Main news for 16 May 2026

There is an inner logic of its own in the Pharisees' reasoning about Christ. Indeed, if this Carpenter from Nazareth casts out evil spirits and heals the sick, then there must be some explanation for it. What power is at work in Him? Why is His will to heal ("I am willing; be cleansed," "Be silent, and come out of him"...) so effective?

Unbiased people say, "A great prophet has arisen in Israel," supposing that God's will is acting through Jesus - and this is a completely natural hypothesis. But the Pharisees do not agree that God's will can act without informing them, that God can allow Himself to do something unexpected for the Pharisees. And therefore their assessment naturally follows from denial: He casts out demons by the power of their own prince.

It is characteristic, first, that the impulse of denial, generally speaking, develops by itself in the direction of cursing. Second, it is clear that in taking Jesus for an impostor, a false messiah, the Pharisees are extremely inattentive: false messiahs (and there are plenty of them even today), when doing something unusual, always use it to confirm their own prestige. The Pharisees, hearing about Jesus' miracles, presume that He acts the same way. They simply do not trouble themselves to find out the matter to the end, and they pass judgment without learning that Jesus constantly forbids people to spread the news of such miracles.

That is how we sometimes drive ourselves into a trap and fail to meet God solely because of our own prejudice.