relationships (Matthew 24:1-51) Clarity and Understanding Helps

(Matthew 24:1-51)

1 Jesus left the temple area and was going on His way when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 But He responded and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

3 And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many people. 6 And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

9 “Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. 12 And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. 14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

15 “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place—let the reader understand— 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. 18 And whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 But woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 Moreover, pray that when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

36 “But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 At that time there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 For this reason you must be ready as well; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

45 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household slaves, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and he eats and drinks with those habitually drunk; 50 then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, 51 and he will cut him in two and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

Why would anyone who says they love us decide to just leave us alone in the dark? So, since one's Christian faith is all about having a personal relationship with Jesus, Jesus shares His plans with us very clearly, for us to understand.  Just like here, where the disciples asked Jesus in private for this valuable information, and Jesus told them everything they needed to know.  

In a nutshell, all people need to be alert and ready, meaning, before it is too late, we all need to make our eternal decision:  to become a believer, or not.  When we become a believer, we enter into a personal relationship with the Lord, who changes us from the inside out.  We will serve Him, not because we have to, but because we want to.  And even as we are persecuted for the simple fact that we are believers, when we get to heaven, we will be judged and rewarded for our good deeds, done with righteous motives.

If anyone is curious about the end times, notice that the disciples ask Jesus for the signs of His second coming and for the end of the age.  "End of the age" is NOT talking about the Church Age.  The disciples knew nothing yet of the Church Age.  They were asking about the end of their Jewish Age, as the prophecy is described in Daniel chapter 9.  

After the Tribulation, all unbelievers will be removed from the earth.  All of those who become believers during the Tribulation, including the Israelites as a nation, will enter the Millennium with Jesus Christ (their Messiah).  This is when Israel will finally have all of their covenants fulfilled (land, seed and blessings), because Jesus, the sovereign King of kings will be sitting on the throne, and leading them into worldwide peace, in His righteousness.

Jesus is very clear about the fact that no one knows when He will return.  Let this just sink in... except for God the Father, no one will know the exact time of when Jesus returns, even though the Jewish Age's seven remaining years have all of these signs leading up to that event (the signs being the judgements of the Tribulation found in the book of Revelation).  If no one knows of that time - not even Jesus - what makes anyone think that we can predict when the rapture will happen, which occurs at the start of the Tribulation!?  Like a thief in the night...  

And just so, no one knows exactly when they will pass away.  Even if one attempts suicide, that person might somehow still be spared.  The Lord in His sovereignty, knows all things.  Therefore, He knows exactly who will become a believer or not.  And He knows exactly when one will become a believer.  As well, the Lord is just, and therefore gives everyone fair opportunity to make their eternal decision.  Everyone has fair opportunity to be ready!  God loves us that much, desiring that all come to know Him!!!

relationships (Matthew 23:23-39) The Way to Acceptance

(Matthew 23:23-39)

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may also become clean.

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 You snakes, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38 Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! 39 For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

As we can see with all of the woes - no one can work their way to heaven.  There is nothing we can do to earn salvation.  And we certainly cannot clean our own hearts and souls.  I'm pretty sure we've all tried making promises, like, "From now on, I'm going to do better!" or "I would NEVER do THAT..." yet, off we go, in our own strength, making a mess of things.  No one is "good enough".  But also understand that no one is beyond saving!  

Consider the Apostle Paul, who had been a Pharisee.  Paul was not there when the Pharisees had Jesus crucified, but he zealously joined the ranks to pursue and persecute Christians, and have them stoned to death... UNTIL he met Jesus in a vision, and was repentive with great remorse, Jesus changed his heart!  

Paul went on to be used by God in a mighty way, and even with that, as Paul writes in Romans 7, we are blessed to have God's grace, guidance and help, because until we get to heaven, we will all still struggle with our sinful nature.  To continue in God's blessings, any time we mess up and sin, we just have to confess and continue running back to the Lord and His open and loving arms.

We can see how loving and caring God is!  Being love itself, God will never force anyone to love Him back, and will never force anyone to be obedient.  This is a personal choice that everyone must make.  Understand that God doesn't want to send anyone away to be punished.  He desires to gather us all together, to nurture and eternally protect us.  But the Lord Jesus is holy and cannot have a relationship with sin.  And Jesus cannot just take one's sins away without our permission, because that would be stealing.  We have to willingly give Him our sins in exchange for His gift of forgiveness and eternal life.

