Rebuking the Religious, Part 2

Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for today and this is the opportunity we have to worship you. We are privileged people, Lord, because we have been called by the Lord Jesus Christ himself and we are a part of his kingdom. Pray, Father, that as we hear the good news of the kingdom and the requirements of the king as he prescribes him to us, may we be obedient children, may we follow our Lord. And today, Father, we pray for those among us who do not know you, that this would be the day of their salvation, that they would come to the realization of Jesus Christ, Messiah, King of kings and Lord of lords, and give their life to the only one who can save their soul.

We pray in Jesus' name, amen. If you have your Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 11. We find ourselves once again looking at Jesus Christ as he rebukes the religious leaders. He reaches out to them. He rebukes them because of their false religion. You know, it's important to understand, as we said last week, that 1 John 5, 19 makes it very clear with these words, we know that we are of God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one or lies in the lap of the evil one. And we know that the son of God has come and has given us understanding in order that we might know him who is true and we are in him who is true in his son, Jesus Christ.

This is the true God and eternal life. We know Jesus Christ. We know he is the son of God. We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet there are millions, literally billions, who do not. And the whole world does lie under the influence of Satan, the evil one, the God of this age. If you were to pick up any book on world religion, you'd know that there's over 1 billion Hindus in the world. There's over 1 billion Muslims in the world. There's over a three quarter of a billion Buddhists in the world.

There's over 1 billion in some kind of apostate Christianity. There is some 16 million involved in apostate Judaism. All you have to do is begin to realize that the whole world truly does lie in the lap of the evil one. He rules by false teaching. He rules by deception. He rules by delusion. And he pretty much has convinced the world that he is the ruler, the God of this age. And Christ comes along and he knows about Satan's influence. And his harshest rebukes are against those involved in false religion, those who lead people the wrong way.

He tells them in Luke 11, verse number 52, that not only are they not in heaven, in the kingdom, but they are hindering people from getting into the kingdom. And that's why Christ is so angered with them. They hinder people from getting into the kingdom. You know, Jesus said, and I find it so interesting, in Matthew 7, that straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life. Okay? It's a very narrow way. It's a very straight way. And then he says, listen carefully, and few there be that find it.

Isn't that interesting? And then he says this in Luke 13, when asked the question, are there only a few being saved? Now remember what Jesus said in Matthew 7, straight is the way, narrow is the gate, few there be that find it. Now, you got to find the way first, right?

And it's so hard to find the true way because there are so many false ways advertised, which say this is the way to heaven. And so the false teacher advertises the false way, which really is the broad way, which says heaven, but that it leads to destruction. Christ makes it very clear that straight is the way, narrow is the gate, few there be that find it. And then he says in Luke chapter 13, when someone asks him about, are there only a few being saved? He says, strive to enter by the narrow door for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

Now, do you get that? There are, listen carefully, everybody look here right here. There are few that find the way. And the few that find the way, many of the few will not be able to get in. Did you get that? See, we miss that. We read these articles, thousands of people, hundreds of people are being saved in this location. No, they're not. Now you might read that and hear that, but Jesus said, and I tend to believe what Jesus says other than what the news media says, or some religious establishment says, I tend to go with what Jesus says.

I think there's a lot more veracity there than there is in what anybody else says. Would you not agree to that? So Jesus says, straight is the way, narrow is the gate, few there be that find it.

And you know what? You better strive to enter once you find the way, because many of the few will not be able to get in. You see, we have this notion that all these churches are filled with all these people who know Christ. No, they're not. They're just not. Satan is a master deceiver. He lives in the realm of delusion, and he leads people away from God, not toward God. Jesus comes, and he knows all this. He is deeply concerned about this, and so when he has the opportunity to confront the religious establishment, his words are cutting, they are harsh, and they offend those who listen because they believe a lie, and he speaks the truth.

And that's what happens in Luke 11. You remember the setting. He's invited to lunch. After a long dissertation about how it is that there are people who will come from all over the world to hear just one word about the Christ to get saved, but these people, these Jews, who had heard it over and over and over again, have refused to believe. And some Pharisee asks him to come to lunch, and so he does, and immediately he begins to offend the Pharisee by not going through the ceremonial ritual of washing his hands.

