Trappers

Jesus is on the move again. He gets into a boat with his disciples after dismissing the 4000+ well-fed Gentiles and crosses the Sea of Galilee to a hard to find place with two names, Magadan or Dalmanutha. The location is probably near Magdala and Gennesaret, but in a more obscure place. This seems to be the way of Jesus right now to seek out the out of the way places. But, He is discovered by an unlikely duo, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. These folks don't usually partner up. But they can be friends for a day since they have a common enemy. They were together back in days of John the Baptist a couple of years earlier. They came to be baptized and were called a brood of vipers (Matt.3:7). They had some very different views from one another. But, they both agreed that Jesus was a threat and must be stopped. Their strategy was to trap Him. When you are hunting a prey you can either shoot it or trap it. For now they are trappers. When they discover Jesus cannot be trapped, they will become shooters. We will see these two sects working together in the future but in two waves, first the Sadducees and then the Pharisees (Matt.20, Mark 12, and Luke 20).

They came to test Him. The word can be used in a good way depending on the intention. They did not mean it for good. They were trappers. Jesus tested Philip at the feeding of the 5000 by asking him to take care of the catering. But, Jesus wasn't trying to trip Phil up. He was just being playful and teachful (I know that probably is not a word, but it matches playful). So what was the test. These folks are not very creative. They ask for another sign. "One more sign please" seems to be all they can come up with. Imagine driving up I-75 from Sarasota to Atlanta. I haven't counted them, but once you hit the Georgia line you will probably begin seeing signs telling you how far to Atlanta with increasing frequency. Let's say there are ten. But someone is overheard at a rest stop conversing with a Georgia State Patrol Officer about the need for another sign telling them how far it is Atlanta. Really? Another One? With all the healings alone Jesus has erected hundreds if not thousands of signs all from heaven. It would be like having ten Romney for President signs in your yard and a neighbor comes up and asks you who you are voting for, and if you could put up one more sign to make it clear.

Some folks do not want truth or a road map. They prefer to be lost. They prefer to do it their way. They prefer to be stupid and blind and dense. They are convinced they are smarter than everyone else and their purpose on earth is to trap the rest of us, even Jesus.