“Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.” (Luke 11:52)
Here in Luke 11, Jesus is in the home of a certain Pharisee who had invited him to dinner (v.37). It appears this must have been a gathering of Jewish religious leadership – Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers – at this dinner. Jesus begins to quite harshly rebuke the Pharisees and scribes, pronouncing woe upon them. Then a lawyer who was in attendance asked, “Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also” (v.45), essentially asking whether he rebuked the lawyers as well, since they had not yet been directly mentioned by name. Then Jesus lays into the lawyers severely as well (v.45-52), culminating in this summary verse in Luke 11:52.
The lawyers under consideration here were masters and experts of the Jewish Mosaic law – not trial attorneys, as we would associate with lawyers. These were men who were perceived as experts in the Mosaic law and were just as legalistic as their counterparts, the scribes of the law. Here we find that these lawyers had taken away the key of knowledge from those who were entering into the kingdom. There were people who were entering into the kingdom of God, but these lawyers had hindered them from continuing to enter in. Notice, first of all, that the key of knowledge was taken away from these people who were entering into the kingdom. That means they had the key of knowledge, since it could never be taken away unless they already had it. Also, these people were entering into the kingdom, but these lawyers had hindered them. Thus, we see that the key of knowledge is how these people were entering into the kingdom of God. A key is something that opens a door and gives access into something that was previously closed off and whose access was restricted. They had access to enter in, but lost a degree of kingdom access when the key of knowledge was taken away from them.
What then is this “key of knowledge” that allows you to enter into the kingdom of God? Jesus Christ is the Key of David, with sovereign authority to open and shut doors in the kingdom of God. “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;” (Rev. 3:7) The key of knowledge is the knowledge of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and then subsequently following Jesus’ teachings, the gospel, and God’s word. After Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God in Matt. 16:16, Jesus told Peter that he was blessed that the Father revealed this unto him, and that upon this rock – the foundation of belief in and confession of Jesus as the Son of God – Christ would build the church (Matt. 16:18). Therefore, the first step to entering into the kingdom of God is a belief in and confession of Jesus as the Son of God, which is the requirement for baptism. This belief and confession is not how we are born again, nor how we are saved eternally, but is evidence that the Father has already revealed himself to us in the new birth; belief is evidence of regeneration that has already taken place.
When we receive the key of knowledge – when we hear the gospel and confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God – that is the first step to having greater access to enter into the kingdom of God. In describing the end result of justification by faith in Rom. 5:1-2, we find that when we believe in Christ as the Son of God and believe in his finished work on the cross as our only hope of righteousness, we then have “access by faith into this grace where we stand.” Justification by faith gives us greater access into the grace we already stand in and possess through Christ. Thus, faith in Christ is the key – the key of knowledge – that unlocks access into greater enjoyment of all the spiritual blessings that are already ours in Christ. We have full access to these spiritual blessings in the kingdom of God through the key of knowledge. However, if we reject the key of knowledge – if we reject the gospel that Christ’s work alone on the cross is the only means of our salvation – then we willfully forfeit greater access into the fullness of the kingdom of God by not using that key. We find some born-again children of God in Rom. 10 who have a zeal of God, but not according to “knowledge” (10:2). Their problem was that they were lacking knowledge and were ignorant of God’s righteousness but were going about to establish their own righteousness through their works (10:3). Through the rest of the chapter, Paul’s prayer for his Jewish kindred who are already born again is essentially that they take the “key of knowledge” (remember, an ignorance of knowledge was their problem, 10:2-3) and open the door through faith in Christ alone to have access into the grace wherein they already stood (Rom. 5:1-2). When they took the key of faith and opened the door of the kingdom, they could experience a great salvation in their heart and mind by belief in and confession of Christ before the church (10:9). Paul’s prayer is that they would take the key of knowledge and be saved from all the burden and yoke of bondage that their ignorance of God’s righteousness is causing them, and be saved by the key of knowledge into the kingdom.
In our text, we find the lawyers had taken away the key of knowledge from those who were entering into the kingdom and hindered them. Satan and his minions – and even well-meaning but confused children of God from time to time – can “hinder” our access into the kingdom, but praise God they can never “block” our entrance into the kingdom. We can always take back the key of knowledge and press into the kingdom, even if there are hindrances and stumbling blocks in our path. Entrance and access into the kingdom of God can never be blocked by anyone in this world, only hindered.
However, these lawyers, Satan, the world, and others can certainly attempt to hinder us from pressing into the kingdom of God as fully and fervently as we ought to. “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” (Luke 13:24) The kingdom of God is a strait gate, and here we find that some will seek to enter into the kingdom, but shall not be able to enter in. There are many reasons why people don’t enter into the kingdom of God as they ought. Some reasons for not pressing in are personal, such as distractions and lack of proper priorities (Luke 9:57-62). However, there are multiple other reasons as well, one of which can be other people hindering us from entering into the kingdom. These lawyers were hindering people who were entering into the kingdom by taking away the key of knowledge, trying to convince them not to believe in Jesus as the Messiah and Christ through persecution and false teaching.
