"What Do We?" - To

 "Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles." (John 11:47 KJV)

  "It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. "But not during the Passover celebration," they agreed, "or the people may riot." (Mark 14:1-2 NLT)

 There was something I might have forgot to mention, as it were; these men that were plotting to kill Jesus, were supposed to be the go-between between God and the people. I can recall one New Years Eve, my wife and I went to Calvary Chapel in San Jacinto for night of fellowship, singing, and a movie, to bring in the New Year.

 The movie that we watched was the story of John Huss, who was burned at the stake, having realized, as he was translating the Scriptures, that the authority of the Scriptures should be returned to the sole source of faith, not the Church. The Pope was not very happy about this purposed reform, as you can imagine; so, he was burned at the stake for being a heretic in 1415. As he stood before the stake, he said, "In the truth of the gospel which I have written, taught, and preached, I die willingly and joyfully today."  

 Interestingly enough, there are still those who believe that the layman, which is considered to be a person without professional knowledge of Scriptures, should not be allowed to teach or preach God's word. I can see how that might have some creditability, but the Holy Spirit that lives within every believer, He has the credentials to put forth God's word, clearly and without the filter of mankind being used.

 Please forgive me if I mess up from time to time, apparently, I have upset the power's to be, and I keep getting all sorts of interference and disruptions in typing. Every other word wants to be repeated, almost as if someone is mocking me and having a little fun with the auto-correct feature.  

 My point is, that these chief priests and Pharisees obviously know that there are a multitude of the people that believe in Jesus, so they ought to have some consideration for what the people think. But, as it was, and still is today, those that hold the power, do not care what those that are below them think! 

 That said, I really must keep reminding myself, we need to pray for those that are placed in power! No matter what they might be like or how bad they might be, we must pray for them and stop talking bad about them, because if they are where they are, God has allowed it; therefore, there must be a reason that they are there. 

 Hopefully that makes someone out there see some importance in following the Scriptures; myself included! I may not like the policies and the weirdness, but it is rather entertaining; especially knowing that God is ultimately going to have His way, no matter what! 

 Besides that, John Huss' death caused there to be at least a hundred years of strong opposing to the Church rule and authority over the common man. Everything works to the good, even those things which might seem horrible and wrong; when God is pulling the strings, everything is right and good...

"The council threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn't know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God for this miraculous sign - the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years. As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. When they heard the report, all the believers lifted up their voices together in prayer to God: "O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them - you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying, 'Why were the nations so angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the LORD and against his Messiah.' "In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. And now, O Lord, hear these threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus." After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:21-31 NLT)