletter today, listed under point 4 (and at the tail end of this message), there are some questions that help us take stock or do a little detective work into our lives. Please keep these before you as we study this passage from Luke. Jesus provided this teaching on his journey to the cross.

1. Light or darkness (v.33-36)

Jesus said that we should live in the light – which is not just about what we do (or don’t do), but also about who we are. Our whole body should be full of light and thereby light the path before us. This will allow us to take the right directions – because we see so well what is before us, and we are able to easily discern whether it is right or wrong for us ... whether it is part of the light or part of the darkness.

Although this text was based on the ancient belief that the eye allowed the light within the body to be projected out of it, it’s still a good image for us to consider. It is the light that comes into us through accepting and following Jesus, dwelling in us day by day, that is then seen in the glint in our eyes, and lights the path for others.

When we do actually enter a place of darkness for the sake of others, somewhere unknown and fearful, to try to save someone from their peril – we take with us a radiant light that will be noticed (and sometimes even be appreciated). Jesus knew that he was entering the darkness when he accepted an invitation to a Pharisee’s home for dinner, for the Pharisees had already made up their mind to eliminate Jesus.

Yet this would be a way of demonstrating how far some of these community leaders had drifted from God and what God stood for; thus bringing some radiant light to bear on that situation. Back to this in a moment ...

... but first, verse 35 is very interesting and challenging ... it fascinates me actually ... “Therefore consider whether the light in you is not darkness”; meaning: is it possible that what you think is “light” might actually not be “light” at all? You might have always thought that this particular behaviour pattern was okay – but now you more deeply consider it, you are not so sure! Sometimes, for instance, our sense of humour that is so amusing to us – can be quite hurtful to certain others.

This verse [35] suggests that “darkness” can sometimes pose as “light”, or sometimes “darkness” can fool us that it is “light”. We can think things we say or do are quite okay, because they are culturally fairly normal, and we’ve always done them and they haven’t caused us any problem (or so we think).

We can in effect fool ourselves that we are better than we are perhaps! I guess the best example of this would be – when we think we have got our thoughts and motivations under God’s control, and then something comes out of our mouth that takes us by surprise.

But this could also have something to do with us knowing what the truth is, or what the right course of action is, but not adhering to this. This, in a way, allows “darkness” to quell the “light” ... as if the “light” does not exist. This quelling or covering of the “light” is viewed in the Bible as worse than never having had the light at all! How so many people would have appreciated sensing the light ... whilst others having already sensed it, covered it up!!

And further, this could also have something to do with the quality of our discernment concerning matters external to us, how we react to outside stimuli, what decisions we make under pressure, and what attitudes we show to certain events. For example, taking the advice of a certain person because it seems okay or right to do so, but it actually turns out that this was precisely the wrong guidance (even if it did come from reasonable intent). We need the quality of discernment that makes such mistakes less and less possible. This is why it is so important to focus on Jesus first, and let all our decision-making spring out of that relationship.

2. The Unfortunate Invitation

Sometimes we regret having invited a certain person around to our home for a meal, because they just talked too much, and what they said was so revolting. We just want the evening to be over and for that rude person to go home. The Pharisee probably lived to regret this invitation to Jesus – they had sought to trap Jesus, to compromise Jesus, to reduce Jesus’ influence, but they failed miserably.

Jesus was certainly an outspoken dinner guest, providing a fair bit of consternation for the host; however in this case, Jesus rightly calls certain of those present to account for their actions – and the truth of what Jesus says cannot be denied. Jesus was not really the dinner guest from hell, but rather was the true visitor from heaven.

3. What were Jesus’ concerns canvassed over dinner?

(a) The priority given to outward signs of religiosity – religious hypocrisy – the Pharisees (v.37-44)

The Jew was required (as a cultural norm) to wash before a meal ... not so much for hygiene, but more for ceremonial purity, in that one’s hands would have been defiled by contact with sinfulness. The quantity of water and the manner it was administered was prescribed in minute detail (Morris). Jesus neglecting to do this caused a bit of a stir, and allowed him to address a very important issue.

Jesus ignored this ‘washing’ ritual to challenge all such rituals that were given too much importance relative to more pressing issues. This ‘washing’ (representative of other strict rules) was being given such an importance, while at the same time such Pharisees lacked any concern for right living and economic justice within their community.

The legalistic Pharisees loved regulations far more than they exhibited mercy and generosity to their people. Thus these rituals had become “darkness” not “light”. God is about breaking barriers down, not building them up. God is seeking to include, not exclude. The Pharisees were big on the outward show of respectability, but this was not matched by any internal feeling of compassion. Sometimes an allegiance to rules and authority (on the outside) can seek to cover up internal decay. God looks upon the heart as the springboard of our life’s activities.

As an example of where rules can predominate our thinking we could look at a clip from “You’ve got mail”, where the woman played by Meg Ryan tries to pay for her groceries by credit-card in the “cash-only” lane.