Jesus harshly rebukes the Pharisees and scribes (and here, including the lawyers) throughout the gospels, especially in Matt. 23. “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” (Matt. 23:13) These scribes and Pharisees “shut up the kingdom of heaven.” It is evident this kingdom of heaven cannot be referring to the eternal kingdom. There is no ability for mortal men to prevent God’s people from going to heaven. God forbid! Instead, these Jewish religious leaders were hindering God’s children, who were already entering in, from fully partaking of heavenly blessings in the kingdom of God. One chief way they hindered those who were entering into the kingdom was by the threat of persecution and being cast out of the synagogue. In the healing of the blind man, his parents were afraid to answer anything because they were afraid of being cast out of the synagogue. “These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.” (John 9:22) While the general disposition of Jewish religious leadership was against Christ, there were actually many who believed, but did not publicly confess Christ because of the fear of retribution from the Pharisees and being put out of the synagogue. “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:” (John 12:42)
These people who were hindered by the lawyers taking away the key of knowledge are similar to the stony-ground child of God in the parable of the sower in Matt. 13. The stony-ground person hears the word of God and receives it with joy and gladness, showing they are already born again and already a child of God. The stony-ground child of God shoots up really fast and takes the key of knowledge with joy and opens the door to get access into the grace wherein they stand in the kingdom of God. However, when the stony-ground child of God begins to encounter affliction and persecution for the word’s sake (Mark 4:17), they are offended and in time of temptation fall away (Luke 8:13). Other people afflicting and persecuting them (such as these lawyers) cause their entrance into the kingdom of God to be hindered, and possibly even take away their access to the key of knowledge.
Not only did they threaten the general population with persecution and being ostracized from all areas of Jewish society, but they consistently attempted to publicly discredit Jesus as the Messiah and Christ through gross mischaracterizations of his identity. They even went so far as to publicly attribute him casting out devils to the power of Beelzebub, prince of devils, rather than to the power of God (Matt. 12:24). One of the chief reasons they were so publicly vocal in condemning Jesus in this way was to prevent people from following him and believing on him, and thus to hinder God’s children and put a significant stumbling block in their way from pressing into the kingdom. This sounds very similar to the deception of Satan in false teaching today as well. The devil portrays a message about Jesus that is grossly inaccurate – not in any resemblance of a good news gospel, but one that engenders fear and bondage, even misrepresenting the identity of Christ – and thus attempts to take away the key of knowledge from God’s children through a false gospel. Unfortunately, the devil has been very successful in taking away the key of knowledge from many of God’s children today through false gospels and through false teaching.
We find another rebuke of the wicked Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem by Jesus a few chapters later in Luke 13. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! [35] Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (Luke 13:34-35) Obviously, the city of Jerusalem had not killed the prophets. Jesus was speaking of the ungodly leadership of Jerusalem, both in prior generations and in Jesus’ day as well. The ungodly religious leadership of the Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers hindered the gathering of “thy children” (v.34) into the kingdom. There were many children of God in the city of Jerusalem whom the Lord was calling to be gathered unto Christ in discipleship, but the wicked religious leadership hindered these children from being gathered into the kingdom of God through fear of persecution or false teaching.
We find other instances where Satan or others were hindering the movement of the ministry. There were some circumstances that hindered Paul from coming to Thessalonica multiple times, and in Paul’s spiritual assessment, he attributed these hindrances to Satan. “Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.” (1 Thess. 2:18) We are not told how Paul was hindered, which I think is purposeful. We always have to say, if the Lord will, we will do this or that (James 4:13-15). Sometimes negative things happen, and Satan is not behind them. Plenty of times negative things just happen in this fallen world. People get sick, our plane flight is delayed or canceled, we have a flat tire, etc. However, at other times, Satan might be behind very dramatic circumstances, especially if we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. In our spiritual assessment of situations, sometimes we might conclude that Satan is actually behind these circumstances, such as in Rev. 2:10, where the church at Smyrna is told that the devil would cast some of them into prison. It was the civil leadership and local magistrates that made the order to arrest church members in Smyrna, but the Lord is telling them to understand that the devil was actually behind that, not solely the local magistrates who signed the arrest warrants.
Again, in regard to the church at Rome, Paul had been “much hindered” in coming to see them (Rom. 15:22). Here Paul did not attribute this hindrance to Satan, or to any person, but simply said that he was hindered. That occurs many times in our lives as well. The best-laid plans sometimes just don’t work out like we thought. Always remember, as we have already stated before, that Satan, these lawyers, or anyone else can only hinder us, annoy us, or put stumbling blocks in our path, but none of our adversaries can ever “block” us from entering into the kingdom of God.
Jesus Christ is the Key of David, the key of knowledge, that allows us to open the door into greater access, fullness, joy, and heavenly blessings by entering into the kingdom of God. Our adversaries – the devil, the world, and the wicked influenced by the devil – are continually attempting to hinder us and put stumbling blocks before us to prevent us from entering into the kingdom and to take away the key of knowledge. Let us be diligent to lay hold on the Key of David and press into the kingdom and partake of all the spiritual blessings in heavenly places here in the kingdom of heaven that are rightfully ours by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sermon
Click here to listen to an audio sermon on The Key of Knowledge in another window.