And so he comes out against his ceremonialism. He comes out against his externalism by saying, you keep the outside clean, but the inside's dirty. He goes against their intellectualism by saying, you are a foolish one, when they thought themselves to be wise. He comes out against their trivialism because they would use the trivial things as major things to get them into the kingdom, and then he would come out against their elitism because they wanted to be called rabbi. They wanted to be recognized by man.

They wanted positions of prominence and power in the kingdom, and so they would focus in on their egos. And Christ came out against all that, spoke against what this Pharisee held dear, and because the scribes were always with the Pharisees, there was a scribe that happened to be there, this lawyer, according to verse number 45, who said very simply these words. He said, teacher, when you say this, you insult us too. I'm insulted by what you've said. All of us lawyers are insulted by what you have said.

Why? Because they were the ones who originated all these rituals and ceremonies, and so they were the ones who came up with all these ideas, and the Pharisees just carried them out. So, Christ would attack the Pharisee first because of what he carried out, and now he attacks the lawyer, the scribe, the guy who comes up with all these kind of ideas about what Jews are to do.

So he rebukes the religious. The Lord rebukes the lawyer, and then the leaders of Israel reject the Lord. That's our two points this morning in verses 45 down to the end of the chapter. And the lawyer comes and says, I'm insulted. And Jesus says, well, woe to you too then.

It's a word of cursing. It's a declaration of damnation. He's already pronounced three woes upon the Pharisee. He'll do three more woes here in this section. Well, woe to you too then. Cursed be you. You come up with all these things, and there were three areas in which he curses them. One, because of what they add. Two, because of what they approve. And three, because of what they avoid. First of all, because of what they add.

They were adding burdens upon the people, and then were unable to assist them in keeping those burdens. Christ says very simply these words, woe to you lawyers as well, for you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

You added in burdens. The same word used in the book of Acts, dealing with a ship's cargo. You've unloaded all this cargo on people, and you're weighing them down, and they're slumped over because they can't keep all the burdens. And not only that, you don't even lift a finger to help them, because you can't, see? Because you yourselves can't keep all the burdens that you placed upon people. You can't come and assist those either. That's what happens in false teaching. That's what happens in false religion.

There are all these do's and all these don'ts and things you've got to do to get to heaven, but those who are prescribed to help you can't help you, because there is no power in them to help you, see? They're unable to overcome their own inadequacies, their own sin. You see, that's what makes Christianity so great, is because Jesus allows us and gives us the power to accomplish everything He asks us to do. That's why John says, the commands of God are not burdensome. Have you ever thought of the commands of God as burdensome?

They're not. God says, forgive. Is that a burden for you? Shouldn't be. God says, love. God says, pray for one another, serve one another, honor one another, be devoted to one another.

Do these things. Be fervent in your love. Well, is that a burden? It shouldn't be a burden for us, because God has given us His Spirit to reproduce those things in us that we might be able to accomplish them in other people's lives. That's what we're talking about on Wednesday nights with the fruit of the Spirit. God says we're to love, but He never tells us to love without shedding His love abroad on our hearts and giving us His Spirit who enables us to reach out in love.

He tells us to rejoice always. Well, we can do that, not because it's a burden, but because His Spirit is within us, and because His Spirit is within us, the Spirit reproduces that joy through us. So it's what God does in us. It's He who is at work in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure, Paul said in Philippians chapter 2, right? But in religion, in this case, Judaism, they would unleash all these burdens. Let me give you an example of one of them, just so you understand what the Jews of Jesus Day had to deal with.

I think this is rather insightful. We know the command in Exodus chapter 20, which says that we are to remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. Sabbath Day is a big day in Judaism, still is today. And so they were to remember the Sabbath Day. And so Kent Hughes in his book or his commentary on Luke says that to ensure that no work was performed on the Sabbath, the Mishnah listed 39 classifications of labor with each category capable of endless subdivision. For example, one of the 39 categories forbade the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath and hedged it with minute prohibitions for every occasion.

This section declared that anything equal to or heavier than a dried fig was a burden. So it was permissible to carry something that weighed less than a dried fig on the Sabbath. But if one inadvertently put it down and then picked it up, he would be counted as doubling the weight and thus breaking the Sabbath. Can you imagine that? But it gets worse. This is how the Mishnah specifies it. That is the permissible ways of carrying a burden, something lighter than a dried fig. On the Sabbath, if a man carries a burden in his right hand or in his left hand, in his bosom or on his shoulder, he is culpable.

