Lesson 68: Am I a Pharisee? (Luke 11:37-40)

“To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice” (Proverbs 21:3 ESV). This likely was not a favorite verse of many of the Pharisees of Jesus’s day, but, if we’re honest, many of us today might not like what it asks of us as well. In the text at hand, a Pharisee zeroed in on a rule that Jesus and his disciples did not keep (at least on this occasion): the washing of hands before a meal. Just like with anything, Jesus of course used this conversation to get to the bottom of the hearts of others. “What does it really mean to be clean?” He was asking. Pastor Daniel also asks a series of questions that help us to think through whether or not we resemble the Pharisees. 1) Do I focus on external conduct and ignore my need for God’s righteousness? 2) Do I concentrate on minutiae and neglect the “big things” of God? 4) Do I love the applause of men? 5) Do I appear to be alive but am really spiritually dead?

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff