Matthew 2:2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
Matthew 27:37 And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
Mark 15:26 The inscription of the charge against Him read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
Mark 15:32 Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.
I always thought the Pharisees hated Jesus because he blasphemed by saying he was the Son of God, and they couldn’t see past their traditions.
But no! Maybe blasphemy was the reason they disliked him in the beginning.
But as Jesus shows himself to be God through more and more good works, culminating in the raising of Lazarus from the dead which precedes this passage, they actually hate him MORE which makes no sense if you think they’re concerned about blasphemy.
No, Jesus’ good works are leading more and more people to believe in him, thus decreasing the Pharisee’s power, influence, prestige.
The more the Pharisees see the glory of God in Jesus, the more they hate him, because it steals away THEIR glory.
So it is ego and pride, that cause the Pharisees to seek to murder Jesus.
What they were afraid of wasn’t Jesus, but the Roman Empire. Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, which is to say the rightful king of Israel. That claim amounted to an incitement to rebel against Rome. In the Gospel of John, the Pharisees are concerned that if too many people accept his claim to be the Messiah that Rome will no longer give Israel the special privilege to not worship the Emperor (among other privileges) and that they will be forced to fully assimilate. That’s why they say “the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation” rather than “Jesus will come” or “God will come.”
