Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 17:5–13

“Thus says the LORD: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds. Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch, so is he who gets riches but not by justice; in the midst of his days they will leave him, and at his end he will be a fool. A glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water.” (Jeremiah 17:5–13, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Luke 12:1-3

“In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.” (Luke 12:1–3, ESV)

*****

Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

1. Introduction
   1. As we prepare to give our focused attention to Luke 12:1-3, there are a few observations that would be helpful to make by way of introduction.
      1. First of all, we should remember that, in the narrative of Luke’s gospel, Jesus is now heading with his disciples toward Jerusalem. This was stressed in Luke 9. When Jesus was transfigured on the mountain he spoke with Elijah and Moses about his “departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31, ESV). This, of course, was a reference to Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension to the Father. In Luke 9:51 we were told that “he set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51, ESV). And Jesus was clear with his disciples about what would happen there. In Luke 9:22, Christ spoke to his disciples, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” In Luke 9:44 Christ spoke to them again, saying, “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” Now, it will not be until Luke 19:28 that Jesus enters Jerusalem. So, with every passage we consider between Luke 9 and 19, it must remembered that Jesus is heading towards Jerusalem with his disciples and that he made it clear he would suffer there and be put to death by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be raised on the third day. 
      2. Secondly, we should remember that in the previous passage, Christ entered into confrontation with a group of Pharisees and lawyers. Christ pronounced three “woes” upon the Pharisees and three “woes” upon the lawyers. At the end of that passage, Luke tells us, “As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say” (Luke 11:53–54, ESV).
         1. I have reminded you about Jesus’ resolve to head towards Jerusalem, knowing he would suffer and be killed, and his confrontation with the Pharisees, lawyers, and scribes, so that you might imagine the tension the disciples of Christ must have felt. The atmosphere was charged with emotion, no doubt. The disciples must have felt a sense of excitement, wonderment, and even fear and trepidation.
      3. The third observation to make about our text, by way of introduction, is that Jesus here turns his attention to his disciples to train them. In Luke 12:1 we read, “In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy’” (Luke 12:1, ESV).
         1. In the previous passage, we considered Jesus’ relatively private encounter with the Pharisees and lawyers. Now we know that outside were many thousands of people. These had gathered around Jesus. They wanted to hear his teaching and to see his miraculous deeds. But even with these many thousands around Jesus, pressing in upon him, even trampling each other, Christ focuses his attention on his disciples to instruct them. He spoke to his disciples – especially the twelve Apostles, and probably the 70 – saying, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
         2. It should be noted that Jesus’ attention remains on his disciples all the way through Luke 12:53. It is in Luke 12:54 that Christ turns his attention to the crowds. There we read, “He also said to the crowds…” So, in this section of Luke’s gospel, which runs from Luke 12:1-53, we find a series of teachings directed at the disciples of Jesus. 
         3. Clearly, Christ was concerned with preparing his disciples for the future. And for these men, the future would be filled with difficulty. The responsibility of leading Christ’s church would fall on the shoulders of twelve of these men. The seventy, no doubt, would also have a significant role to play as they served as witnesses and leaders within the primitive church. These disciples of Jesus would need to be well-trained and well-prepared. And so Christ spoke to them first, even as this great multitude pressed in upon him.    
         4. These words that Christ spoke to his Apostles and disciples are very precious. While it is true that these teachings are for all believers, I do believe they have special relevance for leaders within Christ’s church, for here Christ addresses problems and pressures that are especially encountered by leaders within Christ’s church. First, the Apostles, prophets, and evangelists of the primitive church would experience these problems and pressures. Soon, it would be pastors or shepherds and teachers who would need to be especially on guard against these things (see Ephesians 4:11-12).
            1. What does Christ warn against in this section? In 12:1-3, Christ warns against hypocrisy. All Christians must avoid hypocrisy. It is especially important for leaders within Christ’s church to beware of it, given the great damage that a hypocritical leader can cause. In 12:4-7 Christ warns against the fear of persecution and death. While persecution does sometimes fall on Christians in a general way, historically, it has been the leaders of Christ’s church who bear the brunt of it. In 12:8-12 Christ warns against the fear of man. Again, while all Christians must beware of the fear of man, pastors, elders, and teachers must be especially on guard, lest the fear of man cause them to pull back from the faithful performance of their duties. In 12:13-21 Christ warns against covetousness – a danger to all, and especially to ministers. In 12:22-31 he warns against anxiety over the cares of this life, a snare to all, and especially debilitating to ministers. In 12:32-34 Christ warns against chasing after worldly treasures, a distraction to all, especially ministers. In 12:35-48 Christ warns his people, and especially his ministers, to be dressed for action and to be about the work that Christ has called them to do. Finally, in 12:49-53, Christ warns that he did not come to bring peace on earth (now), but rather, division. All Christians must be prepared to sojourn in these last days marked by conflict and division. Christ’s ministers must be particularly prepared to lead Christ’s church through days such as these.
            2. I trust you can see, even with this cursory overview of Luke 12:1-53, that Christ directed this teaching at leaders within the church, but that everything he says to the leaders (beginning with the twelve Apostles) has application to every follower of Jesus Christ.  
2. Beware Of Hypocrisy
   1. Let us now turn our attention to Luke 12:1-3 wherein Christ warns against the evil of hypocrisy. There we read, “In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy’” (Luke 12:1–2, ESV).
      1. “Beware”, Christ says. So here he warns us about a future danger. Beware, pay attention, keep on the lookout, and be on guard, is the command.  
      2. “Beware of the leaven”, Christ says. Leaven is a substance (baking powder or yeast) that causes bread to rise. Just a small bit of leaven mixed into a ball of dough will cause that bread to rise. Leaven, though very small and invincible once mixed in, has a dramatic effect.
         1. Leaven, as you may know, is used in the Scriptures as a metaphor for the contaminating and negative effect that sinful people can have upon individual Christians and churches.
            1. It is in the context of church discipline and the need for the church in Corinth to excommunicate an unrepentant sinner, that Paul wrote, “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” (1 Corinthians 5:6, ESV). The meaning is clear. Paul was warning Corinth that if this sin and this unrepentant and heinous sinner were not dealt with and cast out of the church, this man and his vile and unrepentant sin would contaminate the entire congregation. 
            2. Paul also uses the metaphor of leaven in his letter to the Galatians. There the problem was not immoral behavior, but false teaching. In Galatians 5:7 Paul writes, “You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.”
            3. This metaphor of leaven representing sin undoubtedly has its roots in the Passover feast that Old Covenant Israel was commanded to observe from the Exodus onwards. Exodus 12:15 says, “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel” (Exodus 12:15, ESV). So, once a year the people of Israel were to remove all the leaven from their houses and they were to eat only unleavened bread for seven days. This ceremony was meant to remind Israel of the danger of sin. The ceremony was to encourage them to not only purge leaven from their houses, but to purge sin from their own lives, personally, and to be on guard concerning the contaminating effects of sin and sinful people within the community.  
         2. Dear brothers and sisters, you must beware of the leaven of sin.
            1. Do not harbor secret sins thinking they will have no effect on you or others. Sin always has an effect. Sin always brings with it consequences. Just as a little pinch of leaven worked into a ball of dough will always cause it to dramatically rise, so too a little bit of sin will have a dramatic effect on your life. Do away with the sin, dear brothers and sisters. Sweep it all away. Remove it all from the house of your soul before it rises up to consume you.
