Lucas 11

Lucas 11

William MacDonald - The lawyers were the scribes—experts in explaining and interpreting the Law of Moses. However, their skill was limited to telling others what to do. They did not practice it themselves. One of the lawyers had felt the cutting edge of Jesus' words, and reminded Him that in criticizing the Pharisees, He was also insulting the legal experts. (Borrow Believer's Bible Commentary - excellent). Teacher (didaskalos), when You say this, You insult (hubrizo in present tense - continually insult) us too - NAB picks up on the present tense = "You are insulting us also." KJV = "Thou reproachest us also." MIT (idiomatic translation of the NT) = "you reflect disparagingly on us as well." BBE = "you give a bad name to us as to them." He is saying that Jesus is expressing disapproval of not just the Pharisees but also the Lawyers. And he is getting a "rise" out of both groups. One can only imagine the blood pressure is rising and faces are beginning to flush (I am a medical doctor so had to throw that in). It was clearly taken as a rebuke by this lawyer, with the implication that "You are discrediting and disgracing us." Hubrizo was commonly used for outrageous treatment, quite a bold accusation against the Teacher! Lawyers (3544)(nomikos from nomos - law) means related to the law and generally refers to a legal scholar, an expert in the Mosaiac law, in interpreting Jewish law. Many of them were also Pharisees and as noted below they are also called scribes. They were "Not legal practioners, but interpreters and doctors of the Mosaic law." (Vincent) The lawyers were in league with the Pharisees, as seen by the fact that the Pharisee had the lawyer attend the luncheon for Jesus. In the previous chapter a lawyer had stood up to put Jesus to the test (Lk 10:25) This lawyer stands up to confront Jesus' bold declarations. Lawyers were closely related to scribes. In fact it may be inferred that “scribes” is a generic name, and lawyers are the specialized ones skilled in law and jurisprudence of the Law of Moses. In this last section Jesus seems to interchange lawyer and scribe, first addressing them as lawyers (Lk 11:45) and then as scribes (Lk 11:53). Most of the 9 NT uses of nomikos are in Luke - Matt. 22:35; Lk. 7:30; Lk. 10:25; Lk. 11:45; Lk. 11:46; Lk. 11:52; Lk. 14:3; Tit. 3:9; Tit. 3:13 Teacher (1320)(didaskalos from didasko = teach to shape will of one being taught by content of what is taught <> cp didaskalía) is one who provides instruction or systematically imparts truth. It is interesting that the lawyer acknowledged Jesus as "Teacher." He is correct of course but did not have a tender, teachable heart to humbly receive the Teacher's pithy and powerful points! Luke's uses of didaskalos - Lk. 2:46; Lk. 3:12; Lk. 6:40; Lk. 7:40; Lk. 8:49; Lk. 9:38; Lk. 10:25; Lk. 11:45; Lk. 12:13; Lk. 18:18; Lk. 19:39; Lk. 20:21; Lk. 20:28; Lk. 20:39; Lk. 21:7; Lk. 22:11 Acts 13:1; Insult (5195)(hubrizo from húbris = injury, insult, reproach, arrogance, insolence, ill-treatment) means act with insolence, wantonness, wicked violence, to treat injuriously. To act spitefully toward someone, treat shamefully, and therefore to injure or to abuse. It conveys the idea of treating someone contemptuously in an insolent and arrogant way. Hubrizo is used only 5x insult(1), mistreat(1), mistreated(3).- Matt. 22:6; Lk. 11:45; Lk. 18:32; Acts 14:5; 1 Thess. 2:2. Luke 11:46 But He said, "Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers. KJV Luke 11:46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you lawyers as well Isa 10:1; Mt 23:2-4; Gal 6:13 For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear Isa 58:6 Luke 11 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Luke 11:45-52 Kingdom Obstructionists - John MacArthur Luke 11:46-50 What's Missing in False Religion, Part 1 - John MacArthur WOE NUMBER FOUR: YOU BURDEN MEN But - In contrast to letting the lawyers off easy, Jesus does not back down but proceeds to direct His woeful ("woe filled") criticisms directly at this prestigious group. He said, "Woe (ouai) to you lawyers (nomikos) as well - NLT Paraphrase has "Yes," said Jesus, "what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law!" Remember that Jesus is Spirit filled (Lk 4:1+) and thus He is empowered to speak boldly, an effect of the Spirit we see throughout the book of Acts (e.g., Acts 4:31+). For (hoti - because) is a term of explanation. Jesus now proceeds to explain the reason for His cry of "Woe!" You weigh men down (phortizo - present tense - continually) with burdens (phortion) hard to bear (dusbastaktos) - This is a reference to the lawyers' interpretations of the Law and also their giving priority to the traditions of men. The NLT paraphrases it "you crush people with impossible religious demands." They are pictured as overloading the laity like beasts of burden. In fact the root of phortizo refers to the freight on a ship! Jesus is speaking of course of spiritual not physical burdens, all their rules and regulations that were impossible to "carry" out. They were placing the people under legalism with all of their man-made rules and regulations concerning matters of no real importance. The Jewish Mishnah (see also What is the Mishnah? What is a midrash?) actually had a statement that men's traditions took precedence to God's Word (What pretentious arrogance!). Here is "Sanhedrin 11:3 from the Mishnah: A A more strict rule applies to the teachings of scribes than to the teachings of Torah. B He who rules, “There is no requirement to wear phylacteries,” in order to transgress the teachings of the Torah, is exempt. C [But if he said,] “There are five partitions [in the phylactery, instead of four],” in order to add to what the scribes have taught, he is liable. Leon