In Luke 11:52, Jesus tells the religious experts that they will be held responsible for their followers who do not enter heaven because of false teachings and rules placed by them upon their followers. The key offense in this passage is the hiding of essential and Godly knowledge in the pursuit of religion.

Luke then tells us that the religious leaders that were listening to Jesus, flipped their lid and went on the attack, questioning Jesus so as to get Him to give them even one wrong religious answer that would allow them to bring charges against Him.

I don’t know about you, but that must have been a lively discussion and anyone who thinks of Jesus as this meek, weak and unoffensive person who spent His earthly life in an passive way, should probably think again.

Christ saw the evil in the way that these religious leaders kept moving the goal line, so to speak. This is a Godly example of how we are to confront evil and not allow it to establish itself in our presence.

It is important to note that a church can have rules and regulations but still be focused on Jesus Christ as God who became man, was beaten and killed for our transgressions, defeated death and rose into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father to this day. A church can have rules, clergy and traditions and still be true to God and His plan for salvation. But when they go too far off God’s reservation, so to speak, they become the kind of religious institution that Jesus was at odds with in this chapter.