Are We Willing to Care as Jesus Cares?

October 5, 2025

“Are We Willing to Care as Jesus Cares?” – October 5^th, 2025

Who does Jesus care for? Are we willing to care as Jesus cares?

When each of my kids wanted to apply for their first driver’s license, we went together to our local government office to get those taken care of. This was long before any kind of online information or chatbot assistance or digital processes. Each time I visited that particular building, I discovered that I wasn’t as patient or gracious as I thought I was! We had to take a numbered paper ticket from a queue-management machine and then languish in a room with hundreds of other forlorn souls and wait for our number to be announced in muffled voices amplified by ancient crackly speakers. The more seasoned customers with multiple children in tow arrived with enough provisions for a multiday camping expedition. The more cynical old-timers traded tales of woe and warnings about slipups they’d made that had kept them shackled to this paperwork purgatory for days at a time. If you missed your number because you foolishly visited the restroom, too bad, you had to go back and take another number.

This week I received tremendous relief and resolution on something much more important to do with my vital records which someone in a large federal agency had incorrectly updated several decades ago. Paul and I tried for many years to get the problem resolved. Each time I submitted the necessary paperwork and original documents, the agency assured me that my records were now corrected. And then, within months, my records were reverted to the incorrect information again, seemingly by some kind of automatic internal process. And each time that happened, they basically accused me of altering the information again, something I didn’t even have the power to do. No one seemed willing or able to help or advocate for me. I discovered on each of these occasions that I still wasn’t as patient or gracious as I thought I was. This is the kind of story I would not have been surprised to hear in other parts of the world. Surely not here! I am an able-bodied, educated, natural born citizen. How could this happen? The reality is that no matter how well-designed or implemented, no system is perfect. In imperfect systems, people fall through the cracks. If I fell through the cracks in such an important way for so long, how many more people who are less privileged fall through the cracks every day? It is always the most vulnerable people who suffer the most. This is who Luke draws our attention to again and again throughout his gospel.

Luke’s focus on how we reflect the character and heart of Jesus are so clear, that we can envision how Luke would respond to the question, “What is a Christian?” His answer would contain what he considered the two primary hallmarks of both Jesus and the Christian community.

For Luke, a Christian is a follower of Jesus who reaches out to others to call them to repentance and newness of life and who cares for the poor.

Are we willing to care as Jesus cares? Who does Jesus care for? Luke offers us two answers to that question:

Everyone
Especially the poor

In a moment we’ll turn to today’s passage in Luke chapter 11. We’re going to drop by another dinner party Jesus attended, again at a Pharisee’s house. (Incidentally, in sharp contrast to the passage titles last week, the editors seem to have paid closer attention to what Jesus actually said in crafting titles for this account.) It’s always nice to get an invitation to dinner, isn’t it? Maybe the Pharisee who invited him this time was sympathetic to Jesus’ teaching, since Luke tells us that it was while Jesus was speaking that he invited him to dine with him. What could go wrong? Let’s see how long it takes for a conflict to break out this time!

Luke 11:37-38 – “a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner.”

Uh-oh! Jesus did not wash before dinner! I’m sure we’ve all noticed times in public restrooms when somebody neglected to wash their hands before leaving. That kind of neglect of personal hygiene might gross us out, but that’s not what the Pharisee was “amazed” about. The word translated “amazed” here is the Greek word thaumazó – to marvel, to wonder, with the implication of beginning to speculate on the matter. Luke is writing to an audience that would have understood immediately why Jesus’ omission was a huge problem. Washing before dinner was an act of ritual cleansing required by the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism, containing the teachings, opinions, and debates of thousands of rabbis across centuries. It is the primary source of Jewish religious law, halakha, literally the way of walking. Halakha clarifies and expands on the Torah’s commandments, providing detailed explanations and ruling on practical matters. Halakha guided religious practices, beliefs, and numerous aspects of day-to-day-life in Jesus’ day. Orthodox and Conservative Jews today continue to follow these laws. Because Jesus did not wash before dinner, the Pharisee is aghast, because it meant that Jesus had broken not only the religious law but all the laws of hospitality! Jesus was a terrible guest!

