Luke 20:45-47 (NIV) While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.”
The scribes, or teachers of the law, fell under especially harsh condemnation by Jesus. These men were widely respected by the people. They were the ones charged with making the official copies of the scrolls used in the synagogues. And, since they were steeped in the words of Scripture every day, they were presumed to know more about what they said and what they meant than anyone else.
They relished the public acclaim and admiration that went with their position, and came to expect it as their due. Their long robes signified someone of importance, someone who could sit and meditate all day, as opposed to those wearing the typical knee-length robes of laborers, farmers, and merchants. And the deferential greetings of those whom they met in public warmed their hearts. Wherever they went, the best seats in the place were immediately offered to them.
But there was a darker side to all of this public acclaim. As they grew accustomed to the praises of men, their passions for God cooled, and even their knowledge of the Scriptures became self-serving. They received gifts from those who could ill afford it, such as widows, without considering the depth of need of the one giving it. And if you asked them to pray for you, expecting that their prayers would be more powerful owing to their supposed close relationship with God, you would indeed get a long and impressive prayer. But it was a prayer that was completely impotent; it did nothing, because their focus, even in their prayers, was on themselves and how to look and sound good, instead of on God.
Jesus’ condemnation was also designed to serve as a warning to these pseudo-godly men: they were going to receive a harsher judgment because their false piety and self-serving interpretations of the Scriptures often led people astray. In Jesus’ words you can hear the basis of James’ warning: Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (James 3:1 NIV)
Father, it is sad that these warnings fell upon deaf ears. These teachers of the law were so sure that they had the corner on the truth that when the Truth actually showed up and stood right in front of them, they couldn’t see past their own high opinions of themselves. Lord, we can still become impressed with our own knowledge of Your word, and grow impervious to new light. Help us to always approach the Scriptures humbly, so that we are always in a position to be able to learn. Amen.