In other words, he's broken the law. Can't carry it in your right hand or your left hand. For this last was the manner of carrying of the sons of Coath. If you took it out on the back of his hand or with his foot or with his mouth or with his elbow or in his ear or in his hair or in his wallet mouth downwards or between his wallet and his shirt or in the hem of his shirt or in his shoe or in his sandal, he is not culpable since he has not taken it out after the fashion of them that take out a burden.

Can you imagine that? You can take it out with your teeth. You can take it out with your elbow. You can carry it on the back of your hand. You can't carry it in your hand. You can carry it on the back of your hand. Can you imagine having to live like that as a Jew? If you don't do it that way, you break the Sabbath. Mr. Hughes goes on and says, these and other petty regulations were made even more burdensome by the rabbinical reasoning stating that while it was a serious matter to offend the Mosaic law that was sometimes hard to understand, it was an even greater offense to offend against the scribal interpretations that made everything so clear.

Thus life had become impossible for the average Israelite in Jesus' day. Oppressive religion took the spring from their footsteps. And that's what religion does. It stifles. And that's what happened to the Jews in Jesus' day. And so Jesus comes and he says, you know, you know, come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden. I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Learn from me for I am gentle and meek, lowly in heart. I'll give rest to your souls because my, my burden is light. You see, Christ came to relieve man of all those oppressive burdens.

And when you read something like this, just one little aspect about the Sabbath, it makes you think, how can anybody ever live in that kind of atmosphere? But that's where the Jewish people were. I mean, the Orthodox Jew is in that, that oppressive situation even today. How are they freed from that? Christ who is the truth. Christ who is the way, the life, came to relieve man from all those burdens. You see, the problem is, is that in a false religious system, the scribal interpretations of the law is more detrimental to you than the actual law itself and breaking that law.

And that's the way it was in Judaism where Christ gave the law. He set out the standards for, for, for Israel to live, but no man, no flesh will be justified by the deeds of the law. You can't be justified in God's sight by keeping any kind of prescribed laws. It doesn't work that way. Salvation is by grace through faith alone in Christ alone. And yet they were adding burdens to the people. And they were unable to lift a finger to help them because they themselves were slaves of that system. And Christ says, woe to you, cursed be you for doing this to my people.

And then he says, woe to you again. Why? For they were approving the wicked deeds of their fathers. Listen to what Jesus says, woe to you for you build the tombs, verse 47, of the prophets and it was your fathers who killed them.

Consequently, you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers because it was they who killed them and you build their tombs. For this reason also, the wisdom of God said, I will send to them prophets and apostles and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute in order that the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world may be charged against this generation. What an indictment. You see, the Jews had this kind of ritual where they would decorate the tombs of the prophets because they thought themselves better than their forefathers.

They thought that if they lived in the time of their forefathers, they would not have killed the prophets. And so they went out and they would decorate all the tombs of the prophets in honor of the prophets. And Christ says, what you're doing is all you're, all you're accomplishing is that you are associating yourselves with your fathers because they killed the prophets and you are going to kill the prophet that the prophets pointed to.

You're worse than your fathers. You're worse than they are. And see, they didn't even recognize that because they didn't recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Christ would say something similar in Matthew 23, when he said this in verse 29, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous and say, if we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.

Consequently, you bear witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up then the measure of the guilt of your fathers. Christ says, you think you're different, but you are not.

In fact, you are worse than your fathers. In fact, you are so much worse than your fathers. You are going to bear the guilt of everything they did in your generation. Wow, that's pretty harsh. That's pretty detrimental. You say, well, you can't blame them for what their fathers did. Jesus did. Why? Why? Because you see, they had all the more light. They had everything that the prophets said that pointed to the one that would come, and the one that would come was before them, and they didn't even recognize him.

They rejected him. Christ says, if you lived in their day, you would have joined with them. Because you're about to kill me. So you join with your fathers in this whole realm of murder, because you pretend to be righteous, but you are unrighteous. You pretend to be holier than past generations, but you are more guilty than all the other generations, because you have much more light, much more word, much more truth before you, and you reject it. In fact, he says, for this reason, the wisdom of God said, I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will persecute.

