Fear Not, Fear God

Calling the Pharisees “fools” and the lawyers worse, Jesus did not endear himself to the leaders of the moral majority.[2] It was surely no shock that as a lot they sought “to catch him in something he might say” (Luke 11:54). Of course, they wouldn’t because they couldn’t, leading them eventually to fabricate testimony, illegally try, and falsely convict the sinless Son of God. But knowing what would come did not lead Jesus to dial back his criticism or concern, warning his disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.”