49 Prideful Pharisees & Scribes

During the last week of His life the Lord Jesus had many strong criticisms of the powerful religious leaders in the Nation Israel. As Mark concludes this period of Jesus life he records the specific doctrine, which Jesus taught as He made His final break with the Jewish religious authorities before His crucifixion. In this section He will contrast the hypocrisy of the lawyers (Scribes) with genuine spiritual maturity. Here as in Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount the central issue is the true nature of the Law. It is spiritual and not a picky minute set of exact steps to follow to get to God (ceremony or works). God provided the Law to lead us to Him.