            2. And do not ignore the leavening effect that the sins of others can have on you. “Do not be deceived”, Paul says, “Bad company ruins good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33, ESV). This is a clear warning about the influence that others can have on you. Brothers and sisters, who are you allowing to influence you? Consider the music you listen to. Consider the media you digest. Consider who you spend time with and allow to have an impact on your mind and heart. As followers of Jesus, we are called to live in the world. We are not called to avoid all interaction with the ungodly. We are called to be salt and light, remember. But we should be very careful about the kind of interaction we have with the ungodly. Some interactions should be avoided altogether because they are unnecessary or inherently sinful. But when we do interact with the ungodly, we must be resolved to have a leavening influence upon them (for the sake of Christ and the furtherance of his kingdom), and refuse to allow them to have a leavening influence on us to the detriment of our devotion to Christ. “Beware of the leaven”, Christ says. 
      3. Here in our text, Christ specifically commands his disciples to “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees…” The meaning is that the disciples of Christ were to be careful not to allow the Pharisees, neither their teaching nor their way of life (which Christ had just condemned), to influence them. In particular, Christ warned his disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, especially their hypocrisy.
         1. What is hypocrisy? A hypocrite is one who pretends, play-acts or makes an outward show while hiding the truth concerning who they are.
            1. To be clear, there are religious and non-religious hypocrites. I do believe that our culture is filled with non-religious hypocrites. While these have no interest in organized religion, they love to appear virtuous, and so they virtue signal, while concealing their sinfulness. 
            2. But these Pharisees were religious hypocrites. They hid behind the mask of their external religious practices. They wore religious clothes. They performed religious duties. They participated in religious ceremonies. They spoke religiously. But it was all for show. This is why Christ condemned them in Luke 11:39, saying, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools!” And in 11:42 he pronounced “woes” upon them. “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it” (Luke 11:39–44, ESV).
            3. These Pharisees were true hypocrites. They were two-faced. They were disingenuous. In public, they presented themselves as holy and pious, but it was not true. It was all for show. In reality, they were corrupt and sinful. This was such a problem amongst the Pharisees that Christ sternly warned his disciples to be on guard lest the hypocrisy of the Pharisees infect them. 
            4. The Pharisees were religious leaders. It should be remembered that many of these disciples of Jesus would be religious leaders too. Many of these disciples would be tasked with leading in religious matters after Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. Christianity is a religion, friends. It involves religious practices and requires religious devotion. The trouble is not with religion. Notice Christ does not say, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is religion. No, the thing that warns against is religious hypocrisy.
         2. Brothers and sisters, I must exhort you to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Be on the lookout for hypocrisy. And while it is important to be on the lookout to be sure that hypocrisy does not infect the church, it is more crucial that you guard your own soul. Beware of hypocrisy.
            1. I do believe the best way to test for hypocrisy is to ask yourself the question, am I one person, or are there two, three, or four versions of me?
               1. Now to be clear, I am not suggesting that we must act in the same way in every realm of life. For example, when we come to worship it is right that we come with an attitude of serious joy, reverence, and awe. And when we go home to spend time with family and friends, it is not wrong to adjust our demeanor to one of light-hearted playfulness. Our behavior and demeanor should adjust to the various settings and circumstances of life. There is a time to be serious and there is a time to play. Adjusting your demeanor to fit the setting or situation is not hypocrisy – it is good and right.
               2. A hypocrite’s change is much more radical and extreme. Hypocrisy has to do with the heart and with matters of morality. The hypocrite will pretend to be holy and just in public while living an unholy and unjust life in private. A hypocrite will pretend to be a lover of God and a lover of man in public, but in reality, have no love for God or others in the secrecy of their heart and privacy of their home. 
               3. Hypocrites will be substantially different people in different places depending upon the setting and the company – they will act one way in worship, another way in private, another way at work, and yet another way at home. If someone were able to observe them in each of these realms, they would think, this person does not live one life, but two, or three, or four. Here in private, we see the true person. But everywhere else, he is a fake.  
            2. As we are thinking about the sin of hypocrisy, I believe it is important to say that sinning does not make a person a hypocrite. We all sin. We will continue to sin until Christ perfects us in glory. When a Christian sins, that does not make him a hypocrite. But if a professing Christian goes on living in sin, does not turn from it, and presents himself as a pious person in public, there we have a hypocrite.
               1. A hypocrite will be drunk on Saturday nights and in worship on Sunday mornings. 
               2. A hypocrite will use foul language Monday through Friday and use that same mouth to praise God on Sunday. 
               3. A hypocrite will look at evil images with his eyes during the week, and with those same eyes look upon Christ signified in the bread and wine and the beauty of Christ’s redeemed bride, the church, on the Lord’s Day.
               4. The hypocrite will listen to foul music and foul messages with his ears and ponder them with his mind during the week, and with the same ears and mind take in the Word of God when it is read and preached on the Lord’s Day.
               5. The hypocrite is one who claims to be a son or daughter of God and yet lives like a son or daughter of the devil. 
               6. Now, some might be wondering, just how habitual does my sin – my drunkenness, my use of foul or demanding language, my taking in of evil images, or my consumption of filthy content – need to be to push me over the line so that I am no longer a Christian sinner who is being sanctified and into the category of a hypocrite. I will tell you, if that is the first question that comes to your mind, I am concerned for you.   
                  1. I have already acknowledged that there is a great difference between a true Christian who is, from the heart, battling against sin but is sometimes (or even, often) failing and a hypocrite who is living a double life and does not seem to care. Where is that line that separates the saint who is being sanctified progressively and the hypocrite? God knows. And you probably know too. 
                  2. But the question that a true follower of Jesus Christ will ask is not how close can I get to that line (wherever it is) and still be regarded as a Christian and not a hypocrite, but rather, Lord, would you help me to run as far away from hypocrisy as possible? Lord, make me one person. Lord, purify my heart and mind so that my devotion to you is pure, sincere, and undivided (see 1 Corinthians 7:35 & 2 Corinthians 11:3). This will be the request of every true follower of Christ. 
                  3. Friends, true followers of Jesus Christ will have Christ as Lord. And if Christ is our Lord, he will be the Lord of our entire being. He will be our Lord and King in every place that we go, in every circumstance we are in, no matter the company. This does not mean that we do not act differently when we are in worship, at work, and at play. It does mean that Christ is always Lord, though. Christ is our Lord when we worship. He is to be Lord when we work. He is to be Lord when we play. He must even be Lord of our thoughts and emotions, our words spoken in private, and our private deeds. When the true follower of Christ sins against the Lord in any of these realms, it will displease them and grieve them and result in repentance. But the hypocrite will not care. The hypocrite will only care to appear virtuous and holy in the eyes of others. The hypocrite only cares about not being caught.         
               7. There is one more thing to say about hypocrisy before we move on in our text. This has been hinted at already, but it must be stated directly and clearly. Hypocrisy is not merely about behavior. In other words, the remedy to hypocrisy is not to try hard to behave better no matter where you are. Friends, if you are a hypocrite, you will not make it very far with this approach, for the roots of your hypocrisy go far deeper than your behavior. The truth is that hypocrisy begins in the heart.