This is why we need the Lord to save us.  And this is why we continuously need the Lord to help us, guide us, strengthen and care for us...  We just need to go to Him AS WE ARE to humbly repent, and the Lord forgives all our sins.  It is then that the Lord changes us from the inside out, and gives us His indwelling Holy Spirit.  So, it starts with, and it is all about having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, who wants us to steadfastly remain under His wings of protection, guidance and blessings.

relationships (Matthew 23:16-23) Showing Respect

(Matthew 23:16-23)

16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ 17 You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the offering that is on it is obligated.’ 19 You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering? 20 Therefore, the one who swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. 21 And the one who swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells in it. 22 And the one who swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

Many Pharisees were more concerned about their outward appearances, and not at all about their hearts.  At some point, one will start to contradict themselves.  Like, in their efforts to not see a woman and lust, instead of addressing the sin that's in their hearts, they would close their eyes, even when walking - and bump into things.  

Just like that, to avoid taking God's name in vain, which includes breaking an oath or promise to the Lord, the Pharisees told the Jews to no longer say the sacred name of God.  Instead, they would put other things in its place, like, they would swear by gold or by their offerings...  But this was putting those other things in place of the Lord!  Ironically, that is also "taking the Lord's name in vain!"

There are many ways in which to take the Lord's name in vain.  "SHAV" is the Hebrew word for "vain", meaning emptiness, vanity, falsehood, or worthlessness. It describes things that are deceptive, destructive, or ultimately without substance, value, or lasting meaning.

- in this verse, shav describes misusing, trivializing, or associating God's name with falsehood or empty oaths...

(Exodus 20:7)  “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain."

- in this verse, shav, describes having lifted up their soul to falsehood (referring to idols or deceitful practices)...

(Psalm 24:4)  

     "One who has clean hands and a pure heart, 

     Who has not lifted up his soul to deceit 

     And has not sworn deceitfully."

- in this verse, shav highlights that human efforts devoid of God's foundation are empty and futile...

(Psalm 127:1)

     Unless the Lord builds a house,
     They who build it labor in vain;
     Unless the Lord guards a city,
     The watchman stays awake in vain.

When we truly love someone, we care about them, we help protect their reputation, and actually make an effort not to irritate them.  Now let's just imagine a person who claims to love you, but they keep calling out your name, without any reasons at all, so that you are always jumping to attention, for no reason.  Or they blurt out your name whenever things go wrong, so that it sounds like you are to blame.  Or they use your name to make a promise to someone else, but they don't keep it, so that now your name is associated with a liar.  Just so, and even more so, as we claim to love God, do we respect Him enough to use His name with respect?

relationships (Matthew 23:15) Our Only Fulfillment

(Matthew 23:15)

15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

There are a lot of things in this world that lead people astray, be it money, power, fame, fun, desires of the flesh... These will consume time, energy and resources, and become a person's idol/s and god/s.  But when people realize that there's still something missing in their lives, and consider seeking more important and something bigger than themselves, they can easily fall prey to any of the many cults and religions of this world.  

One might feel fulfilled, at first, because now one's life will be filled (consumed) with all sorts of do's and don'ts and rituals.  And even if one of the religions seem close enough to Christianity, it is still not "close enough".  They are all empty, as these also consume time, energy and resources, simply because one is still trying to do things in one's own efforts and thinking.  And to what end?  What is actually being accomplished?

God created all of us with a free will, and with a soul, that can only be filled by Him.  He created us, so that He'd have children to love, with a desire that we will choose to love Him back.  The whole purpose of creating everything was because God wants to have a close relationship with each and every one of us.  But because Adam and Eve sinned, and brought sin and death into this world, we are all born into this sin nature, spiritually dead, separated from God, and slaves to sin.  

Since God is holy, He cannot have a relationship with sin.  But our loving God didn't just throw up His hands and walk away, He came to earth in flesh, to be fully man while still being fully God, to save us - to save us from death with His eternal life, to free us from the grips of sin with His forgiveness, grace and mercy, through His own death and resurrection.  Heaven belongs to God, therefore it makes sense that we can only get to heaven through Him!  Anything else would be a lie.

Since God is love, He will not force anyone to love Him back, but He will pursue us.  One of the ways God will reach out to us, is to use other believers.  He has given us "the key" (the gospel message), which we are to share with others.  Another way that God pursues us is with His Holy Spirit, who convicts the hearts of sinners (who knocks at the doors of one's heart).  Our souls will remain empty, yearning for something or someone, until we let the Lord in, to fill us completely.  Nothing else or nobody else can do this.  Only the Lord can fulfill us, complete us, and satisfy us.

relationships (Matthew 23:13-14) Not Being a Hypocrite

(Matthew 23:13-14)

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

The book of Matthew is written very much so for the Israelites, so that they could understand that Jesus was and is their Messiah.  Understand that Jesus knew everything that was going to happen, and yet came to earth, born in flesh, specifically to make salvation possible through His death and resurrection.  

