"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)These are very comforting and reassuring words. We quote them at funerals to help comfort the grieving. They comfort me.
But today's passage shows us a less comforting side of Jesus. He was invited to the home of a Pharisee for dinner. I don't know why these guys kept inviting Jesus into their homes. Surely they knew what to expect. I suppose, since they were the "religious leaders", they figured they needed to be seen with him in order to show the people that they were doing their jobs. Maybe each one thought that he would be the one to succeed where others had failed to expose Jesus as the charlatan/blasphemer they believed him to be. But they had to know by now that it wasn't going to go well for them.
Jesus accepts the invitation but while he's there he doesn't have one kind word for the Pharisee. At least none that are recorded here in Luke 11. These are not Jesus quotes that we use at funerals. There is no comfort to be found in these words for the Pharisee...and none to be found for us. These are challenging words for him and for me...and for any of us who are in a position of spiritual leadership.
"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone." (Luke 11:42)
Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. (Luke 11:46)
“Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.” (Luke 11:52)Yes, I like the comforting words better. I pray that I lead and serve in such a way that I never deserve the harsh ones.
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