“He (Jesus) perceived what they thought and asked why they so reasoned among themselves” (Mt.16:8)
Jesus understand both what we think and why.
“Jesus knew their (the Pharisees) thoughts” (Mt.12:25).
Jesus does not ‘discover’ their thoughts through a psychological process: He knows them.
“He (Jesus) knew who would betray Him (Jn.13:11).
All betrayals involve self-deception….and the deception of others.
“He knew that envy was their motive for arresting Him” (Mt.27:18 & Mk.15:10).
The Lord was well aware of why He was hated by the religious leaders.
“He knew their thoughts” (Lk.6:8).
When evil men waited to see if Jesus would heal a person on the Sabbath,
He was cognizant of their intentions.
“Immediately when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they so reasoned within themselves,
He said to them, ‘Why do you reason these things in your hearts?’” (Mk.2:8)
In this instance, the enemies of Christ are thinking Jesus was a blasphemer when He forgave a handicapped man his sins. He answered them perfectly because He knew what they were thinking.
“But He perceived their craftiness” (Lk.20:23). Matthew says, “He perceived their wickedness” (Mt.22:18).
In this scene, Jesus is asked if was lawful to pay taxes to Ceasar of not.
He called them ‘hypocrites’ becuase of their pretended spirituality.
“He (Jesus) knows what is inside a man” (Jn.2:25).
No secret can be kept from Jesus.
“Jesus perceived the thoughts of their hearts” (Lk.9:46-47).
In this situation, the disciples were reasoning among themselves which of them would be the greatest. To answer their “thoughts”, Jesus uses a little child as an example of child-like faith and humility.
Jesus knows our true motives for what we say and do. When we come to Him in prayer, we must come with an open and pure heart. The Lord is always aware of what we are thinking.