A four-year-old girl named Jenny was telling her mother about the Bible story she had just heard in her Sunday school class. It concerned the healing of the blind man, one of the times the Pharisees tried to find something they could use against Jesus. When she got to the part where the Pharisees questioned the man who was healed, Jenny gave her take on the story. She said, “Oh boy, those Ferris wheels sure were jealous of Jesus!” (1)

Well, Jenny, they weren’t Ferris wheels. They were Pharisees. And yes, there was some jealousy involved. But it was more complicated than simple jealousy. Today’s lesson from Matthew’s Gospel is about the Pharisees and their ongoing conflict with Jesus.

Jesus had finally arrived in Jerusalem and had cleansed the temple. This did not endear him to the religi…