It sometimes comes as a surprise to Christians when they realize that Jesus did not get along with everyone, and that everyone did not get along with Jesus. The religious leaders were often at enmity against Him. Chiefly this is because they were blinded by their own sense of self-righteousness, which resulted in them failing to see who Jesus really was, and too prideful to admit their need of Him. But when Jesus opposed them, it was not because He had a wrongly-inflated view of himself, and was personally offended. Jesus’s motivation was his love for God and others. When he saw how the doctrinal errors of the religious leaders, and the unbearable burdens they placed upon others, He spoke out against them. These errors put the spiritual well being of people at such risk. Therefore, Jesus warned His disciples to beware of the doctrinal errors of these religious leaders. Matthew 16:5-12 contains one such warning:
When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” But Jesus, aware
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
