But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.
The Pharisees and lawyers rejected God's counsel for themselves by refusing John's baptism and his call to repentance, which was disobedience to God's word. They professed piety yet would not admit John was sent from God or amend their lives, while publicans, sinners and harlots believed, repented and were baptized, thus entering the kingdom ahead of them. That refusal was deliberate, not a passing impulse, for they resisted conviction, excused themselves by calling him possessed, and clung to unbelief even while seeing God's power and others believing. The phrase against themselves means such rejection turns back upon the rejecter to harm his own soul, shutting the eyes, hardening the heart, and leaving him without the Holy Spirit. Those who persist in it come under Satan's triumph, hinder others from truth, and fill up iniquity until judgment falls, yet they are still to be treated with gentle Christlike love in hope the Spirit will convert them.
Pharisees Refused John's Baptism
The Pharisees and lawyers rejected God's counsel for themselves by refusing John's baptism and message, and to set aside that counsel is to disobey God's Word. Like the son who said he would work in his father's vineyard but did not, they professed piety and obedience while refusing to act on his call to repentance. They would not acknowledge that John came from God, and his warnings did not lead them to amend their conduct.
They scorned his abstemious life, simple habits, and coarse garments as fanaticism, resisted his denunciation of their hypocrisy, and tried to stir the people against him. Although the Spirit of God moved upon their hearts convicting them of sin through John, they rejected that conviction and excused themselves by declaring that he was possessed of a devil. Their refusal was deliberate rather than a passing impulse, for though they saw strong evidence of God's power and saw others believe, they remained in unbelief. They clung to doubt, unbelief, and willful ignorance rather than admit that John's teaching exposed the faults and failures in their religious lives and condemned their conduct.
In contrast, the publicans, sinners, and harlots believed John, repented of their sins, were baptized, acknowledged God's justice, and received the offered salvation. Therefore those despised people were entering God's kingdom ahead of the self-righteous leaders, who would not repent even after seeing their response.
Rejection Turns Against Rejecter
The phrase against themselves means the harm falls on the rejecter, working against one's own good and soul. To reject God's counsel is to reject the light and truth He has given and what He directs, and those who set it aside are not under the Holy Spirit. Opposition does not cease to be resistance to God's counsel when it is done without understanding, and zeal without knowledge does not make it right.
Refusal shuts the eyes to truth and hardens the heart instead of yielding to conviction. Even while truth is resisted, the Holy Spirit still applies it to heart and mind, so that it wounds as it is opposed. Pride, self-righteousness and worldliness keep people from accepting correction and from the humble life that leads to salvation, while congratulating oneself on far-seeing wisdom and refusing honestly to investigate Scripture keep people from admitting error even when evidence becomes clear.
The same rejection recurs whenever truth is dismissed without honest investigation because of reliance on the opposition of others. It recurs when suggestions are accepted from those who do not know God's work for the time, weakening the means God is using, and when godly warnings are ignored, such as a mother's warning and the concern of church members about a harmful influence that must be recognized and broken before blessing can come. Examples are the disciples who left Christ after His rebuke and chose darkness over light, the Sabbath-keeping ministers in Maine who refused to learn, and those who refused the heaven-sent message of Christ's coming and the heaven-born message of Jesus' soon coming as a delusion.
By that refusal people come under the triumph of Satan and his angels and work in union with them to perplex God's people who are living out the message. They hinder others from accepting truth, leave people confused, make the work harder, and weaken the means God is using. Repeated, stubborn refusal of light, including refusal of the Son of God, fills up the measure of iniquity and wears out divine patience until judgment falls as evidence of settled impenitence and a warning example to the world.
Those who oppose God's counsel still act against their own good, yet they are to be met with gentle, Christlike treatment. That gentleness is calm dignity and divine love aimed at converting them rather than gaining mastery over them. It is needed because the Holy Spirit can still move their hearts and prepare them to receive the truth and join God's commandment-keeping people.
