Luke 11:52 “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”
 
WHAT is our Lord’s reference to the “key to knowledge”? It is faith, isn’t it? The gospels record numerous times Jesus rewarded and blessed people who faithfully came to him. Doing so, they came to know God through the Son’s teachings, love, forgiveness and miracles. Luke 17:19 “Rise up and go; your faith has made you well.” They saw the Savior, and they believed.
    Know also the tribute to faithful people recorded in Hebrews 11. This chapter of Scripture is a memorable celebration of faith’s power to compel and propel God’s leaders to know God and to do their appointed work. Also, the apostle Paul’s epistles are filled with references to faith as the key to knowing God and being saved. I highlight the point he makes in Romans 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. And in Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Faith is God’s free key he hands to you to say, “Here is how you know me.”
    Jesus looked to the experts in the law with “woe” with great distress because they believed people were justified (made right before God) in obedience to unending laws. Their law structures had taken away the key to knowledge. In addition, Jesus watched them avoid their own laws. The synagogue system pointed to God as a restrictive institution, impossible to know. Hope was gone.
    A word of caution: We can easily think in these several “woe” lessons that Jesus was against the law. But we must remember the Son of God came to fulfill the law of God. Jesus spoke for God’s true law that pointed to the Sovereign Savior, and he refuted the mankind’s laws that pointed them to destruction. Since the Garden of Eden, Satan has tempted us away from faith in God’s law, grace and salvation. His pride temptations cause us to believe we can do better under our own law – or no law. Sadly, the key to knowledge would also become hidden in Jesus’ church. Too many churches keep the key to knowledge hidden in their rules and traditions.
    Without faith, we have no knowledge of God. We miss his love. His grace is nowhere to be found. God’s true commands become dust in the wind. Salvation becomes unreachable and even undesirable. Who can be with one he does not know? In such a mindset, our unknowing minds turn easily away from God.
    Do you doubt God? Do you wonder about some of the Bible’s teachings? Are you unsure of how to know God? Then pray for faith. Learn of God’s gracious promises. See his forgiveness. Strive to understand his passion for you. Faithfully know: Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
    Yes, listen to Jesus. Faith is the key to knowing God.
 
Prayer: Grant to me, Father, the faith to know you. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Luke 11:49-51 “Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ 50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.”
 
MANY people in the church today often say, “We don’t want to be a fire and brimstone church.” Are they saying, “We don’t want to be a church that tells people of their sins, and God’s judgment to send sinners to Hell? If that’s what they are saying, I hope they don’t invite Jesus to preach some Sunday. They would be greatly offended if he used the “fire and brimstone” approach he preached in this passage. Let’s understand Jesus’ judgment here.
    First, how is Abel a prophet? No words from him are recorded. But know how Abel offered a lamb to the Lord. This is the first sign of Jesus’ crucifixion. Abel’s sacrifice and true worship prophesied the Savior. Even though our Lord pointed Cain to change his inadequate sacrifice and obey God, Cain rebelled to kill his brother.
    Then through the ages, particularly 1000 – 800 BC, God sent prophets to correct the Jews’ disobedient hearts. But the Jews often reacted as Cain. They murdered prophets up to “the blood of Zechariah”: 2 Chronicles 24:20-22 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord's commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” 21 But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 22 King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, “May the Lord see this and call you to account.”  
    From Abel to Zechariah – you can say from A-Z – countless prophets whose names we do not know were killed for their faithful witness to God’s justice, grace and mercy. But read again Zechariah’s last words. “May the Lord see this and call you to account.”  He prayed God’s judgment upon his killers. God spoke similar language at Abel’s death – Genesis 4:10 The Lord said (to Cain), “What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.” Our Lord promised he would one day call to account his prophet-killing people. The Lord God is just. He will fulfill his words.
    Once again, Jesus drew the line. Are you with him or without him? The day of judgment was coming; the curse of Abel and Zechariah came upon that generation as Rome utterly destroyed all vestiges of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Jesus again affirms he is the Living Word made flesh. He spoke of God’s judgment, offered God’s grace, prepared to become God’s salvation, just as he had done since the days of Eden. He is the Lord God Almighty. We – all –  must know he will judge sinners to eternal death, and he will save the repentant to eternal life.
    If this is fire and brimstone, then so be it. God has said it since time began. His ways are true. Worship him only. Be with Jesus. Stay out of Hell.  
 
