Luke 11:42-44

Beware of those Christians who do things to be seen and adulated for their good works it is the kiss of death to them and those who follow them. Any action not guided by God’s love for all people is without merit and useless.


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.


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

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.”