Luke the beloved physician wrote how Jesus said, “woe unto you, Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees! for you love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them”, and in chapter eleven and verse forty-five of his book Luke shared, “then answered one of the lawyers” where we read:
Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying you reproach us also.
The verse reads, “Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, ...” Luke began with the words, “then answered” or “at that time responded and began to speak” “one of the lawyers” which means “a certain and particular man who was an expert and learned in the Mosaic law ”, “and said unto him” or “and uttered, declared and proclaimed to Jesus” the following words. Luke shared how a certain “religious leader” known as a “lawyer” began to make the following statement.
The verse continues, “... Master, thus saying you reproach us also.” Luke added the word, “Master” or “teacher or instructor”, “thus saying” which means “therein and thereby uttering, declaring and proclaiming” “you reproach us also” or “you, Jesus, treat we lawyers insolently, wantonly, outrageously and shamefully even so and indeed”. Luke shared how the “lawyer” told Jesus that He was also saying they were “shameful, wanton and insolent”.
When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we discover how this “lawyer” interpreted Jesus' words against the “scribes and Pharisees” as being against he and his fellow “lawyers” as well. Though Jesus had not called them out specifically at this point, this “lawyer” deduced that He was talking about them being “pretenders and hypocrites”. Jesus knew the “hearts” of all these “religious leaders”, and though they outwardly demonstrated how they knew God, inwardly they were far from Him. God knows the “soul” of every person, and without a personal relationship with His Son Jesus, everyone is a “hypocrite” and “stage actor”. Paul the apostle wrote, “there is none righteous, no, not one” (See Romans 3:10), and he wrote, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (See Romans 3:23). This would not be a problem except that there is a “wage” to be paid for sins, “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. (See Romans 6:23). Until a person recognizes their “sinful state”, they will not turn to Jesus for “salvation”, and they shall be like these “scribes, Pharisees and lawyers” who thought themselves to be in a relationship with God, but their “hearts” were far from Him.
Next time Luke shares how Jesus says, “woe unto you also, you lawyers”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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