#167 Lu. 20:45-47 THE DANGER OF THE WRONG LEADERSHIP

Introduction:

    The Pharisees had repeatedly tried to trap Jesus with trick
questions only to fail each time.  Finally the Sadducees tried to
trap Him with a trick question about the resurrection.  They
figured that either way Jesus would answer the question, they
would be able to disprove the resurrection.  Instead, Jesus used
their question to prove the resurrection.  After that, nobody
dared ask Jesus any more trick questions.  In fact, they did not
dare ask Him any more questions at all.
    Jesus could have just left it at that.  He had silenced His
enemies and He could have left it at that.  However, Jesus chose
to present His enemies with a question.  He asked them whose son
the Christ is.  They responded that the Christ is the son of
David, meaning that He is a descendant of David.
    That answer is correct as far as it goes.  However, it did not
go far enough and so Jesus had a follow up question.  He cited a
Scripture in the Psalms where David called the Christ his "Lord."
Jesus then asked them, "How can the Christ be the Lord of David if
He was his son or descendant?"  Amount the Hebrews, the older was
traditionally the master and the younger was to be in subjection
to the elder. Jesus asked, "How could David call the Christ his
Lord or Master when He was the younger of the two?"  They had no
answer to that question.
    The answer, of course, is that the Christ is both human and
also Deity God.  As a human, He was a descendant of David, but as
Deity God, He is David's Lord.

I.  The people to whom Jesus gave the warning

    In our text today, Jesus further embarrasses and angers the
Pharisees.  V. 45, "Then in the audience of all the people he said
unto his disciples..."  Luke says that Jesus here was actually
speaking to His disciples and so the warning which He gives here
concerning the Pharisees was primarily for His disciples.  The
Pharisees were the chief religious leaders in the nation of
Israel.  The disciples of the Lord had been brought up under their
teachings and their influence.
    During the three years of Jesus's ministry, in His private
teaching sessions with His disciples, Jesus taught them to believe
the very opposite of what the Pharisees had taught on many issues.
Even in His public teaching sessions, Jesus had taught in direct
opposition to what the Pharisees teach on many issues.  However,
this was the first time that Jesus had publicly denounced the
Pharisees.
    Since Jesus spoke this warning in the presence of all the
people, it was not intended for His disciples alone.  It was
intended for all of the people in the whole crowd.  Jesus was
publicly warning them not to follow the scribes and Pharisees.
Even in the presence of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus warned
the people not to follow the scribes and Pharisees.

II.  The people about whom Jesus the warning was given

    Instead of reading that chapter now, let me get technical for
a moment and see if I can clarify something.  Luke does not
mention the Pharisees directly by name.  Rather he speaks of the
scribes.  The denunciation here is against the scribes.  Matthew,
however, says that Jesus spoke against both the scribes and the
Pharisees.  Not that they were two different groups.  It is just
that the two terms have different meanings, but they both referred
to the same group of men.  The term "Pharisees" speaks of the kind
of religion that they held to.  They hold certain religious
beliefs which distinguish them from other religious groups of that
day.  The term "scribes" does not speaks of their religious
doctrines and practices, but rather it speaks of the kind of
occupation held by these men.  Their full time occupation was
copying and teaching the Scriptures to others.  They were the
rabbis.  They were men who read and explained the Scriptures in
the worship services every sabbath day.  In modern terminology, we
would say, "They were the preachers in the Jewish synagogues."
    When Luke called them scribes, he was just speaking of their
occupation as those who copied the Scriptures and explained them
to others.  When Matthew called them scribes and Pharisees, he was
speaking not only of their occupation, but he also identified them
as holding to the beliefs and practices which the Pharisees hold.
He was also, no doubt, including some of the Pharisee leaders who
were not scribes.
    I think it is good for us to take time to understand the
technicalities, but I do not want to take so much time on the
technicalities that we do not get to the point that Jesus was
making.  Listen to the denunciations that He made against the
scribes and Pharisees.
    Luke is very mild in his record of our Lord's denunciation of
the Pharisees.  V.  46-47, "Beware of the scribes, which desire to
walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the
highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;
Which devour widows' houses, and for a show make long prayers: the
same shall receive greater damnation."  If that sounds to you like
a strong denunciation of the Pharisees, you ought to read it as
recorded by Matthew in Matthew chapter 23 and hear just how strong
Jesus really put it.  He repeatedly called the scribes and
Pharisees "hypocrites."  He called them "whited sepulchres" and a
generation of vipers and pronounced woe upon them.  I am not going
to read that chapter in this message because of its length, but I
do recommend that you read it sometime.

