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45 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 46 “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” ~ Luke 20:45-47
As we come back to Luke 20, it has been a long day of teaching for the Lord Jesus. And, since He was such a threat to the kingdom of darkness and to the earthly positions of the religious leaders, they tried every tactic to undermine Him. Sadly, their tactics worked with most. In just a couple of days, many will be found screaming for His death. And, after His resurrection, only 120 believers were in Judea and 500 in Galilee.
At this point in the narrative, the Lord Jesus is done talking to the Jewish religious leaders, illustrating that our opportunities to respond to truth is limited. The worst ever will be those who will spend eternity in Hell. In v.45, He turns to speak to His disciples. The crowd could hear it, as well. He had one final message to be heard.
In v.46-47 we read, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”
The last thing the Lord Jesus says to the crowds is a warning. This is how the Lord Jesus deals with those who are not defined by the truth, His truth. In practical terms, anyone with a corrupted view of Jesus Christ and His gospel is under condemnation. Anyone who doesn’t believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is not known by the Father. As a result, they will hear from the Lord Jesus, "Depart from me for I never knew you."
Like I, you may have wondered, "How is it that He doesn't know me, especially since He is omniscient?" It is not that He doesn't know us, it is that He does not know us as His brothers and sisters. It is that we have not responded to Him by faith thus allowing Him to know us intimately and personally. It is that we have entered into a personal relationship with Him by faith.
False teachers have always been known to dress up in the so-called "garments of God." They want people to believe that they represent God, even though they are the spokesmen of hell itself. We can look the part on the outside, but inwardly we can be very far from God. Humility and honesty are two of the most crucial signs of one's rightness with God. Of course, it is only when we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ that we are made right with Him.
In 2 Peter 2:1 we read, “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you...” In addition, in Jude, we read, “For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.”
The Lord Jesus warns His hearers of the dangers of the religious leaders because they did not have a personal relationship with God through His Son. They were messengers of Satan sent to fight the purposes of God.
Religion can not control the sinful heart of man. It is only in a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ that our disposition toward Him changes. He alone can change us from being dead to Him to being alive to Him and His truth.
According to v.46, the Jewish religious leaders were constantly engaged in bringing attention to themselves. When we accentuate self above our Savior, we are walking down an eventual lonely path, for God will not bless the self-centeredness therein. This is in contradiction to the teaching of the Lord Jesus who calls us all to be servants. False teachers are never humble. They wear the facade of false humility. Those who are children of God will grow in humility and servanthood. Humility is proven by our servant's hearts.
In v.47, speaking of the religious leaders, we read, “They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”
The word “devour” means “to eat.” The Lord Jesus was using this word metaphorically, meaning, “to consume.” These false teachers of whom the Lord Jesus speaks, pursued the unprotected and the weak. They stole from widows under the guise of helping them. Their lust for the things of this world ruled them. They, literally, ate away at the estates of the vulnerable.
In the context of all of this seeming defeat to the god of this world, the Lord Jesus was always in control. And what the Jewish religious leaders had been doing in the name of God was dishonest, deceitful and despicable. And so, the Lord Jesus exposed the "leaders" publicly, because He desired for the hungry and the thirsty to come into a personal relationship with God through Him. It is only through the Lord Jesus Christ that we enter into a personal relationship with God. Our government has the right to collect taxes, but only the Lord Jesus has the right to collect our worship.
