The Three Ignorant Lawyers

Jesus Christ while on earth acknowledged the fact that lawyers hold the keys to knowledge. This means that lawyers are or may be knowledgeable and wise. Therefore saying that a lawyer is ignorant is indeed the worse derogatory statement a person can make to that lawyer. However, this does not mean that lawyers are the repository of knowledge. Glanville Williams, a professor of English Law, in his seminal book, Learning the Law wrote, “George III is reputed to have said that lawyers do not know much more law than other people, but they know better where to find it”. Therefore, it is possible for somebody to be a lawyer yet ignorant of a particular truth. For the purpose of this article, the term lawyer includes any intellectual, knowledgeable persons, a Wiseman and any wise persons. Today, these people are as common as air. We have many trained minds in the ecclesiastic fraternity, legal fraternity, medical fraternity, academia, scientific fraternity and so forth. They are no doubt knowledgeable and wise, at most when it comes to intellectual and logical wisdom. Ironically, however, a number of them are ignorant of what matters most in life – the Truth. A lawyer must know and tell the Truth (Jesus)!

The Bible gives accounts of some lawyers and Pharisees who, although knowledgeable, were ignorant of the Truth. In Matthew 22:35-36, a lawyer asked Jesus, while tempting him, a question about the great commandment. Perhaps that lawyer, until Jesus answered, did not know that love is the greatest perfect law. In Luke 7:30, we are told some Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God. I believe they rejected it because they did know the spiritual import of Jesus’s baptism. A certain lawyer, likewise Nicodemus, in Luke 10:25, probably, did not know how to obtain eternal life. Jesus asked him, “What is written in the law? How readest thou?” Although he rightly answered Jesus, he was neither a doer nor a practitioner of what he said. Besides, in his attempt to justify himself, he ignorantly demonstrated that he did not know who his neighbour is until Jesus narrated a story to him. Jesus instructed him, “Go, and do thou likewise”. This means that it is not enough to know God’s Word, or the perfect law of liberty. We must be practitioners of it. If not, we are not different from illiterates. I believe this unfortunate attitude influenced Jesus in Luke 11:46 to curse some Pharisees and lawyers.

Hypocrisy may be a sign of ignorance. Jesus said in Luke 11:52, “Woe unto you, lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered”. This means that being knowledgeable without being a doer or a facilitator of good works makes that person accursed. Ignorance is a disease, but being a hypocritical knowledgeable person is disastrously dangerous. “To whom much is given much is...” Truly, more is expected of lawyers. It is a sad commentary that Jesus in Luke 14:3-4 had to educate some lawyers and Pharisees that it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath day. They were ignorantly challenging what they ought to be practitioners and teachers of. No wonder Titus 3:9 instructively states, “But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain”. Unprofitable lawyers are commonplace. Unprofitable lawyers are lawless. But a lawyer must not be lawless.

Lawyer Zenas was different kind of lawyer. I love his Spirit. Titus 3:13-14, indicates that he kept the company of persons who were diligently willing to learn how to maintain good works in order to be profitable. What kind of person are you? Do not be deceived by titles such as lawyer, doctor, pastor, journalist, Member of Parliament, president and statesman. Greatness and integrity are in towels (servant-service), never in titles. Ask Jesus or Lawyer Saul, who became Apostle Paul. Lawyer Saul was once unprofitable because of his ignorance of the Truth. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Of course, ignorance of the Truth is no excuse! It is better to be ignorant of the law than to be ignorant of Jesus! Paul later sought for what matters most hence he demonstrated exuding greatness afterwards.

Philippians 3:3-10 recounts the various secrets that accounted for Paul’s’ latter day glories. He wrote, “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; AS TOUCHING THE LAW, A PHARISEE; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; TOUCHING THE RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS IN THE LAW, BLAMELESS. BUT WHAT THINGS WERE GAIN TO ME, THOSE I COUNTED LOSS FOR CHRIST. Yea doubtless, and I COUNT ALL THINGS BUT LOSS FOR THE EXCELLENCY OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST JESUS MY LORD: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, THAT I MAY WIN CHRIST, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: THAT I MAY KNOW HIM, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Emphasis is mine). The crux of Paul’s testimony is that we are ignorant if we do not know Jesus, no matter our intellectual prowess.

Education does not a great person make; it is rather the excellent knowledge of Jesus that does the job. Towels are superior to titles. Jesus was a man of towels, not titles. “Lawyering” without Jesus breeds lies and lawlessness. Practising medicine without Jesus breeds mediums. Politicking without Jesus breeds polarization and produces poisonous pollution. Journalism without Jesus breeds junks. Religiosity without Jesus without Jesus breeds confusion and chaos. It is high time lawyers demonstrated their true worth. Being a lawyer is more than winning cases. The basic duty of a lawyer is to uphold and defend the law selflessly. This certainly does not merely come by winning even celebrated or landmark cases. The combined force of integrity, honesty, self-control, and character does the job! A true great lawyer, like Apostle Paul, strives to win Jesus but not just winning cases by all means-crude. What kind of lawyer are you? Are you ignorant?

Richard Obeng Mensah, author of If You Think of Your Opposition You Lose Your Position. borncapy@yahoo.com/www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com