Bible Discussion Thread

Verse 46 seems not to speak well of lawyers or is it my reading of it. Luke 11 v.46.

The mentioning of lawyers in this passage & others is not how we understand that profession & their work today. In Jesus' day, lawyers were 'doctors of traditions'. They were famous for multiplying men's religious obligations often with 'hair splitting' interpretations making them extremely grievous for people to bear. And they were skilled in showing their obedience to these traditions but in fact were avoiding it themselves. It was a case of 'preaching what others should do yet not practising what they preach'. And how guilty some preachers are today: giving long & careful exposition of the Word in all piety, but leading lives inconsistent to what they proclaim. To these, Jesus came down heavily & called them 'hypocrites', as He did to the scribes & pharisees.

Lawyers today have a similar work of examining the Law with a 'fine toothed comb' to ensure that their clients get the best possible outcome, but their profession restricts them to defending (or, prosecuting) rather than one of enforcement. So in one sense, the lawyers of Jesus' day could be likened to the law enforcing officials of today, without the matter of hypocrisy becoming an issue as it was for the Jews in those days.