                  1. These Pharisees were religious hypocrites, you see, not because they lacked self-control, but because their hearts were wicked and their minds were corrupt. You see, it was when they were in private, or under pressure, or when their reputations or prosperity was on the line, that their true self emerged. Typically, while in public, they were able to hide all of their vileness behind the mask of religious garb, religious talk, and religious ceremony. The problem was not that they needed to act more consistently according to their true natures. No! The problem was that their natures were corrupt. They were not pretending while in private, you see! That is when their true self emerged! The masks came off when they were in private! And the masks would go on again when it was time to appear in public. Christ was right. They were cups and dishes that were clean on the outside but filthy within.   
               8. There are only two solutions to hypocrisy, and one of them is no real solution at all.
                  1. Some will try to avoid hypocrisy by being “authentic”. You have probably heard people talk this way.  After behaving badly they will say, this is who I am. I’m not going to pretend to be something I’m not. I’m no hypocrite. And while it might seem better to be “authentic” than hypocritical, it will not prove to be better in the end. At least the hypocrite is somewhat held back from sin by his selfish desire to appear righteous in the eyes of others. The one who prides himself in his “authenticity” sins more openly and freely and pretends that it is somehow virtuous – after all, at least he is not a mask-wearing, two-faced, hypocrite! The truth is, both the hypocritical sinner and the “authentic” sinner will stand before God and be judged for their sin on the last day, unless they repent and believe upon Christ. Those who are “authentic” may avoid the charge of hypocrisy, but they will pay for all of their “authentic” sins on judgment day, if not found in Christ. Authenticity is no real solution. 
                  2. The only good and true solution to hypocrisy is found in Christ. The reasons for this are threefold. The first two have to do with the authentic work God does in his people in Christ Jesus. The third is about the Christian’s claim or confession.
                     1. First of all, the problem of hypocrisy is remedied by Christ through regeneration. God, by his grace alone, regenerates his people when he effectually calls them by his word and Spirit to make them willing and able to believe in Christ. The Christian life begins with regeneration. It begins when God, by his grace, gives his people a new heart and mind. Ezekiel 36:26 is about regeneration. There God says. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:26–27, ESV). As has been said, the real source of hypocrisy is the heart. The hypocrite wants to appear righteous or virtuous, but his heart is not righteous or virtuous. His heart is deceitful and wicked. It drives him to think, speak, and do wicked things. And so men, in their hypocrisy, put on masks to hide their wickedness. But God solves the problem of hypocrisy in Christ Jesus by regenerating his people to make them willing and able to believe upon Christ and to keep his commandments.  What the hypocrite needs is not better morals, but a new heart and mind, and that is what Christ gives. This is what the Scriptures call being born again (see John 3). 
                     2. Secondly, the problem of hypocrisy is remedied by Christ through sanctification. Sanctification is growth in holiness. As has been said, in the beginning of the Christian life, God regenerates sinners by his Word and Spirit to make them willing and able to believe upon Christ. He gives them a new heart so that their impulse is no longer set towards sin. Christians strive to obey God because it is the core impulse of their renewed heart. Christians are able to obey God because they have been set free from bondage to sin and the corruption of their natures. But it is no secret that Christians still sin. The remaining corruptions of the flesh war against the Spirit (see Galatians 5:17), and sometimes the flesh wins. But God has promised to sanctify his people. This means he will renew them further. He will renew them in the whole man after the image of God, and enable them more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness (see Baptist Catechism 38 and Second London Confession 13). A Christian who, by the grace of God, has been regenerated and is being sanctified through faith in Christ and by God’s Word and Spirit, might struggle with sin and fall into, perhaps even severely for a time. But this does not mean he is a hypocrite. It means he is a sinner who is saved and is being sanctified by the grace of God alone through faith in Christ alone.
                     3. The only good and true solution to hypocrisy is found in Christ. The first two reasons I have given have to do with the work that God does in the Christian – he regenerates them to bring them to faith, and he sanctifies them progressively. The third reason has to do with the Christian’s claim or confession. At the very heart of the Christian faith is the belief that we have sinned against God, that we do not have a righteousness of our own, that we cannot justify ourselves before God by our good works or lawkeeping, that we stand in need of cleaning and renewal, and that our only hope is found in God and in the Christ he has sent. In other words, the true Christian is happy to confess that we bring nothing to the table and that Christ is everything. Our right standing before God is all of grace. Even the good works we do are enabled by God’s grace. There is no room for boasting, therefore (see Ephesians 2:8-10). And there is no need for masks.
                  3. Here is something I want you to see. It was actually the false beliefs and teachings of the Pharisees that produced their hypocrisy. Where did they look for their right standing before God? They looked to the law of God and to themselves and they taught others to do the same. The trouble is, they could not keep the law because their hearts were wicked. Their only option was to hide their sin behind their religious garb, their superficial ceremony, and their pompous pride.  
                  4. And religion that denies Christ, the new birth that only he can give, and the forgiveness of sins that only he can bring, is bound to produce hypocrisy in its adherents. Christless religion leaves men and women dead in their sins. Christless religion leaves men and women to pursue salvation through self-righteous and self-empowered law-keeping. Men and women who practice religion such as this will have to find a way to hide their corrupt hearts and their sinful deeds. Like Adam and Eve, in vain they will sow fig leaves together in an attempt to hide the guilt of their sin and their shame. But we know that the only solution is to be clothed by God with the righteousness of Christ, washed in his blood, and renewed by his Spirit.         
   2. We will consider verses 2 and 3 rather quickly. Here Christ demonstrates how utterly foolish the hypocritical, self-righteous, and Christless religion of the Pharisees is. There he says, “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.”
      1. The meaning is very plain. Not much explanation is required. In brief, Christ warned his disciples against hypocrisy by reminding them that on the day of judgment, everything will be laid open and bare, and every mask will be removed.  
      2. This hypocritical approach to religion may have fooled some people for a time, but the truth will be known on the last day when “the LORD search[es] the heart and test[s] the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds” (Jeremiah 17:10, ESV).
      3. The reality of the final judgment is a good reason to have nothing to do with hypocritical, superficial religion. A religion that merely hides your sin, conceals the corruption of your heart, a gives the impression of righteousness to others, will do you no good at all when you stand before God on the last day and are judged by him. Do not forget that “the LORD search[es] the heart and test[s] the mind…” He will “give [to] every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds” (Jeremiah 17:10, ESV). On that last day, “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.”  
3. Conclusion
   1. Friends, our only hope is Christ. Christ-less religion will do you no good at all. If you hope to stand in the judgment, to pass through it, to be openly acquitted and acknowledged to be a child of God, you must have faith in Christ. You must be regenerated by him, cleansed by him, and clothed in his righteousness. This is the purpose for which Christ came. He did not come to provide us with some pathetic and superficial religion only capable of hiding or sins from the eyes of our fellow man and producing nothing but hypocrisy. No, he came to atone for the sins of his people and to reconcile us to God through “his body of flesh by his death, in order to present [us] holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Colossians 1:22, ESV).

