Kingsley Nwaekwe

The word woe could be translated in modern terminology as beware or judgment or curses upon you.

This is how serious Jesus was about the warnings he was giving.

In Luke chapter 11, verse 42 to 47, the Bible reads, But woe to you, Pharisees, for you tithe mint and rue and every herb and neglect justice and the love of God.

These you ought to have done without neglecting the others.

Woe to you, Pharisees, for you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

Woe to you, for you are like unmarked graves and people walk over them without knowing it.

One of the lawyers answered him, Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.

And he said, Woe to you lawyers also, for you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

Woe to you, for you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.

So what exactly was Jesus warning us about, and who was the warning for?

In our passage for today, Jesus' woes were originally given for the religious leaders of his day, Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers.

The Pharisees were a Jewish sect or denomination in modern terms who heavily emphasized the perfect observance of the law or Torah.

In the Torah, there were 613 commandments that Jews were expected to adhere to.

Now, because of their disobedience historically, which led to the exile in Babylon back in 563 BC, the Pharisees decided that they would follow the commandments perfectly so that what happened back then would never happen again.

They attempted to follow the 613 so perfectly that they set up laws around the 613 laws so they wouldn't even get close to breaking the actual 613.

The problem with this type of legalism is that it can tend to drown out the heart or the purpose of the laws themselves.

This is what Jesus was warning them about and what he still warns us of today.

Jesus pronounces judgment on the Pharisees on three points.

Legalism, performative religion, and pride.

He chastised them for being so concerned about the letter of the law that they neglected the heart of the law, love.