Luke 11:45 - Printer Friendly

ESV: One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also."

NIV: One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also."

NASB: One of the lawyers *said to Him in reply, 'Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us too.'

CSB: One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things you insult us too."

NLT: Teacher,' said an expert in religious law, 'you have insulted us, too, in what you just said.'

KJV: Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.

NKJV: Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.”

Jesus is eating at the home of a Pharisee (Luke 11:37). Pharisees were considered the most law-abiding sect of ancient Judaism. Lawyers, also called "scribes," are experts in the Law. They can be of the sect of Pharisees or Sadducees. If Sadducees, they know everything about the Mosaic law. If Pharisees, they are also experts in the Oral Law: extra-biblical regulations that scribes of past centuries added to the Mosaic law and which Pharisees follow closely.

One of the regulations in the Oral Law is ceremonially washing one's hands before eating bread. When Jesus did not do this, His host was astonished. Jesus responded by describing, in detail, how rinsing one's hands or following any manmade rule in public only hid that the Pharisees' hearts were filled with a wickedness comparable to death (Luke 11:38–44).

These lawyers are most likely in the sect of the Pharisees; Sadducees would not have cared about ritual washings and, it appears, rarely stray from Jerusalem. The lawyer's comment isn't necessarily defensive; it's a warning. Lawyers are very well-respected in the culture and Jesus is on dangerous ground.

Jesus turns His attention to the lawyers. He starts by pointing out the injustice of the laws their predecessors created. Then He equates them with the Jews of the Old Testament who murdered God's prophets. It's no wonder the Jewish religious leaders conspire to destroy Jesus (Luke 11:46–54).

Luke 11:45–52 comes after descriptions of the cruelty and pride of the Pharisees (Luke 11:39–44). Now, Jesus turns to the lawyers—the experts in the Mosaic law. Greed and wickedness revealed the Pharisees to be like tombs: clean on the outside and filled with death on the inside. The lawyers are said to fill tombs by rejecting God's prophets. In response, the scribes and Pharisees conspire to destroy Jesus (Luke 11:53–54). In the next section, Jesus gives His disciples instructions on how to reject the world and persevere for the sake of the kingdom of God (Luke 12:1—13:9). Jesus will cover this judgment again in Matthew 23.

Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray and explains God's intent to give "good" to those who ask. He then exorcizes a demon and refutes the claim that His power is satanic. Jesus explains that unreasonable skeptics will only see the "sign of Jonah." He then criticizes the superficial legalism of the Pharisees. In response, they plot against Him.

In what some scholars refer to as "The Travelogue to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51—19:27), Jesus prepares His disciples for His crucifixion and resurrection and the establishment of the church. The description begins with Christ teaching the disciples how to spread the news of the kingdom of God and reaffirming how they will be blessed, culminating in the Lord's Prayer (Luke 9:51—11:13). Luke 11 finishes with accounts of leaders who reject Jesus. The remainder of the travelogue gives a pattern of teaching on the kingdom of God, miracles, and explanations of salvation. Then Jesus enters Jerusalem to face the cross.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.