The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 11:45,
"Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also."
This is the complaint one of the teachers of the law made to Jesus when the Lord excoriated the Pharisees. Perhaps any confidence in knowing and living the things of God might be something to take a caution in. To be sure, we, today, have a full account of our Savior's life and ministry the "experts in the law" were only beginning to experience themselves, we have a completed New Testament they lacked in their day. We also have the tremendous advantage of the indwelling Holy Spirit who leads into an understanding of the Scriptures and provides us wisdom and insight into the things of God. We also have a vast and rich history in the many wonderful teachers within the church that we can and do look to, to help us understand what we encounter in the pages of Scripture. These things should provide us all a leg up. But just look at how the Lord called out these teachers of the law!
As I read Luke 11, the Lord's response to this complaint was to indict these teachers of the law for loading people down with heavy burdens they extracted from the law, burdens they themselves were unwilling to help others with. The Lord laid at their feet the responsibility of the blood of those whom the Lord had sent to Israel, the prophets, and also for taking away "the key of knowledge". The Lord informed them that they had not entered in and had hindered those who were. A frightful and sobering comeuppance! The text leaves me with the thought these experts in the law had esteemed themselves to be just fine.
I am reminded that when Jesus Christ came to planet earth, he came to a place of darkness. "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." Isaiah 9:2. I am reminded of when the Lord quoted Isaiah 61:1-2 in speaking of his mission. "He [God the Father] has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18-19. It must be this darkness, this blindness within the heart of man that has made the things of God so difficult to apprehend and desire.
What grips my heart is that the Lord came for this very purpose, to reveal to us who God is and what it is he desires from us. He is our light in this dark and fallen world.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
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