NOTES for Luk 11:47-54
The key phrase underlying the conversation between Christ and the Pharisees that we read today is “and that's all.” This is what makes legalism most attractive: its limits. Legalism teaches that one must fulfill in detail a set of commandments known since Moses' time—and that's all. Nothing more is required. All that remains is to sign for the blessings of paradise. God's participation in all this is neither needed nor envisaged: He is obliged to “pay out” the salvation due to those who meet certain known conditions whose origin we ourselves have attributed to God. Because of its remarkable convenience, legalism is by no means confined to Judaism; it is a spiritual disease of all humanity. It is not without reason that the Lord Jesus Christ urges His disciples to beware of this leaven.
When people treat their employer this way, we call it an “Italian strike”—working to rule (I do not know why it is called Italian!). We all know that when you work to rule, strictly follow instructions without deviating a single step, and do nothing beyond your job description, the work of any institution comes to a complete halt. Even ordinary working life is incomparably richer than any set of rules. Moreover, experience shows that during a work-to-rule action, a solid, impassable wall separates you from your employer. In essence, legalism is working to rule against God.
By contrast, the key word for the path to which Christ calls us is “together.” Together with God in the whirlpool of life, where something new and unforeseen arises at every step. Together with God, when the only firm “instruction” is always to be with Him. It is no accident that in today's passage the Lord Jesus recalls the prophets whom legalism destroyed. All their preaching is a call to be with God every minute. The whole essence of the prophetic message comes down to this: the only goal of our life is God. We are destined to receive nothing else as our reward, but could any reward be greater?
And the prophets, anticipating the Lord Jesus, say that very little is needed to be together with God: to share in the love with which He loves our neighbors. In most cases, this goes almost unnoticed by others and so brings no honor, no “chief seats in the synagogues,” to use Christ's expression. Nor does God give us His praise, but Himself. The choice between Christ's path and legalism thus proves to be a choice between the Incomprehensible One Himself and what can be obtained from Him.