Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Luke 11:37-54 is about '
Woe to the Pharisees and Lawyers'
Luke 11:37-41
11:37. And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat.
11:38. When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.
11:39. 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.
11:40. "Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?
11:41. "But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to youInviting Jesus to eat means the fellowship with Jesus to enjoy the word/the true teaching word earnestly like one who needs food because he is hungry. It is the same as hearing and obeying the word. As a result, we experience the purification of our heart and whole life.
The Pharisees and Lawyers only take heed to the physical thing (outside one), so they do not prioritize the teaching word. They do not take heed to the word and do not want to hear and obey the word.
Consequently, they are fulminated by Jesus, so they must experience six times of 'woe'.
ad. 1.
The first 'woe', namely
the Pharisees tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.
Luke 11:4211:42. "But woe to youPharisees! 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.The Pharisees tithe mint so they look holy. They show off outside but their hearts are not holy.
Malachi 3:103:10. Bring all the tithesinto the storehouse, That there may befood in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.If we return the tithe because of the purification of the heart, it will be linked with the spiritual food in God's house. We receive the food of the repeated shepherding word like the Israelites who received manna in the wilderness.
So,
the suitable food to make us alive and survive in the barren wilderness is manna or the shepherding word from heaven.
Manna is God's justice.
The facts found in itare as follows:
- He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.
Exodus 16:16-18
16:16. "This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: 'Let every man gather it according to each one's need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.' "
16:17. Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less.
16:18. So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one's need.
It means that receiving the word does not depend on intelligence, riches, power, experience, et cetera, but our need.
Holy Spirit anoints us, so we can hear the teaching word with a need and hunger. We can hear the word earnestly until we understand and believe in the word, so it becomes faith in our heart. We experience heavenly satisfaction. We live from the shepherding word.
The shepherding word is able to take care of our daily life abundantly, so we always give thank to God in the midst of barren wilderness of the world.
- Manna may not beleft till morning. If it was lefttill morning, it would cause worms and stink. But on the sixth day, if it was kept until morning, it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.
Exodus 16:19-20, 22-24
16:19. And Moses said, "Let no one leave any of it till morning."
16:20. Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.
16:22. And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
16:23. Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD has said: 'Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.' "
16:24. So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.
It means that God gives the shepherding word to be practiced, not to be made as the knowledge or science, debated, critized, et cetera.
It the word is not practiced, there will be worms and stink. If it is practiced, there will be no worm or stink.
The resultsof practicing the word are as follows:
- We experience daily purification of the senses. It is the same as the one of heart from evil and unclean desires, and bitterness, so we do not fall and rise in sin up to the peak. We do not stink, nor are there any worms in us. We do not enter the hell whose fire is not quenched and worm does not die, but we can live in holiness.
Ephesians 4:11-12
4:11. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
4:12. for the equipping of the saintsfor the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
As a result, we can be used by God in the ministry of the building of the body of Christ. It starts from marriage and shepherding.
- Experiencing rest.
- Manna is kept in the golden pot.
Exodus 16:32-33
16:32. Then Moses said, "This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: 'Fill an omer with it, to be keptfor your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.' "
16:33. And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations."
Hebrews 9:4
9:4. which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
How great a man is, he is just like a fragile mortar pot (easily to become disappointed, desperate, and proud). He is just like a broken mortar pot (falling into sin) and being destroyed.
That is why the mortar pot must be filled with manna. It means that the teaching word must be kept in our life. It must be practiced. It must be ingrained in our life until someday it becomes golden pot.
So, the golden pot that had the manna refers to the renewal of lifefrom fleshly men to spiritual ones like Jesus by the work of repeated true teaching word. It starts from being strong and of good courage.
1 Chronicles 19:13
19:13. "Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight."
Be strong and of good courage to face temptation and impossible problems!
We do not become disappointed or desperate, and leave God, but keep trusting and hopinginHim.
As a result, God will stretch out His miraculous merciful hand to finish all problems. The impossible thing becomes possible. He makes all things good and beautiful in His time.
1 Chronicles 28:20
28:20. And David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God--my God--will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
Be strong and of good courage in the ministry of the building of the body of Christ! We minister to God faithfully and fervently until the finish line.
Psalm 27:14
27:14. Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!
Be strong and of good courage to wait the second coming of the Lord.
It continues until we are changed to become perfect. We do not stumble in words. We just cry "Alleluia" to greet Jesus when He comes a second time on the glorious clouds.
God blesses us.