And that's exactly what they did. They'd already killed John the Baptist, right? And they would kill Stephen. They would kill Peter. They would kill the apostles. They would persecute them. The wisdom of God says this, this is what you're going to do, and that's exactly what they did, because they would not believe the truth.

Christ says, in order that the blood of all the prophets, verse 50, shed since the foundation of the world may be charged against this generation.

The accumulation of all the guilt of all the previous generations, you will suffer for. And they did. They did. It happened in 70 AD. That generation would suffer a great devastation. It happened before, by the way, in the flood. Remember that? That generation, in the day of the flood, would bear the guilt of all the preceding generations, because the patience of God, the long-suffering of God, would finally wear out, and they would all perish.

And it will happen in the future, in Revelation 6 to 19, with the great and terrible day of the Lord, the tribulation, and God's wrath will be poured out once again upon the entire world, because of the magnitude of the light that would shine, even at that time, with the angel that flies around him in heaven, proclaiming the gospel, the effectiveness of the two witnesses, one like Moses, one like Elijah, the 144,000 Jewish evangelists that would permeate the entire globe with the gospel, and the accumulation of the guilt of all the generations will be poured out on that generation who refuses to believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

And Jesus warned them about this. He warned them over and over again. In fact, if you turn your Bible to Luke, Luke chapter 19, remember Luke 19, when he descends the Mount of Olives there on that triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and he goes from Bethany down the Mount of Olives, and he stops, and he oversees the city of Jerusalem. And when we go to Israel, we take that, presumably the exact path that Christ would, to send the Mount of Olives. And when we get there, we tell you why that probably is the path.

And there's a location where it's like a little landing where Christ might have stayed as he would overlook the city of Jerusalem. And the Bible says in verse number 41, And when he approached, he saw the city, and wept over it, saying, If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace, but now they have been hidden from your eyes.

For the days shall come upon you, when your enemies will throw up a bank before you, and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and will level you to the ground, and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation. He would prophesy the destruction of Jerusalem that would take place in 70 A.D. when the Roman Emperor Titus would move with 80,000 of his Roman soldiers and surround the city and begin to plead with Israel to surrender, but they would not.

And they went against Israel. It happened in April of 70 A.D., and by the end of August, first part of September, the whole city was under siege.

1.1 million Jews died. There were no longer any trees left in the area surrounding Jerusalem because the trees there were cut down and used to crucify Jews all around the city. 100,000 of them were taken prisoner back to Rome, and what Christ had prophesied came to be. It would be said again in Luke 21, you got your Bible turned there with me if you would please, in Luke 21 where Christ would tie the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem into the future destruction that would come upon the whole world.

In Revelation 21 when he says in verse 20, but when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies and recognize that her desolation is at hand, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are in the midst of the city depart, and let not those who are in the country enter the city, because these are days of vengeance in order that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Woe to those who are with child and those who nurse babes in the days, for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people, and they will fall by the edge of the sword and will be led captive to all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

And then he goes into verse 25 to talk about the future coming of the king when he returns again and the signs of the time during the tribulation period and what will happen when the Messiah returns. But again, it was just another warning about what happened in 70 AD, yet they did not know. And then interestingly enough, in Luke 23, Luke is the only one who records this incident after Simon the Cyrene was taken out of the crowd to bear the cross and to carry the cross beam of the Lord Jesus Christ, because that was that final sermon that Christ preached from the cross or on his way toward the cross.

Because Christ would say, if anyone come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. That was his message. That was his salvation message. He gave over and over and over again. So just so that everybody understood it, Simon of Cyrene was compelled to come out of the crowd and he would follow the Christ to the cross because it was one more illustration of this is what it means to be a Christian. Are you sure you want to come? And that's why Jesus said, the way is narrow, few there be that find it.

And of the few that finally find the narrow way, many will strive to enter, but will not be able. Very few are being saved. Don't buy the lie that thousands upon thousands around the world are being saved. They are not. Only a few are truly born again, experience a right relationship with the living God. That's why today is a day of salvation. That's why when the man asked, are only a few being saved? Christ didn't say, well, let me give you a percentage.

