Matthew 12

Sometimes I feel bad for the Pharisees. It's like they never had a chance. My professor, Dr. Powell says that they are like Storm Troopers, they are flat characters that are just in the story to be a villain. You can't like them. (Other than their sweet uniform, which apparently doesn't protect them from anything.)

In Matthew 12 Jesus does everything he can to instigate them. He has his disciples pick grain to eat and he heals a man's hand, both which were against the law. The law that the Pharisees took very seriously Jesus just makes a mockery of.

Then some of them come to Jesus, maybe they are ready to believe that he is the Messiah, so they say "Teacher. we want to see a sign from you."

And Jesus said "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign!" He calls them wicked and adulterous after he breaks their laws. They simply can not win.

Am I sympathetic to the Pharisees? Yes and no.

They certainly did all they could to kill Jesus because he challenged their authority and place of honor within their society. This was not the first, nor the last time in history that humans have killed to protect their way of life.

But I am sympathetic to them because the laws they were following were passed down from their ancestors as being laws given from God. (Which I believe they were.) They were doing what they thought God wanted them to do.

They were just focused on the wrong things. Again, not the first, nor the last time in the history of the church that her leaders have fallen into that trap.

Leading a church is a lot of work. Things come up every day that I didn't even know that I didn't know. It's easy to forget why we exist.

Jesus never lost his focus. His focus was love, love that led him to the cross to die for the sins of all.

Even the Storm Troopers.

Lord, help us all to be more like Jesus. Amen.