Anchor My Faith

Woe To You Lawyers!

Scripture: Matthew 23:4, 13, 15; Luke 11:46, 52

In the previous lesson Jesus pointed out several areas of hypocrisy in the lives of the Pharisees, and then a lawyer spoke up and said that he was offended by what Jesus had said to them. That comment provided an opportunity for Jesus to address the lawyers and point out their hypocrisy.  

^{Lk 11:46} “And [Jesus] said, “Woe to you lawyers also! ^{Mt 23:4} [You] tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, ^{Lk 11:46} and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.”

In response to the lawyer, Jesus turns to him and addresses a warning to them. He condemns them for the burdens they have laid upon the people through their traditions. Their intent was to make Old Testament law relevant to new life situations, but the massive obligations created became a burden and oppressive. In a way it provided a sense of power over the control of the people and as a result they did nothing to help the people keep new interruptions of the law.

^{Mt 23:13} “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ^{Lk 11:52} For you have taken away the key of knowledge. ^{Mt 23:13} For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.”

This is the fourth woe in this section and is directed to the scribes and Pharisees who Jesus addresses as “hypocrites” and then describes why they are. (Due to the harmonization between Matthew and Luke there is a blending in the usage of “lawyers” and “scribes and Pharisees.” In Luke it was the lawyers who took away the key of knowledge, but in the harmonization process it appears to be the scribes and Pharisees.) Jesus condemns them (lawyers, scribes and Pharisees; to include both gospels) for their interpretations of Scripture that deprives the people of the “key of knowledge” needed to understand God’s plan of salvation. They do not embrace God’s plan of salvation and they distort their interpretations to keep others from understanding and truly knowing God. In so doing they have shut the kingdom of heaven in their faces.

^{Mt 23:15} “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.”

The fifth woe is also to the scribes and Pharisees and indicates another area of hypocrisy. These scribes and Pharisees travel far and wide searching for converts, but instead of leading them to truth they place them under the burden of the weight of their many requirements in their extrabiblical traditions. The same thing happens in many of our churches today. Instead of leading people to the gift of salvation, which is by grace through faith in Jesus, they emphasize religion over relationship. Salvation may not even be taught and/or is seen as something we put forth effort to obtain, but instead we are to humbly submit ourselves to accept it as a gift.

Conclusion

The hypocrisy that Jesus was exposing still exist today in various forms. To see that one need only to watch religious programs on TV. There are so many that mislead by distorting or not even teaching the truth of the Scriptures. It is so important that we be students of the Bible under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and keeping before us the context in which it was written.