In the Gospel accounts the Lord Jesus is found in different houses for various reasons. On several occasions He is there to eat, and we love to think of Him eating with sinners. Indeed, this was one of the complaints of the scribes and Pharisees. In Luke, for example, they ask the question, "Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?" (5.30), or make the statement, "This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them" (15.2; cp. also 19.7).
Between these two occasions there are three times when He eats with Pharisees. The Lord Jesus had time not only for the marginalised, but also for the self-righteous, without prejudice or partiality.
On each of these occasions the Pharisees are critical of the Lord Jesus, either explicitly or implicitly. In response, He points out their own failure, outlines the conditions for enjoying fellowship with Him, and silences their criticisms. Each time there are three lessons to be learned. These relate to their (and our) attitudes towards Him, ourselves, and others. They can be summarised as follows: three "no's", three "woe"s", a "which" and two "when's".
Simon the Pharisee (Lk 7.36-50)
In this account of the Lord's visit to Simon the Pharisee's house, we often concentrate on the woman, and rightly so, for from her we see a lovely outpouring (literally) of love and gratitude to the Saviour. We should note that it is gratitude, not repentance. This has evidently come already in a previous encounter with the Lord Jesus. The story that He tells, and His commentary on it, shows that she has already been forgiven, and that the love that she has shown is in response.
However, when we look at Simon we see a completely different picture. Indeed, we might well ask why he invited the Lord Jesus in the first place. Did he think that it was the thing to do, or even that he was doing Him a favour? His criticism of the Lord Jesus, however, makes clear what his real opinion of Him was: "This man, if he were a prophet, would have known…" (v.39). We may note that he does not even do the Lord the courtesy of supplying a name – He is simply "This man". He denies Him the authority of being a prophet, and he taints Him with his own prejudice, namely, that if the Lord knew the kind of woman she was, He would have no more to do with her. Yet he failed to appreciate that he was in the presence of the One who bears the name that is above every name, the One who is not merely a prophet but the incarnate Son of God and who, in wondrous grace reaches out to sinners to draw them to Himself.
Not only his words, but his actions demonstrated his complete lack of appreciation, and this the Lord Jesus points out to him in the three "no"s:
i. no water - no adoration
ii. no kiss - no affection
iii. no anointing - no acknowledgement.
Yet what Simon failed to do, the unnamed woman did. She knelt at the feet of the Lord Jesus in silent adoration and washed His feet with her tears. Her affections were stirred for the One who had met all her need, and she repeatedly kissed His feet. In acknowledgement of His greatness she anointed His feet with the ointment that she poured out upon Him. All these actions came from an appreciation of sins forgiven. She was prepared to brave the looks and the taunts of those who would despise her for her actions to do Him service.
We might ask ourselves the question: what place does He have in our lives and in our hearts?
Another Pharisee (Lk 11.37-44)
On this occasion the Lord Jesus is invited by "a certain Pharisee" to dine with him. He goes in and sits down to eat. Seeing this, the Pharisee criticises Him for "not washing" before dinner. When we look into it more closely we may notice that the idea involves more than just washing hands. The word actually means "to bathe" – it is the same word as "to baptise" – that is, wash all over. In response, the Lord Jesus points out that the Pharisees were guilty of formality without reality – they paid excessive attention to externals, such as cups and plates, whilst allowing sin to go undealt with.
He expands on this by pronouncing three woes on the Pharisees (and scribes), exposing three evils of which they were guilty:
legality (v.42)
pride (v.43)
hypocrisy (v.44).
Legality: they paid tithes of herbs (and made sure that others did as well), whilst missing the point completely, and failing to show regard for "judgment and the love of God". We, too, could easily be guilty of the same thing. For truth must have a context. Truth must be maintained – the Lord Jesus affirms that – but not as an end in itself. It needs to be exercised in conjunction with "judgment and the love of God". Without it, it becomes mere dead legality. With it, it breathes life and vitality.
Pride: they sought position and the praise of men - compare Diotrephes (3 Jn 9). In the parallel passage in Matthew 23, the Lord Jesus lays down the principle that the pathway to greatness is through humility, and that those who exalt themselves "shall be abased" (vv.11-12).
Hypocrisy: Underneath, there was no life in them. The Lord succinctly puts His finger on the root of the problem. There was, and there could be, no pulling the wool over His eyes. There is a solemn warning in all this, for, though we can fool others, and even ourselves, most, if not all the time, we cannot fool Him.
In each case "Woe" is pronounced, for those who are guilty of such things are heading for trouble and divine judgment. These were uncomfortable lessons for the Pharisees to face up to, and they were not prepared to do so, for at the end of the chapter their reaction was to try to trip up the Lord Jesus in what He said, that they might be able to accuse Him (vv.53-54).
One of the Chief Pharisees (Lk 14.1-4)
This time the Lord Jesus entered the house of one of the chief Pharisees on the Sabbath day. Here, there was a man who had the dropsy. The Lord Jesus asks the question, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?", and, on receiving no reply, heals the man and sends him away. In the following verses the Lord Jesus lays before them three lessons, based on this incident and upon His own observations. They are lessons in:
i. compassion, vv.5-6 "Which of you"
ii. humility, vv.7-11 "When thou art bidden"
iii. hospitality, vv.12-14 "When thou makest a dinner".
Although the text does not say it explicitly, it seems evident that the man had been planted there that day so that the Lord would heal him and they could accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath. This displays the callous attitude of the Pharisees, for they had no concern for the man or his wellbeing, seeking only to criticise the Lord Jesus. Yet, He points out to them that if their ox or ass should fall into a pit on the Sabbath they would immediately pull it out, Sabbath or not. On another occasion, having made a similar point, He adds, "How much then is a man better than a sheep?" (Mt 12.12).
Secondly, the Lord Jesus observes that as they go to sit at the table, they all choose out the most important or the most prominent seats. This time, instead of pronouncing "Woe" upon their pride and self-seeking, the Lord Jesus gives them a lesson in humility – He shows them a better way. Paul brings before us the same lesson in Philippians 2, where he says, "in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves" (v.3). He then presents the Lord Jesus Himself as the supreme example of this kind of attitude. For, indeed, the principle that the Lord Jesus brings before us in v.11 of our chapter, that "he that humbleth himself shall be exalted", finds its greatest fulfilment in His exaltation (Phil 2.9-11).
Thirdly, He gives them a lesson in hospitality. It is not just about inviting our friends or those who can reciprocate. The pathway to blessing and future recompense is by showing hospitality towards those who cannot repay - compare also Hebrew 13.2.
In conclusion we might ask ourselves the searching question, "Are we often more like the Pharisees than we would care to think?". May we learn the lessons that they failed to, and adjust our attitudes, where necessary, towards the Lord Jesus, ourselves, and others.
Concluded.