Baptist Catechism 24

Q. 24. Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect?

A. The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was and continueth to be God and man, in two distinct natures and one person, forever. (Gal. 3:13;1 Tim. 2:5; John 1:14; 1 Tim. 3:16; Rom. 9:5; Col. 2:9)

Scripture Reading: Galatians 3:10–14

“For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ But the law is not of faith, rather ‘The one who does them shall live by them.’ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:10–14, ESV)

*****

Introduction

You will probably remember that after a string of questions and answers having to do with the bad news concerning the sin and misery that all of humanity was plunged into by Adam’s first sin, we then encountered good news. Question 23 of our catechism asks,  “Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?” The good news is this: “God having out of His mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation, by a Redeemer.”

To redeem is to rescue. To redeem is to purchase back. To redeem is to regain the possession of a thing that was lost. And our catechism rightly teaches that God has provided a Redeemer – that is to say, a Savior – for fallen humanity. God, by his grace, out of his mere good pleasure, did not leave mankind to perish (which he would have been right to do), but determined to deliver some out of their estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation, by a Redeemer.

The obvious question is, who is this Redeemer? And that is what our catechism now asks: “Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect?”

*****

The Only Redeemer Of God’s Elect Is The Lord Jesus Christ

The answer that is given first identifies the Redeemer by simply naming him. “The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ…” Who is the Redeemer? Jesus Christ is the Redeemer. 

The word “only” is important. It reminds us of what the Scriptures so clearly teach. There are not many redeemers, many saviors, or many who are able to reconcile us to God. There is one only. This is what Paul says so clearly in 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…” (1 Timothy 2:5, ESV). And Jesus himself taught this when he said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, ESV). Jesus is the only Redeemer. There is no other besides him.

Here is an important question: Is Jesus the Redeemer of the whole world, then? 