Prayer: I pray, Father, I love as Jesus loves – urgent to warn people of your holy judgment, passionate to save others into your holy presence. In the Spirit’s life-power I pray. Amen.

Luke 11:47-48 “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.”
 
WE may be surprised Jesus pointed at the Pharisees and scribes in judgment to say, “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets.” Surely, it is good to build monuments to those who have died for a great cause, isn’t it? We in the United States often stop at soldiers’ monuments to honor those who have died to defend our rights and way of life. In remembrance of their deaths, we then make a new pledge to defend our nation’s ideals. There are renewed commitments to support our current troops. Memorials to lives well lived for great causes are places and times to strengthen our resolve to live in freedom’s legacy.
    But that wasn’t the case with the Jews’ religious authorities. They had built these monuments to say, “We honor the prophets killed by our fathers (ancestors).” However, as they built monuments to past prophets, they refused the message of their contemporary prophets. John the Baptist, for example, had faced opposition from these same “tomb-building” experts and teachers. Other teachers were dismissed as radicals. Jesus’ contemporaries should have honored the prophets with lives committed to the prophets’ legacy of teachings, warnings and promise of a Redeemer. But they stood on their ancestors’ traditions of killing prophets. One day, these tomb builders would put Jesus in a tomb.
    Honor your Lord. Stand on the words of his law and prophets from the Old Testament. Remember the Savior’s death to save you. Rejoice in the faithful apostles and martyrs of the early church. Consider those throughout the centuries who have died for Jesus’ gospel. Remember today that every 6 minutes someone in the world is martyred for Christ.
    May your life, your love be a monument to your Lord God. 
 
Prayer: Lord God, grant me wisdom to honor you in all I am. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Luke 11:45-46 One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.” 46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.”
 
IN his well-known “love” chapter, the apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:1-4 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
    Paul taught of Jesus’ active love. God-like love – a doing love – must be a faithful practice to draw people into Jesus. Even when, especially when, we must, as Paul did throughout 1 Corinthians, rebuke Jesus’ church for repeated unrepentant sins, love must be our motivation. A loved-like-Christ ministry manifests Jesus’ eternally active love words, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
     Yes, Jesus came to you in love because you will perish without him. Eternal life is only possible with Jesus. (Without or with him?) That is Jesus’ point to the experts in the law. He admonished them for the extensive, burdensome laws they added to the culture. He spoke against their work to uphold the law while refusing to actively love those in need. Jesus’ love ministry unveiled God’s justice, grace and mercy. His “justice words” offended these scribes and religious authorities who killed him. Sin blinded Jesus’ grace and mercy.
    Often Jesus’ justice words offend me, too. When that happens, I stop to check my love for the Triune God. Is my love just a clanging offending him? Yes, too often we want to be our own experts in God’s Word, don’t we? Our sinful souls, on the precipice of perishing, find his world-saving love offensive.
    When that happens, remember God has lovingly acted to draw you near to him. “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) What a wondrous, loving act God permits for us to do. I pray we will all approach our Savior, who loves so much.
 
Prayer: Lord God, in Jesus’ name I am grateful for the ways you have lovingly offended me.  I pray I please you. Amen. 

Luke 11:44 “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it.”
 
