Luke 11:42-44 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
Jesus describes their hypocrisy immediately in verse 42. He tells them they tithe mint, and rue (garden) and all manner of herb, which they should do. But hypocrites do this as well in order to be seen by others. They would even make a huge show out of it by counting every single seed! They wanted to appear to be “holy” before the people, but they ignored the things, which Jesus said they were supposed to do as well. Such as they Passover/pass by justice and do not show the love, compassion, of God.
The scribes and Pharisees did not have a heart for the people, as they have because they were supposed to be God’s representatives. They looked down on the people as lower than them.
Then He precedes to tell them that they love to sit in the uppermost seats and to be seen in the marketplace. Yet they loved to sit in the front to be seen by the people, which showed just how “holy” they were. Also, they loved to be noticed and treated as “holy” when they went to the marketplaces. They were full of pride and arrogance.
In the Synagogue in the front, they had a semi-circular seat up front facing all the congregation, this is where they would sit. Being seen by all, this is what hypocrites love.
Pride and ambition go hand in hand with hypocrites and Jesus saw right through these men. These men also knew it, they were not ignorant to the picture He was painting of them.
The final verse to me speaks volumes concerning a lot of the churches today, televangelists, even those on social media.
Many commentaries that I have read today, points to a town called Tiberias as an example, that when they began to build found underneath hidden were tombs.
These kinds of unseen tombs were primarily the poor people’s tombs. They are not like the ones on the Mount of Olives above the ground, but they laid on the ground. At first, they are whited to be seen by lime, but were not done once a year as the rich people. So over time the white lime would erode wash away, grass would grow, and they would become unseen.
Many Jews refused to live Tiberias because of this, because in the Law of Moses it says that it is unclean to touch a dead body or walk on graves.
Numbers 19:16
16And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
Herod could only get them to live there by either bribery or threats.
Unseen tombs did two things, one it defiled the person if walked on in the eyes of God and man if they walked on it, and two it could injury a person if they tripped over it because it being unseen.
Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees they were “hypocrites” which means “ACTOR” then continues to describe them as graves that are not seen, which men walk over them defiling themselves unaware.
He was letting them know that He knew exactly what and who they were even though they tried to hide it by acting, pretending to be something they are not. While hiding their wickedness, greed, debauchery and pride from those following them. By hiding their true nature, they are a stumbling block that injures men causing them to be defiled with sin unknowingly.
A hypocrite can destroy people who is looking to them for hope and help in knowing the LORD.
Proverbs 11:9
9An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
A hypocrite will leave their congregation/followers starved and dying of thirst spiritual.
Isaiah 32:6
6For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
If you sit back and honestly think about these verses, without a doubt you see today’s false apostate churches with their teachers and preachers.
First off so many today are so interested in putting a “title” before their name, which is first a red flag that screams PRIDE. Prophet, Prophetess, Evangelist, Apostle, Healer etc.
Second how many Churches have you been to where the pulpit is lined up with seats facing the congregation? And some of these seats look like THRONES! Then they will mix with their false Gospel message, about how God is sitting in Heaven for your happiness and to give you your best life now. How God will not let anything bad happen while you are here on earth but will come secretly to whisk you away, though millions of others in nations overseas and being persecuted, tormented and dying daily for their faith.
Here in America we are told that God would never allow that to happen because He is not coming for a beat-up bride? HUH? No, He is coming for a purified Bride and in order to be purified fire is involved and the BRIDE MUST GO THROUGH THE FIRE! Or they are preaching the kingdom now foolishness where the “church” is to take over the government and every avenue in this world in order to dominant it before Christ can come. Or they are now pulling for all protestant Churches to embrace the Catholic Church saying we were the rebellious “children” of the Mother Church Roman Catholic Church! Or they are preaching the Church must support the Zionist movement and the Zionist Nation called Israel because that is what the Bible says! LIES, LIES, LIES! But people are happy to eat false lies instead of researching for themselves and they are literally starving and dying of thirst. Now the Ecumenical movement is taking place that Pope Francis is heading up bring every single false religion together and he is trying to get the true Bride to jump in as well.
These people have their front men and women, that are attractive, charismatic, and well spoken. They are actors! HYPOCRITES! They are hidden tombs that are a stumbling stone to those searching for truth, and in their Gospels, it brings death never life. Defilement which gives God a rancid order in His nostrils!
Watchmen On The Pod 