Being an open door to Christ

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." (Luke 11:52 NASB)

We come now to the last of the "woes" Jesus spoke to the Pharisees and the lawyers (or scribes). The lawyers were experts in the mosaic law. Like the Pharisees, they had spent their lives studying Scripture. They knew all the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah. They had every bit of information they needed (the key of knowledge) to recognize their Messiah. 

When Jesus arrived, He did not look like they expected. The scribes and Pharisees wanted a military king, like David. They wanted a Messiah who would chase out the Romans and restore Israel to its Davidic prominence and wealth. A suffering servant was not what they had in mind. Rather than embrace the Messiah God had sent, they rejected Him because He wasn't what they wanted. 

The lawyers had the key of knowledge that would have allowed them to accept their Savior and enter the kingdom of God, but they "took it away". They refused to use the key they had at their disposal. The lawyers were not quiet about Jesus. They spoke against Him at every opportunity and they twisted Scripture in such a way that they deceived the people. In refusing to use their key (knowledge) to recognize their Messiah, they also hindered others from entering the kingdom of God. It's clear that Jesus held them responsible for both errors. 

It is a tragedy to miss the kingdom of God because it doesn't look like what we expected. It is a much greater tragedy to prevent others from coming to Jesus because of our unbelief and our failure to understand God's plan.

When those of us who profess to be believers act in ways that are inconsistent with our faith, we can easily "take away the key of knowledge" from those who are unfamiliar with the things of God. What a tragedy for someone who doesn't know Jesus to look at my life and reject Him because of my choices! When I make it easy for someone to label me a hypocrite, or to see Christ as weak and ineffective because I fail to follow Him faithfully, I can hinder them from the kingdom. 

It is a question of holiness. My life should gradually become more like Christ's. If my life looks exactly like those of the rest of the world, what difference has Christ made in me? I must allow Him to mold and shape me into someone better than what I am without Him. I must be a living monument to His grace for all to see. 

When I refuse to be transformed, I hide the key of knowledge from those who look to me for evidence of Jesus. In so doing, I can prevent them from entering the kingdom of God, with eternal consequences. 

May we never turn others away from Jesus by our choices but live in such a way that all who will can find an open door to Christ in us.

Idolatrous Love

"But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places. Woe to you! For you are like concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it. " (Luke 11:42-44 NASB)

Jesus delivered a series of "woe's" to those in attendance at the luncheon. "Woe" is a word of denunciation and similar to our saying, "You should be ashamed of yourself". Jesus pointed out several things about which the men should be ashamed. First, they were diligent about tithing but they did it without justice or mercy. Love was not their motivation.

In the next woe, He revealed their motivation. Their love was for the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings they received in the market places. These religious leaders did not simply enjoy the chief seats and the respectful greetings. The word Jesus used for their affection was agapaō. They loved the trappings of honor with the love that should be reserved for God alone. 

What the Pharisees felt for the adulation they received was a form of idolatry. They loved the rewards of their righteous behavior more than the One for whom they were supposed to be doing their acts of righteousness. They were not serving God by their good deeds. They were serving themselves. The good deeds and obedience to a list of rules were done simply for the rewards they brought, not because they pleased God.

The question of motivation is one that must be answered. For the Pharisees, the answer was nothing more than self-serving pride. They loved what right living bought them, not the God they supposedly served.

Theirs was an easy mistake to make. When we are "raised in the church", involved in "church work" most of our lives, it is easy for right living to become a matter of rote. Instead of works that are motivated by a heart filled with love for God, our good choices can become simply habit.

When that happens, it is a very small step to enjoying the benefits of right living more than the relationship that should motivate it. Rules are often easier than relationships, especially if maintaining the relationship requires change in us, and our relationship with God always requires us to change.

We must be constantly on guard against the Pharisaical error of misplaced agapaō. Our love must be focused on God and not the blessings He gives. For today, let's spend a few minutes evaluating our own hearts. Are we more focused on rules than on relationship? On what or whom do we lavish our agapaō? Let's be sure our love is for the One who loved us first.

We love because He first loved us. 

                                                                                        1 John 4:19 NASB