"--John 3:16,17.
[218]It was this truly good and truly great Man who for three and a
half years went about in the earth and taught and ministered unto the
people and did good unto every one and evil unto none. All the time he
was thus ministering and doing good, the scribes, Pharisees, doctors of
the law and other dupes engaged in misrepresenting and persecuting the
Lord, sought to kill him. Why did they do this? Because they were
instruments of Satan, the devil.--John 8:44.
[219]Jesus, the devil knew, was and is the great Seed of promise which
God had promised to Abraham should be the redeemer and blesser of
mankind. Jesus Christ is the Seed of the woman foreshadowed in God's
statement made to mother Eve and Satan. (Genesis 3:15) Satan sought,
therefore, in every way to destroy him. Jesus was teaching the Jews the
message of God to lead them in the right way, and to open unto them the
way of life. These scribes and Pharisees were opposing him and therefore
were the enemies of the people. Jesus said of them: "The scribes and the
Pharisees sit in Moses' seat" (Matthew 23:2); meaning that they had
assumed the position of leaders of the people. Because of their blinding
the people he said to them: 'You are hypocrites, blind guides, fools;
you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; you devour widows' houses
and for a pretence make long prayers; you compass sea and land to make
one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child
of _gehenna_ than yourselves.
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