Why reason ye in your hearts?                                 The Pharisees overheard Jesus say, “Thy sins be forgiven thee” and asked among themselves, “Who is this that speaks blasphemies?” “And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?” (Mark 2:8, Luke 5:22) As Jesus went about doing good He perceived from time to time that someone would tune in to His mission or purpose and indeed start to realize who He was. This time, with the Pharisees, was different than the others. Usually when the scribes or Pharisees mumbled to themselves, Jesus blasted them for being treacherous to the Kingdom of God. But this time He was pleasant, as if He saw in them a glimmer of hope. For a moment they asked within themselves, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” … They thought, “Maybe this is Messiah.” Jesus perceived this and was willing to take them a little farther, and so to accomplish this, He showed them a miracle. The Mark 2 account records no negative reaction, but rather a response as “...insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.” Why reason ye in your hearts? Do you have an opinion about the motivations of Jesus? Was He a performing a true miracle? Was it just hypnotism? Was it fraud or deception? Why have you formed that opinion? You must never underestimate the power of the Scriptures on this regard. When these stories are read, they demand an opinion. Information creates an opinion. You must decide whether to believe or not. Jesus perceived they were approaching faith as they watched Him. He gave them more information to process as He asked, “What are you thinking?” We must ask ourselves what are we thinking as we listen to Christ make assertions, such as, “I am the door… anyone climbing up some other way is a thief.” (John 10:1) When we hear Him plainly say that He is the ONLY way, what reason ye in your hearts? What about when He says, “I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30) When Jesus makes Himself equal with God, what reason ye in your hearts? Do you search for or invent ways for His message to be different than it is written, or do you accept it as an accurate record? Why are you reasoning in your heart? When our Lord makes demands like, “Take no thought for your life,” why reason you in your heart? What about when He says, “No man can serve two masters,” or “Judge not, that ye be not judged” or “…depart from me, ye that work iniquity, I never knew you” Consider to yourself what Christ asks, “Why reason ye in your hearts?” Listen closely as you study your Bible, or as you meditate, or as you listen in prayer, or as you listen to others minister the Word of God. Listen to what you reason in your heart. We may be dismissing God’s Word, His revelation, or His miracle by lack of sound reasoning. Is your reasoning carrying you toward Christ or away from Him? Is your inclination to believe and follow, or doubt and prove in order to hold to your own way? “What reason ye in your hearts?” “Why reason ye in your hearts?” When demand is made on us by way of the Scriptures, ministry, or revelation, or even by life’s burdens, we may be prone to excuse our behavior. For some reason of incompatibility between the source of this demand and our “peculiar” circumstances we dismiss it as impertinent. We must be very careful with conviction. Our consciences are the ONLY natural sense that can keep us along the way and recover us when we falter. We must consider the care of our convictions and

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