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So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor.
–– Luke 20:20
Too clever by half. It is an idiom used to describe someone displaying more confidence in their intelligence than is warranted, thus irritating others and complicating efforts to solve a problem or pursue a goal. Too clever by half. I saw a rerun of Top Gun, Maverick this week, that testosterone indulgent aviator fantasy flick with a perpetual smirk, in which 80% of the dialogue could be categorized as too clever by half. “Well, I am good, Rooster. Very good.” Here’s a helpful hack, if you mute your device, you can still enjoy the crazy flying scenes. Yet, reading of the chief priests’ ruse to outsmart Jesus, I couldn’t help but wonder if Jesus was tempted to paraphrase that iconic line from the first Top Gun movie, “Son, your mouth is writing checks your brain can’t cash.”
“So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said…” It takes a unique brand of moxie to assume you can con God Incarnate, the Word made flesh, the omnipotent and omniscient Holy One; and yet, ever since that first fruit parfait in the garden, we have tirelessly and perpetually sought to dupe the Deity, con the Creator, fool the Father, and swindle the Son. “But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Gen. 3:9-10) We are always forgetting what Jesus said, “For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.” (Lk. 8:17)
“So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said…” The shadow of the cross was looming large. It’s not like Jesus was blind to the inevitability of his arrest. So, when the undercover spies of the scribes and chief priests showed up too clever by half, Jesus was under no illusions about their motivation, mission, and endgame. Gullible is not a word we can associate with Jesus. We can never outwit Jesus, as the spies would soon realize. Luke says, “they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent.” That would not stop their efforts to destroy the One whose truth threatened their status quo. There would be an arrest, a mock trial, and a crucifixion, but the inexorable force that allowed these to come to pass was not human ingenuity or cunning, but rather irrepressible love. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Lord, have mercy…
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