As he spoke, a Pharisee invited Jesus to have a meal with him, so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was astonished when he saw that Jesus did not first wash his hands before the meal. But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside as well? But give from your heart to those in need, and then everything will be clean for you. (Luke 11:37-41)
This was quite a dinner! Jesus did not spare any words with the Pharisees and scribes at the end of Luke 11. The Pharisee obviously invited Jesus to dinner with ulterior motives and Jesus obliged by exposing the self-righteousness and blindness of the religious leaders. The tension in the room must have been thick and I am sure not much food was eaten.
Jesus’ most stinging rebukes in the Gospels are almost always directed at the self-righteous and the prideful, characteristics most often seen in the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. It is a stern warning to us, to me especially as a pastor, to watch our attitudes and to wash our hearts from the uncleanness of pride.
What are the characteristics of pride and self-righteousness? Jesus gives a good description in the pronouncement of His six woes in Luke 11:42-52.
1. We major on the minors (11:42). The Pharisees were careful to obey the minor parts of God’s law (making sure they gave an exact tenth of their possessions) but forgot to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before God. It does no good to attend church, give money, vote Republican, avoid destructive habits, and keep our yard clean if our hearts at the same time are filled with pride and bitterness towards others. (BTW…Jesus does not give us permission to disobey the minor parts but rather tells us to focus on the major parts and we will fulfill the minor ones as well.)
2. We love the praise of men (11:43). The self-righteous seek the praise of men and feel envy and contempt for those who get the attention they think they deserve. We all need encouragement but sometimes we become addicted to it and we do things simply to get the praise of others.
3. We defile others (11:44). Jesus called the Pharisees “unmarked graves which men walk over without knowing it.” In the OT, coming in contact with a dead body made a person unclean and so Jesus is basically saying that people who came in contact with the Pharisees and tried to follow their ways were made unclean. The Pharisees’ attitude and influence defiled others, spreading self-righteousness and pride to many in the nation.
4. We have high expectations but low compassion (11:46). Sometimes we expect others to be perfect and we get frustrated and angry when others do not meet our expectations. Jesus does not suggest that we lower the standard of Scripture but that we make sure to help people, as fellow pilgrims, rather than loading others down with expectations that we ourselves cannot meet. This is often a challenge that parents need to heed the most.
5. We reject God’s Word (11:47-51). The religious leaders enjoyed making monuments and tombs for the prophets but rejected their words. Their rejection of Jesus was the highest example of their pride and unwillingness to bend the knees of their heart. When we say, “God, I know what You say but I am going to do this my way,” we are showing the self-righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes.
6. We do not know God (11:52). The scribes took away the “key of knowledge” and prevented people from entering into the knowledge of God. To know God comes through obeying the Great Commandment–loving God and loving others. When we follow the route of self-righteousness we miss the whole road leading to God and we take whoever is following us along for the ride.
Charles Spurgeon once called self-righteousness the “most insidious sin” because those infected with it don’t even realize it. In fact, when we despise self-righteousness in others it is often because we are infected with it ourselves. Each day we have to “preach the gospel” to ourselves, reminding ourselves that we are sinners saved by God’s wonderful grace. And we have to remember the words of Micah that what God requires of us is “to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.”
Lord, keep my heart from self-righteousness.