Lawyer Woe #3

  Luke 11:52, "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered." Those who hold the keys have the power. When people want to get in, even need to get in, and cannot because the person with the key will not open the door, or will not give them the key so they can open the door, the condemnation is heavy. Imagine you are in a room and the room is on fire. The door to the room is locked, and there is one person in the room who has the key to the door. This person will not unlock the door and will not give you the key. Imagine the panic. Imagine the anger. Imagine the chaos of such a scene. Essentially Jesus came to earth from heaven to bring the key that would unlock the doors of sin, fear, anxiety, addiction, and hopelessness. People are trapped in these horrible rooms which are on fire. On the other side of the door is the glorious kingdom of heaven, a kingdom of purity, security, peace, freedom, and hope. People know in their hearts that it exists and they long to live there, but they are trapped behind a locked door. They hear the Savior calling to them from the other side, and they could easily walk through if it weren't for the person holding the key.

 

Sadly the lawyers would not enter the kingdom themselves and they prevented those who would enter from doing so. Jesus proclaims a serious condemnation on them. How could someone be so callous? So what is the key of knowledge? Jesus associates knowledge of the Father and the Son with eternal life. The kingdom of God is the kingdom which has as its quality of life, eternal life. The kingdoms of this world cannot offer this quality of life. Knowing Jesus and the Father is essential to our experiencing life indeed. The true and abundant life of the kingdom is dependent on knowing the Father and the Son. This is what Jesus came to do, to reveal to us the Father (John 14). Our highest calling is to know Jesus, understand His mind, unlock all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge found in Him (Col.2:1ff).

 

The lawyers did everything they could to keep people from believing in Jesus. They devised clever arguments and twisted Scripture and told lies to try to persuade people that Jesus was a false Messiah. They tried to trick Him to discredit Him. They spread rumors and organized mobs to turn public opinion away from Jesus. Jesus Himself is the key of knowledge. He unlocks the secrets of the kingdom. Hearing Him and Knowing Him is the key to all understanding. When we make it difficult for people to know Jesus by 1) not telling them about Him; 2) setting a bad example while saying we follow Him; 3) creating man-made doctrines and systems that obscure Him; 4) failing to know Him ourselves because we are too busy to seek the mind of Christ, then we too take away the key of knowledge. This is a serious matter, and one we should give serious consideration to.