When Jesus called out the Sadducees and Pharisees, His words were often direct, plainly calling out the wickedness hidden in their hearts. It’s easy to read into His words our own harsh or angry spirit, but the truth is that when God rebukes us, He does so in love and in the eager desire that we would change our ways. That’s what happened in Matthew 16 when Jesus called out the religious leaders of Israel and warned His disciples to beware of their teaching. In this passage, we see the desire of Jesus for His disciples to not allow sin in their hearts to go unchecked, thereby ruining them. And in it, we see that He desires to give us His power and strength to be able to overcome sin in our lives.