#98 Lu. 11:42  THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN JUDGMENT

Introduction:

    Jesus had been invited to the home of a certain Pharisee to
eat and was criticized by the Pharisee for not doing the customary
ceremonial washing of the hands before eating.  With the
Pharisees, the washing of hands before meals was not just a matter
of physical cleanliness.  It was a matter of religion.  It was
against their religion to eat without first going through an
extensive ceremonial washing of their hands.
    Luke follows the record of this event with a whole series of
woes which Jesus pronounces against the Pharisees.  For any Bible
believer, there is no doubt that Jesus pronounced these woes
against the Pharisees, but there is reason for doubt that He
pronounced them while in the home of this Pharisee.  Matthew
places the pronouncement of the woes at the temple at Jerusalem
just prior to the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus.  At that time
the Pharisees were doing their best to trap Jesus with trick
questions and the woes were pronounced in response to their
efforts to trap Him.
    Apparently Luke was not trying to follow the time element
right here, but was trying to show the increasing conflict between
Jesus and the Pharisees.  Therefore, it if very appropriate that
he would record at the series of woes against the Pharisees
immediately after that occasion when the Pharisee criticized Jesus
for not washing His hands.  In other words, Luke here was not here
trying to set in order the time element, but was trying to set the
subject matter in order.
    Nevertheless, Jesus did pronounced a whole series of woes
against the Pharisees and Luke recorded them at this point.  In
verse 42 Jesus said, "Woe unto you, Pharisees..."  In verse 43 He
said, "Woe unto you, Pharisees..."
In verse 44 He said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisee,
hypocrites..."  In verse 46 He said, "Woe unto you..." speaking of
the Pharisees and lawyers.  In verse 47 He said, "Woe unto you..."
In verse 52 He said, "Woe unto you, lawyers..."
    We will not have time in the message this morning to study all
those verses.  We are going limit our study this morning to only
the first woe which is proclaimed in our text verse, verse 42.

I.  The pronouncement of woe on the Pharisees

    V. 42, "But woe unto you, Pharisees!..."  The expression "woe
unto you" is a pronouncement of coming sorrow.  Here the woe is
pronounced upon the Pharisees.  Jesus here is speaking of the time
when would face the judgment before Almighty God.  He is telling
them that they are not right with God and that they will be very
severely punished as a result of that judgment.  The judgment will
be a time of great catastrophe for the Pharisees.  The judgment of
God will bring a most terrible suffering upon them.  Luke does not
say so, but and we are to understand that this suffering will
continue forever.  From the human point of view, most Pharisees
had fared very well in this life, but the time will come when they
will stand before God in judgment and that judgment will bring
upon a very severe suffering and that suffering -- once it starts
-- will never end.

