Luke 11:42-44

Greed, the love of money, power and control, disgust God. 

Remember the widow with the two mites….she gave out of her need and not her excess. God requires the whole of our being, not just the left over parts. He honors our private conversations with Him over long speeches in the company of many. Our lives should reflect our love for Him and our care for those that society has forgotten. 

We are His representatives so we should be about our Father’s business.

Some Pharisees took the strictest interpretation and counted almost anything, including spices. However, they neglected two basic things that the prophets also had warned about: love and justice. The Pharisees, the paragons of purity, were in fact the height of uncleanness.

Luke 11:42-44

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. 

⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 

⁴⁴ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.”

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 

Matthew 23:23

⁸ He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? 

Micah 6:8

⁶ They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 

Matthew 23:6

³⁸ Then He said to them in His teaching,  “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, 

Mark 12:38

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 

Matthew 23:27