(53) And, as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things; (54) Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.
I beg the Reader to attend to the expressions in these verses. We read that those sworn foes of Christ began to urge him and to provoke him; but we do not read that Jesus felt hurt. What the Lord said, no doubt, was, as the former part of his discourse, full of denunciations against those whited sepulchres, as he called them: but no guile was found in his mouth. Precious Lord Jesus! give thy people grace to consider thine unequalled meekness, in enduring such contradiction of sinners against thyself that we may never be weary nor faint in our minds. Hebrews 12:3.