II.  The thing the Pharisees prided themselves in

    (V. 42), "...for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of
herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God..."  I think you
know what mint is.  It is a very aromatic sweet smelling herb.  It
is very tasty and many of our chewing gums, candies and cookies
today are flavored with mint.  Even back in those days it was used
to flavor foods.  I am pretty sure they did not have chewing gum
and they may not have made candy or cookies and so I am not
certain which foods they flavored with mint, but they did use it.
In addition to foods, mint was used in those days as a household
deodorant.  They sprinkled little tidbits of mint throughout the
house and it gave the whole house a sweet pleasant smell.  You
might want to try it sometime.
    Rue was also an aromatic herb which was likewise used both to
flavor food and to give the home a pleasant odor.
    Luke said that the Pharisees tithed of all manner herbs and
Matthew tells us that one of those herbs was anise or dill.  This
is the kind of herb we use in our day to make dill pickles.  What
would we do for good hamburgers without dill"
    The Pharisees prided themselves in keeping the law of Moses.
One of the things commanded in the law of Moses was tithing.  We
usually associate the practice of tithing with law of Moses.  We
should understand, however, that tithing did not originate with
the law of Moses.  Abraham tithed several hundred years before
Moses was ever born.  So tithing did not originate with the law of
Moses, but it was included in the law of Moses.
    I might also point out that tithing was not specifically
mentioned in the ten commandments.  The Ten Commandments sets
forth in a nutshell the will of God for man and tithing is not
mentioned.  Yet the principle of tithing was at least implied
in the ten commandments.  The very first commandment was, "Thou
shalt have no other gods before me," Ex.  20:3.  This implies that
while men we are not to worship any other god,  are to worship the
true and living God and the worship of God includes giving to God.
All forms of worship in every land and among every people included
the practice of giving to one's god.  This was true in the worship
of heathen gods and it is equally true in the worship of the true
God.  It should especially be true in the worship of the true God,
the God that created the heaven and the earth, the God who one day
will judge the world.  So that first commandment in the ten
commandments implied that one who worships God should bring tithes
and offerings unto God.
    Likewise the second of the ten commandments sets forth the
principle of tithing.  Even though tithing was not specifically
commanded, yet the principle of tithing was at least implied.  It
reads, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image..."  Men
are not to make graven images or idols for the purpose of
worshipping them.  They are not to bow down to them in worship.
They are not to sing praises to them.  They are not to bring
tithes and offerings to them.  The command implies, however, that
we should do those things to Jehovah God.  We should bow down to
Him.  We should sing praises to Him.  We should bring our tithes
and offerings to Him and worship Him in every sense of the word.
     So both the first and second commandments of the ten
commandments, implied that tithing should be practiced even though
it was not specifically commanded in any of the ten.  However, in
addition to the ten commandments many other commands were given in
the law of Moses.  The ten commandments were but a small part of
total number of commandments in the law of Moses.  The other
commands in the law of Moses all expanded on the principles which
were set forth in the ten commandments and explained the meaning
of the ten in much greater detail.  The ten commandments expressed
God's will in a nut shell.  The additional commands of the law
went into much greater detail explaining God's will.  Therefore
tithing, which was only implied in the ten commandments was
specifically commanded in the other commands of the law of Moses.
It was commanded in no uncertain terms.  In Numbers 18:20-24 the
people of Israel were instructed to pay a tithe to the support of
the Levites who served in the temple.  In Deuteronomy 14:22-23
they were commanded to pay a tithe to support the religious
feasts.  In addition to this they were commanded to give a temple
tax for the upkeep of the temple building and grounds.  Then every
third year they were commanded to give a tenth to the support of
the poor.  They were required also to bring this firstling of the
flock to the Lord.  Still in addition to all that they were
required to give, they were expected to give freewill offerings to
various projects in the Lord's work.  The law of Moses most
certainly required the Pharisees to tithe as it required all
Israelites to tithe.
    The Pharisees prided themselves in their obedience to every
phase of the law, but they took especially great pride in their
practice of tithing.  They gave the tithe to support of the
Levites as they were required to do.  They gave an additional
tithe to the support of the religious feasts as they were required
to do.  They gave the temple tax as they were required to do.
They gave the firstlings of their flock as they were required to
do.  They gave the tithe to the poor as they were required to do.
They gave freewill offerings as they were expected to do above the
tithe.  But they also tithed of the most insignificant things
which they were not specifically required to do by the law.  If
they had one or two plants of mint or rue or dill or some other
herb in the garden, they tithed even of that.  They would very
carefully measure out one-tenth and take it down to the temple and
present it to the priests.
    I can almost envision them very proudly taking out a little
pouch containing a few ounces of mint or rue or dill and proudly
presenting it to the priests.  They were very proud of themselves
for doing what the law commanded and going beyond what the law
required.

