Reaction

Ever heard the expression "stuck in his craw?" The "craw" is the crop of a bird that helps digest food. When food gets stuck there it can kill the bird. It is like a hairball for a cat or a bone in one's throat. It chokes. It becomes all you think about. It cuts off your air and makes you feel like you are going to die, and you may. The words and woes of Jesus in Luke 11 got stuck in the craw of the scribes and the Pharisees. Remember the lawyers said, "Teacher, when you say this, You insult us too." (11:45) Words taken as insults stick in the craw. It is kind of strange to think that anything Jesus, the man of love, would say would stick in some one's craw and cause such anguish. Shouldn't we avoid causing such distress at all costs? I guess not, since Jesus is our example. There are times when we need to say things that others will not be able to swallow very well, and it may cause them to choke on our words. We, of course, do not intend for them to choke, but that might be the consequences. So what did these religious leaders do in response?

First, they became "very hostile" toward Jesus. The word used here can be translated "entangled" and has the idea of being trapped or ensnared. It is used in Galatians 5:1 to describe being entangled in a yoke of slavery, in this case trying to be justified by law-keeping. When we are fixated on an offense, swallowing it over and over again, it becomes what eats on us instead of us eating on it. It causes the break down of relationship. These leaders saw Jesus as an irritant that must be flushed out of their eye. He was a royal bother. He was making life hard for them. Just as John the Baptist was a pain in the you know where to Herod, so Jesus is a pain to those who do not want to face themselves. Jesus is right in John 3 when he says people do not come into the light because their deeds are evil.

Second, out of this hostility they question Him closely on many subjects. They are getting much more specific and targeted in their questions. It reminds me of Senate/Congressional Hearings where the law-maker is questioning the person at the table about some matter. Their questions are designed to both preach and to catch someone in an admission of guilt, instead of seeking truth and information, and letting it reveal what it will. Questions are asked and the questionee is unable to get a full sentence out in response before being cut off and told they are unresponsive. It is clear in such cases the questioner is not interested in hearing the answer as their minds are made up. So is the case here. These leaders' minds are made up. Jesus has to be stopped.

Third, they begin to plot against Jesus. Literally they are "laying in wait" to ambush Him. Acts 23:16 tells of a literal plot to ambush Paul. Psa.2:1 asks the question: "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?" Psa.35:4 says, "May those who seek my life be disregarded and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. Proverbs 12:20 says deceit is in the mouths of those who plot evil. Think how ridiculous it is to think that mere men could devise a plot to bring down God!

Fourth, they are trying to catch Him in something He might say that is contradictory or false. The mouth God sent to teach us the way of life is now being listened to, not to learn about life, but to bring about His death. Irony of irony. If you capture a person in their words you capture the person. They sought inconsistency and half-truths. Did they read Him his Miranda rights: "Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law..."  In this text Luke gives us a good list to look out for when we say something that sticks in some one's craw. So watch out. If it happened to Him, it can happen to you.