Let me give you a number. Christ never gave a number. Only man's in the numbers. Only man's into percentages, right? Christ isn't into numbers and percentages. What did he say to the man? Strive to enter. You strive to enter because many will find the way, but not be able to enter. So where do you stand? It's not about the numbers. It's about where you stand, see? And so when you come to Luke chapter 23, Simon of Cyrene was compelled to come out of the crowd and carry the cross because the Lord wanted to put that one last exclamation point on what salvation really is, see?

He wanted everybody to know this is what it means to follow me. This is what it means to be a Christian. Will you walk to your death? Will you deny yourself? Will you take up your cross? Will you follow me? That's salvation, see? And that was the illustration. And yet it says in verse 27, and there were following him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting him. Now, I'm not so sure this is people who were really truly crying because he was going to die as they were official mourners designed to be at someone's death.

But Jesus turning to them said, daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me. Now, here is Christ. Remember that. He is beaten beyond recognition. The book of Isaiah tells us that he was recognized. He was beaten beyond any form of recognition. That is, you could not recognize him as a man. That's how badly he was beaten. And here he is on his way to his death. And then he stops and says to the daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me. You're weeping for me? I'm going to go to my father. Stop weeping for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

For behold, the days are coming when they will say, blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed. So then they will begin to say to the mountains, fall on us and to the hills, cover us. What Christ does is he draws two judgments together. What's going to happen in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and what's going to happen at the coming of the Messiah in Revelation 6, when people cry out for the stones to fall upon them. He says this, for if they do these things in the green tree, what will happen in the dry?

A proverbial statement. If they do this to the green tree, he's the green tree. He's the flourishing tree. He's the blessing. The tree that's the green tree brings forth the fruit that gives blessing to those to partake, right? He's the green tree. If they do this to the innocent one, if they do this to the blessed one, what do you think they will do to you who are barren? You are dry in your soul, who have rejected the Messiah. And that's what would happen in 70 A.D. and that's what will happen in the future in the road, down the road in the great and terrible day of the Lord.

If they do this to me, if Rome does this to me and I'm innocent, just think what Rome will do to you who are guilty. And you're guilty of the blood of the Lord. You're guilty. That's sad. See, Christ would always warn of impending judgment because it was coming. It was coming. His message wasn't, I love you and I have a wonderful plan for your life. That wasn't, that was never his message. And that's our message, but that's not Christ's message. See, his message was, repent or die, turn or burn. I mean, that's basically it, right?

Judgment's coming. Give your life to me. Follow me. Do it now because judgment is coming. That's his message. That's how he preached the gospel. So he would rebuke the religious establishment because they just kept adding burden upon burden upon burden upon the people and then they couldn't help the people because they had, they were powerless. They were powerless. And they approved of the wicked deeds of their fathers and they didn't even know it because, because they were lifeless. They had no life in them.

They didn't know the Lord. And they thought they were children of God, but they weren't. They were children of Abraham. Yes, physically they were descendants of Abraham, but spiritually they were not descendants of Abraham. So he says, you keep adding burden upon burden upon burden to our people, but you can't help them because you're powerless. You're powerless. And why are you powerless? You're powerless because you are lifeless. You're lifeless. And how do you know you're lifeless? Because you are linking yourself with the previous generations because in your decoration of all the tombs of the prophets, you're about to kill the prophet they all pointed to.

And you don't even know it. That's because you're lifeless. And why are you lifeless? You're powerless because you're lifeless. Why are you lifeless? Because you're truthless. That's why. That's point number three.

You're truthless. You yourselves are avoiding the truth and keeping others from it. Oh, by the way, Christ says these words.

He says, verse 51, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the house of God. Yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation. Every prophet from A to Z, from Abel to Zechariah. Every prophet from A to Z. We know about Abel. He was killed by his brother Cain because Cain believed in a false religion. He brought his works to God thinking they were sufficient enough. And he killed his brother because his brother was righteous and believed in God and lived for God.

And even Zechariah, which Zechariah is it? There's some 25 different Zechariahs in the Old Testament. So how do you know which Zechariah it was? Well, if you go to Matthew 23, Christ tells you which Zechariah it was. Matthew chapter 23. And the answer is found in Matthew 23, verse number 35. That upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth for the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Isn't it interesting?

