Luke 11:52 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.

I had always found it strange that Jesus always talks about the Pharisees and the Scribes, but rarely mentioned lawyers. We assume these lawyers are the scribes and Pharisees.  The word used in the Greek is nomikosis which is someone more than a scribe.  He is a scribe but also a highly respected scholar.  The Aramaic uses the word sophar.  Let me tell you something about a sophar.  He is a scribe but like the Greek nomikosis he is more than just a mere scribe.  This old boy was the final word in Scriptural authority.

The Talmud talks about these sophars and it may shed some light on why Jesus came down hard on these guys. Like today people in Israel during the day of Jesus felt something very uneasy about the future.  Those who had the skills searched the Scriptures for clues to prophetic signs. With their pockets full of credentials these sophars were highly respected and their prophetic interpretations of the Scriptures were highly prized.  They would come up with the most wild, unreal, and strange interpretations.  The more crazy the interpretation of what Scripture was teaching on future events, the more the people loved it. They could put every spin and milk every Scripture passage that had prophetic implications for all it was worth.

The problem with this was that these scholars were so well respected and had such a wow factor to their teachings of prophecy and future events or just their handling of Scripture and how they spun it to foretell some exciting events that they actually hindered people from studying the Scriptures for insight into their own relationship with God.

Note the accusation that is leveled by Jesus, “You have taken away the key of knowledge that you have not entered into yourself.  And you have hindered others.”   I do not see how Jesus could have said it better.  The word key in the Aramaic is qalad which is an instrument used to remove a seal. Qalad is also applied to someone who had the authority, right and power to remove a seal, to reveal the message in a sealed document.

These were teachers who used their credentials and their respect to build their platform, they would wow their listeners but they never went deeply into Scripture to understand their spiritual meaning, nor did they allow others to interpret Scripture. After all they were the educated ones, they were the ones given the keys to understanding and anyone who opposed them, well they were just doomed, bad for them they were warned.

They hold themselves up as the ones with understanding and others do not hesitate to give them that respect and honor. Yet Jesus taught in Matthew 23:10, “Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, [which is] Christ.” The word for master that is used in the Greek is kathegetes which is a teacher, leader or guide. Yet if Jesus was saying that you are not to be called a leader, teacher or guide, why did He train His disciples for just such roles.

I believe the Aramaic gives us a little better insight into this word that is rendered as masters. The word that is used is madabrana.  This is a reference to one who has understanding. The final Aleph in madabrana is a definite article and thus it is rendered as the understanding one.  Jesus is saying that we are not to call anyone a person of understanding or the understanding one. For there is only one who has understanding who is the understanding one and that is the Messiah and when He left He sent a comforter who would teach in His name (John 14:26).  In other words understanding comes only from the Holy Spirit.  There have been many who claimed to have understanding or be the understanding one about Biblical prophecy and built quite a following, we all know the disastrous results.

I am not saying that we should not pay attention to teachers of prophecy but to not become so enchanted with these teachings that it really draws us away for the study of Scripture to the exclusion of our search for the heart of God, for a discovery that will bring us deeper in our walk with God.  Jesus is clearly teaching us to beware of any teacher who claims to have the truth or understanding and that he and he alone has it.  A teacher that warns you against anyone who teaches something contrary to what they are teaching is a teacher who either has delusions of grandeur or is ready to pick your pocket.

Ultimately our teachers are our guides or facilitators to encourage us to dig deep into Scripture, they are not our masters, they are not the final word.  The final word is the Holy Spirit that dwells within you.