A Word of Woe to His Critics

He Set His Face - A Word of Woe to His Critics

Dave Riddle - 03/31/19

Key Passage: Luke 11:37-52

Luke 9:51 - When the days were coming to a close for Him to be taken up, He set His face resolutely towards Jerusalem. 

• Resolute: purposefully unwavering or determined.

Torah - The law of God as revealed to Moses and recorded in the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures (the Pentateuch).

Talmud - The body of Jewish civil and ceremonial law and legend. Not from scripture, but rabbinic tradition. 

Exposing the Hypocrites:

1. You’re the ones who are unclean

   • Luke 11:39-41

2. You’ve lost sight of the Law’s design

   • Luke 11:42

   • Love and justice take a back seat to tradition and legalism.

3. You’re preoccupied with status

   • Luke 11:43

   • Only concerned with what others think.

4. You’re actually a source of defilement

   • Luke 11:44

   • They thought they were a source of purity, but the opposite was the truth.

Challenging the Experts: 

1. Your teaching puts a burden on the people that is not from God.

   • Luke 11:46

   • “Woe” is not a term of vindictiveness, but of regret.

2. Like your ancestors you are in opposition to God’s message and messengers.

   • Luke 11:47

3. You are Kingdom-Inhibitors

   • Luke 11:52

   • You’re not just missing the point, you’re causing others to miss the point.

A Strong Word to Would-Be Followers

He Set His Face - A Strong Word to Would-Be Followers

Dave Riddle - 03/24/19

Key Passage: Luke 14:25-34

Luke 9:51 - When the days were coming to a close for Him to be taken up, He set His face resolutely towards Jerusalem. 

• Resolute: purposefully unwavering or determined.

5 Examples to Illustrate 5 Marks of a Follower

1. Family: Love Jesus Supremely

   • Luke 14:26

   • Jesus uses hyperbole to show that nothing should rival the love we have for God.

   • If Jesus is the absolute priority of your life everything else will fall into place.

2. A Cross: Live to Die

   • Luke 14:27

   • Galatians 2:20

   • I no longer live but Christ lives in me

   • Our old self has to die.

3. A Building: All in, to the very end

   • Luke 14:28-30

   • From your entire life, for your entire life.

   • In every facet of life.

4. A War: Surrender to the more powerful king

   • Luke 14:31-33

   • It’s not about winning, it’s about surrendering.

   • How much confidence do you have in your own resources?

   • John 14:27 - Peace eirēnē (Greek: εἰρήνη) - a state of rest, denoting the absence or end of strife. It refers to a state of untroubled, I disturbed well-being. Peace; a state of natural tranquility. 

5. Salt: Reality matches identity

   • Luke 14:34-35

   • Are we marked by our decision to follow Jesus?