Luke 11:45-54

Luke 11:45-54

45 One of the lawyers said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say this, You insult us too.” 46 But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 “Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. 48 “So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 “For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute, 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation.’ 52 “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”

53 When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects, 54 plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say.

Jesus has some harsh criticism for the lawyers of His day as well.  The lawyers took offense at the teachings of Jesus about the Pharisees, so Jesus turns His attention to them.  These men were considered to be the elite members of society.  They had wealth, status and the admiration of men, but God’s perspective on them was a little different.  The things that impress men are not impressive to God.  Jesus condemns them for the way that they treat others and the impact this type of treatment had on others.  Leaders are severely judged by God because they have been given many blessing and because they impact the lives of many people.  Jesus condemns three ways the lawyers hurt others.

PRODUCE BURDENS AS IF FROM GOD: These interpreters of the Law imposed heavy burdens on the people that were impossible for them to fulfill.  They made their teachings have the same weight as the Scriptures and in so doing made their requirements become heavy and discouraging to the people.  The people’s perception of God was based on the teaching of these lawyers.  They took the commandments of God and interpreted them in strict codes of conduct.  The Law about Sabbath rest is a good example of this.  God had commanded His people to rest of the Sabbath which prohibited them from working so they could worship.  The lawyers took it upon themselves to define what was sinful work.  A certain number of steps was determined as well as a multitude of other rules that made the laws on the Sabbath become impossible to follow.  For example, spitting on dirt was forbidden because it was considered digging.  To this day, Jews are forbidden to turn on light switches or press elevator buttons because of these interpretations of the law.  When the rules of man are taught as if they are the will of God; it creates a burden that is impossible to bear.  What made things worse, was the lawyers didn’t even follow the principles they were imposing on others.  Teaching others and making up regulations as if they had been given by God is dangerous and is condemned by God.

PERSECUTE THE PROPHETS OF GOD: False prophets will automatically and routinely persecute the true prophets.  Those who teach that which is false are threatened by the truth.  Their status and source of income depend on the authority they exercise over the people.  When a true prophet comes on the scene and calls into question their teaching and authority; they risk losing that which is most important to them.  The approval of men, wealth and power.  Their natural reaction is to go on the attack.  They persecute and, if needs be, kill the prophets of God in order to protect their own position.  Jesus says that the religious and political leaders of the past acted in this way, and now the current leaders were making tombs and monuments to these prophets but, in reality, continued to persecute God’s messengers.  By the time Luke writes this message the persecution of the apostles of Jesus had been going on for a significant time.  Jesus condemns the lawyers of His day for having the same attitude as the leaders of the past who killed the prophets of God.  They would prove to be worthy of this accusation because they killed Jesus and His apostles.  Those who have the privilege of ministering the Word of God to others must be servants and never see themselves as being all-important.  The truth and the will of God must always be our priority and not our own, status, reputation or financial well-being.

PREVENT OTHERS FROM COMING TO GOD: These lawyers were responsible to study the Word of God and make it know to others.  They ignored God’s Word, twisted God’s Word and failed to understand God’s Word.  Then, to make matters worse, they imposed their ignorance on others through teachings that stood in the way of those who wanted to repent and trust in the Lord.  Standing under God’s wrath is a terrible things, but when our lives cause others to stand under that condemnation, it makes ours even worse.  The lawyers were called of God to shine the light of God’s Word on the path the people should strive to walk.  Instead, they cast a shadow on that path and prevented others from walking on it.  As believers in Christ, we are called to lead others to Him.  Our words, actions and testimony should all cooperate to point the nations to Christ.  We must never allow our comfort, pride, desires, attitudes or actions to supplant that priority.  Power and prosperity can easily become distractions to us that end up blinding our eyes and the eyes of those we might influence.

APPLICATION: Never allow our teachings, traditions or interpretations of God’s Word to be placed on the same level as God’s Word.  When others confront us for teaching something that is not true according to Scripture; we must thank then and heed their warnings.  We must resist the urge to defend ourselves.  Use our words and actions as testimonies to point the way to Christ and don’t let anything distract us from that priority.