The Pharisees attempt to arrest Christ at the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkhot) fails because "it was not yet his time" and because his powerful preaching convicted and "arrested" the temple police sent to arrest him. The Pharisees are enraged, but why were they so filled with hatred towards Christ in the first place? What was the main problem of the Pharisees and why did they act the way they did?
We may answer that 'they were unregenerate and had hard and stony hearts' and that is certainly true, but it does not fully explain their behavior, after all there are plenty of unregenerate people who do not behave the way they did. Their more particular problem was SPIRITUAL PRIDE, which is a condition that can afflict the unregenerate AND the regenerate. Unfortunately one of the greatest problems with spiritual pride is that it is deceitful, and those who are afflicted with it seldom realize it.
Jonathan Edwards in a classic sermon on this subject identified 7 symptoms of Spiritual Pride which are explained and applied to the text at hand.
If we can and discern and understand Spiritual Pride in the covenant community during Christ's earthly ministry, then we will be better equipped to confront it in ourselves and our churches in the present day!
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Pastor Andrew Webb
Spiritual Pride The Gospel According to John Providence ARP Church
I was converted out of paganism and the occult in 1993 and while I was initially Charismatic/Arminian in my theology, I became Reformed and Presbyterian through bible study and the influence of ministries like Ligonier. After teaching in local bible studies, and taking seminary...