Where did this legal requirement to wash before dinner even come from? The Old Testament does not command washing hands before eating, but in Exodus 30, God did command priests to wash before ministering to the Lord. The Pharisees and other religious teachers greatly expanded this over time to a general rule for all people, requiring the hands to be washed before eating a meal containing bread. Travelers were required to walk as far as four miles to obtain the water for washing. Only fresh, colorless water could be used; water needed to be poured over both hands up to the wrists, left hand and then right; hands had to be lifted afterwards in blessing; finally, hands had to be dried by wiping them with a towel. These are just some of the rules around hand washing before dinner. Religious teachers argued that washing before meals is so important that neglecting it is equivalent to unchastity, which risks divine punishment in the form of sudden destruction or poverty. You can see that handwashing then meant something completely different to how a parent might call out to their children today, “wash your hands before dinner!”

In case we still think it was not that big a deal, let’s use our imaginations to help us grasp the magnitude of how Jesus’ omission impacted his Pharisee host and others. How would you feel if you were fully engrossed in watching your team or your favorite show, and then a guest in your home walked in, picked up the remote, and changed the channel on you? How would you feel if you woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat because, unbeknownst to you, your guest had decided to bump up the thermostat by ten degrees! How would you feel if you went to your fridge to start meal prep for a planned and important celebration for someone you love, only to discover that a guest in your home had decided to eat three of the key ingredients an hour earlier. No gold stars for guests like these, just saying! In the Pharisee’s view, Jesus was a terrible guest!

Back to the dinner party. Notice that Luke reports Jesus’ understanding of what the Pharisee is thinking, and, as in last week’s dinner party, Jesus is the first to speak. How rude! Everyone knows that guests are supposed to treat the host with the utmost respect, follow the host’s social cues, let the host speak first before responding, and so forth. Jesus has this socially inappropriate habit of taking over!

Have you ever seen one of those popular wall plaques, “Christ is the head of this house, the unseen guest of every meal, the silent listener to every conversation.” The first part sounds great – Christ is the head of this house. But does the rest of it accurately describe who Jesus is? Is Jesus in our homes as one who is unseen and unheard? Is that what it means to be under the Lordship of Christ? This week I learned of the death of Presbyterian pastor Dr. John Huffman, the only minister apparently courageous enough to tell US president Richard Nixon he should confess during the crisis of the Watergate scandal. In a 1968 interview, Huffman observed, “Many of us today don’t want Christ around … We may pretend to worship him and call ourselves Christians, but we don’t want to disturb the comfort of our lives.” “Jesus is Lord” is easy to say, much harder to live out.

Back to Luke’s account of this dinner party. We’re only two verses in, and things are about to heat up. Jesus is the first one to speak, and he gets right to the heart of the matter. Brace yourself – there are two sets of three woes ahead!

Pharisee woe number one is in Luke 11:39-42 – “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you. But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others.” Ironically, the law did not even require anyone to tithe herbs. Deuteronomy 14:22 said to “set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field.” This was initially interpreted to mean that only tithes of staples (such as grain, grapes, and olives) were required. But over time, both rabbinic and Pharisaical traditions expanded this requirement to include even the most minute herbs. Jesus reprimands them for focusing on nitpicky things that are not even required, when they ought to be practicing the most important things – justice and the love of God!

Today this shows up when religious people say things like, I tithe, and so should you! You should obey the Levitical laws that I have decided are the most important, like I do! These are God’s rules, not mine – I’m just the humble messenger! The Apostle Paul would later write in Galatians 5:13-14 – “you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” To care as Jesus cares looks like advocating for justice, feeding the poor, providing shelter to the homeless, choosing life and giving practical support to others who choose life.

Pharisee woe number two is in Luke 11:43 – “Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces.” They were focused on their own self-importance. They lapped up and even demanded honor and attention wherever they went.

