But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.
The rulers and Pharisees contemptuously dismissed the common people who were drawn to Jesus as ignorant of the law and under a curse. They used that scorn and the claim that none of the rulers believed to answer the officers who had been moved by Jesus' words and to justify their own rejection of Him. Their judgment exposed pride and prejudice that kept them from fairly examining His teaching and recognizing its divine source because they were unwilling to do God's will. While professing to defend the law, they were blind to Him who made it and proclaimed it at Sinai. The saying warns against condemning truth on the authority of learning, status, or majority instead of investigating Scripture for oneself.
Speakers, Words, and Setting
The speakers are the Pharisees, also described as the rulers and as the priests and chief priests. With contempt and scorn they dismiss the ordinary, common people who were drawn to Jesus and believed in Him. Their words brand those people as ignorant because they do not know the law. On that ground they pronounce them cursed and accursed.
The saying belongs to an appeal to authority in which the leaders point to the lack of belief among the rulers to support their own rejection of Him. They ask whether any of the rulers have believed in Jesus, treating the rulers' unbelief as proof against Him.
It is spoken to dismiss the testimony of the officers sent to arrest Jesus. Those officers had been moved by His words and responded to Him, and the leaders use contempt for the people to set aside what the officers report. The setting also shows that some rulers themselves believe, yet they fear public reproach more than God.
Pride Blinding Leaders to Christ
The scornful dismissal of the ordinary people as ignorant of the law and therefore cursed exposed the pride, self-righteousness and prejudice of the leaders toward those who were drawn to and believed in Jesus. Their contempt was directed especially against those moved by His teaching, condemning as accursed the very people who had received the light He offered.
Their failure to understand His teaching was not merely lack of knowledge, for unwillingness to receive truth kept them from recognizing its divine source. They were not seeking to do God's will, and pride and resistance to truth blinded them to where His words came from.
That same contempt went with rejecting Christ Himself, refusing to judge Him fairly and turning away the evidence that He was the Messiah. Instead of carefully examining His teaching, they dismissed the testimony of those impressed by Him and set aside His claims through reliance on the opinions of religious leaders.
While they claimed to defend the law, they were blinded to Him who had made the law and proclaimed it at Sinai. He was the very foundation and maker of the Jewish ceremonies and knew every principle of the law they professed to uphold.
Warning Against Authority-Based Rejection
The saying exposes the guilt and danger of condemning truth and rejecting Christ's teaching on the ground of authority, status, and the opinions of leaders instead of carefully investigating the message for oneself. It was used to dismiss the testimony of the officers who had been moved by Jesus' words, by branding the people who did not know the law as cursed and treating contempt for the common people and deference to religious leaders as sufficient reason to set Christ aside without a careful examination of His teaching. To take the leaders' judgment that the people were ignorant of the law as a reason to denounce Christ's teaching without such investigation is dangerous, because His teaching was in fact rejected without that personal inquiry.
Status-based arguments that appeal to the authority of the learned and to majority opinion do not establish what Scripture teaches. That same appeal to learning and to the majority is brought against those who defend the Sabbath, just as the leaders dismissed ordinary believers as ignorant of the law and therefore cursed while leaning on the authority of the learned. The contempt shown toward the people who believed in Jesus stands alongside the rejection of Christ Himself and the refusal to judge Him fairly, and God's people may face similar experiences of contempt and unfair rejection.
The rulers and Pharisees contemptuously dismissed the common people who were drawn to Jesus as ignorant of the law and under a curse. They used that scorn and the claim that none of the rulers believed to answer the officers who had been moved by Jesus' words and to justify their own rejection of Him. Their judgment exposed pride and prejudice that kept them from fairly examining His teaching and recognizing its divine source because they were unwilling to do God's will. While professing to defend the law, they were blind to Him who made it and proclaimed it at Sinai. The saying warns against condemning truth on the authority of learning, status, or majority instead of investigating Scripture for oneself.
Speakers, Words, and Setting
The speakers are the Pharisees, also described as the rulers and as the priests and chief priests. With contempt and scorn they dismiss the ordinary, common people who were drawn to Jesus and believed in Him. Their words brand those people as ignorant because they do not know the law. On that ground they pronounce them cursed and accursed.
The saying belongs to an appeal to authority in which the leaders point to the lack of belief among the rulers to support their own rejection of Him. They ask whether any of the rulers have believed in Jesus, treating the rulers' unbelief as proof against Him.
It is spoken to dismiss the testimony of the officers sent to arrest Jesus. Those officers had been moved by His words and responded to Him, and the leaders use contempt for the people to set aside what the officers report. The setting also shows that some rulers themselves believe, yet they fear public reproach more than God.
Pride Blinding Leaders to Christ
The scornful dismissal of the ordinary people as ignorant of the law and therefore cursed exposed the pride, self-righteousness and prejudice of the leaders toward those who were drawn to and believed in Jesus. Their contempt was directed especially against those moved by His teaching, condemning as accursed the very people who had received the light He offered.
Their failure to understand His teaching was not merely lack of knowledge, for unwillingness to receive truth kept them from recognizing its divine source. They were not seeking to do God's will, and pride and resistance to truth blinded them to where His words came from.
That same contempt went with rejecting Christ Himself, refusing to judge Him fairly and turning away the evidence that He was the Messiah. Instead of carefully examining His teaching, they dismissed the testimony of those impressed by Him and set aside His claims through reliance on the opinions of religious leaders.
While they claimed to defend the law, they were blinded to Him who had made the law and proclaimed it at Sinai. He was the very foundation and maker of the Jewish ceremonies and knew every principle of the law they professed to uphold.
Warning Against Authority-Based Rejection
The saying exposes the guilt and danger of condemning truth and rejecting Christ's teaching on the ground of authority, status, and the opinions of leaders instead of carefully investigating the message for oneself. It was used to dismiss the testimony of the officers who had been moved by Jesus' words, by branding the people who did not know the law as cursed and treating contempt for the common people and deference to religious leaders as sufficient reason to set Christ aside without a careful examination of His teaching. To take the leaders' judgment that the people were ignorant of the law as a reason to denounce Christ's teaching without such investigation is dangerous, because His teaching was in fact rejected without that personal inquiry.
Status-based arguments that appeal to the authority of the learned and to majority opinion do not establish what Scripture teaches. That same appeal to learning and to the majority is brought against those who defend the Sabbath, just as the leaders dismissed ordinary believers as ignorant of the law and therefore cursed while leaning on the authority of the learned. The contempt shown toward the people who believed in Jesus stands alongside the rejection of Christ Himself and the refusal to judge Him fairly, and God's people may face similar experiences of contempt and unfair rejection.