“WOE” is the Lord’s call of distress and warning to his people, particularly to the Pharisees, priests and scribes. These are men who should know well God’s law, love, grace and mercy. But they have hidden God beneath a blanket of rules and political control.
    You can see how Jesus is extremely distressed here. These are hard words as he compares the Pharisees to “unmarked graves”. Why does Jesus use such a painful comparison?
     Jesus wants the Pharisees to be spiritually alive and to care for others in God’s love. Sometimes dead souls require strong images to realize, “I need to change.” Jesus’ “unmarked graves” image is a reference to one of God’s laws: Leviticus 21:11 He must not enter a place where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean, even for his father or mother. To be unclean is to be sick or at risk of disease. Our Lord established many hygiene rules for his people to protect their health. Consequently, one who became unclean in this way was required to complete a cleansing time. Numbers 19:11 “Whoever touches the dead body of anyone will be unclean for seven days.” God’s law was just to protect the health of the individual and the entire community. And God’s law was gracious to restore the unclean person to be with the community again.
    To prevent people from unknowingly becoming unclean, tombs were annually whitewashed. Even though they looked fresh and pure on the outside, people knew to stay away. To leave a grave or tomb unmarked was to intentionally put people at risk of being unclean.
    Jesus speaks, “Woe.” to the Pharisees because their clothes were attractive, but their souls were unclean. Trusting people walked into their presence, thinking they would learn of God. But they were unwittingly contaminated with the Pharisees’ sin. Such sickness made them spiritually unclean, separated from God, eternally dead.
    Has this happened to you? Perhaps someone you trusted looked good on the outside but the person took you away from Jesus. Maybe you were attracted to enter into a relationship, but now you feel empty, sick or even dead in your soul. Possibly it feels good to be angry or unforgiving, but now you know it contaminates your walk with Jesus. Sadly, you have found it attractive to neglect daily Bible readings and time with your Lord. Such spiritual disease may cause God’s Word to be ineffective, even dead to your mind and soul.
    Do you need to be made clean in Jesus again? Then talk to your holy Lord. Be humble and submissive to Jesus’ teachings. Pray for, seek and learn of God’s great love to draw you into his life. Remember, if Jesus didn’t love his people, he would have left them to their sins. He is distressed because he weeps for the Jews’ unclean hearts. He longs for his people to be alive with him. In the same way, your Lord God is lovingly teaching you. Remember how he personally went into the tomb, the unclean place of separation and death, so you could become clean to live as one with the Lord God forever.
 
Prayer: Open my heart, Lord, I want to know Jesus loves me. Amen. 
 

Luke 11:43 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.”
 
RECALL the many times Jesus healed people with this instruction, “Don’t tell anyone.” (Mathew 8:4; Matthew 17:9; Mark 1:44; Luke 5:14) One reason he did so was to keep crowds from disrupting his preaching. As joyful as it was to restore people physically, Jesus’ main purpose on earth was to “preach good news to the poor…to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the (spiritually) blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” (from Luke 4:18-19). Jesus’ main ministry was to declare God’s favor of eternal healing.
    Could another reason for his command, “Don’t tell anyone.” be a visible demonstration of his humility? Jesus spoke of his humility in Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Then see Jesus’ mother Mary respond to the news of her Kingdom role. She honors God as one who honors and empowers the humble: Luke 1:52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. In addition, Paul records Jesus’ sacrificial humility in Philippians 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! 
    Jesus separated himself from pride. He knew how deadly pride is. Pride took Eve to the forbidden tree. Pride took Joseph into the pit of slavery. (Humility took Joseph to the rule of Egypt and restored him to his brothers.) Pride took the Pharisees to the forbidden seat of condemnation.
    Jesus was just to speak “woe”, great distress, over the Pharisees’ prideful behavior. He called them to stop their “Look at me!” walks through the markets and to come off their high seats in the synagogue. He urged them to humbly turn their eyes onto those they served.
    Jesus shows us how we are to use our knowledge and position to serve. A true leader puts himself with his people to know and understand who they are. A humble leader lives as our humble Lord to know all things come in the Spirit’s anointing and the Father’s favor.
 
Prayer: Forgive my pride, Father. I have too often desired that people look at me instead of at you. Teach me humility to help people see you. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Luke 11:42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.”
 
