Luke 11:39-44

pride and arrogance turn away those who seek a relationship with God in Christ. 

Beware of hypocrisy it is the downfall of many saved Christians. 

Remain humble and open to the direction of Holy Spirit. He will guide you into the ways of  Jesus.

Micah 8:6 Be fair, extend grace and above all be humble in your relationship with God.

He know us at our worst and loves us anyway but He will change us.

I forget that we are on this journey together.
I forget that we are walking one another home.
I forget that we are, in fact, Jesus in Skin with one another. SabbathMoments 

Annie Dillard “how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

Now, suppose a person never learns about the sealing and the intercession of the Holy Spirit. This person may assume then, that salvation—security—resides in our works, not God’s, and that the power of prayer depends upon our prayer, not the prayers of the Spirit. What kind of life will this person lead? A parched and prayerless one.

But what if you believe in the work of the Spirit? Will you be different as a result? You bet your sweet Sunday you will. Your shoulders will lift, your knees will bend as you discover the buoyant power of praying in the Spirit. A higher walk. Deeper prayers. And most of all, a quiet confidence that comes from knowing it’s not up to you!

Luke 11:39-44

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. 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.” The New King James Version

Jesus contrasts external purity (proper behavior) with internal cleansing (transformation of the heart). 

These examples of tithing illustrate the Pharisees’ meticulous attention to the smallest details of the law of Moses. Pass by  justice and the love of Go echoes the two greatest commandments (Micah 6:8).

A metaphor for the Pharisees’ pious appearances, which disguised their inner wickedness. When graves were not appropriately marked, people could walk over them and potentially become ritually unclean. Faithlife Study Bible

These condemnations by Jesus are similar to those in Matthew 23. The Pharisees washed the outside of cups, making sure that the cups had not become unclean through contact with a dead insect. Jesus pointed out that the Pharisees concerned themselves with outward appearances and ritual cleanness, while what was inside, what really counts, was full of selfishness and evil.  The Pharisees worried about tithing ten percent, even down to the smallest herbs, which were tithed according to the dictates of tradition, not the Law of Moses. The Law spoke of tithing all produce, but what constituted food was debated. 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 (Micah 6:8). 

The Pharisees were like hidden graves. To have contact with a grave or with the dead was to become ceremonially unclean. Anyone or anything in the same room as the dead was considered in Jewish tradition to be impure. This is Jesus’ stronger condemnation. The Pharisees, the paragons of purity, were in fact the height of uncleanness. The NKJV Study Bible

Furnish us with such meekness and patience that we may glory in reproaches, for Christ’s sake, and that thy Holy Spirit may rest upon us. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Matthew 23:25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.