Well yes, in a sense he is. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Indeed, it is true, that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, ESV). Jesus is the Redeemer of the world. But it is important for us to understand what the Scriptures mean by the word world. These Scriptures texts do not mean that Christ came to Redeem every person in the world without exception. This interpretation of the word “world” would flat contradict other passages of Scripture that speak of Christ laying down his life, not for all, for “many” (see Matthew 26:28), or for the “church” (see Ephesians 5:25), or for “the sheep” (see John 10:15). In fact, in John 17 Christ prays to the Father and is quite clear that his mission was to save those given to him by the Father in eternity.  

When the Scriptures say that Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world it does not mean that the sins of every person without exception have been taken away. That would mean that all are saved! What it means is that Christ came to Redeem, not Jews only, but people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. In other words, God did not send one redeemer for this people group, and another redeemer for that people group, and so on. No, there is only one mediator between God and man, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Savior of the world. As Acts 4:12 says, “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Our catechism is right to say that Jesus Christ is the “only Redeemer of God’s elect.” Our catechism teaches this because this is what the scriptures teach. God sent the Son, not to save every person without exception, but to atone for the sins of many from every tongue, tribe, and nation. This is the doctrine of predestination or election which was introduced to us in the previous question. This is also the doctrine of limited atonement, or better yet, particular redemption. Who did Christ come to Redeem? Who did he come to save? What was the will of the Father for him? Was he to atone for the sins of every person who has ever lived, or ever will live? Certainly not. Christ shed his blood for many, not all (Matthew 26:18), he laid his life for the sheep (John 10:15), and for the church, who is his bride (Ephesians 5:25). Christ came to do the Father’s will for him, which was to save for all eternity those given to him by the Father before the foundation of the world (John 17). 

This doctrine of predestination, or election, along with the doctrine of limited atonement, or better yet, particular redemption, is very clearly taught in the pages of Holy Scripture. And no, there is no contradiction with those passages that speak of God loving the world, or sending to the Son for all the world, provided those passages are interpreted properly. 

So, our catechism is very right to name the Lord Jesus Christ as “the only Redeemer of God’s elect …” 

*****

Who, Being The Eternal Son Of God, Became Man

After this, our catechism tells us more about who Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was and is. 

Jesus Christ is the only Redeemer of God’s elect, “who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was and continueth to be God and man, in two distinct natures and one person, forever.”

Here we have the doctrine of the incarnation briefly stated.  Who is Jesus Christ? He is the person of the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity. 

A person is a subject who acts through nature. If I asked you, who you are, you would probably tell me your name. If I asked what you are, you would probably say I am human. You are an individual person acting through a human nature.  And I am a human person acting through a human nature. What do you and I share in common? We are both human beings. What distinguishes us? Well, among other things, we are different persons. 

Now I ask you, who is Jesus? He is the person of the eternal Son or Word of God. And if I were to ask you, what is Jesus? You would have to say, he is divine and human, for the person of the eternal son acts both through the divine nature and the human nature he has assumed. 

When our catechism says that the eternal Son of God “became man” it does not mean that the Son was changed into man, but that he took to himself a true human nature. God cannot become anything if by “become” we mean “was changed into”, for God cannot change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So whatever we think about the incarnation, we cannot think that God was changed into a man. No, he took to himself or assumed human nature without experiencing a change in the divine nature. The key to understanding this, I think (though mystery will always remain), is to see that it was not the divine nature that assumed a human nature (and neither was it the person of the Father or Spirit) but the person of the eternal Son. All of this is beautifully and clearly stated in the Scriptures, especially in John 1, and Colossians 2.

And this doctrine of the incarnation is clearly and precisely stated by our catechism which goes on to say, “and so was and continueth to be God and man, in two distinct natures and one person, forever.” You see, the divine nature and the human nature were not mixed or confused in Christ. The divine nature was not mixed with the human nature of Christ so that he was less than God but more than man. No, Christ is truly God and truly man. And yet Christ is one person, not two. The divine nature and human nature are joined together inseparably (forever) in the person of the Son. So, Christ has two natures but he is one person. He is the person of the eternal Son of God incarnate. 

The doctrine of the incarnation is mysterious, isn’t it? It is difficult to comprehend. But it is important for us to confess, for it is the teaching of Holy Scripture. May I suggest to you that one of the best ways to learn to speak about Christ, his person, and his natures, is to grow familiar with the language of our catechism. A lot more can be said about the incarnation than what is said here, but this is a good start and a sure guide. Our confession of faith (the Second London Confession) also provides a wonderful statement about the natures and person of Christ in chapter 8 paragraph 2. 

*****

Conclusion

Let me conclude this little sermon by making a connection between the first and second parts of Baptist Catechism 24. I’ll make this connection by asking the question, why the incarnation? Why was it necessary for the Redeemer of God’s elect to be bolt God and man? The answer is rather simple. Humanity had to be redeemed by a true human. Where the first Adam failed a second Adam had to succeed. But there is a problem. All of humanity was plunged into sin and ruin by the first Adam so that none who descended from him were capable of saving themselves, let alone, the rest. None could be the Savior because all were in need of a Savior. And for this reason, the Redeemer of God’s elect had to be God himself. This is why the Son of God, who is called the eternal Word of God in John 1, took on flesh by being born of a virgin. And having come into the world, not by the seed of Adam, but by the power of God working, Christ the God-man then lived a sinless life, suffered, died the death of a sinner, rose from the dead, and ascended to the Father. This he did, not for himself only, but for all who were given to him by the Father in eternity. There is a reason that Jesus christ is the only Redeemer of god’s elect. There is simply no one else like him. 

I hope you can see that our catechism has a way of stating really big and really important truths in a very succinct way.