THE next few lessons will be the “Woe Lessons”. The Bible quotes many prophets, as well as Jesus, using “woe” to express great distress and sorrow for God’s people. The prophets and the Savior are deeply distressed to know God’s judgment is sure to come to those who have forgotten God’s law, justice, love and salvation.
    You can see God’s distressful warnings of his eternal judgments: Revelation 8:13 As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!” When a word is said in this sequence of three, its meaning is certain. Read then Revelation 9-11, and know God’s three sure, terrifying judgments on the earth. Indeed, “woe” is God’s urgent reminder to wake up! Repent and be saved. Thus, we are to understand Jesus’ “Woe Lessons” as God’s gracious, loving warnings from our Lord, who is distressed over mankind’s sins. His purpose is to keep us from eternal distress.
    Jesus first speaks his troubled heart to the Pharisees regarding their “tithe”, the giving of ten per cent of their possessions to God. The Lord God did not issue a law requiring a tithe of any grown food such as these small herbs. But remember that the Pharisees invented all forms of meticulous, oppressive rules, so they could easily condemn the Jews.
    Jesus, though, judged their lack of love for the Jews. They were to teach and protect God’s true laws. Instead, they “ministered” guilt and oppression. God had established his commandments to form a right, loving and holy relationship between himself and his people. The law was also created to direct proper love, grace, forgiveness and mercy toward one another. The Pharisees had a wonderful opportunity to minister in these godly ways. They could have chosen to love God and love others as themselves in the Lord God’s benevolent care. But they loved their self-established rule above all.
    We must always be alert to the rules by which we live and the rules we establish for others. They must be formed as God’s laws, not meant to subject people to fear and guilt, but to guide them into true, loving relationships. Laws must prosper peace. Laws are to uplift and direct people to right living. Good law brings good order to our lives.
    Jesus is the loving God, who spoke, “Woe.” to the Pharisees because he loved them, even where they were. But he told them, taught them, rebuked them, encouraged them in order to move them into him! His troubled heart longed for these men of good intentions to see their errors, confess their sins, repent with renewed minds toward God. He wanted the Pharisees to live into his love.
 
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I pray my heart is humble to receive your urgent message. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Luke 11:37-41 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so, he went in and reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised. 39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give what is inside [the dish] to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.”
 
TWO things here challenge our views of cleanliness at mealtime. First, Jesus doesn’t wash his hands. Why not? The Pharisees are adamant he does so. This seems appropriate to us. But Jesus pushes back with a cleanliness question of his own. Here’s how we understand the Pharisees’ challenge and Jesus’ rebuke.
    Washing one’s hands before a meal was not a common practice in this culture. Jesus was being normal. On the other hand, the Pharisees lived under certain rules they had developed in their tradition. Remember the Pharisees were well-intentioned men who desired to protect God’s laws from foreign desecration. But, as too many churches do today, they created rules outside of God’s gracious laws.
    One of those “new” laws required the Pharisees to religiously wash their hands and the outside of their cups. But, surprisingly, their law permitted the cup’s inside to remain unwashed! A cup, then, could be outside clean and inside dirty. That’s how Jesus saw the Pharisees - outside clean and inside dirty.
    As we recall Jesus’ teaching on light from yesterday, he urged us to be completely “light” on the inside. The Pharisees, though, were dark – unclean – inside. Dark judgment came from their eyes as they self-righteously gazed onto the righteous Christ. They are the people who cling to church rituals and rules while rejecting their relationship with the Christ. They are the ones devoted to process, forgetting its purpose.   
    Jesus urged these religious leaders to a true cleanliness. Wash away a self-focused heart. Stop being religiously clean because it really keeps your soul dirty. Turn your purpose to those in need. Give the food inside your cup to the poor. This true religion (James 1:27) will clean you inside.
 
Prayer: Lord God, forgive me for the ways I am unclean. Empower my heart to be clean inside to show your grace and mercy outside. In Jesus’ name, I pray for cleansing. Amen.  
 
 

Luke 11:33-36 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.”
 
