Woes against the lawyers

Once Christ has exposed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, a teacher of the law accuses him of insulting his profession. Christ, not backing down, announces three distinct and particular woes against the lawyers, who load others with burdens they themselves avoid, who effectively endorse and sustain the rejection and murder of God's messengers, and who keep people out of the kingdom of God despite having the key of knowledge. Their reaction only goes to prove the truth of Christ's charge.--God hates hypocrisy, because it damns the hypocrite and others. Here we see the emptiness of the man-centred religion from which Christ relieved those who trusted in him. Here we are reminded of our own tendency to elevate religious performance over religious substance.