The Pharisees and lawyers rejected God's counsel for themselves by refusing John's baptism and his call to repentance, which was disobedience to God's word. They professed piety yet would not admit John was sent from God or amend their lives, while publicans, sinners and harlots believed, repented and were baptized, thus entering the kingdom ahead of them. That refusal was deliberate, not a passing impulse, for they resisted conviction, excused themselves by calling him possessed, and clung to unbelief even while seeing God's power and others believing. The phrase against themselves means such rejection turns back upon the rejecter to harm his own soul, shutting the eyes, hardening the heart, and leaving him without the Holy Spirit. Those who persist in it come under Satan's triumph, hinder others from truth, and fill up iniquity until judgment falls, yet they are still to be treated with gentle Christlike love in hope the Spirit will convert them.
Pharisees Refused John's Baptism
The Pharisees and lawyers rejected God's counsel for themselves by refusing John's baptism and message, and to set aside that counsel is to disobey God's Word. Like the son who said he would work in his father's vineyard but did not, they professed piety and obedience while refusing to act on his call to repentance. They would not acknowledge that John came from God, and his warnings did not lead them to amend their conduct.
They scorned his abstemious life, simple habits, and coarse garments as fanaticism, resisted his denunciation of their hypocrisy, and tried to stir the people against him. Although the Spirit of God moved upon their hearts convicting them of sin through John, they rejected that conviction and excused themselves by declaring that he was possessed of a devil. Their refusal was deliberate rather than a passing impulse, for though they saw strong evidence of God's power and saw others believe, they remained in unbelief. They clung to doubt, unbelief, and willful ignorance rather than admit that John's teaching exposed the faults and failures in their religious lives and condemned their conduct.
In contrast, the publicans, sinners, and harlots believed John, repented of their sins, were baptized, acknowledged God's justice, and received the offered salvation. Therefore those despised people were entering God's kingdom ahead of the self-righteous leaders, who would not repent even after seeing their response.
Rejection Turns Against Rejecter
The phrase against themselves means the harm falls on the rejecter, working against one's own good and soul. To reject God's counsel is to reject the light and truth He has given and what He directs, and those who set it aside are not under the Holy Spirit. Opposition does not cease to be resistance to God's counsel when it is done without understanding, and zeal without knowledge does not make it right.
Refusal shuts the eyes to truth and hardens the heart instead of yielding to conviction. Even while truth is resisted, the Holy Spirit still applies it to heart and mind, so that it wounds as it is opposed. Pride, self-righteousness and worldliness keep people from accepting correction and from the humble life that leads to salvation, while congratulating oneself on far-seeing wisdom and refusing honestly to investigate Scripture keep people from admitting error even when evidence becomes clear.
The same rejection recurs whenever truth is dismissed without honest investigation because of reliance on the opposition of others. It recurs when suggestions are accepted from those who do not know God's work for the time, weakening the means God is using, and when godly warnings are ignored, such as a mother's warning and the concern of church members about a harmful influence that must be recognized and broken before blessing can come. Examples are the disciples who left Christ after His rebuke and chose darkness over light, the Sabbath-keeping ministers in Maine who refused to learn, and those who refused the heaven-sent message of Christ's coming and the heaven-born message of Jesus' soon coming as a delusion.
By that refusal people come under the triumph of Satan and his angels and work in union with them to perplex God's people who are living out the message. They hinder others from accepting truth, leave people confused, make the work harder, and weaken the means God is using. Repeated, stubborn refusal of light, including refusal of the Son of God, fills up the measure of iniquity and wears out divine patience until judgment falls as evidence of settled impenitence and a warning example to the world.
Those who oppose God's counsel still act against their own good, yet they are to be met with gentle, Christlike treatment. That gentleness is calm dignity and divine love aimed at converting them rather than gaining mastery over them. It is needed because the Holy Spirit can still move their hearts and prepare them to receive the truth and join God's commandment-keeping people.