III.  The things Jesus denounced in the scribes and Pharisees

    Jesus said that they desire to walk in long robes.  The
Pharisees placed more emphasis on how a man is dressed than they
did in how he lived his life.  According to them those who were
really devoted to God wore their robes at great length.  All of
the men wore robes, but according them you could tell who the
really righteous and godly men were by the length of their robes.
The longer the robe, the more godly the man.  The shorter the
robe, the more ungodly the man.  In other words, the scribes and
Pharisees judged a man's righteousness by his physical appearance
and not by the righteousness of his heart or the godliness of his
life.
    Jesus denounced the scribes and Pharisees also because they
love greetings in the markets.  The markets were where the crowds
of people could be found in the cities.  It's much the same way in
our area.  If you want to find lots of people in Henderson, just
go to Wal Mart or one of the big chain grocery stores and you will
see a lot of people.  What Jesus was taking about here is that the
scribes and Pharisees liked to be called by flattering titles in
public.  They especially liked the title, "rabbi."  In their minds
it was a way of calling attention to all the people around that
they were a lot more knowledgeable than the common people.  They
liked to be called "rabbi" and according to some historians they
were greatly offended if they were not called "rabbi."
    Jesus also criticized them because they desired the seats of
highest honor at the Jewish synagogue worship services.  Whenever
they met at the house of God for worship, the scribes and
Pharisees were not concerned about worshipping God.  They were
concerned about how much public recognition was given to them.
They were not concerned that God was honored; they were only
concerned that they were honored.
    Jesus denounced the scribes and Pharisees because they loved
the places of highest honor at the feasts.  To get technical
again, the word that is here translated "room" is better
translated "place."  It does not mean "room" is the sense of
separate room or compartment.  It means "room" in the sense of
space or place.  In our modern terminology, what they wanted was
to always be seated at the head table at the banquet or feast.  In
fact, they were very insistent that they sit at the head table.
They were very much insulted when they were not asked to sit at
the head table and they let it be known that they were insulted.
    Up to this point Jesus has denounced them for their pride.  It
was pride that made them want to wear the longest robes so that
they would be recognized as being the most godly.  It was pride
that made them want to be called "rabbi" in the market places
so that everybody would know that they were smarter than other
people.  It was pride that made them want to be seated in the
seats of highest honor in the synagogues so that everybody present
would praise them and honor them.  It was pride that made them
want to be seated at the head table at the banquets and feasts, so
that everybody would know that they were somebody important.
    But in verse 47 Jesus denounces them for their greed, their
dishonesty and their cruelty.  He said that they devour widows'
houses.  According to historians, one way this was done was to
hire out to widows to manage their estates for them.  Often times,
a woman felt incapable of managing an estate which her husband
left to her and so she would hire someone to manage the estate for
her.  The Pharisees loved to have that kind of job.  And when they
did get such a job they would take advantage of the poor widow and
use the estate chiefly for their own financial advantage.  They
would bilk her out of most of her money.
    Another way they would devour widows' houses was by persuading
them to donate certain of their properties to the Jewish synagogue
supposedly to be used for the Lord.  However, as synagogue
officials, they often used those properties for their own selfish
purposes.
    Still another way they would devour widows' houses was by
charging outrageous prices for whatever goods and services they
provided for the widows.
    God has instructed in His word that we should show mercy and
kindness to widows and orphans.  We should do good for them and
not evil.  However, the scribes and Pharisees showed them no mercy
and no kindness.  They did them harm and not good.  They were not
kind and generous.  Rather they were greedy, cruel and dishonest.
    Their whole religious concept was that of self-righteousness,
pride and greed.  The Scripture teaches that pride goes before
destruction, self-righteousness is hypocrisy and sin, and greed is
covetousness.

