Luke 11:37–54

Jesus Criticizes Some Jewish Leaders

³⁷After Jesus spoke, a Pharisee invited him to have lunch at his house. So Jesus accepted the invitation. ³⁸The Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus didn’t wash before the meal. 

³⁹The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside you are full of greed and evil. ⁴⁰You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside too? ⁴¹Give what is inside as a gift to the poor, and then everything will be clean^afor you. 

⁴²“How horrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give ⸤God⸥ one-tenth of your mint, spices, and every garden herb. But you have ignored justice and the love of God. You should have done these things without ignoring the others. 

⁴³“How horrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to sit in the front seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴How horrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves. People walk on them without knowing what they are.” 

⁴⁵One of the experts in Moses’ Teachings said to him, “Teacher, when you talk this way, you insult us too.” 

⁴⁶Jesus said, “How horrible it will be for you experts in Moses’ Teachings! You burden people with loads that are hard to carry. But you won’t lift a finger to carry any of these loads. 

⁴⁷“How horrible it will be for you! You build the monuments for the prophets. But it was your ancestors who murdered them. ⁴⁸So you are witnesses and approve of what your ancestors did. They murdered the prophets for whom you build monuments. ⁴⁹That’s why the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles. They will murder some of those prophets and apostles and persecute others.’ ⁵⁰So the people living now will be charged with the murder of every prophet since the world was made. ⁵¹This includes the murders from Abel to Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the temple. Yes, I can guarantee this truth: The people living today will be held responsible for this. 

⁵²“How horrible it will be for you experts in Moses’ Teachings! You have taken away the key that unlocks knowledge. You haven’t gained entrance into ⸤knowledge⸥ yourselves, and you’ve kept out those who wanted to enter.” 

⁵³When Jesus left, the experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees held a terrible grudge against him. They questioned him about many things ⁵⁴and watched him closely to trap him in something he might say.