KEY SCRIPTURE: John 18:19 KJV “The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples and of his doctrine.”

Our key scripture talked about the questions that the high priest and the Jewish elders asked Jesus. As simple as the question was, it exposed their real motives for arresting Jesus and seeking for His crucifixion. They first asked about His disciples. During the days of the Lord Jesus, various teachers of the law attracted a number of followers. These followers were the disciples of that particular teacher or rabbi. Most of these teachers had just a few students or disciples. Any teacher who attracted lots of disciples will surely be envied by the rest who had a few. This sentiment was expressed in the following verse. John 12:19 KJV” The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.” In the foregoing scripture, the Pharisees teased each other saying, see how you prevail nothing for the whole world has gone after Him. Just listen to how they described Jesus excelling in having more disciples. They said the whole world has gone after Him. This was the real concern of these teachers of the law.

He also expressed another statement of concern. That was about the doctrine that He taught His followers. It was the kind of teaching He gave His followers that, they believed made thousands of people follow Him. These seemingly harmless questions revealed their true motives for arresting the Lord and seeking His crucifixion. This issue shows how petty men could become. The Lord’s excellence in ministry earned him the fury of the scribes and Pharisees. Envy is a poison in the soul that corrupts the mind.

Envy can happen to any man, if one does not constantly get his or her mind straightened up. There are pastors in our day who are filled with great envy for those with very large audiences. It is quite easy to envy the successful. Dear brother or sister are you envious of a successful one? Please repent, or else, envy easily drives its victims into murder. Envy would surely end you up in hell fires. Envy also sets up an atmosphere of accusations and lack of achievements. The cost of bearing up with envy is too much, drop it and be free.

THOUGHT: THE ENVIOUS ARE DEAD, ALTHOUGH THEY LIVE, CAST IT OFF AND LIVE.

FURTHER STUDIES

Prov 14:30 KJV “A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.”

Prov 27:4 KJV “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?”