Q. 24. Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect?

A. The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was and continueth to be God and man, in two distinct natures and one person, forever. (Gal. 3:13;1 Tim. 2:5; John 1:14; 1 Tim. 3:16; Rom. 9:5; Col. 2:9)

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 53

“Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Luke 11:37-54

“While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. And the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.’ One of the lawyers answered him, ‘Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.’ And he said, ‘Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.’ As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.” (Luke 11:37–54, ESV)

*****

Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

1. Introduction
   1. Last Sunday we considered Luke 11:37-44 and the three “woes” that Jesus pronounced up the Pharisees. Today we will consider the three “woes” that Christ pronounced upon the lawyers as recorded in Luke 11:45-54. I will repeat what I said in the introduction to the previous sermon. We ought not to consider the “woes” pronounced upon the Pharisees and lawyers to cast stones at them but to carefully examine our own hearts and minds to be sure there is no Pharisaical or legalistic spirit within us.  
2. The Lawyers Condemned (vs. 45-52)
   1. In verses 45-52, Jesus condemns the lawyers. These lawyers were not lawyers in the way we think of them but were experts in the law of Moses. Many of them belonged to the sect of the Pharisees, so there is substantial overlap between the two groups. You should know that these lawyers were highly educated, religiously devout, and respected by many. And yet Christ condemns them. We should be concerned to know why.
      1. In verse 45 we read, “One of the lawyers answered him, ‘Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also’” (Luke 11:45, ESV).
         1. Jesus had just finished speaking words of condemnation against the Pharisees. Evidently, the Pharisees did not know what to say. It was a lawyer who protested on their behalf saying, these words that you speak against the Pharisees apply to us also and they are insulting.  
         2. Interestingly, the lawyer referred to Jesus as “teacher”. This reveals two things: One, they did not regard him as the Messiah as Jesus’ disciples did (see Luke 9:20). Two, they did acknowledge him to be great. The lawyer referred to Jesus as “teacher”, a term of respect, no doubt.      
      2. I smile a little every time I read verses 45 and 46. Jesus’ attention was on the Pharisees. The lawyer protested, saying, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” Christ did not apologize. Rather, he turned his attention to the lawyers and pronounced three “woes” upon them as well. I guess it would have been better for the lawyer to have kept his head down. 
      3. Let us now consider the three “woes”:
         1. The first is found in verse 46. There we read, ​​“And [Jesus] said, ‘Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers” (Luke 11:46, ESV).
            1. What does this mean that lawyers loaded people with burdens hard to bear? Two things, I think:
               1. One, the lawyers had a bad habit of adding laws to the law of God. In other words, not only did they teach men to obey God’s law, but they demanded that men obey the traditions of the elders too. The lawyers, mind you, would have been perfectly right to teach men and women to obey the law of God given through Moses. The law of God given through Moses was meant to be obeyed. But it was heavy enough! No one was able to keep it perfectly. This is why the Old Covenant had a sacrificial system. Through the sacrificial system, men and women could be made clean in an earthly sense according to the terms of that covenant. Also, the sacrificial system pointed forward to Christ who would actually atone for the sins of his people to make them truly clean and right before God for all eternity. The Old Covenant law of Moses was heavy enough. It made people aware of their sins and their need for a Redeemer. The extra laws and manmade traditions of the elders that the lawyers imposed upon the people were exceedingly heavy.
               2. Two, the lawyers loaded people with heavy burdens when they taught that a person was justified before God through their law-keeping. Can you imagine what it would be like to believe that eternal life has to be earned through obedience to God’s law? That might sound good and true for a moment. But anyone who knows what the law truly requires and forbids will soon see the problem. We do not keep God’s law perfectly but break it daily in thought, word, and deed. You see, it is one thing to strive to keep God’s law because you love God and are assured that God loves you, knowing that he has forgiven all your sins through faith in the Messiah and clothed you with his righteousness. It is another thing to think that God’s favor must be earned through obedience to the law. The first kind of law-keeping is a light and joyous endeavor. The second kind of law-keeping is a terrible and heavy burden. 
               3. These lawyers were legalists. They added manmade traditions to the law of God and they taught that eternal life had to be earned through law-keeping. This is why Christ said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear…”
            2. After this, Christ said, “…and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.”
               1. I think the meaning is this: through your teachings, you place these heavy burdens on the shoulders of the people, but you do not live up to these standards yourselves. More than this, you judge the people harshly but you do not provide any help or relief to them. You are heavy-handed with people. And when you see them buckling under the weight of the burden of the law of God (misapplied), you do nothing to relieve them. You do not even touch their burden to lift it with your finger.     
               2. So then, in this first “woe” these lawyers were condemned by Christ for their misapplication of the law of God, their adding of manmade rules and regulations to the law of God, their heavy-handed and judgmental treatment of the people, and their hypocrisy.    
         2. The second of the three “woes” is found in verses 47 through 51. There we hear Christ say, “Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.” There is a lot that is said here. Notice a few things about this second “woe”. .
            1. Firstly, Christ reminds us of the sad history of the Israelites. The true prophets who ministered within Israel were rarely honored.  In fact, they were often persecuted as they proclaimed the Word of the Lord. That is the history that Christ reminds us of when he spoke to the lawyers saying, “For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.”  
            2.  Secondly, Christ condemned the lawyers for being just like their fathers. Their forefathers opposed and even killed the prophets, and they were about to do the same thing with Christ and his Apostles. Christ was and is the Prophet of God. The Pharisees and lawyers opposed him, rejected him, and would soon crucify him. They would mistreat and even kill the Apostles of Christ too. When he said, “So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs”, he meant, you are just like your forefathers. You honor them because you are just like them.
