At this, the Pharisees went out and began plotting with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.The Pharisees went out, and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.And the Pharisees went out, and straightway with the Herodians took counsel against him, how they might destroy him.
4 sermons cite this verse
And I think verse 6 of chapter 3 is the key. If we go there, then we can reverse back into it, because here we find this dramatic statement. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. And the fact is that neither the Pharisees nor the Herodians had any time for each other. The Pharisees were the religious establishment, the Herodians really were part of the social establishment. But now we find that they are prepared to get together and try and hatch a plot that will bring about the death of Jesus. Now, even with a superficial reading of these two incidents, don't you think that verse 6 seems a bit of an overreaction? Here's somebody doing something in the cornfields that apparently they shouldn't be doing, and a man with a shriveled hand is healed, and the result is that the groups get together and decide, we're going to have to kill Jesus for this? Well, we need to keep in mind what we've already been learning, namely that Jesus has been challenging all the way through the Pharisees' approach to life and, in particular, to religion. …
… at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, Stretch out your hand. He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians, how they might kill Jesus. Thanks be to God for his Word. And our prayer before we turn to the Bible. Speak, Lord, as we wait upon you, so that beyond the voice of a mere man we may actually hear from you, the living God, as a result of your Word coming home to our minds. And we ask this in Christ's name. Amen. Jesus was not an establishment figure. The fact that he may be regarded as such today is as a result of all kinds of ideas and notions. But those ideas and notions are challenged by the teaching of the Bible itself as it introduces us to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, along with his followers, spent the larger part of his three years of earthly ministry in dialogue, indeed in conflict, with the religious authorities of his time. …
… and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against him how they might destroy him. there was a rabbi, an orthodox rabbi, who went to the golf course on Sabbath and played a round of golf. Well, when that happened, the angel Gabriel and a few other angels who were watching this got on the phone to God and said, God, we have a problem. We have a rabbi down there playing golf on the Sabbath. And then Gabriel said, you know, you might want to strike him with lightning or have him choke on a hot dog, something. God said, I have a better idea. Well, the rabbi stepped up to the tee, got his driver out. It was a par four. He swung his golf club. 420-yard drive straight down the middle. The golf ball bounced, rolled onto the green, hole in one. Hole in one. The rabbi jumps up and down. He is ecstatic. He is rejoicing. And Gabriel said to God, what gives? I thought you were going to punish him. God said, I did. Who's he going to tell? …
… and his hand became completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. Jesus performs a miracle and the religious leaders go, we need to kill this guy because they thought it would be better for this man to die than for us to lose our control. I'm praying over these 21 days of prayer and fasting that you would relinquish your control, that you would surrender your control issues. Some of us, you are control freaks. You need to surrender your life, your children, your bank account, your future, your calling, your life over to the living God. In fact, look at John 7. The Pharisees said, are you carried away like the rest of the rabble? You don't see any of the leaders believing him, do you? Or anyone from the Pharisees? It's only this crowd, ignorant of God's law, that is taken in by him, and they are damned. Next verse. So from that day on, they plotted to take his life. …