Scripture to Read: Luke 7:36
God had Luke describe many encounters that Jesus had with different people during His ministry here on earth. One of those encounters is described in Luke 7:36–50. God first had Luke record this in Luke 7:36, “Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.” A Pharisee was a member of a religious and political group in Judea during the days Jesus walked on the earth. Pharisees were known for their strict commitment to keeping the Law of Moses and the oral traditions. The Pharisees emphasized ritual purity, tithing, and observance of the Sabbath. Of course, none of them actually followed what they preached, because Jesus called them “whitewashed tombs” in Matthew 23:27, referring to the fact that their spirit was dead due to their sins and trespasses. Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead and in the existence of angels, which distinguished them from other Jewish sects, such as the Sadducees, who did not believe in either. The term “Pharisee” comes from a Hebrew word meaning “separated” or “set apart,” which is interesting because they saw themselves as being better than anyone else. Whereas, as Christians, we’re “set apart” from the lost world because of Christ in us, but we are commanded by our Lord to preach the gospel to the lost world and to love everyone as we love our Lord and ourselves. We must guard our hearts from being legalistic or hypocritical and be sure we’re imitating our Lord (Ephesians 5:1–2) in the way we treat everyone.
Challenge & Application
What do we learn from Jesus as He chose to dine at the home of the Pharisee, and how can we imitate Him?
What was the spiritual problem with the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, and how does that relate to people today?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!