BEWARE OF TOXIC TEACHERS!

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on October 27, 2021 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: October 27, 2021 from Luke 20:45-47

Theme: Jesus warned us, as His followers, to beware of those who teach truth hypocritically.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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In Luke 20, we have seen a remarkable set of confrontations. Our Lord had made His triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem, and entered the temple. He had a right to do so; because He was the Son of His Father, and the temple was His Father’s house. And out of zeal for His Father’s honor, He cleansed the temple of the merchandisers.

This act, however, set this series of confrontations into motion. We’ve been referring to them as ‘the temple confrontations’; and in them, the various groups of religious leaders—one by one—took their turn in opposing Him. As we’ve seen, each confrontation resulted in the Lord being the victor, the opponent’s efforts against Him being thwarted, and a new truth about our Lord being revealed and confirmed.

As we come to the end of Chapter 20, we find that the confrontations themselves were over. The opponents had all had their say. But now, our Lord has His. Luke 20:45-47 says;

Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation” (Luke 20:45-47).

In these closing words, our Lord gives a warning to His followers to beware of those who teach God’s truth in a hypocritical way—who declare God’s word, but do not themselves do it.

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Our Lord was compassionate toward sinners—even the worst of sinners. The Bible tells us that the kind of people who would have been rejected by the religious leaders of the day were drawn to Him. He welcomed them to Himself, and ate with them, and enjoyed fellowship with them. Those who knew that they were sinners felt genuinely loved by Him. His love transformed them; and they followed Him. It was for them that He died—paying the atoning price for their sin on the cross. We don’t find any words of harsh condemnation for those who knew that they were sinners. Instead, they were drawn to the Savior and found mercy and grace.

But we find our Lord’s harshest and most fearsome words of condemnation reserved for those who were religiously self-righteous, and who looked with contempt on sinners, and who didn’t themselves feel the need to repent. And in the case of the passage before us, these words were spoken about those who were the biblical scholars of the day—the scribes—those who handled the Scriptures, and explained their meaning to the people, and taught the people what God’s word said to do. Perhaps the best way to understand our Lord’s harsh words is to see how the same incident was described in Matthew’s Gospel. In Matthew 23:1-5, we’re told;

Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men” (Matthew 23:1-5).

It wasn’t the fact that they handled the Scriptures that was the problem. It was the fact that they taught God’s word to others but would not themselves do what it says. They added rules and regulations to God’s word; and made those rules and regulations into an oppressive burden—all to put on a show for other people to see. The whole time long, they dismissed themselves from the call to repent. Matthew 23 contains some of the most frightening words of condemnation our Lord ever spoke—and they were directed toward these religious leaders.

What a powerful word of warning this is—especially when we remember that these religious leaders would hand our Lord over for crucifixion only a few days later!

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Let’s consider first …

1. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE WARNING (v. 45).

Luke tells us in verse 45 that—after all the confrontations had been brought to an end, “Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples …” His words were spoken specifically to His disciples, but with “all the people” listening in. This would have included those very same religious leaders—specifically the scribes. In fact, He clearly spoke a series of horrific ‘woes’ to those scribes in Matthew 23:13-36; so they were standing there to hear it all!

This was meant, however, not as a warning to them but to those who are His followers. He didn’t want them to be led astray by such teachers. Their great sin was hypocrisy; and He laid things all out on the table because He didn’t want His followers to fall into their sinful pattern. On another occasion, He gave His disciples this warning concerning religious hypocrisy:

“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops” (Luke 12:1-3).

Religious hypocrisy is like leaven in a lump of dough. It spreads and permeates the whole lump. Once religious hypocrisy slips into our lives, it contaminates everything; and we begin to pretend in the sight of men to be something before God that we’re not. This is dangerous; because God knows the truth—and will reveal the truth on the day of judgment.

With this in mind, notice next …

2. THE OBJECTS OF THE WARNING (vv. 46-47).

Jesus said, in verse 46, “Beware of the scribes …” These scribes were scholars of the Old Testament Scriptures. Their task was a truly important one in Jewish society. They studied, and interpreted, and applied, and taught the law of God to God’s people. They were sometimes referred to as ‘lawyers’—not in the sense that they were attorneys in a court of law, but in the sense that they helped the people see how God’s law was to be practiced in daily life.

