Read Mark 3:1-6

It is not clear how many powwows like this must have taken place.  Perhaps dozens?  They were groups of people huddled together behind closed doors or perhaps in some public but out of the way place.  Their voices were probably low and quiet.  Occasionally someone in the group would look nervously over his/her shoulder, wanting to ensure that no one was coming or at least overhearing them.  Instead of planning a surprise birthday party for a mutual friend, those gathered discussed a demonic, diabolical plot.  They battled with the question, “How can we get rid of Jesus?”

Mark 3:7 describes one of the first of these powwows.  Those gathered were not the ones you might predict.

Oh, we might expect the Pharisees by themselves.  In their snooty, rule-oriented approach to Judaism, they seemed to find reason to object to just about everything that Jesus did.  Forgive sin?  Blasphemy (Mk. 2:1-12)!  Heal on the Sabbath?  Unthinkable (Mk. 3:1-6)!  Not instruct His disciples to wash their hands ceremonially before eating?  How dare He (Matt. 15:1-3)!

And, we might expect opposition from the Herodians.  Not a religious group, they were actually a political party that had been influenced by and become followers of Herod.  Their hatred of the Christ had been fueled by the founding father of their party.  Remember Herod the Great?  We read about him yesterday in Matthew 2.  He hated the thought of a rival king and sought to kill Jesus as an infant!  Like their founding father, those of the party that still bore his name held the same hatred for Jesus.

While it is true that the animosity of either one of these groups is no big surprise, it is their collaboration that is unpredictable.  These two had little in common.  In fact, the Herodians opposed the Pharisees on virtually every issue.  But remember Satan’s demonic plot?  His objective was to thwart the work of Jesus.  Somehow, he must have orchestrated this brainstorming powwow that had the destruction of the Son of God as its primary objective.

This is yet another step towards the cosmic showdown that would take place at the cross!

Steve Kern