Luke 11:42-44

We need to be active doers of good in all situations. 

Jesus gave us a new command to follow that would fulfill all the Commandments in the Old and the New Testament: to love God above all and others as much as you do yourself.

God hates hypocrisy. Give help to all who ask and care for those who are unable to care for themselves. Your love shows God’s love to the world and that you are a true follower of Christ. 

What we do and say in private speaks volumes of our true beliefs.

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. However, they neglected two basic things that the prophets also had warned about: love and justice.

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.”

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

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, ³⁹ the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 

Mark 12:38-39

⁹For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue. 

Psalm 5:9