March 12th, 2025
Wednesday, March 12th
Hindering Influence
Nicole Goddard
The Pharisees and experts in the law were the great influencers of Jesus’ day. If we imagined them today, they would have Instagram accounts and YouTube Channels with a multitude of followers. Their posts would go viral. They’d create content showcasing themselves as the example to educate and teach their followers how to correctly fulfill the Jewish law.
It's not hard to see how such a lifestyle could lead to self-righteousness. The attention they received and the following they generated seemed to validate God’s calling on their lives and that they are glorifying him. Instead of recognizing Jesus as the Messiah and being convicted by his words in this passage, they opposed him fiercely.
While their own salvation was of grave concern, I think the greatest warning that Jesus gave in this story is that they also hindered their followers from knowing Christ.
“Woe to you, experts in the law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You didn’t go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were trying to go in.” Luke 11:52
Today we have unlimited Christian content literally at our fingertips. The more you search for it, the more the algorithms fill up your feed. So much good can come from this and can be a great tool to learn and share with others. But just like the Pharisees and experts of the law, we are also at risk of being hindered by their influence.
Lord, I pray daily for discernment to know what is of you and what is not. Please give me caution in what I watch and read, always with my eyes fixed on you first. Allow me to only share what glorifies you!
Luke 11:37-54
GOD’S WORD Translation
Jesus Criticizes Some Jewish Leaders
37 After Jesus spoke, a Pharisee invited him to have lunch at his house. So Jesus accepted the invitation. 38 The Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus didn’t wash before the meal.
39 The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside you are full of greed and evil. 40 You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside too? 41 Give what is inside as a gift to the poor, and then everything will be clean [a] for you.
42 “How horrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give ⌞God⌟ one-tenth of your mint, spices, and every garden herb. But you have ignored justice and the love of God. You should have done these things without ignoring the others.
43 “How horrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to sit in the front seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces. 44 How horrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves. People walk on them without knowing what they are.”
45 One of the experts in Moses’ Teachings said to him, “Teacher, when you talk this way, you insult us too.”
46 Jesus said, “How horrible it will be for you experts in Moses’ Teachings! You burden people with loads that are hard to carry. But you won’t lift a finger to carry any of these loads.
47 “How horrible it will be for you! You build the monuments for the prophets. But it was your ancestors who murdered them. 48 So you are witnesses and approve of what your ancestors did. They murdered the prophets for whom you build monuments. 49 That’s why the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles. They will murder some of those prophets and apostles and persecute others.’ 50 So the people living now will be charged with the murder of every prophet since the world was made. 51 This includes the murders from Abel to Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the temple. Yes, I can guarantee this truth: The people living today will be held responsible for this.
52 “How horrible it will be for you experts in Moses’ Teachings! You have taken away the key that unlocks knowledge. You haven’t gained entrance into ⌞knowledge⌟ yourselves, and you’ve kept out those who wanted to enter.”
53 When Jesus left, the experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees held a terrible grudge against him. They questioned him about many things 54 and watched him closely to trap him in something he might say.
Hindering Influence
Nicole Goddard
The Pharisees and experts in the law were the great influencers of Jesus’ day. If we imagined them today, they would have Instagram accounts and YouTube Channels with a multitude of followers. Their posts would go viral. They’d create content showcasing themselves as the example to educate and teach their followers how to correctly fulfill the Jewish law.
It's not hard to see how such a lifestyle could lead to self-righteousness. The attention they received and the following they generated seemed to validate God’s calling on their lives and that they are glorifying him. Instead of recognizing Jesus as the Messiah and being convicted by his words in this passage, they opposed him fiercely.
While their own salvation was of grave concern, I think the greatest warning that Jesus gave in this story is that they also hindered their followers from knowing Christ.
“Woe to you, experts in the law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You didn’t go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were trying to go in.” Luke 11:52
Today we have unlimited Christian content literally at our fingertips. The more you search for it, the more the algorithms fill up your feed. So much good can come from this and can be a great tool to learn and share with others. But just like the Pharisees and experts of the law, we are also at risk of being hindered by their influence.
Lord, I pray daily for discernment to know what is of you and what is not. Please give me caution in what I watch and read, always with my eyes fixed on you first. Allow me to only share what glorifies you!
Luke 11:37-54
GOD’S WORD Translation
Jesus Criticizes Some Jewish Leaders
37 After Jesus spoke, a Pharisee invited him to have lunch at his house. So Jesus accepted the invitation. 38 The Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus didn’t wash before the meal.
39 The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside you are full of greed and evil. 40 You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside too? 41 Give what is inside as a gift to the poor, and then everything will be clean [a] for you.
42 “How horrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give ⌞God⌟ one-tenth of your mint, spices, and every garden herb. But you have ignored justice and the love of God. You should have done these things without ignoring the others.
43 “How horrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to sit in the front seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces. 44 How horrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves. People walk on them without knowing what they are.”
45 One of the experts in Moses’ Teachings said to him, “Teacher, when you talk this way, you insult us too.”
46 Jesus said, “How horrible it will be for you experts in Moses’ Teachings! You burden people with loads that are hard to carry. But you won’t lift a finger to carry any of these loads.
47 “How horrible it will be for you! You build the monuments for the prophets. But it was your ancestors who murdered them. 48 So you are witnesses and approve of what your ancestors did. They murdered the prophets for whom you build monuments. 49 That’s why the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles. They will murder some of those prophets and apostles and persecute others.’ 50 So the people living now will be charged with the murder of every prophet since the world was made. 51 This includes the murders from Abel to Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the temple. Yes, I can guarantee this truth: The people living today will be held responsible for this.
52 “How horrible it will be for you experts in Moses’ Teachings! You have taken away the key that unlocks knowledge. You haven’t gained entrance into ⌞knowledge⌟ yourselves, and you’ve kept out those who wanted to enter.”
53 When Jesus left, the experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees held a terrible grudge against him. They questioned him about many things 54 and watched him closely to trap him in something he might say.
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