(2) They opposed him on account of _his humble origin_. He was only a carpenter's son, and so to them was of no account. Had they made due investigation, they would have found that he came of the line of David, their great king. But they did nothing of the sort (Matt. 13:55-58). It was an offense to them that he came from among the lowly, and not from some of the aristocratic families of the land. His lack of training in the schools seems to have nettled them, so that they exclaimed in disgusted surprise, "How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?" (John 7:15.)
(3) They opposed him bitterly, on account of _the company that he kept_. In contempt they said, "This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them" (Luke 15:2). And they continually complained that he was a friend of hated publicans and sinners. They could not understand at all that the very grandeur of his mission consisted just in this, that he came to call sinners to repentance. Their complaint, as given in Luke 15:2, called forth from him three of the grandest parables that we have, namely, those of the lost silver, the lost sheep, and the lost son. Especially were they angered because he had taken into the number of his disciples the hated Matthew, the tax-gatherer.
(4) They opposed him again because of his _failure to observe the Sabbath_ in the manner prescribed by themselves. They had made the day one of weariness to the flesh, and had passed by deeds of mercy and helpfulness. So when he healed the man at the Pool of Bethesda and the man born blind, on the Sabbath, they took counsel how they might destroy him. While they themselves would pull out a sheep or an ox from the pit on the Sabbath, they criticized him for healing men on that day. This brought forth from him stern condemnation, which, of course, did not mollify their feelings toward him.
(5) Furthermore, they opposed him because he _declined to observe_ certain minute regulations of the law concerning washing of hands and the like. These regulations they had laid on men's shoulders, but they were not at all Divine ordinances. This is why he said, in his denunciation of them, "they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with their finger" (Matt. 23:4). (Read the whole of Matt. 23, and you will understand better who and what these men were who were opposing the Master.) Once more, they opposed him because he had made such friends of the common people and had not in any way bowed down to them, as the leaders of the people. The common people heard him gladly, and that angered them. "This multitude who knoweth not the law are cursed" (John 7:49). They were furious because the whole world seemed to have gone after him, while they themselves were left in the background. This was galling to their innate pride.