Today we see this when religious people make demands like, Because I am so important, you need to give me special treatment, showy toys, and significant titles, to put God’s blessing on display, of course. To care as Jesus cares is to take seriously Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:35-36 – “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”

Pharisee woe number three is in Luke 11:44 – “Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it.’ The law in Leviticus 21 and Numbers 6 stipulated that neither priests nor Nazirites were allowed to go near dead bodies, which meant that even accidentally walking over an unmarked grave would make them ritually unclean. Jesus paints a picture here of an ordinary person walking along, minding their own business, when suddenly, a Pharisee ambushes them with an accusation, Aha! I caught you doing something wrong, and now you’re defiled!

Today this crops up when religious people impose rules and regulations on others: Here is how you should live, who you should date, how and how much you should give, what you should wear, and what you should boycott. I’m the shepherd that God appointed over you, so I know what’s best for you! Me? Well, I don’t need to bother with those little legalities – they’re for ordinary people. I’m special! God’s blessing is upon me no matter what I do because I’m God’s anointed! To care as Jesus cares is to recognize and flee spiritual abuse and to help others to do the same. Galatians 5:1 – “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

Back to the dinner party. Next one of the lawyers (a teacher of the law) decided to mount a defense.

Luke 11:45 – “One of the lawyers answered him, ‘Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too.’

What a terrible guest Jesus turned out to be! First, he insults the host and his crew, and now he is insulting the other guests! But really, Jesus’ response is a great example to follow. Just because someone is insulted or offended does not mean an apology needs to follow. Jesus has not done anything wrong in what he said or how he said it. Instead of an apology, Jesus goes straight into three woes against the lawyers!

Lawyer woe number one is in Luke 11:46 – “And he said, ‘Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them.” They are lawyers – they continuously study the law and they know full well what it says! They are quick to load people with heavy burdens, piling upon them law after law that they need to obey. But they completely ignore the laws like Leviticus 19:18 (“you shall love your neighbor as yourself”) and many others that include commandments regarding mutual aid and community support. Jesus is calling them out for this double standard.

Today this shows up when religious people make claims like, God has given me special insight and knowledge and understanding into what the Bible means. Ordinary people couldn’t possibly understand these things. You can even buy my book which ensures that I control the interpretation of Scripture so that it fits neatly with my personal preferences. To care as Jesus cares is to realize that we are not isolate superheroes who live independently. Jesus calls us to a life of humble interdependence where we seek God’s wisdom together. The early church modeled this. Here are some examples from Acts 15: [they] “met together to consider this matter” … “after there had been much debate” … “God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us” … “we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will” … “we have decided unanimously” … “it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.”

Lawyer woe number two is in Luke 11:47-51 – “Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation.” Again, they have two different standards. They took great care to repair and to adorn the tombs of the prophets, while their hearts were violently opposed to the Truth, the very Son of the living God who stood before them and whom they refused to accept. Jesus is pointing out their hypocrisy in honoring those whom their ancestors cruelly persecuted, and now they are repeating that cruel persecution in the way they treated John the Baptist and now Jesus!

We see this today when religious people say things like, I and my group are right; they and their group are wrong. They are so wrong that they must be stupid not to see it! I and we need to set them straight, because, unlike them, I and we have the only correct and comprehensive understanding of this matter. I and we are just trying to live out our pure desire to know the truth. To care as Jesus cares is to take seriously both love and truth. God is love (1 John 4:8). Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Both truth and love exist within the Trinity. Romans 12:9-10 – “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.”

Lawyer woe number three is in Luke 11:52 – “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” Jesus is reprimanding them that not only are they not interested in what is true, they are actually actively keeping others from pursuing it.

Today this crops up when religious people say things like, Unlike many others, I really care about truth. I am confident I can answer any question you can come up with! Besides, see how many books I’ve sold! Look how many followers I have! All this power and prosperity are proof that God’s on my side! To care as Jesus cares is to follow his example, as the Apostle Paul echoed in Colossians 2:2-3 – he wants our hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that we may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Meal over, Jesus got up from the table. He had spoken these six woes, not as condemnations or curses, but as acknowledgments of what needs to change. Jesus continues to warn us today, to call us to repentance, because he wants God’s highest and best for us – changed hearts, renewed minds, and fullness of life!