“He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 6 At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.” v.5-6 (NLT)
It’s a sad day when we are in the presence of Jesus but miss Him. The Pharisees of all people should have been rejoicing in the fact that Jesus had come, was teaching about the Kingdom of God, that people were responding and experiencing healing both physically and spiritually.Instead, they would watch, murmur, and plot to kill Him. Why, because they didn’t believe that Jesus was who He said He was! Their hearts had become hard and prideful. Jesus was doing things that they had never seen before and instead of getting to know Him, they rejected Him and tried to find fault with everything He did.
It’s sad! The Pharisees were the religious leaders of their day, they knew everything about Him, but never knew Him! They lived out the law to the enth degree, they were in church every Sunday, their prayers were long and they probably used big words, they even had a public ministry because of their schooling, others saw them as spiritual leaders, but they missed Jesus. They were more focused on their appearance instead of the condition of their heart. They got busy doing the work of God, and forgot about being with God. Don’t be like the pharisees and miss Jesus. Jesus desires truth and focuses on the heart, and Satan desires deception and focuses on appearance. Don’t go though the motions, and miss the personal relationship!
Today, will you know about Jesus, or will you Know Jesus? Will you let your pride fall so He can have the highest place in your life?
Prayer: Father, I don’t want to miss you. There may be things I don’t understand, but I long for truth and want to find answers. If I can’t find answers to some of the questions, let me have the faith to believe your Truth. Take away my prideful spirit that wants to creep up so often, and allow me to have a soft heart that desires to know you!
Dan Gould 
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