1. Who is a Christian mentor or leader you look up to in your life? It could be a parent, a teacher, a pastor, small group leader. What makes them such a postive influence for your faith?
2. Why do you think Jesus was so direct – even harsh at times – with the Pharisees? What does that show us about his priorities?
3. Why do you think Jesus is more concerned with your heart than your performance?
4. How can you imitate Jesus? How can you show your friends and the people in your life that you are more concerned about their hearts than you are about their performance?
5. What is one sign in your life that faith has become a checklist instead of a relationship? What’s one way to shift back toward Jesus this week?
6. Which “religious” habit (like prayer, Bible reading, serving, worship, etc.) do you sometimes use to feel superior – and how can you re-center it on love and humility?

THE MAIN POINT

Jesus’ harsh messages to the Pharisees reveals that he has come to confront those who think they are holy/above others/self righteous, not to condemn them, but to urge them to change. Following Jesus is not a checklist, it is a relationship.

THE BIBLE

Luke 6:1-11; 11:37-54; 18:9-14; 19:10

THE CONTEXT

Throughout our series, we have learned that Jesus is in the business of seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19:10). So far, we have seen that the lost has referred to everyone and to the rejected and outcasts. This week, we will focus on those who are not rejected or outcast, but the ones rejecting others. We will be exploring how they are part of the lost ones whom Jesus has come to seek and save.

While Jesus was preaching and ministering on earth, the Sadducees and Pharisees (the main teachers of the law at the time) competed for control of the Temple. By the first century, the Sadducees were dominant. However, the Pharisees remained an influential minority in Jerusalem and had mounted a successful campaign to win the hearts of people.

The Pharisees were especially concerned with maintaining a righteous status before God. While many Jews tithed, Pharisees even tithed their garden herbs (Matthew 23:23). While others fasted periodically, they fasted twice a week (Mark 2:18; Luke 18:12). They also maintained purity at their meals to the point of “straining out a gnat” from a cup (Matthew 23:24; Mark 7:4), and they avoided sharing a table with “sinners,” those like tax collectors who habitually broke the law (Mark 2:16; Luke 7:39). All three expressions of “piety” come together in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14). Jesus depicts the Pharisee as distinguishing himself from the tax collector because he fasted and tithed to retain a righteous status before God. Elsewhere, Jesus affirms tithing but claims the Pharisees neglect the “weightier matters of the law” – justice, mercy, and faithfulness (See Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:37-54).

Despite the blameless way of life many Pharisees pursued, such effort, in Jesus’ view, was not enough: like all people, they needed to repent and believe in the gospel. The problem was not being a Pharisee; the problem was putting their faith in self-righteousness.

We see the Pharisees misunderstanding righteousness in their thoughts on the Sabbath. According to Deuteronomy 23:25, it was perfectly lawful to pick heads of grain in the fields. However, for the Pharisees, picking heads of grain was the equivalent to harvesting and threshing; therefore, this was forbidden on the Sabbath. Rigid observance of the Sabbath was one of the main components of the Jewish religion. In adding their own interpretation of what was lawful and unlawful to do on the Sabbath, the Pharisees and experts of the law made it so that keeping the Sabbath had degenerated into deadly formalism. This is made plain again in the way the Pharisees understand and view Jesus healing the man’s withered hand. According to the Pharisees, it was unlawful to perform medical practices on the Sabbath unless it was a question of life or death. The man was not in danger of dying; therefore, it was unlawful to heal his hand. Jesus, however, heals the man and reveals that righteousness does not rest on rigid formalism, but rather on love and service to others. For Jesus, love matters more than legalism and obedience without love misses the point of faith. Loveless obedience is legalism.

THE CORE

As you prepare the core of the message using personal story and questions, keep in mind these points:

• Following Jesus is not a checklist that we must complete on a daily basis. We cannot attain righteousness by works. While the Pharisees were so focused on checking everything off, Jesus was concerned about love and justice. The example here is of Sabbath observance, but this truth rings true in all areas of life.
• Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, not to condemn, but to convict. His critiques and comments were invitations to turn back to God and step into relationship with him. Sometimes Jesus critiques us in the same way in order to convict us and lead us to change.
• Jesus teaches that the observance of Sabbath should never degenerate into dead, outward formalism – it is not a checklist – which constitutes a stumbling block to the full development of the life of the believer. Christians are thus to observe the Lord’s day in the newness of heart and life, not in the rigid spirit of the Pharisees.
• Jesus healing the man’s hand on the Sabbath reveals what must be positively done on the Sabbath. Jesus’ words and actions teach us quite plainly that we should place ourselves wholly at God’s disposal to perform works of love and mercy wherever and in whatever way it may be possible.
• Spiritual disciplines are beautiful. Prayer, reading your Bible, observing the Sabbath, whatever it might be, are all amazing ways of connecting with Jesus. They are beautiful responses to Jesus, not ways to earn him.

THE APPLICATION

As you prepare the application, challenge and/or encouragement, keep in mind these points:

• Are you treating your relationship with God as a checklist? “If I just pray when I wake up, before I go to bed, and before every meal, then I will be made right in the eyes of God.” “If I just read my Bible once a day, then I will be made right.” Are you pursuing religious formalism, or are you pursuing Jesus? Is your faith placed in spiritual disciplines? Or are your spiritual disciplines a response to the person of Jesus? Are you placing your faith in your spiritual disciplines or in the person of Jesus?
• Surrender your idea of what it means to follow Jesus to him. We do not worship our idea of following Jesus; we worship Jesus as a person. Surrender your idea of righteousness to him and follow him.