Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 12:14

"But the Pharisees went out, and took counsel against him, how they might destroy him." — Matthew 12:14 (ASV)

The synagogue was too hot for the Pharisees, and so they went out. Utterly routed, they withdrew from public view, hating the man who had so completely baffled them. They could not silence Him, and so they would slay Him. Those who begin by seeking to accuse the Lord soon come to seeking to destroy Him.

It was not easy to harm one who was held in such high esteem by the people, and so they consulted together regarding the safest method of procedure. Their killing of Jesus was indeed the result of malice aforethought, for they deliberately planned their cruel deed.

Even now, men still take counsel “against him.” Why, and for what reason? Let their own consciences answer, if they have any. The present cool, calculating attacks by skeptics on the Gospel have a special degree of crime in them.