III.  The great failure of the Pharisees

    (V. 42), "...these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the
other undone."  Jesus did not criticize the Pharisees for tithing.
Neither did He criticize them for going beyond what was required
in tithing and giving a tenth of the herbs.  What Jesus criticized
was the fact that they went to such extremes to give the tithe,
even to giving one-tenth of the mint and dill, but they made no
effort whatsoever to obey the far more important commands of the
law.
    According to Luke's account, Jesus said that the Pharisees had
passed over judgment and the love of God.  The word, judgment, as
used here means "justice."  It means treating the fellow man
right.  The law commanded that they deal justly with their fellow
man.  Six out of the ten commandments deal with treating their
fellowman  right.  Then, in addition to the ten, there were many
of the detailed commands specifically requiring that they treat
their fellow man right.  One of the summary commands given in the
law specifically required this of them.  It instructed that they
were to love their neighbor as they loved themselves.  This
certainly means that they were to treat their fellow man right.
    Jesus said that the Pharisees did not treat their fellow man
right.  He said that they passed over the laws requiring justice.
On one occasion He said that they devoured widows houses.  They
took unfair advantage of the poor defenseless widows and orphans
to make money for themselves.  They would charge exorbitant prices
for their goods or labor to poor widows and orphans.  They would
deal unfairly with them in a court of law.  They had no mercy on
their fellow men.
    Also in Luke's account, Jesus told the Pharisees that they had
passed over the love of God.  Even one of their own lawyers
admitted that the most important command in the law is:  "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind,
and with all thy strength."  Yet the Pharisees did not love God.
They loved themselves above all else.  They loved money.  They
loved prestige.  They loved power.  But they did not love God.
    There is one thing that Luke did not mention that they had
passed over which Matthew did mention.  Matthew says that Jesus
told the Pharisees that they had omitted faith.  The writer of the
Book of Hebrews says that without faith it is impossible to please
God.  Throughout the New Testament we are told that we should
place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  We are told that
without a personal trusting faith in Christ, the Savior, that one
cannot be saved.  They prided themselves on the keeping of the
law, but they had missed the main point of the law.  The main
point of the law was that men would trust in Jesus Christ and be
saved.
    The law was not designed to save men.  It was designed to show
men that they are sinners and that because they are sinners they
should repent of their sin and place their faith in Christ, the
Savior.  Instead the Pharisees rejected the Christ.  They rejected
Jesus who is the Christ.  They did not reject the idea that there
is a Christ, but they rejected Jesus who is the Christ.
Therefore, they had passed over of the most important point of the
whole law.
    Can you imagine one of the Pharisees as he stands before God
in judgment?  Can you imagine what his answer would be if the Lord
were to ask, "Why should I let you into heaven?"  He would step
right up, stick out his chest, raise his head back  and answer, "I
have tried to keep the law of Moses.  I am especially proud of the
fact that I have faithfully tithed at the temple of God.  I tithed
for the support of the Levites.  I tithed for the support of the
feasts.  I paid the temple tax for the upkeep of the temple
building and the temple grounds.  I tithed for the support of the
poor.  I tithed even of the mint that I had in my garden.  I
tithed even of the dill that I raised to make my cucumber pickles.
I think that I am well deserving of a place in heaven."  I do not
have to imagine what the Lord would say to them in that event.  He
would say, in effect, "I cannot let you in.  You were very careful
to tithe of your goods.  You were very careful to tithe even of
your mint and rue and dill, but you ignored the fact that the law
required you to deal fairly with your fellow man.  You ignored the
law which required you to love God.  You ignored the whole point
of the law.  You ignored the fact that you are a sinner and needed
to trust in the Christ for salvation.  I came to you and worked
miracles among you and preached the word of God to you, but you
rejected me as the Savior.  Woe unto you, Pharisees.  I will
sentence you to the Lake of Fire and Brimstone.  Woe unto you,
Pharisees.  You must suffer untold agony in the fires forever and
ever."

IV.  The great failure of many today

    But listen!  There are untold numbers of people in our world
today who are making the same mistake that the Pharisees made
nearly two-thousand years ago.  There are people today who have
been faithful to attend the house of God and to put their tithes
and offerings into the offering plate who are not going to make it
into heaven.  There are people who have been faithful to follow
Jesus even into the waters of baptism and be baptized like Jesus
was baptized who will never get in the gates of heaven.  There are
people who are counting on their faithfulness to eat the Lord's
Supper to get them into heaven who will never make the grade.
There are people who say that they keep the law of Moses, but they
do not keep the law of Moses.  Nobody ever kept the law of Moses
100% but Jesus Christ the Son of God.  They say they have kept the
law of Moses, but they will never get in the gates of heaven.  No
doubt they have tried, but they will never make it.
    They have been careful to do some of the things of lesser
importance, but they have failed to do the things that must be
done.  Jesus said that a man must be born again or he will never
enter into the kingdom of God.  The main thing that God requires
of every man, woman, boy and girl to stay out of hell and get to
heaven is to repent of sin and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as
Savior and be born again.  If you have not repented of your sin,
it makes no difference how much money you have given to the
church, it makes no difference what else you have done in the way
of good deeds, you will never make it to heaven.  Jesus said,
"Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish," Luke 13:3,5.  If
you have not trusted in Jesus as your Savior it makes no
difference what else you have done.  You will not make it to
heaven.  Jesus said, "He that believeth on him is not condemned;
but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God," John 3:18.
Jesus also said, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting
life:  and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but
the wrath of God abideth on him," John 3:36.  If you have not been
born again, it makes no difference what else you have done.  You
will not make it to heaven.  Jesus also said, "Many will say to me
in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?  and
in thy name have cast out devils?  and in thy nave have done many
wonderful works?  Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you:
depart from me, ye that work iniquity," Matt.  7:22-23.
    The most important thing when you stand before God in judgment
is whether or not you have repented of your sin and whether or not
you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and
whether or not you have been born again
.

    Conclusion:

    Since repentance and faith and the new birth are going to be
the most important things in judgment they are the most important
now!