Isn't it interesting that the true prophets were killed before the altar of God? False religion hates the truth. False religion hates those who proclaim the truth. Can't stand them. Satan hates the truth. That's why he's the father of lies. And Christ says you just keep adding burdens and burdens and burdens.

But you can't help anybody because you're powerless. Why are you powerless? Because you're lifeless. You don't even know it. And yet you're lifeless because you're truthless. Truth, not toothless, but truthless. See, you're avoiding the truth. You're absent from any truth whatsoever. Because he says this back in verse 52 of chapter 11. Woe to you, lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you hindered. See, that's what false religion does.

It takes away the key. What's the key of knowledge? It takes away the key of knowledge. If the key is gone, you can't enter the kingdom. Okay, can't enter the kingdom. And you can't get other people into the kingdom. You're going to hinder them from getting there too because you've taken the key of knowledge away. What's the key of knowledge? The key of knowledge simply is the Messiah. You can't get to heaven unless you believe that Jesus is the Messiah. You can't. John 20, 30 and 31. You cannot get to heaven unless you believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

He's the key, listen, that unlocks the Old Testament. Is he not? He's the key that unlocks the Old Testament. The whole Old Testament pointed to the arrival of the Messiah, the coming one, the Redeemer, the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting Father, the one who would come and save his people from their sins, Emmanuel. Everything pointed to the Messiah. He's the key of knowledge. In Christ is all wisdom and knowledge, Paul says. He's the key to knowledge. Without Christ, there is no understanding of the Old Testament.

That's why the Jews don't get the Old Testament, because they don't believe in Christ, the Messiah. He's the key. Can't unlock the door unless you have the key. And that's why in Luke 24, on the road to Emmaus, what did Christ do with those two individuals, those two disciples? He took them back and showed them from the very beginning, from Moses and the Law of the Prophets, how Christ was to come and suffer these things. It was all about the coming of the Messiah. In John 5, what did Christ say?

Oh, you search the Scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life, but you missed me. How do you read the Scriptures and miss the Messiah? That's what they missed him. That's why we tell people when you sit down and you read your Bible, if you sit down and read your Bible and say, I didn't get anything out of it, you missed. You missed the Lord. You missed the Messiah. See, if you love the Lord, you can't read your Bible, listen carefully, and not get anything out of it. Kind of convict you, isn't it?

If you love the Lord, you're a follower of Christ. If you read the Bible, it's all about the Messiah, the Christ, your God, your Savior, your Redeemer. You believe in Jesus as Messiah. And you are able to put the key in, turn it, unlock the door to the vast, excuse me, treasures of heaven. See, and they had taken the key of knowledge. They were absent from any truth. They avoided the truth altogether. They did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They did not. They would not. And that's why we tell people, look, if you talk to people who come to your door, you talk to people at school or church, wherever you are, and you talk about Christianity, there's only two questions to ask.

Who is Jesus? And what must I do to be saved? One depends upon the other, right? Who is Jesus? If you come up with the wrong answer, everything else is going to be wrong. Who is Jesus Christ? What must I do to be saved? Those are the only two questions that really make any difference at all on earth. That's it. No other question makes any difference whatsoever. But those two do. Because those two make a difference in your eternal destiny. See, who is Jesus? Is he the Messiah of God? Is he Messiah of Israel?

Is he your Messiah? Is he the Son of God? See, and what must I do to be saved? I must believe in that Messiah, that what he did on the cross was sufficient enough to save me from my sin. And there's nothing I can do to gain acceptance or approval from him because it's by grace through faith alone in Christ alone. And Christ says very simply, Woe to you, scribe.

Woe to you, lawyer. You have avoided the truth. You have taken away the key of knowledge so that you can't even enter into the kingdom. And at the same time, you hinder others from coming in. What an indictment. That's our Lord's reaction to the religious leader. Then comes the leader's reaction to the Lord. Verse 52, And when he left there, Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall? And when he left there, You wonder what, how the mood, the facial expressions as Christ was done speaking. And when he left there, the scribes and Pharisees began to be very hostile.