It’s important to understand that not all scribes were bad. One of the greatest heroes of the Bible was a scribe named Ezra. In addition to being an expert in the law, he was also an outstanding historian and a passionate reformer of the Jewish people. In Ezra 7, we’re told that “he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given” (v. 6). The king of the Persian people had sent Ezra to the Jewish people in Jerusalem to teach them and to build up their spiritual life. He was a trustworthy man of God who did his work well; “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel” (v. 10).

But the scribes about whom Jesus spoke were not men like Ezra. They may have prepared themselves to study the Law of the Lord; and they may have set themselves to teach it. But they didn’t prepare their hearts to seek Him in it or to do what His word said.

Jesus goes on to speak of their character and behavior. In verses 46-47 of Luke 20, He identifies six specific ways that these scribes demonstrated their hypocrisy:

• First, He said that they were those “who desire to go around in long robes …” They loved to wear the outward garments of religious esteem that set them apart from the rest of the people—as if they were kings or priests. We should be careful against saying that this is always true; but very often, it seems that the darker the inward heart is, the more glorious the outward robes will end up being!

• Second, they “love greetings in the marketplaces …” They loved to bear titles, and to be honored by those who saw them. In Matthew 23:7, Jesus said that they loved to “be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’”; which meant “Teacher, Teacher”. He then said to His disciples:
  

  “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:8-12).

It’s a dangerous practice to seek to be called honorable names by men while not being an honorable person before God. He who sees the heart calls things as they really are.

• Third, Jesus said that they loved “the best seats in the synagogues …” The best seats in the synagogues were the ones on a raised platform right next to the main speaker or the reader of the Scriptures. It was a place of honor that everyone in the synagogue would see. It may even be that they ‘politely’ fought one another for the privilege to sit on it.

• Fourth, Jesus said that they loved “the best places at feasts …” These would be the places of honor at the banqueting table. In Luke 14:8-11, Jesus said;
  “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:8-11).

  These scribes exalted themselves at the banquets … and would soon be humbled.

• Fifth, Jesus said that they were those “who devour widows’ houses …” In spite of their fine robes and esteemed titles, and in spite of their honored seats in the places of worship and at the tables of feasts, they were heartless thieves. They would take what belonged to the weakest and most needy members of society—perhaps by demanding donations from them that they couldn’t afford to give, or perhaps by using legal means—or even extortion—to acquire their livelihoods and possessions. They were robbers in robes.

• And sixth, Jesus said that they “for a pretense make long prayers”. Some Bible teachers believe that this should be understood in the light of the previous condemnation. They cruelly steal from the helpless; but cover up their wickedness with pious prayers. They may have even long prayers—perhaps filled with lofty phrases and peppered with Scripture passages. But the prayers were only for show. God didn’t regard their prayers, because they were only an outward display that covered up a sinful heart.

Jesus’ words were meant to serve as a warning to His followers to beware of such teachers. And so, after having stated their dangerous character and practices, notice …

3. THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE WARNING (v. 47).

Jesus said in verse 47, “These will receive greater condemnation.” It’s a dangerous thing to presume to be a teacher of God’s word without obeying it. The judgment from God upon teachers who are not true to what they teach is much more severe than for others. In James 3:1, we’re told,

My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment (James 3:1).

Those who handle and teach God’s word have a greater exposure to it than most. They understand its implications. They have ample opportunity to repent. No wonder the condemnation from God will be greater upon those who “say, and do not do”.

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This is an important warning for us all to be persons of integrity in the handling of God’s truth. It ought to serve as a warning to all would-be teachers. But its most important intention is that of serving as a warning to those who hear those teachers. We must not let ourselves fall into the dangerous kinds of hypocrisy that were represented by these scribes—who taught God’s word but didn’t obey it. As our Lord’s words remind us, let’s beware of such ‘toxic teachers’!