Back to the text at verse 41 – this is a very important verse. The NLT translation nails this verse well: “So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over”. Giving to the poor is not just about casual charitable acts, but also about the mindset of human solidarity in the face of inequity.

As this verse 41 points out, it is our heartfelt willingness to give generously (in the face of need) that cleanses everything else we hang on to. Or as D.L Bock puts it, “... generosity makes for spiritual cleanliness”.

But the Pharisees stood condemned and remained ‘unclean’ for allowing unnecessary trivial distractions to make them feel justified and religiously superior, when they were far from that. No amount of physically washing the hands will clean the inside unless our heart is generous.

A sensible and helpful cultural norm was tithing i.e. making available to God a percentage of the resources gained in life. The problem eluded to here though by Jesus (from verse 42) was that, the Pharisees made a big show of precisely calculating their ten percent tithe of such little things as various herbs – while huge matters of national justice and spiritual transformation were completely overlooked. The Pharisees were careful to be seen to tithe a proportion of the most insignificant garden herb, but were prepared to neglect matters at the very core of God’s will.

They were certainly into big-noting themselves: ‘O look at me as I tithe ten percent of my sprig of mint ... but don’t dare talk to me about issues of homelessness or hopelessness’. This was “darkness”, not “light”. The tithing itself was commendable, but the way this was applied with such miniscule detail and in such a boastful way – also blocking time and attention from what was most important – this was the problem.

Jesus doesn’t reject these traditions, so much as condemning the fact that these traditions have been observed at odds with the deepest intention of the will of God, namely, the exercise of love (Kingsbury). Whereas such Pharisees liked to be recognised, Jesus describes them (in verse 44) in totally opposite terms, as insignificant “unmarked graves” that people will unknowingly walk all over i.e. they are at the level of an anonymous, unimportant and corrupt dead person. Whack! They are in “darkness”, not “light”.

(b) The priority given to power – religious arrogance – the “lawyers” (v.45-52)

One could just imagine that the “lawyers” ... those who felt so superior in their training in the law ... would get upset at this point and come back at Jesus (this seemingly unschooled prophet). These self-proclaimed “experts in the law” were a party to bringing heavy burdens of religious observance upon the people, without lifting a finger to help them in their struggle.

They had been the authors of the multitude of complicated and strict regulations that were being imposed by the Pharisees. These are those who make and enforce laws which maintain the position of the powerful, but show no concern for how they filter down to the more vulnerable and less resourced members of the community.

Just as the true prophets of old were rejected and murdered, these “lawyers” or “scribes” are joining with their guilty ancestors before them in rejecting the latest movement of God’s Spirit (seen in their hostility to Jesus). They are forming an alliance with long dead antagonists against the will of God. Oppressing God’s people with burdens is a perverse reversal of God’s desire to reconcile with people in love. This is “darkness” not “light”, as it is typified in verse 52.

As we have it in verse 52, such “lawyers” or teachers, who should have helped the people in their understanding of God and true spirituality, instead stole away the keys to the Kingdom of God, and thereby blocked people from entering fulfilling life. They have missed the boat themselves, and now stand at the gangplank blocking other people’s way. They are a wall instead of a door (Bock). They stand condemned for their hostility towards what the Scriptures teach God is really about.

This is the problem of witnessing to our faith, when we haven’t actually focussed that faith in the right place. It can leave a very negative impression. This is where what should be “light”, in reality, is “darkness”.

4. Taking Stock

We should note, that rather than taking heed of what Jesus was saying, these Pharisees and “lawyers” wanted to shoot the messenger – instead of examining themselves, they reacted defensively and attacked Jesus. So rather than us taking the high road and condemning the religious leaders of old, we would be better served by taking an inventory of ourselves. This is where the Living Word of God addresses us!! This is where the rubber (of our bible study) hits the road!

Do we reflect “light” or carry “darkness”?
Do we lead people toward Jesus or away from Jesus?
Do we encourage others in their pursuit of God?
Do our lives make a good case for Jesus or the opposite?

Larry Richards came up with this checklist:

Do I spend more time trying to look holy, or seeking to be holy?
Do my priorities reflect God’s priorities?
Do I treasure the approval of others, or the approval of God?
Do I make living a Christian life harder for people by my expectations, or do I encourage and help them?
Do I resist the Word of God, or am I open and teachable?
Do I distort the Gospel for myself and others, by a legalistic approach to Christian faith?

Jesus doesn’t come to us as a moralist or a judge, but rather as a compassionate friend, knowing that unless our inside and outside match up, then we will never be the disciple we could be, and we will never reach our God-given potential, and ultimately we will never really be satisfied with our lives.

We need to be sincere and courageous concerning repentance, change and growth. And we need to come to terms with what is most important. The basic call of God is: to (humbly) love God and respond caringly and justly to others (Bock).