Cruelty and compassion

What have we learned from Christ's exposure of hypocrisy? What did his original hearers learn? Have they understood that eating and drinking with and listening to Christ make no difference if they are still workers of iniquity? The tragic meal recorded at the beginning of Luke 14 gives us a window into the ugly heart of the Pharisees. In the first episode of this awkward feast, we see the cruelty and cowardice of these outwardly religious men, the crippled man who was in need of kindness, and the courage and compassion of a Christ who not only confronted the cruel but also healed the crippled.