The Meaning of Luke 11:52 Explained

Luke 11:52

KJV: 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.

YLT: 'Woe to you, the lawyers, because ye took away the key of the knowledge; yourselves ye did not enter; and those coming in, ye did hinder.'

Darby: Woe unto you, the doctors of the law, for ye have taken away the key of knowledge; yourselves have not entered in, and those who were entering in ye have hindered.

ASV: Woe unto you lawyers! for ye took away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Luke 11:52 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jesus" third woe against the lawyers condemned them for taking the key of spiritual knowledge away from the people. This key is probably a reference to Jesus" teachings. Jesus called this the key of knowledge, not the keys of the kingdom (cf. Matthew 16:19). The scribes professed to have the key to the understanding of the Old Testament. The people viewed them as the experts in it. However, they rejected Jesus" teachings and, therefore, would not enter into the knowledge that acceptance of His teachings would have opened to them. Moreover they opposed Jesus and thereby discouraged the people who were entering into that knowledge. This last woe is the climax of the six ( Luke 11:42-52) and revealed the most serious offense of Israel"s religious leaders.
Some interpreters view this verse as a clear statement that the messianic kingdom was a present reality when Jesus spoke these words. [1] However, I believe this conclusion is improper for the following reasons. First, knowledge is the stated subject of the verse, not the kingdom. Second, the subject of the kingdom is not in the context, but the subject of spiritual understanding is ( Luke 11:33-51). Third, the Gospel writers did not present Jesus as inaugurating the kingdom at His first advent but as offering it and then postponing it due to the Jews" rejection of their Messiah (cf. Matthew 12).

Context Summary

Luke 11:45-54 - Searching Words For Hypocrites
The minute oral and written rules promulgated by the Hebrew religious leaders overlaid and almost buried under their weight the simple Mosaic code. They were the subject of incessant disputing and discussion. A vast crowd of copyists, lecturers, teachers and casuists were always debating them. The lawyer who here addressed Christ was one of this class. He could hardly believe that this revered rabbi could include him and his fellows in these terrible woes.
Our Lord speaks of Himself as the Wisdom of God. Compare Luke 11:49 with Matthew 23:34. For a moment He rises above the low levels of His Incarnation and identifies Himself with the Eternal God. But what profound sorrow filled His heart, as these stern words were wrung from His lips by the stubborn obduracy of His people! In the Hebrew Scriptures, where the order of the books differs from that of our Old Testament, the death of Abel is related in the first book and that of Zacharias in the last, 2 Chronicles 24:20-22. The legend said that the blood of the latter was bubbling up when Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem. No sacrifices availed to stop it. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 11

1  Jesus teaches us to pray, and that instantly;
11  assuring us that God will give all good things to those who ask him
14  He, casting out a demon, rebukes the blasphemous Pharisees;
27  and shows who are blessed;
29  preaches to the people;
37  and reprimands the outward show of holiness

Greek Commentary for Luke 11:52

Ye took away the key of knowledge [ηρατε την κλειδα της γνωσεως]
First aorist active indicative of αιρω — airō common verb. But this is a flat charge of obscurantism on the part of these scribes (lawyers), the teachers (rabbis) of the people. They themselves It is the most pitiful picture imaginable of blind ecclesiastics trying to keep others as blind as they were, blind leaders of the blind, both falling into the pit. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 11:52

Matthew 23:13 Ye shut the kingdom of heaven [κλειετε την βασιλειαν των ουρανων]
In Luke 11:52 the lawyers are accused of keeping the door to the house of knowledge locked and with flinging away the keys so as to keep themselves and the people in ignorance. These custodians of the kingdom by their teaching obscured the way to life. It is a tragedy to think how preachers and teachers of the kingdom of God may block the door for those who try to enter in Literally, before. These door-keepers of the kingdom slam it shut in men‘s faces and they themselves are on the outside where they will remain. They hide the key to keep others from going in. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 11:52 mean?

Woe to you the lawyers for you have taken away the key of the knowledge You yourselves not did enter and those who are entering you hindered
Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν τοῖς νομικοῖς ὅτι ἤρατε τὴν κλεῖδα τῆς γνώσεως αὐτοὶ οὐκ εἰσήλθατε καὶ τοὺς εἰσερχομένους ἐκωλύσατε

Οὐαὶ  Woe 
Parse: Interjection
Root: οὐαί  
Sense: alas, woe.
ὑμῖν  to  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
νομικοῖς  lawyers 
Parse: Adjective, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: νομικός  
Sense: pertaining to the law, one learned in the law.
ἤρατε  you  have  taken  away 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: αἴρω  
Sense: to raise up, elevate, lift up.
κλεῖδα  key 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: κλείς  
Sense: a key.
τῆς  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
γνώσεως  knowledge 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: γνῶσις  
Sense: knowledge signifies in general intelligence, understanding.
αὐτοὶ  You  yourselves 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Nominative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
εἰσήλθατε  did  enter 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: εἰσέρχομαι  
Sense: to go out or come in: to enter.
τοὺς  those  who 
Parse: Article, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
εἰσερχομένους  are  entering 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Middle or Passive, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: εἰσέρχομαι  
Sense: to go out or come in: to enter.
ἐκωλύσατε  you  hindered 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: κωλύω  
Sense: to hinder, prevent forbid.