The Gospel of Luke 11:53-54 When God Says...I Say, AMEN!

When God Says …

“And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.” (Luke 11:53-54 KJV).

In these passages, we can sense the intensity of hostility of the religious leaders against the Lord Jesus Christ. Their reactions to the Lord’s chastisements of woes they heard is an attempt by the enemy to trap or provoke Him into saying something they could use for a false accusation. The scribes and Pharisees vehemently oppose the Lord Jesus and resolved to trap Him in His words—as a demonstration of the intense opposition of religious legalism to the grace of God. This is reflective of our present day world environment, where we witness some people in media silencing the voices of those who bring up the message of the Holy Bible in public discussions.

Hence, as the Lord Jesus leaves, after pronouncing woes on their hypocrisy, the religious leaders' hostility escalates. They badger Him with tricky questions, seeking a pretext to accuse and kill Him. With malicious intent to "trap him into saying something they could use against him," show they're focused on silencing Him, rather than understanding His message of grace.

These expose the religious leadership's desperate attempts to destroy the Lord Jesus Christ, revealing their hardened hearts and inability to receive God's saving light, setting the stage of their ultimate plan to crucify the Lord. This, the Lord Jesus faces willingly for us, as the Prophet Isaiah prophesied: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5 ESV).

And I say, AMEN!

Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries

When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.

Partners For Christ Ministries, INC.
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477

Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.

The Gospel of Luke 11:52 When God Says...I Say, AMEN!

When God Says …

“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 KJV).

The Lord Jesus in His final declaration of "woes unto you" to the religious leadership, He again addressed the lawyers, who holds monopoly of expertise in understanding at whims their religious laws. We learn in this passage that they have taken away the key of knowledge from the people, the Lord reveals. Yes, they take away the key of knowledge from people by their flawed interpretation of the Scriptures and their man-made creeds and traditions. This hindered those who sadly were duped to follow them from understanding the true way to enter the presence of God and His Kingdom.

The lawyers and scribes of religion burdened people by their focus on keeping the law and their man-made doctrines, purposely to hide the truth of the Scriptures, especially that which concerns the promised Messiah. Because they relied on their own righteousness and “good works”, and hindered others from entering the Kingdom of God by teaching a warped understanding of God's word, they too did not enter themselves. The Scriptures said this oath: “better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6).

This, therefore, reminds us who have been reborn in Christ Jesus by faith, that we must stand strong in the Lord’s Words to Nicodemus the Pharisee. It is written: “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3, 5 ESV).

And I say, AMEN!

Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries

When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.

Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477

Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.

The Gospel of Luke 11:49-51 When God Says...I Say, AMEN!

When God Says …

“Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.” (Luke 11:49-51 KJV).

These passages are amazingly sharp and true! The Lord’s pointed words towards the hypocritical religious people are severe. Why are His pronouncements so harsh? How can He say as such? We can surmise several reasons why the Lord’s words are so direct and strong:

Firstly-He, the Messiah, the Son of God (whose name is above all names) is greater than the great figures and prophets of the past generations. He comes for His people, but the religious leaders murder Him to protect their interests and legalistic religion.

Secondly-The Lord Jesus wants them and the religious people of these days to realize, out of His compassion, how utterly flawed their approach to relationship with God had become.

Thirdly-The Lord Jesus wants them and us to see how horrendous and fatal is following and protecting religious doctrines and worldly precepts can be. Rather than religious concepts, our relationship with our Father and Creator must be shaped by the message of grace and truth, not by laws. Let it be revealed that the law is just a crisis management apparatus for a broken world. God’s grace by faith in Him is what the people of the world need, not laws.

Fourthly-The Lord Jesus confronts them as they idolize the past, without recognizing their connection to the sins of the past.

Yes, His words were sharp and harsh. However, they’re true and needed, then, as well as in the now! The sins against the blood of those who perished are demanded of this generation unless they come to grace and be saved by faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. Scriptures declare: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV).

And I say, AMEN!

Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries

When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.

Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477

Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.

The Gospel of Luke 11:47-48 When God Says...I Say, AMEN!

When God Says …

“Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.” (Luke 11:47-48 KJV).

The “woes to you” messages of the Lord Jesus against the religious leaders were directed at their focus on outward religious acts (like building tombs for dead prophets of the past) while inwardly rejecting God's living message in their now moment. The Scriptures reveal that God gave the law to show man's inability to keep it, exposing weaknesses and leading people to realize their need for a Savior (Galatians 3:19-22). The Pharisees, Priests, Sadducees and lawyers/scribes represent an "old wineskin" system of legalistic rules that could not contain the "new wine" of the grace of God (Mark 2:22).

These "woes to you" of the Lord Jesus highlight the hypocrisy of the scribes, Pharisees and religious people, who honored dead prophets with polished tombs while their fathers killed them, and they themselves planned to kill Him. It emphasizes that God looks at the heart and the need for a transformed life through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, not by outward display of morality or by phony charade of honoring the past.

The core message that we must, therefore, get hold on is that all sins (past, present and future) have already been punished in Christ Jesus on the cross. The judgment that the Lord speaks of for those who continue the cycle of rejecting God's truth in Him, points to the consequences of not accepting Him and His sacrifice. For believers under the new covenant, they are saved by grace through faith, and their sins are not anymore remembered. To Gentiles and (Jews) house of Israel alike (Romans 10:12), Scriptures affirm: “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”” (Hebrews 8:10-12 ESV).

And I say, AMEN!

Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries

When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.

Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477

Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.