In Debt to the Pharisees. . .
Reading my Bible recently I was struck by how much we owe the skepticism of the Pharisees. Without their skepticism and critical questioning of Jesus, our knowledge of God and the doctrine of God would be much poorer. The disciples asked Him the respectful and kind, often naive questions as children trying to learn and we certainly learned along with them, but the Pharisees and the lawyers in all likelihood lay awake at night devising difficult rhetorical traps for Jesus. . . preparing, setting pitfalls for Him. Giving Him no advance warning to their hours and days of preparation. Jesus had to answer on his feet, in the charged atmosphere of their opposition and disdain, in full view of crowds of people that Jesus was trying to reach. What Preacher today would be able to withstand open skeptics throwing out critical questions in the middle of a sermon without losing control of the situation? Jesus not only did not allow the flaming arrows shot at Him by the Pharisees to disrupt Hi...