            3. Thirdly, when Christ said, “Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute’”, he was predicting his own martyrdom and the persecution and eventual martyrdom of his Apostles at the hands of these religious leaders. More than this, Christ was confessing that his death on the cross and the persecution and martyrdom of his Apostles were all according to the Wisdom (or plan) of God. God in his infinite wisdom had decreed from before the foundation of the world that Christ would be crucified to redeem his people (see Acts 2:23; 1 Peter 1:20). And it was also according to the will of God that his disciples would suffer, some to the point of death, after his ascension (see Romans 8:17; 1 Corinthians 1:5). The crucifixion of Christ and the sufferings experienced by his followers, are not outside of God’s will, but fall out according to definite plan and foreknowledge of God. God has decreed in eternity to permit these sins and sufferings to bring about ultimate good for his redeemed ones.
               1. Christ’s words, “Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute’”, should remind us of what the Apostle Peter said when he preached to the Jews on the day of Pentecost after Christs’ resurrection and ascension. Among other things, he said, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:22–24, ESV). I do believe that when Peter looked back upon the crucifixion of Christ and described it as Jesus being, “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God”, he was saying the same thing that Christ said before his crucifixion concerning these things being done according to the  Wisdom of God. Friends, Christ was not crucified against God’s will but in accordance with it. God decreed in eternity to permit the crucifixion of Christ so that through it he might bring many sons and daughters to glory (see Hebrews 2:10).
            4. Fourthly, when Christ said, “so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation”, he revealed that the judgment of God, which had been stored up as it were for ages, would fall upon the Jews of that generation.
               1. The reason should be clear. It was this generation that would persecute and kill, not an ordinary prophet of God, but the promised Messiah himself. In the past, the forefathers of these Jews had killed the prophets, but the persecutions and killings of these righteous prophets in ages past anticipated (typified) the killing of the Righteous One himself, Christ the Lord.
                  1. This reminds me of what Steven, the great evangelist, deacon, and first martyr of the early church said right before the Jews stoned him to death. He concluded his message to Jews with these words: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it” (Acts 7:51–53, ESV).
                  2. I have now quoted the words of Peter from Acts 2 and the words of Steven from Acts 7. They both sound a lot like Jesus from Luke 11, down. You almost get the impression that these men walked with Jesus and learned from him! 
               2. When Christ said, “so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation…”, he was teaching that all of the persecutions and killings of righteous men in the past would, in a sense, culminate and find fulfillment in the crucifixion of the Righteous One, the Messiah, Christ the Lord.
                  1. I think we should also remember what the unbelieving Jews said when they demanded Christ be crucified. Do you remember the story as it is recorded in Matthew 27? Pilate, the Roman Governor, had questioned Jesus and found that he was innocent. He urged the Jews to release him, but they were insistent that he be crucified. In Matthew 27:24 we read, “So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ And all the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified” (Matthew 27:24–26, ESV).
                  2. The nation of Israel would be judged in that generation. When Christ was raised from the dead, The Old Covenant passed away and the New Covenant began. The kingdom of God, which was typified or pictured in Old Covenant Israel, was taken away from them and given to a people producing its fruits (see Matthew 21:43). And in 70 A.D. Jerusalem was besieged and the great temple of the Old Covenant order was destroyed never to be built again. We are to interpret these events as being tightly linked with the Jews killing their own Messiah at the hands of lawless men.     
                  3. Christ predicted his martyrdom. His death was decreed according to the Wisdom of God. But it was these unbelieving Jews, many of them Pharisees and lawyers, who acted unjustly, “so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, [would] be charged against [that] generation…”,
               3. It is interesting, I think, how Christ spoke of the blood of the prophets shed in ages past. He identified “Abel” as the first prophet martyred and “Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary”, as the last.
                  1. You probably know who Able is. He was the younger son born to Adam and Eve after their fall into sin. Cain was his older brother. It should be remembered that it was promised to Adam and Eve, that a descendant of Eve would crush the head of the serpent, Satan, who had tempted Eve, and therefore, brought sin, misery, and death into the world. There is some evidence in the text that Adam and Eve were hopeful that Cain might be the one. He proved to be a wicked man. Able was a righteous man. Cain, being provoked by jealousy and moved to anger, rose up and killed his own brother, Able. Christ tells us that Able was a prophet. This means he was a man of faith who understood the promise of God concerning a coming redeemer, and he proclaimed the word of the Lord. Able was the first prophet to be martyred. His martyrdom anticipated the martyrdom of many more prophets of God in the future. Ultimately, the martyrdom of Able anticipated the martyrdom of Jesus Christ, the true seed of the woman promised to Adam and Eve so long ago (see Hebrews 11:4). And if the murder of Abel anticipated the murder of future prophets, the murderous Cain anticipated the murderous impulse of those who would, spiritually speaking, be born of the seed of the serpent in the future.             
                  2. Christ identifies Zechariah as the last of the Old Covenant prophets to be martyred. The story of Zechariah’s martyrdom is found in 2 Chronicles 24:20–22. God’s word says, “Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, ‘Thus says God, ‘Why do you break the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.’’ But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD. Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, ‘May the LORD see and avenge!” (2 Chronicles 24:20–22, ESV).
                     1. Some have wondered why Christ named Zechariah as the last of the Old Covenant prophets to be killed. After all, the prophet Uriah was killed by King Jehoiakim nearly 200 years after the murder of Zechariah (see Jeremiah 26:22-23).
                     2. The answer is that Christ was not concerned with the chronology. Zechariah is mentioned for at least three reasons. One, his martyrdom was most terrible. He was slain in the temple itself in the courtyard of the priests between the altar for burnt offerings and the holy place. Think of the symbolism. Zachariah the prophet was offered up as a kind of sacrifice. Certainly, this anticipated the offering up of Christ, the great Prophet of God, as a sacrifice to atone for our sins. Two, Zechariah’s last words fit with what Christ was here saying. “And when he was dying, he said, ‘May the LORD see and avenge!” (see Jeremiah 26:22-23). The Lord did see, and he would avenge. Christ declared that the time for vengeance had arrived when he said that “the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, [would] be charged against this generation…” Three, it is important to know that the Jews organized the books of the Old Testament differently than we do. We have Malachi as the last book of the Old Testament. In Jesus’ day, the Jews had 2 Chronicles as the last book. So, Zechariah was the last prophet to be martyred, not chronologically, but canonically. Taken in this way, Jesus meant that the blood of all the prophets whose martyrdom is recorded for us in the pages of Holy Scripture, from Abel at the beginning to Zechariah at the end, would be charged against this generation.
