Luke 11:53 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Luke 11:53

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They now show their true colours. All the respect and deference that came before was a sham, but now that Christ has dragged their sin out into the open, they no longer bother to keep up the pretence. What a horrific display of human depravity the Day of Judgment will reveal, when all effort to hide what is in the heart has been abandoned, and men and women are seen for what they are. Hell will not be a place of fellowship for the wicked; all the niceties and facades of human society will have been abandoned, and the raw reality of sinful hearts will be all that is left. Desperate souls will plead with God to spare them; but it will be too late. The religious leaders hated Christ with an intense hatred, and eventually it would lead them to organise themselves to kill him. They have heard him demolish the fiction of their piety, and they know that he is a man of implacable truth. All that he has said about them is true, and that is the worst part of it. They have been exposed, but they will not give up now. The gloves are off. They are united in their attack, and they pour out every allegation and every accusation their agile minds can think of. They began to be offensive, abusive, provoking him to say things that will trap him.

Application

If we imitate Jesus, we too will be offensive. If our witnesses always ending on good terms, then something is probably wrong with it. Not every person we speak to will receive the message, and the gospel is intrinsically offensive to the self-righteous. Some teach that everyone approached in the right way will receive Christ. Everyone will be receptive to the gospel; everyone has an inner desire for God, and a wise witness will bring them to respond favourably. But if we say that, what happened on this occasion? Was Christ too blunt with them? Did he rile them unnecessarily? God forbid that we should say that. He spoke only what it was necessary for them to hear, and there was no other way of winning them. Strong medicine is needed to cure advanced disease of the soul.

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Luke 11:53 Commentary and Bible Study