Luke 11:45

My Notes

What Does Luke 11:45 Mean?

"Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also." A lawyer (expert in Mosaic law) interrupts Jesus' confrontation with the Pharisees to complain: you're insulting us too. Jesus was addressing the Pharisees (v. 39-44), but the lawyer recognizes that the accusations apply to his professional class as well. His interruption is simultaneously honest (he sees himself in the critique) and defensive (he wants Jesus to know he noticed and objects).

Jesus' response (v. 46-52) doesn't soften the reproach. It intensifies it: he delivers six woes — three to the Pharisees and three to the lawyers. The lawyer who complained about being included gets three targeted accusations of his own. His objection earned more attention, not less.

Reflection Questions

• 1.When has a truth meant for someone else convicted you too — and how did you respond?
• 2.What's the difference between 'that reproaches me' (defensive) and 'that convicts me' (receptive)?
• 3.When has complaining about a critique earned you a more specific version of it?
• 4.Where is truth making you uncomfortable right now — and are you responding with offense or reflection?

Devotional

You're insulting us too. The lawyer's complaint is the most counterproductive interruption in the Gospels. Jesus was talking to the Pharisees. The lawyer recognized himself in the critique and said: hey, that applies to us too. And Jesus said: you're right. Here are three woes specifically for you.

The lawyer's self-awareness is simultaneously impressive and fatal. He hears Jesus describing the Pharisees' hypocrisy and thinks: that's us. He's right. The critique does apply to the legal experts. They load people with unbearable religious burdens (v. 46). They build tombs for the prophets their fathers killed (v. 47-48). They've taken away the key of knowledge (v. 52). The lawyer identified himself correctly. He just didn't realize that self-identification would produce confrontation rather than sympathy.

Thus saying thou reproachest us also. The word 'reproach' (hybrizō — to insult, to treat with contempt) reveals the lawyer's frame: Jesus' truth feels like an insult. The accurate diagnosis feels like an attack. Because when the truth describes you unfavorably, the natural human response is: that's offensive. Not: that's accurate. Offensive.

Jesus doesn't apologize. He doesn't soften. He doesn't say: oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to include you. He says: since you brought it up — woe unto you, lawyers. Three times. The complaint that was supposed to produce a retreat produced an advance. The lawyer who asked to be excluded from the critique got a custom-built version of his own.

The lesson is about what happens when truth makes you uncomfortable and you respond with offense instead of reflection. The lawyer who said 'that reproaches us' could have said: 'that convicts us — teach us more.' Instead, the defense mechanism activated: you're insulting us. And Jesus took the open door and walked through it with three woes the lawyer hadn't anticipated.

When truth makes you uncomfortable, pay attention to your first response. If it's 'that's offensive,' you might be a lawyer about to receive your own set of woes.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture