““No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house. “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is unhealthy, your body is filled with darkness. Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness. If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.” As Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. So he went in and took his place at the table. His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom. Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness! Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over. “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces. Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on.” “Teacher,” said an expert in religious law, “you have insulted us, too, in what you just said.” “Yes,” said Jesus, “what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden. What sorrow awaits you! For you build monuments for the prophets your own ancestors killed long ago. But in fact, you stand as witnesses who agree with what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you join in their crime by building the monuments! This is what God in his wisdom said about you: ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them, but they will kill some and persecute the others.’ “As a result, this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God’s prophets from the creation of the world— from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, it will certainly be charged against this generation. “What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law! For you remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.” As Jesus was leaving, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees became hostile and tried to provoke him with many questions. They wanted to trap him into saying something they could use against him.”
Luke 11:33-54 NLT
The way we live and lead matters, and God will hold us accountable for our actions. In these verses, Jesus had strong words of criticism for the religious teachers (scribes) for putting a heavy burden on God’s people and for putting on a show to look good. He criticized the Pharisees for having clean hands but filthy hearts—they cared too much about what people thought and loved the seats of human honor. They didn’t do enough to help the poor and ignored the way of mercy. These wrongs are typical when a person gets into a position of authority, especially religious authority. These religious leaders had positions of power but were not shining God’s light (v.33).
Following Jesus means learning to lead like Jesus—with truth and grace. We all lead in some ways; even if you aren’t in a formal leadership position, you lead yourself and have influence on others. God will hold us accountable for how we live and lead. Knowing this, we should have others hold us accountable now, and regularly evaluate our own lives with the Lord. This allows us to clear out the dark corners of our souls and shine His light to the world. Accountability works best when you empower others to speak into your life. This is hard to do—because you may not want to hear what others will say! Try accountability. Find someone who loves you enough to speak truth into your life, and meet with them regularly. With Christ’s help you are strong enough to hear the feedback that will help you grow—and shine.
Re-read the criticism Jesus gave to the religious leaders. How are you doing in these areas? Who in your life can hold you accountable? How often will you talk with them?
