An Evil Testing and an Urgent Warning (Matthew 16:1–12)

Have you ever been confronted by an individual who is displeased about something you have done, something you have said, or some way you have behaved? It can be a jarring and upsetting encounter, regardless of the purity of the intentions, the veracity of the claims, and the closeness of the relationship. Having to face the reality that there are those who are upset with us, disapproving of us, or even disliking of us is an unpleasant experience.    As we come to Matthew 16, we find this is exactly what happens to the Lord Jesus Christ. A group of high-power, high-brow, high-influence people seek him out for the express purpose of publicly exposing him as the fraud they think he is. How will Jesus respond? What can we learn from this malicious attack? What warning does God have for us who live two-thousand years later?