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 esus and the Pharisees have been in conflict for many studies. How long were they in conflict in real life? We do not know. Earlier Jesus had left Jerusalem (John 4:1-3) for two reasons: John the Baptist had been put into prison by King Herod and the Pharisees were concerned about His popularity. So Jesus left for Galilee and continued His ministry there. But the Pharisees followed, and sometime later Jesus found Himself in conflict with them once again. The Pharisees had accused Jesus of blasphemy (Matt. 9:1-8), associating with sinners and tax collectors (Matt. 9:9-13), refusing to fast on a day of fasting (Matt. 9:14-17), telling someone to work on the Sabbath (John 5:1-17), and of healing on the Sabbath. Repeatedly, the Pharisees had challenged Jesus, and repeatedly they were wrong. Jesus broke their rules and refused to submit to them. As a result, the Pharisees became outraged. In our last study, we left a group of raging, angry Pharisees who had started actively working with the Herodians to destroy Jesus. Now they want to murder Him. Jesus Leaves. So Jesus left the area of His latest conflict because He knew that they were planning to murder Him. According to Matthew and Mark, Jesus had a large crowd following Him. It would have been easy to find Jesus.
The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him. (NASB) Mark 3:6 But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him . . . (NASB) Matt. 12:15 Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and also from Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him. (NASB) Mark 3:7-8 Jesus went to the shore of the Sea of Galilee and people who had come from the north, south, east, and west followed Him. The crowd was extremely large, and it appears that Jesus stayed in one place while He healed many of them. Matthew reminds us of a prophecy related to Jesus’ massive ministry when he writes,
Many followed Him, and He healed them all, and warned them not to tell who He was. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom my soul is well-pleased; I will put my spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel, nor cry out; nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A battered reed He will not break off, and a smoldering wick He will not put out, until He leads justice to victory. And in His name the Gentiles will hope.” (NASB) Matt. 12:15-21
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| Life & Heart of Jesus | |||||