Still, let it be known that at that point:

- had the Israelites, as an entire nation, believed in Him and accepted Him (which is to accept His spiritual peace through salvation)

- they would have entered the kingdom of heaven (aka, the Millennium)

- Jesus would have sat on the throne and ushered in worldwide physical peace

- and Jesus would have fulfilled all of their covenants (land, seed and blessings)

In fact, at any time during the Old Testament, right from when Israel received the Abrahamic covenant, IF they, as a nation, had all personally believed in the Lord, they would have had all of their covenants fulfilled.  So, we can see the patterns of behavior over history.  The more that Israel's priests and kings led the people in God's will, the more they got to enjoy their land, seed and blessings.  But when priests and kings led the people astray, they would struggle.  And now, here we see the Pharisees, leading the people astray, which prevented them from collectively experiencing the blessings of the kingdom of heaven.

In one's personal belief in the Lord, one's sins are completely forgiven, they are sealed with God's indwelling Holy Spirit, and covered by His righteousness.  In this, and only in this, does God see us as perfectly obedient.  And in this relationship with the Lord, we experience His blessings.  The Lord God is rich with blessings, and therefore, the closer we grow to the Lord, the richer in blessings we become.  

(FYI, this is not about earthly wealth through some sort of prosperity gospel, or some name-it-and-claim it kind of thing.  Our treasures are in heaven!  And while on earth, as we trust Him, He will see that we have what we need.  But more than our physical blessings are the spiritual blessings, which are far more valuable!)

The only unforgivable sin is the sin of unbelief.  And those who discourage and lead people away from the Lord, or attempt to keep people from going to the Lord, are doing the work of Satan, and will not be blessed.  There are those people or groups of people who will do this with threats and force.  Yet another type of dangerous person, is the hypocrite who says one thing, but does another.  And the most dangerous hypocrite, is the person who goes through the motions, saying and doing what seems right, but does not believe.  And therefore, when those, whose hearts are not right, even though they do good deeds, they have the wrong motives, and in that cleverly mislead others.

Our motives are critical.  Therefore, as believers, we are to beware of those that lead others astray.  We should also beware that we ourselves do not lead others astray by knowing and understanding God's truths, and asking the Lord for His wisdom, strength, guidance and help.  The Lord will judge and reward good deeds that are done with righteous motives, those things said and done with God's love, because we love God!

relationships (Matthew 23:1-12) Who is Our Top Priority

(Matthew 23:1-12)

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. 3 Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and comply with it all, but do not do as they do; for they say things and do not do them. 4 And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. 5 And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, 7 and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by the people. 8 But as for you, do not be called Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. 9 And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 But the greatest of you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

Religions and cults are all about human efforts, in human strength, using human thinking, and it really is all about bringing the glory and the focus on oneself.  Even in the feigned "humility" of anguished actions of adoration and self-sacrifice, it begs for all the attention, like saying, "Look at me and how much compassion I have, and how much I am suffering, and how much I am doing for this god (or for this person, or for this cause, etc.)."

Here, we see that the Pharisees were fully invested in themselves, seeking titles and prominence of positions, including the public's awe and respect through empty piousness and hypocritical legalism.  Even the enhancements to the phylacteries and tassels were meant to call more attention to themselves.  And all these details are significant to the point that Jesus is making. 

Starting with how the Pharisees lengthened their tassels, all Jewish men were to have these.  This makes sense, since the Lord has determined that a man is to be the spiritual head of their family, teaching with humility and leading by example.  So, these tassels on all four corners of their garment were to remind them of God's commandments, and that they are to follow these commandments and be holy.  They were also to remind them that it is the Lord who is God, and it is the Lord who saves us, which enables us to be obedient to the commandments.

(Deuteronomy 22:12)  “You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself."

(Numbers 15:38-41)  “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. 39 It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, 40 so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God. 41 I am the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the LORD your God.”

By lengthening the tassels, the Pharisees actually physically and symbolically demonstrated their disobedience, since they were constantly adding to God's laws.  I've run into this sort of thing years ago at a church we attended.  The elders at some point all got caught up in following a man named Bill Gothard, whose "advice" to families became "laws of God".  They were suddenly judging us and telling us things like, (just for example) it is a sin to not homeschool our children, based on Deuteronomy 6:7.  Well, the Bible is actually telling parents to teach their children about God... it is not talking about teaching the three R's.  Obviously, it is not wrong to homeschool, but neither is sending our children to public school!