IV.  The greater punishment which such leaders will receive

    This is the kind of religious leadership the scribes and
Pharisees were in Israel.  Jesus denounced them and said that they
would receive the greater damnation.  What Jesus was saying here
is that when God judges the scribes and Pharisees and pronounces
punishment upon them for their evil deeds, they will receive the
greater punishment.  It is not going to be easy on anybody who
goes to hell, but some people in hell will suffer greater
punishment than others after the Great White Throne Judgment takes
place.
    This is as it should be.  Those who lead others astray and
keep them from being saved are most certainly worthy of more
punishment than those whom they lead astray.  There are many false
religious leaders even today who are leading men, women, boys and
girls astray on the plan of salvation.  They preach and teach that
salvation is by the works of men instead of by the grace of God
through repentance and faith.  Some teach that salvation is by the
baptismal waters instead of by grace through faith in Jesus
Christ.  Some teach that salvation is through enrollment in some
certain religious organization rather than by repentance and faith
in Jesus Christ.  Any time anybody makes salvation to depend on
anything other than repentance of sin and faith in the Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, they lead people away from the gospel and
down into the fires of hell.
    These are the worst kind of sinners and they are a danger to
the souls of the men, women, boys and girls who believe in the
false gospels which they preach.  Some of them may sincerely
believe the heretical gospel message which they preach, but many
of them know better to start with.  They are motived by a desire
for the praises of men and for the riches of this world.  They
deceive thousands of people out in the radio and television land.
They plead for offerings as though they are paupers struggling to
stay on the air, when the truth is that they are getting
fabulously rich.  Many of the offerings which help to make them
rich are taken from poor widows and orphans.  These are wicked men
who bleed money from the poor, but that is not the worst of it.
    The worst part about it is that they deceive people into
thinking that they can get to heaven by following them and
supporting them when all it does is to lead them into the fires of
hell.  I remember hearing Bro. A. J. Kirkland say that such  men
are worse than the bootleggers.  I would add to that.  They are
worse than dope peddlers.  They are worse than leaders in the
maffia.  They are worse than heads of crime syndicates.  Any man
who would use the Word of God and churches of the land to
deliberately deceive the people and send their souls hell just to
make himself rich and famous is the worst kind of skum.  He is
worthy of the greatest damnation, and like the scribes and
Pharisees, that is just what he is going to get.  He will have a
place in the hottest fires of hell.  He will have the worst kind
of suffering in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone.

V.  The warning as it applies today

    But let me get back to the warning that Jesus issued.  Jesus
warned His disciples against following that kind of leadership.
His disciples were saved, but it was possible that after He was
gone that they might follow the wrong kind of spiritual leadership
and do great harm to the lives of other people.
    Since Jesus said this to His disciples in the hearing of the
multitudes of people, Jesus was also warning the multitudes of
people.  He was warning them to stop following the leadership of
the scribes and Pharisees.  The scribes and Pharisees would only
lead them into the fires of hell where they would suffer forever
and ever.  Jesus warned them so that they might turn and put their
faith and trust in Him and be saved.
    Through the writings of Luke and the other gospel writers,
Jesus is warning each of us today.  Religious leaders are needed.
Christian leaders are needed.  But we all ought to be careful what
kind of spiritual leader we follow.  We need not demand absolute
perfection in a man before we will follow him.  There is no such
leader in existence.  But we ought to make certain that the man we
follow rightly divides the Word of God.  It is not enough for a
man to read the Scriptures and make a talk about them.  He needs
to be right in the basics of the Holy Scriptures or we have no
business following him.
    Even if you are saved and know for certain that you are going
to heaven, it is still dangerous for you to follow false religious
leadership.  They can lead you astray into heretical doctrines and
practices.  They can lead your unsaved children and other family
members astray and cause them to spend eternity in the fires of
hell.
    Let me tell you also that there are a lot of things more
important than worshipping at the biggest church in town with the
finest facilities.  There are a lot of things more important than
having full time workers for every age group.  There are a lot of
things more important than having ski trips to Colorado and
pleasure trips to Canada, Florida or California.  There a lot of
things more important than having social activities for every age
group.
    What is really important is the preaching and teaching of the
word of God.  Jesus sounded a warning that is very much needed in
our modern times.
    People need God and they need to be in church.  But most of
all, they need the true gospel of Jesus Christ that is able to
save the soul and keep one out of the fires of hell.  Then in
addiction to this, they need to be in a church that is true to the
truths of God's word.  If they happen to have a good building and
lots of good clean spiritual activities, that is just an added
bonus, but let us not forget which is most important.