Tag: Pharisees

  • Hosanna In The Highest

    (John 12:12-19) When Jesus entered into Jerusalem the final time, his fame had spread far and wide. The people recognised His power and kingship as they spread branches of palm trees on the ground and cried out praises like, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” and “Hosanna in the Highest.”…

  • Plotting Against Jesus

    (John 11:45-53) After Lazarus was raised from the dead, a great many of the Jews believed in Him. They recognised the power of God in Jesus for no one had ever seen a man resurrected before. This confounded the leaders, the chief priests and the Pharisees and threw them into despair. They were utterly at…

  • The Woman Caught In Adultery – Part 1

    (John 8:1-11) This is one of the classic stories and discussion of the New Testament. The story of the woman caught in adultery has been spoken about by so many people, analysed and written about it seems there could be nothing new to take from it. However there is much I believe still to be…

  • Beware of the Scribes

    (Luke 20:41-47) There were many instances in the Bible where Jesus gave us warnings. Mostly they were warnings about men and in particular about those who professed to teach the word of God but were false teachers or false prophets. In this section of scripture he tells us to beware of the scribes who exhibit…

  • Render to God the Things that are Gods

    (Luke 20:19-26) This piece of scripture contains many insights, especially into the nature of money and the kingdom of God. So often in many modern churches we hear the message that God wants you to be rich. This is the thrust of the wealth ministries that plague the Christian church today. And many Christians fall…

  • The Chief Priests Question Jesus Authority

    (Luke 20:1-8) In this section of scripture we see the chief priests and scribes question Jesus authority. They really did not care about his authority but were looking for opportunities to trip him up in his words so as to condemn him. But Jesus would have none of that and his approach to these men…

  • Where is the Kingdom of God

    (Luke 17:20-21) The Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would be coming. They knew it was coming for the prophecies of the Old Testament indicated as much. They were expecting the Messiah to come and bring with him the Kingdom of God. They were also expecting to be rulers in this kingdom. Little…

  • Three Things to Learn About Leavin’ Leaven Alone

    (Luke 12:1-3) Jesus said, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” (verse 1) Now I would suggest that when Jesus gives us a warning it is worth our while listening to what he had to say. When we break down this particular warning there are three (maybe more) lessons we can learn…

  • Three Ways How to be a Hypocrite (and Then To Avoid It)

    (Luke 11:42-44) Jesus hated hypocrisy. Most people do. But there are some valuable lessons we can learn by looking at hypocrisy, and then do the opposite. There is a technique used in creative thinking workshops called “Anti-Solution” to help overcome mental blocks. It looks at all the ways you can make something fail and then…

  • Eating With Sinners

    (Luke 5:27-32) Jesus often went in to the houses of those the Pharisees considered sinners, especially tax collectors. The Pharisees grumbled as to why Jesus was eating with sinners. In this section of the gospel of Luke we see him again entering into the house of a tax collector and eating with sinners, and there…

  • Render to Caesar the Things that are Caesar’s

    (Mark 12:13-17) The Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to try and entrap him. The chief priests were looking for a reason to arrest Jesus and hoped that he could be trapped by teaching something opposing the laws of the land. First they tried to get under Jesus’ guard with flattery saying they knew…

  • Parable of the Tenants

    (Mark 12:1-12) This parable was told by Jesus in relation to the chief priests in relation to how they had failed. They were given a responsibility by the Lord and they failed in their responsibility. What is worse they abused their position to try and gain power and position instead of offering service that was…