The Gospel of Luke 11:42 When God Says...I Say, AMEN!

When God Says …

“But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” (Luke 11:42 KJV).

With this passage, our Lord Jesus Christ starts proclaiming woe of damnation for the religious Pharisees’ wrongly placed efforts of self-righteousness. He is highlighting the motive behind their action, which is what religion is all about. It’s the motive! Just like the world at large is, who hates all things about God, especially those of us that believe in the true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who sends His only begotten Son - Christ Jesus our Lord. The world who claims there is no God actually believe in themselves as their god. That’s the reality. Religions believe in a god they made up for themselves, just like what the Israelites did as they molded a statue of a golden calf then look to it as god (Exodus 32:1-23). Some even use the name of our Lord Jesus and names of dead people to label an image, put it on a pedestal then look to it as one with power as their gods. Some look other creatures and things. Those are of religion and the world, and are not of the true God of the Bible. That’s where we are in this passage as the Lord Jesus stumbles upon one of them who invited Him to dinner. They claim the Word of God - the Holy Bible as their source of guidance, but do things contrary to it and not of it, and reject the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here, our Lord Jesus knowing the heart of this Pharisee, out of His compassion for this lost soul, rebukes him with woe of damnation and dismay, based on His reading of the content of this man’s heart. The Lord is not condemning their tithing of herbs and other little things, but their self-righteousness that neglects justice and love, to perform religious acts and rituals without a transformed heart. It contrasts with true believers under the Grace of God who worship with tithing from a heart full of God's love, seeing the Lord Jesus as their great High Priest, not a taskmaster. What truly matter is that justice and love, as well as, those other things are to be manifest as fruit of grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross, with the unction of the Holy Spirit, and not by work of self effort to earn applause and accolade.

We are therefore reminded, including those Pharisees, all the religious and worldly people, that what pleases God is not the score of ovations, nor count of followings and likes in social media platforms and the crowd. What pleases God is our faith in His only begotten Son (John 6:29). It is written: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6 ESV).

And I say, AMEN!

Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries

When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.

Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
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