         3. It is in verse 52 that we find the third of the three “woes” that Christ pronounced upon the lawyers. I find this third “woe” to be most interesting. I also believe that it is the most devastating of the three. There we read, “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering” (Luke 11:52, ESV).
            1. What is this “key of knowledge” of which Christ speaks? It is the key of the knowledge of salvation through faith in Christ alone.
               1. Keys open doors. And it is this key – the key of knowing that salvation comes only through faith in the Messiah (and not by law-keeping) – that opens the door to the kingdom of heaven. Without this key – the key of the knowledge of Christ – no one will enter the kingdom of God. 
            2. Notice that Christ condemned the lawyers for taking away this key of knowledge. How did they take it away? They took it away through their misinterpretation of the law of Moses and their false teaching. They taught that righteousness was to be gained by law-keeping. But the Old Testament Scriptures teach otherwise. The Old Testament Scriptures teach that it is those who trust in the Messiah who are made righteous.  The key of the Old Testament is Christ. Christ is the central figure. Christ is the key that unlocks the door to heaven. But these lawyers – these so-called experts in the law of Moses – could not see it. They did not have the key themselves. They misinterpreted the Old Testament Scriptures. Therefore, they took the key of knowledge away from the people by their false teaching. 
            3. This is what Christ meant when he said, “You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”
               1. You know, this principle that faith in Christ is the key that opens the door to the kingdom of heaven can be proven by going to one of the many Old Testament texts that point forward to him. Isaiah 53, which we read earlier, is one such text. Verses 10-12 of Isaiah 53 seem to be very much related to what is said here in Luke 11. This passage is about the Messiah or Christ. It says, “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:10–12, ESV)
                  1. This Old Testament passage reveals that God’s will, knowledge, or Wisdom, was to make many righteous through the death, burial, and resurrection of God’s Righteous One, the Christ. It is this Wisdom or knowledge that opens the door to the kingdom of heaven. No one will be made righteous and be able to enter the kingdom of heaven apart from faith in the promised Messiah. This was as true under the Old Testament as it is today.  But many of the Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers could not see this truth in the Old Testament Scripture. They did not have the key of the knowledge of Christ. Therefore, they could not unlock the door to the kingdom of heaven for themselves, much less for those they taught. They taught that the key to the kingdom of heaven was keeping the law of Moses and the traditions of the elders. They had the wrong. The door to the kingdom of heaven will never be opened by that key. Though many in their day regarded these lawyers to be wise scholars, in reality, they were lost fools who were shut out from the kingdom of God unless they repent and believe in Jesus.   
                  2. Friends, the key that opens the door to heaven is faith in Christ. There is no other key. The New Testament Scriptures point us to Christ to be saved. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him (see John 14:6). He is the door. “If anyone enters by [him], he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9, ESV). Faith in Christ the key to that door. 
                  3. But the Old Testament Scriptures also point to Christ as the key that opens the door to the kingdom of heaven. In a way, this is what Luke’s gospel is all about. Luke began his gospel, remember, by stating his objective to provide another “narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us” (Luke 1:1, NKJV). The word fulfilled, or accomplished, is significant. Luke wants us to know that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again to fulfill the Old Testament Scriptures. His gospel is a demonstration of this fact. And we should remember how Luke’s gospel concludes. It concludes with Christ appearing to his disciples after his resurrection from the dead to teach them how all the law, prophets, and Psalm find their fulfillment in him. He rebuked them for their unbelief, saying, “‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:25–27, ESV).
                  4. Stated differently, before Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father, he appeared to his disciples to be sure they had this key of knowledge firmly in their possession.
                     1. With this key of knowledge, they would be able to rightly interpret the Old Testament Scriptures. 
                     2. With this key of knowledge, they themselves would be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. 
                     3. And with this key of knowledge, they would unlock the door to the kingdom of heaven for others through their preaching of the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ alone, and not by the works of law (see Romans 3:19-26; Galatians 2:16). 
   2. Luke concludes this story about Jesus conflict with the Pharisees and lawyers with this remark: “As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say” (Luke 11:53–54, ESV). They had it out for Jesus. They wished to do away with him. This would end with their crucifying Christ, all in fulfillment of the definite plan, foreknowledge, and Wisdom of God.   
3. Application
   1. I have only one point of application to press upon you. Friends, be sure that you have the key of the knowledge of salvation through faith in Christ alone.
      1. I’m afraid that there are many who wish to enter heaven who hold in their hand the wrong key. Have you ever tried to open a door with the wrong key? It is a frustrating experience. You insert the key and you expect it to turn. But it will not turn. And so you are shut out of the house. Your heart sinks when you realize you have the wrong key. 
      2. How sad it will be on the last day for those who attempt to enter the door of heaven with the wrong key in their hand. Many, I’m afraid, will bring with them the key of their own self-righteousness. These are the ones who when asked, why do you think you will enter heaven when you die?, say, it is because I am a good person. I’m moral. I do good to others. I’m religious. These will be sorely disappointed to find that the door to heaven cannot be opened by the key of self-righteousness. The Scriptures are clear, “by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20, ESV), and, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, ESV), and “the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23, ESV).
      3. The only keep that can open the door to heaven is the key of faith in Christ, for Christ is the one who lived and died to pay for the sins of his people. He clothes them with his righteousness to make them worthy to enter into God’s presence. Christ is the key that opens the door to heaven. To enter the kingdom of heaven, we must have Christ. And Christ is obtained by faith alone.    
      4. The Apostle Paul was not present when Jesus spoke these condemning words to the Pharisees and the lawyers, nor was he present when Christ taught his disciples after his resurrection that the law, prophets, and Psalms pointed to him, but by the grace of God, Paul was given the key of knowledge. And so he wrote, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:21–26, ESV)
      5. Faith in Jesus. That is the only key that opens the door to heaven for sinners. Friends, I pray that you have it and that you hold it tightly in your hand, by God’s grace.