Hypocritical religion

Luke 14:1-11

We all despise hypocrisy and arrogance. Jesus exposed these ugly traits in the ruling elite of his day. What Jesus has to say comes painfully close to home. In a 21st century culture where virtue-signalling and seeking the recognition of others has become a norm, hypocrisy and self-promotion are rife. But in Jesus’ condemnation he does much more than provide us with more lessons in morality. His exposure of the ruling elite’s self-righteous hypocrisy and self-promoting pride also explains why we might fail to respond to his offer of salvation.

Luke 14:1-11

Healing of a Man on the Sabbath

One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” And they could not reply to these things.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

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