#1427 Luke 20 Part 6 Beware Of It In and Outside Of Yourself

 

45 Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 47 who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.” Luke 20: 45-47 NKJV

Luke 20: 45-47 Beware Of The So Called Intellectual Elite

25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 26 Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.… 1 Corinthians 1: 25-27

…19For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.… 1 Corinthians 1: 19-21

In the hearing of all the people - He does not consider them brothers, and their ministry is public so He does not pull them aside, but rather rebukes them publicly. If you mislead the masses then you need to be rebuked in front of the masses, so that the truth can be presented in contrast to what you speak. 

…19Do not entertain an accusation against an elder, except on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 20But those who persist in sin should be rebuked in front of everyone, so that the others will stand in fear of sin. 21I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to maintain these principles without bias, and to do nothing out of partiality.… 1 Timothy 5: 19-21

He said to His disciples - A disciple is one who follows a teacher, and Jesus had many of these besides the core twelve, at one time sending out 70.

1 After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place He was about to visit. 2And He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.… Luke 10: 1-2

Beware of the Scribes - There were two main Jewish sects in these gospels, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, each having their own Scribes, those who were dedicated to reading, studying and commenting on the Law. The Pharisees were more fundamental in the amount of reading that they thought inspired, but liberal in this as well. They put much upon the ancient Scribes, and even went with their traditions and writings over Scripture. The Sadducees were conservative in the amount of writing they took to be Biblical and economically conservative, but socially liberal. They were proponents of Hellenization, meaning they were much like the evangelical church today, licking their fingers and then holding them up to see which way the wind was blowing. Remember, they thought this life was all there is. Most of the Scribes were of the former group, the Pharisees.

1In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known. 3What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.… Luke 12: 1-3

Who desire to go around in long robes - Everything about them was outward, a show, the more prominent the phylacteries and the longer and broader the tassel, the more pious the man. An unfortunate thing that God looks at the heart and not outward appearances. We may fool our fellow man, and that is even taught in politics and business, but you will one day stand before an all knowing and righteous Judge. 

…5All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6 They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues, 7the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.… Matthew 23: 5-7

Wuest on the Greek word hypokrisis - It "is made up of hupo under, and krinō “to judge” and referred originally to “one who judged from under the cover of a mask,” thus, assuming an identity and a character which he was not. This person was the actor on the Greek stage, one who took the part of another. The true identity of the person is covered up. It refers to acts of impersonation or deception. Christianity requires that believers should be open and above-board. They should be themselves. Their lives should be like an open book, easily read. This begs the question beloved - IS YOUR LIFE AN "OPEN BOOK?" IS WHAT PEOPLE SEE REALLY WHO YOU ARE? (Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission) - Precept Austin

The disciples are to continually beware of them because they are ungodly, do not truly know God, have no true spiritual wisdom. As MacArthur says "They are agents of Satan sent to fight the purposes of God....False religion never restrains the flesh. So these people operate like the worst of the unregenerate, except that it is not apparent on the surface. But false religion cannot subdue their wretched heart, for that can only be subdued by regeneration by means of the truth of the Gospel. So these men are to be avoided because they are always one thing on the outside and something else on the inside. They have nothing to offer spiritually and are destructive...deadly...dangerous. Do not get near them, because you will get singed, stained." - Precept Austin

…3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:… Philippians 2: 3-5

Ryrie comments that phylacteries were square leather boxes containing four strips of parchment on which were written Deut. 11:13-21 and 6:4-9, and Ex. 13:11-16 and 13:1-10. During prayer one was worn on the forehead between the eyebrows and another on the left arm close to the elbow. They were held in place by leather bands, which the Pharisees made broad to attract more attention to themselves. The custom was based on Ex. 13:9, 16; Dt. 6:8; 11:18, though phylacteries had only begun to be used by the ultra-pious in Christ's day. Christ criticizes not the custom itself but the wrong spirit that corrupted it. lengthen the tassels of their garments. A hem or fringe on a garment was placed there in accordance with Nu 15:38, but the Pharisees made theirs unnecessarily wide. (Borrow Ryrie Study Bible Expanded Edition) - Precept Austin

Love greetings in the market place - "Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name." They loved to hear not only their name but their titles, the esteem of men was of more value to them than the thoughts of God. They would have loved this day of social media and influencers. It would have given them a bigger stage to perform on, a broader audience to reach. 

…35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it. 36 What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?… Mark 8: 35-37

MacArthur - If you were called “rabbi,” you were so exalted that in the Talmud, Sanhedrin 88 says that “It is more punishable to act against the words of a scribe than the words of Scripture.” They wanted to be called “excellency, elevated one, most knowledgeable one, exalted one.” They wanted to be “leader.” That is the one who determines direction, the one who determines destiny, the one who sets the course. - J Mac from Precept Austin

The best seats in the Synagogues, and the best places at feasts - Was it more important what you learned at Ligonier's this year or that you were seen there? Everyone in the world knows that anyone who is anyone was at Cannes and Coachella this year. What would you do for a good seat there, next to someone who's trending right now? If you want to sit at the table with the "intellectuals" then you have to denounce some things that may be true, they don't know, but if  you got it from Scripture, then they are certain it is antiquated. 

Who devour widows houses - They were divinely instructed by the Holy Scriptures to care for the widows and the fatherless, but instead they cheated them out of their inheritance and stacked house upon house. These lived lavishly while they made it difficult for others to get by. They know that God brings judgment on these things, but they are no better than pimps, yet worse than the ones who don't claim to know God.

…6See how every prince of Israel within you has used his power to shed blood. 7Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed. 8You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.… Ezekiel 22: 6-8

For a pretense make long prayers - They love to be heard, their religion is to themselves and not to God.