ONE of Jesus’ most repeated, perhaps his simplest teachings for our lives is, “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl.” His point is direct. Saved in Jesus, you are to be as Jesus. Lead people out of sin’s cursed darkness, into salvation’s glorious light.
    When we look further into this Scripture, though, we may need a brighter light to fully understand Jesus’ warning, “See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.”  How, I wonder, can light be dark?
    To understand Scripture, it is essential we put the text into the context of the entire circumstances in which the words are spoken. To understand the part, we must know the whole. Jesus’s focusing on three main lessons in his preaching: 1) If you are not fully with Jesus, you are without him. 2) If your “house” – your soul – is empty of the Holy Spirit, evil spirits will inhabit your life. 3) Live in faith.
    You can then in this context see how light can be dark. Be persistent to keep sin’s darkness from your Jesus-lighted life. Resist temptations. Remove harmful habits from your eyes. Fill your heart, mind and soul with Jesus, so you have no room for the dark. Be faithful in the Lord’s light in all you are.
    Think of how bright lights reveal all corners of a room or the details on the road as you drive. Knowing what obstacles may cause you to fall or crash points you away from danger. Keep Jesus’ light bright in your heart, mind, soul and eyes. Know clearly your right pathway each day. You will see and reject dangers. Safely you will be with Jesus in his glorious light of salvation. Joyfully you will help others be with him, too.
 
Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit. Light my soul. Light my life. Guide me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (Psalms 23:3b). In Jesus’ light I rejoice. Amen.
 
 

Luke 11:29-32 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.”
 
IN this day when so many churches feel they must “soft-sell” the gospel to attract people, imagine a pastor’s welcoming remarks, “You wicked people. You surely will not see God unless you repent.” Such a preacher would soon be speaking to empty pews, wouldn’t he? Let’s stop, then, to note the grace in Jesus’ hard words, “This is a wicked and perverse generation.” and learn how these are a loving model for a good minister of God’s Word.
    Let’s first recall a few lessons back regarding Luke 11:16 Others tested him by asking for a sign from Heaven. We spoke there of going from no knowledge of Jesus to fully knowing him. This knowing Jesus steadily grew during his ministry as the Holy Spirit revealed Jesus to us through God’s Word – his law and promises, others’ teachings and many believers’ testimonies. These would be signs – indicators – of Jesus as the true Messiah. We continue to receive these signs today to grow in knowing Jesus.   
    But too often we want very specific signs directed only to us. We want to “hear God’s voice” as Samuel di (1 Samuel 3). Or we think it would be good to follow Gideon’s example to cast our fleece. (Judges 6) Because the Bible tells us Gideon tested the Lord, asking for “one more” sign several times before he obeyed God, it is okay for us continually test God with “one more sign”. Gideon, though, was looking for a way out of God’s will. But God was bigger than the one he called. Our Lord wouldn’t let go of his chosen Mighty Warrior. When God reveals his signs to you, “Yes, Lord.” he wants to hear your sign, “I believe in and trust you, Lord God Almighty.” 
    This is what Jesus wanted from his people then and from you today. Here is Jesus again drawing the line with his urgent preaching to affirm: 1) If you are not fully with Jesus, you are without him. 2) If your “house” – your soul – is empty of the Holy Spirit, evil spirits will inhabit your life. 3) Live in faith.
    Yes, “This is a wicked generation.” certainly is harsh preaching. But they are the Savior’s true loving warnings from the righteous God. Know in your heart that these words are spoken by a gracious Teacher, who loves you so deeply he longs for his people to, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.” (Mark 7:14).
    Solomon spoke God’s wisdom. Powerful people as the Queen of Sheba traveled great distances to hear him speak of God. After God brought Jonah “from the dead” in his three days in the great fish (Jonah 3), Ninevah repented at Jonah’s preaching. Nineveh was a depraved, idol-worshiping city. The Ninevites didn’t ask for a sign. Jonah was their sign of sin and of God’s grace. They believed and were saved. Jesus lovingly wanted the same for the Jews.
    I know, everyone wants to hear, “Jesus loves you just the way you are.” But that’s to be the beginning of his relationship with you. He certainly didn’t go to the cross, so you could live “where you are”, dead and lost in sin. Instead, our Lord and Savior loves you so much he passionately preached of sin’s destruction. Then he went to give us the greatest sign of all – his death, resurrection and ascension. In these signs, you can know the Savior has lovingly opened the way for you to repent and be saved.
    You know the signs. They point you away from sin. They show you the direct way to God. Listen! Confess. Repent, and be saved.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for the sign of the cross. I pray for your church and the nations to respond in faith. In Jesus’ name, amen.