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236. Woe To The Exclusive

Isaiah 5:21, Matthew 23:13-14, Luke 11:52
Key Verse:  "Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."
Luke 11:52

The first thought that comes to mind for me here is the game of keep away, or the common taunt of children, "Nyah, Nyah, You can't catch me!" There is a whole sense of exclusivity here that Jesus finds distasteful, especially as it relates to welcoming those who desire to enter His Kingdom.

The religious leadership displays a sense of arrogance. "We are God's chosen people! Yes, our God is the only way to heaven, but you are not chosen, sorry!" They thought that they had the corner on the market of God's favor through Jewish heritage and through the knowledge of His law, which, of course, they worked at keeping better than anyone else could; especially a pagan!

Jesus is saying here, "Woe to you for teasing others in this way. Worst of all, how you are representing God isn't even true! You let people know that there is a way, but then, you don't let them join you on the journey."

Matthew has it, "You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to." (Matt. 23:14) This is a serious danger of getting caught up in religion. It's easy to become entangled in the rules and outward appearances and miss the relationship with God altogether.

This meant that they would reject completely what Jesus really came to do, which was to die for the sins of the world so that Man's barriers would no longer exist. Because of Jesus there would no longer be "Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:28) He came to abolish their exclusive claim to Heaven and their exclusive claim to knowledge of God.

Praise the Lord that He did. Woe to anyone who makes heaven harder than faith in Jesus Christ, His death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection to new life for all who believe. "In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a Holy temple in the Lord. And in Him, you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit." (Ephesians 2:21-22) In Christ, we are the new temple. We are the new thing. The boundaries are gone. We are alive as one in Him.

Hymn: "Where Charity and Love Prevail" 

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