WE now continue with the lessons we can learn from the rest of this chapter. Far from being intimidated by the reaction of the teachers of the Law to his critic of the life of the Pharisees, Jesus turns his attention to them.

In the first place Jesus exposes the hypocrisy which marked the lives of the teachers of the law. This hypocrisy was seen in two ways. One way was that the teachers of the law pressed upon the people rigorously their meticulous interpretation of the law of Moses according to their traditions. This interpretation Jesus showed in the sermon on the mount and elsewhere had wandered from the straightforward law given by God to Moses. In some things God's law had been watered down, and in other things meticulous additions had been added. This burden of law keeping, beyond what was given by God, was enforced rigorously on the people, with judgement and condemnation when the the people failed in applying the law to their lives. Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of the teachers of the law when they enforced their interpretation of the law on others, but excused themselves of having to keep it themselves.

The other way these teachers of the law expressed their hypocrisy was in the way they behaved towards the history relating to the prophets of old. These were the prophets who were faithful to the word of God and upheld it in their day, against much opposition and persecution, even accepting death from those who hated the truth of God. It is plain that these prophets were held in esteem by the people. Because of this the teachers of the law sought the approval of the people by honouring the graves of these prophets, by building tombs for them. However this was straightforward hypocrisy, because Jesus saw into their hearts, and saw that they approved of the treatment their forefathers had heaped on these prophets, in their persecution and death, and agreed with that action. To please the people the teachers of the law pretended to approve of the prophets, but in their hearts they hated them and all they stood for. Such hypocrisy is not confined to these teachers of the law. It is present in different forms in the church today.

The next lesson we learn from these verses at the end of chapter 11 of Luke is the reality and seriousness of the judgement declared by Jesus against such hypocrisy. Jesus tells these teachers of the law and the Pharisees, that because of their actions and thoughts towards the prophets of old, and their agreeing with the actions against the truth of their forefathers, they would be held responsible for all the evil deeds done to the prophets all down the history of the Old Testament. The judgement of God fell in a dire way when the Romans came and sacked Jerusalem in AD 70. The judgement is even more lasting because it continues in eternity for all those who are so judged.

There is a serious lesson here for our own generation. It is common for the teachers of today to rubbish any idea of God judging sin and hypocrisy, and declaring that they believe it is impossible for a God of love to judge anyone, and cast them into everlasting torment in hell. In this their attitude is similar to the teachers of the law in this passage. The teachers of the law may not have denied the reality of God's judgement on sin, but they were quite convinced that they were sure of God's favour towards them. In both syndromes there is a deep unconsciousness of sin and the holiness of God, and the fact that a holy God cannot overlook sin, and that it must be atoned for by the execution of the penalty prescribed by God's law against it. This reveals the other aspect of this ignorance and unbelief. It is the rejection of the real love of God, where he gave his Son to be the propitiation for the sin of the world, so that all who believe on Jesus may be forgiven their sin and receive the gift of eternal life. They can't receive or believe that God laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all, and so they reject the great love of God in Christ, and remain under the judgement of God, and will end up, with the teachers of the law in Jesus' day, in everlasting damnation, unless they repent and turn to Christ as their Saviour. We must make no mistake. Only in Christ, and faith in his death in our place, can we escape the just judgement upon our sin, which means death and hell.

We learn next the awful damage these teachers of the law, and all teachers like them today, do to the souls of other people. Jesus exposes this in verse 52. Because they fail to teach the truth of God, not only do they not enter into saving knowledge and receive life from Christ, but because they do not teach the truth they prevent others to whom they minister from receiving the truth, and entering into the blessing of eternal salvation. How rightly Jesus pronounces woe upon them. How they increase their guilt. How awful for them in hell to be accused by all they deceived of the harm they had done to the souls of others.