Now, the phylacteries were based on this verse...   

(Deuteronomy 6:8)  ("These words...")  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.

By interpreting this verse literally, a practice was developed, and the rules concerning this became even stricter under the rabbis.  During morning and evening prayers, men were supposed to use leather straps to affix phylacteries (small boxes) to their heads and left hand.  Scripture passages were then inserted into these boxes, which were to be recited as part of the prayers.  As for the Pharisees, they made their bands wider and the boxes bigger, in order to stand out and be seen as being more spiritual.

"Seating themselves in the chair of Moses" is another way to say that the Pharisees assumed that their additional laws were just as important as the laws that came from Moses.  Of course, we know that those laws came from God, and that Moses was only the messenger.  Sadly, the Pharisees not only misunderstand God and His will, but they mislead the people.

Christianity is not about adhering to a bunch of do's and don'ts.  It is all about having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.  And because it is Jesus who saves us, it all begins with a humble heart.  And it continues with a humble heart, because it is Jesus who sustains us and wants to continue guiding and helping us. When we humbly put the Lord God and His relationship with us as top priority in our lives, He fights our battles for us, He is able to use us in mighty ways to serve, and He blesses us in so many ways.  

Having God's words available to study, and having God's Holy Spirit within us, is how we have God's words written on our foreheads, which equates to the renewing of our minds.  And having God's words on our hands, equates to our actions that are a result of God working for us, in us and through us, all to His glory.  Our humble service pleases the Lord, and He exalts this obedience, but more importantly, we have the privilege of exalting our heavenly Father!

relationships (Matthew 22:41-46) Recognizing and Accepting

(Matthew 22:41-46)

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
     “Sit at My right hand,
     Until I put Your enemies under Your feet”’?

45 Therefore, if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to offer Him a word in answer, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him any more questions.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

Jesus was trying to help the Pharisees see that the Son of David was also the Lord of David... that He was and is the Son of God.  The Lord Jesus, the Messiah, was and is both David's human descendant as well as the divine Lord.  This is why the virgin birth was critical to fulfilling this statement and prophecy, as well as making it possible for God to come in flesh, to be fully man, while still being fully God.  

It is also why the genealogies of Jesus are so important, to prove that He is a descendant of king David, through both His earthly mother (Mary), as well as His earthly stepfather, Joseph.  Thus, Jesus not only has a right to sit on Israel's throne as king, Jesus sits on His heavenly throne as the King of kings.  But just the sheer amount of miracles Jesus did in that short time should have opened spiritual eyes.  

Interesting how when someone determines to hate a person, because of their own pride, jealousy and insecurities, they will hate that person even more if they are nice and do good things.  And here Jesus, who didn't have the Pharisees' level of earthly education, kept outwitting and humiliating them.  Here Jesus, who didn't come from their earthly status or have their earthly positions, had a great following of adoring people, which threatened their own popularity and power.  So, the biggest issue was that the Pharisees only saw Jesus as just a person!  

Notice that the Pharisees never recognized Jesus as the Christ (which is another word for Messiah).  Also, the Pharisees didn't understand that the Son of David, their Messiah, would be God in flesh.  They only assumed their Messiah would be a human descendant of David, who would take the throne, be politically savvy enough to win back all of their land, and usher in physical peace and blessings.  They also assumed that this politically savvy person would have approached them first, so that they could have all worked together, with some unified structure of power.

When one doesn't know the Lord God personally, one will create a god in their own image, with the ideas of being able to manipulate "god" into getting one's desires satisfied.  It is either that, or people fancy themselves as "god".  One of the newer terms being used is that people believe they are able to "manifest" the things and events that they desire.  It's a new term, but with an old worldview belief system.  Remember, there is nothing new under the sun.  Everything has been tried before.  And all things that are done in our own wisdom and efforts, even if "successful", will not fully satisfy, and will only be temporary.

Because Jesus is God, He is sovereign and eternal.  His death and resurrection brings about everlasting victory over sin and death.  Therefore, salvation through Jesus is eternal, and fully satisfies.  If one cannot recognize that Jesus is God, then one is not a believer.  One has to realize and confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and that we need and want Jesus to sit on the throne of our hearts.  Then, because the Lord desires for us to know Him personally, and to continuously grow closer and closer to Him, we see Him as someone we can get to know intimately.  Seriously!  Literally, our SOULMATE!!!  Our Very Best Friend FOREVER!!!