They do don't they? You rarely saw Jesus get mad. So why wouldn’t Jesus put His arm around the Pharisees and say: “Great effort on the law-keeping guys. You got a few things wrong. Let me redirect you a little bit, but keep up the good work.”
He did not say this. Oh Contraire! Jesus blasted them because, rather than being innocently ignorant of His identity and a little misguided, most of the Pharisees were willfully spiritually blind. they had everything to loose, their status everyone looking up to them, and the law of Moses to keep everyone in line.They were special in front of the crowd, but Jesus said no one is special, and there are none good but one, and then he told them exactly what they got wrong in an epic smack-down found in Matthew chapter 23 that Trapper spoke of.
I use to think the Pharisees simply didn’t recognize their Messiah. Their ignorance seemed innocent, since they were expecting a political savior who would overthrow Rome. Wouldn’t it have been a better strategy to pull them aside in private and prove to them using facts and Scripture that Jesus was their promised Savior? IMO, It's Because it wasn't ignorance, It was liking things the way they were and wanting to keep their power....
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I'm pretty sure Trump knows none of this..
Have you ever read "The Brothers Karamazov," By Fyodor Dostoyevsky? One chapter in particular: "The Great Inquisitor." This specific chapter tells the story of the Grand Inquisition in Spain, and it relates perfectly to what you stated above. I suggest you take a look if you haven't read it.
Basically, it tells the story of the Great Inquisitor during the persecutions of "heretics" in Spain. During that time, Jesus comes back and he is arrested and thrown in jail. He goes through the terrible tortures common during that historical time of hatred, tortured and killings accomplished by the CHURCH, and no one believes that he truly is Christ. . . .no one, EXCEPT the Grand Inquisitor, the high priest who runs the whole show. Before Jesus is to be put to death, the Grand Inquisitor visits him in his jail and Jesus asks him, why, since you know I am Jesus are you condemning me to die? The Grand Inquisitor answers: "Because I am protecting my people. If they knew that we are killing non-believers or heretics against the will of God, they would be guilty and be condemn to eternal fire. But if they ignore the fact that the people who are being tortured and executed are innocent, they, also, will be innocent of crimes, and they will not suffer the fire of hell."
This is merely a paraphrase, and I haven't read that book in over 20 years. But every time I hear a FALSE Christians spread hatred and act in a way that I KNOW would be against God's wishes, every time I witness the hypocrisy of those Evangelical leaders, and most of the churches leaders spreading the FALSE word of God, while amassing millions, I think of that Dostoyevsky's chapter.
In one way I envy you to be able to believe whatever you want to believe about people, in spite of their actions, in spite of the proof in front of your eyes. You probably would have been fighting with Hitler and the Church to "clear the world of those who crucified Christ. . .the Jews," or those "homosexuals who are sinning against God," or those "Gypsy, who are no better than animals and dirty the White race and the name of God," . . .and you would have done so in perfect harmony with your conscience, because. . .no one who can be THAT evil, no one who speak of God, can be that crooked. . . .they must have felt "the arms of God around their shoulders!"
Well. . .The Catholic Church believed as you do for a few years prior and even at the beginning of WWII. . .then they understood, and it was too late!
I know. . .My uncle was one of those deep faith Christian, who believed in the Goodness of the first Reich. . . for awhile. Until he understood, tried to get out, and had his family threatened by those he had thought were so "right and Godly."
He ended up being shot. He was a journalist, a writer, a profoundly Christian man. He was talented, and BELIEVED (for a while) the propaganda that he had become so good at writing that he was the speech writer for Hitler's #1 in Belgium: Degrelle.
My uncle's name was Jose Streel. You can research it.
