Jesus had not been subtle in His confrontations against the religious leaders. After He had used three consecutive parables to indict them, they launched a counter-attack (MT 22:15). Having been pounded by Jesus' parables, the religious leaders had to choose: get right or get mad. They opted for the latter and pushed back.
We learn two lessons from the Pharisees' wrong choice here. One, don't let criticism make us mad. Say thank you to the critic. Then take time to ponder what was said, and pray about it. Their criticism of us could actually be right. Live humbly.
Two, believers will have opponents. It is vain for us to think we can forever hide from trouble in our USA culture. Believers go through seasons of testing. I think we are entering one for us. We cannot forever escape being focused on by the wicked. People-pleasers, including me, struggle with this. We always hope "dodge, duck, and delay" will work, but it won't. At some point we will have to take a firm stand that will bring us repercussions.
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