Why didn’t the Pharisees pick up on the many fulfilled prophecies by Jesus (over 300 by His crucifixion), during His ministry? These were the guys trained in the Torah, they read the prophets, and they knew the history – how could they miss it?
In reality, they chose to miss it! After all, King Herod called the religious leaders together years earlier to help reveal when and where the Messiah would show up (Matthew 2:3-6). And Nicodemus (a Pharisee) came to Jesus at night and confessed they knew (John 3:2). But what they “knew” and what they understood was different. At least, when we read 1 Corinthians 2:8, “None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
Perhaps the most logical explanation is they were jealous! Jealousy is a destructive force that has left a trail of collateral damage throughout history. Paul describes the human condition by summing up our actions when left on our own. Galatians 5:19-21, “The acts of the flesh are obvious: …hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions…”
Jesus, our king, came to earth to accomplish amazing spiritual things for us that through Him we can live not to the human nature, but to the spiritual nature. To do that it takes patience, kindness, forgiveness… all the fruit of having the Spirit that is mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23!
Our desire, as citizens of the heavenly kingdom (Phillipians 3:20), should be to truly embrace what the Pharisees didn’t want to understand. God’s kingdom has a new way to live that blesses people around us; it embraces times spent with loved ones and even total strangers. Right now, we are living in a unique time in history when our secular government has tried to prompt us to spend time together.
These are serious times with serious issues going on, but the positive side is we’ve had the opportunity to let our jealousies go and seek for ways to encourage one another. And all of this makes our longing to be near to those we love so much even stronger.
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