Very Hostile

 

When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects, plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say.

Luke 11:53-54

It’s one thing for a man or a woman to resist the pull of Jesus. That’s a serious and dangerous business indeed, as resisting God’s calling hardens one’s heart and implies that God’s Word isn’t true.

But there is a level that moves beyond resistance, and it’s what is described here in this verse. It’s hostility. It’s where people move from ambivalence or resistance to the Gospel to opposing to it.

The words translated very hostile speak of a deep and terrible grudge. They picture a man or woman who isn’t just annoyed by Jesus, but rather is opposed to him. The people described in this verse would consider themselves enemies of Jesus and his message.

They’re not just hostile; they’re very hostile.

I wonder if you know anyone like that. I do. I certainly doubt that very hostile would describe you, otherwise you probably wouldn’t be reading this. But I know plenty of people who are, and I can assure you that none of them came into the world very hostile toward Jesus.

Such hostility toward the Good News can only be arrived at over time. It results from a person’s chronic resisting of the Spirit’s convictions, or a person being deeply wounded at the hands of other Christians, or a person believing that God has repeatedly failed him.

Regardless of the reasons, such hostility is very real and needs to be taken very seriously by believers. We need to pray and fast for people that are very hostile toward God. We need to beg God to intervene in their lives and to heal their hearts and set them free from the stronghold of spiritual hostility. And, we need to not be offended by them. Rather, we must love them with the love of Jesus.

Do you know someone who is very hostile toward God? You’re in his or her life for a reason. Determine today to be one of the tools God uses to bring him into peace with the Savior.

Oh God, help us to go to war on behalf of those who are very hostile toward you. In Jesus” name . . . .

 

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