False Humility
Jesus has more harsh words for the Pharisees, and as we read them today let's remember that we too can fall into the traps that the Pharisees did if we are not careful. They had a false cleanliness, a false generosity, and today Jesus addresses their false humility, saying this to them in Luke 11:43: "Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces."
The Challenge of Christian Reputation
God's people are called to a humble faith, and I am fairly sure that the Pharisees would have considered themselves humble. But Jesus saw the truth – He saw that they were more concerned about people holding them in high regard than they were about glorifying God.
How important is people's recognition to you? I've often thought that people who say "I don't care what people think about me" are actually desperately wanting people to see that they don't care what people think about them! The person who says "I don't care, let people talk!" is actually quite glad that people are talking about them!
We all, to some extent, care about what people think of us. After all, we Christians believe that people are meant to see Jesus in us. So of course we want people to think well of us, so that they may encounter something of Jesus through us and hopefully come to faith in Him. Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 8:21: "We are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man." And Paul also said that church leaders must have a good reputation with outsiders, you can see that in 1 Timothy 3:7. So it's right that we are seen to be holy and godly people, certainly.
Character Over Recognition
But the line gets crossed when we start to get puffed up by our reputation, instead of simply wanting to honour God. Warren Wiersbe's excellent commentary on this passage states it very well, saying that the Pharisees: "put reputation above character. They thought that sitting in the right seats and being acknowledged by the right people would make them spiritual. Reputation is what people think we are; character is what God knows we are."
The Pharisees cared more about people's opinions of them than God's knowledge of their character. And Jesus goes on to say this about them in the next verse: "Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it." So people couldn't tell by looking at them outwardly that they were actually full of death and decay within.
Friends, be sure that you are presenting yourself well to the world. In you, people should see the godly character of Jesus. But oh, don't get puffed up or proud of yourself in this! Don't focus on getting respectful greetings and important seats because you are a person of God. Humble yourself, take your place as a servant and worshipper of God, and be rid of any Pharisee-like falseness in the way you present yourself.
After all, as Scripture promises, God honours the humble, and brings the proud down in the dust.
