Diagnosing the Deadly Pharisaical Disease
Part 46 - Luke 11:29-36 (ESV) - Pastor Tim Kroeker
Matthew 15:8-9:
“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”
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A number of years ago Amee and I were enjoying dinner in the home of some dear friends. Our host was an avid cyclist. He regularly rode Ragbrai. When he wasn’t on his bike he would go camping and fishing. At home he liked to work in the yard, landscaping and clearing trees. Though nearly 60, my friend appeared to be in excellent physical shape. But that evening as we talked, waiting for steaks to come off the grill, he excused himself to go to the bathroom, suddenly nauseous. It seemed to pass and he rested for a bit on his bed before finally rejoining us out on the patio. Our friend confessed to feeling short of breath and after a few brief moments told his wife, “I think I need to go to the hospital.” Thankfully, they were just minutes away because what he was experiencing was almost complete blockage of the Left Anterior Descending artery, one of the most deadly kinds of heart attacks, called the widowmaker.
Though our friend looked physically fit, heart disease nearly cost him his life.
As we continue on in our salvation story we read that Jesus was the dinner guest of a Pharisee. Though by all outward appearances the Pharisees were good, moral people, they actually suffered from a deadly spiritual disease. Jesus diagnoses the problem and then describes the symptoms. Rather than heed his warning the scribes and the Pharisees would foolishly resist Jesus even further. Yet, if we’re wise we’ll all take preventative steps to stave off our own pharisaical tendencies.
