READ: Matthew 23:1-36
…believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,
John 10:38-39
In Matthew 23, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees about many things. He called them vipers, serpents and dead men’s tombs. He called them hypocrites, He called them fools and He called them blind guides. Jesus called the Pharisees and scribes the children of hell.
These rebukes and reproofs greatly offended the Pharisees and scribes. The offended Pharisees and scribes became the murderers of the Son of God. They became the monsters who crucified the Son of God.
Jesus asked the thousands of disciples who were listening to Him whether they were offended. He knew that offence would turn them into monsters. Indeed, the scribes and Pharisees did become monsters. A “monster” is someone who has deviated grotesquely from the normal and expected form. The Pharisees and scribes were expected to be men of kindness, men of love, men with a good heart. Instead, they became men of envy, men of hatred, full of treachery and murder. Today, the term “scribes and Pharisees” denotes an evil religious group.
The scribes and Pharisees were men of piety, men of holiness and men of religion. They turned into monsters that murdered Jesus Christ the holy Son of God because they were offended by His rebukes and the reproofs.
I want you to notice some of the rebukes of Jesus Christ. He simply said, “If I do not do the works of my Father do not believe me.” Believe in the works that you see Me doing even if you don’t believe in Me as a person. This simple, but truthful logic provoked hatred and anger in the hearers. Jesus’ life was in danger from the murderous, angry and offended Pharisees.
Be careful of offence! Be careful of rebukes and reproofs when they come! Be careful of correction!