The religious leaders of Jesus' day found themselves at odds with Jesus. They were always trying to get Him to stumble in something He would say or do. They would gather in groups and approach Him with "the question" that was going to cause Jesus to stumble. Every time they were disappointed. Every time they were wrong.
Are we like them? Jesus said they were deceived. He said, "You are deceived, because you don't understand the Scriptures or the power of God." Yet, they considered themselves "experts" when it came to the Scriptures. They considered themselves "authorities" when it came to knowing God.
But what was Jesus looking for? What did He say evidenced the true knowledge of Scripture and the authentic power of God? John gives us this answer in his gospel. John 5:40 says, "You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about Me. And you are not willing to come to Me so that you may have life." To reject Jesus is to miss the whole purpose of the Scriptures.
Follow Jesus today.
It is an oddity throughout Scripture. The people who are most confused among God's children, were normally the religious leaders who were supposed to know him best. But it makes sense. If the enemy wants to keep God's people ineffective, then he will focus on deception among their leaders. We should be in constant prayer for our leaders.
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