JESUS UNDER CROSS-EXAMINATION
Luke 11:37-42, 53-54 NKJV
37 And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. 38 When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.
39 Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. 40 Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.
42 "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
53 And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, 54 lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.
Often, we imagine that Jesus floated through His time here on earth and everything was love, joy, and happiness. In reality, Jesus dealt with serious conflict. The conflict was with the most scholarly and learned men of His day. He took them on, and they pushed back hard.
Jesus was invited to a Pharisee's house for dinner and accepted the invitation. He was literally walking straight into the line of fire. These Pharisees weren't looking to learn from Jesus. They were looking to catch Him in a mistake. Jesus had to have accepted the dinner invitation knowing that He was going to be confronted. And Jesus did not shrink back. When the Pharisee was amazed that Jesus did not wash before dinner, Jesus used the moment to drop some knowledge on this pompous leader.
The basic problem that Jesus had with the Pharisees was that they were so outward focused. They were much more concerned with the cleanliness of their hands than with the condition of their hearts. And Jesus called them on it. He said they were clean on the outside and filled with greed and wickedness on the inside. Talk about dropping a bomb on dinner. Please pass the bread.
And Jesus was not done. He helped them recall that the same God who made the outside made the inside. Then Jesus went off on these guys. He called out their error of thinking that their tithing and giving to God gave them the freedom to do what they wanted, that their giving covered everything. It's kind of like drinking a Coke Zero cancels out the calories from the brownie you just ate. But their giving did not compensate for their lack of justice and the love of God. Jesus made sure they understood it was not either/or. Give or act right. Nope, the answer was do both - tithe and obey the other commandments of God.
Verses 53-54 give us a glimpse into the conflict that surrounded Jesus. These scribes, Pharisees, and the lawyers begin to verbally attack Him. They asked Him all kinds of questions, cross-examining God's witness. And Jesus did not lash out, shrink back or avoid the confrontation. He was the embodiment of truth and did not give way to the hypocrisy and lies that his enemies represented.
APPLICATION
Jesus is a great example of courage and not being at all worried about what people thought of Him. This is what freedom looks like. He underwent scrutiny from the greatest Old Testament scholars of His day and never blinked. Of course, Jesus had the advantage of knowing the truth and having the help of the Holy Spirit. The odds were definitely in His favor.
We look to Him as our aspirational goal of what we want to be like. We want to be able to handle the conflict that comes our way with calmness and grace, standing for the truth without blasting those in opposition. No one has ever done it as well as Jesus, but we must remember we have His Spirit living in us. We are not at a disadvantage.
PRAYER
Thank You for Your courage and example, Lord. I aspire to be more like You.