Answering Their Accusations
Luke 20:17 NIV
The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief cornerstone.
It became more and more obvious that the Scribes and Pharisees were out to get Jesus... any way that they could. First, they attempted to get Him to admit that He was the Son of God. This would be enough to convict Him. But He refused to fall into their trap. Then He warned them what would happen to them because of their rejection of Him by telling the parable of the vine-growers, showing them that He was the chief cornerstone of God. They tried to trap Him with spies sent to ask seemingly innocent questions about paying their taxes, the expected answers to which would convict Jesus. But again, He refused to fall into their trap. Luke tells us that each morning of Jesus' final week on earth, the people would get up early and hurry to the temple to hear Him teach. And our Lord didn't disappoint them. He spent all of each day speaking to them about God. With one explanation after another, He told the people who He was, and how important it is to remain alert to false teaching. And at night, He would go to Mount Olivet to be alone and pray.
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The Scribes and Pharisees are still alive and still plugging at it today, aren't they? Both within our churches and without. Within our churches, they're the ones who are so busy creating man-made "rules" that they throw grace in the trash heap. They're the ones who turn a church into an elitist group, with only those who dress right, and act right, and who are the right color, and whose bank accounts will benefit the church budget, and who appear sinless and pious enough are able to enter comfortably. They're the nes whose prime directive seems to be to create discord within the Body of Christ - using back-biting and gossip as their weapons of choice. And they're the ones who will be stunned when Jesus says, "I never knew you."
Outside of the church, they're the ones who continually try to trip Christians up, with the same kind of entrapment that was used on Jesus. They're the ones who refuse to recognize Jesus in favor of the seduction of Satan's lies. They're the ones who ridicule those who love the Lord.
Today, think about whether there is a Pharisee within you. Search the four Gospels for incidents that concern the Pharisees, and see if anything they did would describe you. If not, good for you! But if so, don't you think it's time for an eviction notice?
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