Well, he just condemned them is what he did. He condemned them. He rebuked them. He cursed them. How dare he curse us? How dare he come against us? The religious of the day. But they became very hostile. And to question him closely on many subjects, plotting against him to catch him. It's a word that means to hunt him down, to stalk him. They stalked him. They stalked the Lord. They would go where he went. They would listen to what he said. They were looking for ways that says, in something he might say.

They're looking for some way to catch him, some way to destroy him. And you know how the story goes, how it ends up. They couldn't find anything that he said. So they had to make up stories. They had to make up lies. Just to somehow convince Rome he needed to die. Because he is God incarnate. He is truth incarnate. He always spoke the truth. He never, never sinned because he's incapable of sinning. He is the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel. And this is how they respond. They hated Christ. They despised the Christ.

Simply because he spoke the truth. He spoke the truth. And they hated him because of it. You know, my friend, it's important to realize who Jesus Christ is. It's imperative to realize who he is and what he did. Because judgment is coming. It is coming. And while Christ isn't here to tell us when that judgment's going to come, he's given us his word to tell us there's coming a day where there will be a judgment upon this earth. An hour of tribulation that will come upon the whole world, Revelation 3.10.

It's coming. Might not be today, but it's coming. For once Christ comes and takes the church home to be with him, that hour, that hour will begin. And you know what happens to those of you who are a part of the church that have heard the truth? It'll be impossible for you to get saved. Impossible. Because you would have heard the truth. And 2 Thessalonians 2 says that that Satan will send a strong delusion. Do you think the delusion in Jesus' day was strong? You wait to the end. You know why it'll be stronger?

It'll be stronger because Revelation 12 says that Satan will now be cast out of heaven, listen, geographically. He was cast out morally back in the time of Isaiah chapter 14, Ezekiel 28. But he still has access to the throne of God, according to the book of Job. And according to his conversation with Christ about Peter when he said to Mike Wheat. But Revelation 12 says he will be cast out geographically and where does he land? He comes here to earth, right? Well, his influence on this earth will be so strong.

His delusion is so powerful. Bible says in Romans 12, 19, he deceives the whole world. The whole world. That's a powerful deception. Yes, there will be many who will be saved in the tribulation. And what have I told you over the years? There will be more people saved in the seven years of the tribulation that have been saved since the beginning of time. I firmly believe that. Great multitudes, the Bible says will be saved in that seven year period.

But there is no promise that great multitudes will be saved before that period. Did you know that? Jesus said it, narrows away straight as a gate, few there be to find it. And the few that find it, many of those few will not be able to get in because they're unwilling to pay the price of denying themselves to get the cross and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me remind you once again how easy it is to be deluded.

How easy it is to be deceived. It's hard to get saved. It's easy to be deceived. People say it's easy to get saved. No, it's not. Who said that? Did Jesus say that? No, Jesus never said it was easy to get saved. He said it was hard. He said it's hard to believe. It was hard to believe. Strive to enter, agonize to get in. Why? Because you fight against the flesh. You fight against Satan. You fight against everything the world has. You have to deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Christ.

It's hard to get saved. It's easy to be deluded into thinking you're saved. Very easy. That's why Christ's rebuke was so strong and so harsh because he wanted man to know time is short, judgment is coming, make sure you know who I am and know what I've done. We were without excuse because we've heard the truth. We've read the scriptures. We know what the Bible says about the impending judgment of God upon man.

We know what it says. We're without excuse. The people in Christ's day, they were without excuse. Jesus stood right before them, didn't he? They wanted another sign. So now you're a wicked generation for wanting another sign. The only sign you'll get is the death and resurrection of the Messiah. That's it. No more signs. Truth stood before them. Truth incarnate lived before them. And they rejected him. How sad. How sad. May we not be counted among them. May we be counted among the few. Who believe in Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel.

Let me pray with you. Father, thank you for today. The great joy of your word. The great joy of salvation. We know, Lord, that you're going to save those whom you have chosen from eternity past. There's no doubt about that. And yet, Lord, your words are very true. Help us not to be deceived into thinking we're saved. Help us to know for certain we are saved. Because of what the word of God says.

That we believe in Jesus as the Messiah of Israel. The Messiah of God. And we believe so much so that we will give our lives away. For his glory. In his kingdom. I pray that none would leave today without knowing for certain that Jesus Christ is Lord of their lives. They would follow Christ with all their hearts. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.