Our paragraph topic is: (Disciples warned to shun the Pharisees)
Part 3.
Christ called the crowd to himself. He spoke to them concerning what makes them clean and what makes them unclean. For the Pharisees had taught the people that they were unclean when they did not wash before eating. And many followed the teachings of the Pharisees. Many believed that if they did not wash before eating then they were unclean. So everyone made an effort to wash in order to practice the teachings of the Pharisees. But the disciples did not follow that teaching. They were the disciples of Christ. They were the disciples of the Messiah. And Christ did not teach them that they were unclean when they eat before washing. And the Pharisees saw this.
They saw the teaching of Christ. They saw the actions of the disciples. And they were not pleased. Here was a teacher, a Rabbi, who did not follow the traditions and the teachings of the Pharisees. So they questioned him about his teachings. Christ in turn questioned them about their authority to change the commandments of God. Who gave them the authority? Who made them greater than God? Who told them that they could make changes to the laws of God, handed down to Moses? And yet, in their arrogance, they made changes and taught the people to follow the changes that they made to God's Laws. And now they questioned Christ about his teaching against the traditions they had made and instituted to the people.
They took offense to Christ. They took offense to his teachings. They took offense to his popularity. They took offense to his miracles. They took offense to everything that Christ did for the people. And the evil within them brought them to anger. The evil within them made them mad. The evil within them had them conspire against Christ. And the evil seed within them made them speak out against the actions of Christ. But Christ instructed his disciples against the Pharisees. But he answered and said "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up."
The disciples did not know. The disciples did not understand that within each of us there is a seed planted. There are two types of seeds, a seed for good and a seed for evil. There is no in between. There is either one or the other. The two do not exist within us together. We may not believe that we are evil but the seed is there in a small way. And the seed grows. It starts to germinate from its shell and pushes outward. It expands and branches out into our soul and our mind and our heart. And the result of a full grown seed of evil is to become a tree with evil fruit. Christ has said that we know a person by their fruit. The parable of the weeds tells us the state of the world we live in. It tells us the nature of the people in the world. And it gives us an understanding of the environment we live in. What seed do you have? Do you know? Do you care what seed grows within you?
Most of us are so in the world that we do not concern ourselves with the good seed or the bad seed. We only concern ourselves with the day to day issues we face in living our lives. We put aside the long term issues as to our spiritual nature and growth. Yet the seed grows, without our knowledge and our effort. It is only with the knowledge of who we are and the daily and hourly maintenance of our seed that we are able to separate ourselves from the world that would have us sleep in the knowledge of who we are. Wake up! Christ's seed is within each and every one of us. But evil will come and take the good seed away. Evil will come and choke and kill the good seed planted by Christ. The decision is yours. Choose the seed of Christ. Nurture the seed of Christ. Water the seed of Christ and watch over its growth. For your seed will grow. Your seed will flourish. Your seed will blossom and produce fruit that will be pleasing to God.
Part 3.
Christ called the crowd to himself. He spoke to them concerning what makes them clean and what makes them unclean. For the Pharisees had taught the people that they were unclean when they did not wash before eating. And many followed the teachings of the Pharisees. Many believed that if they did not wash before eating then they were unclean. So everyone made an effort to wash in order to practice the teachings of the Pharisees. But the disciples did not follow that teaching. They were the disciples of Christ. They were the disciples of the Messiah. And Christ did not teach them that they were unclean when they eat before washing. And the Pharisees saw this.
They saw the teaching of Christ. They saw the actions of the disciples. And they were not pleased. Here was a teacher, a Rabbi, who did not follow the traditions and the teachings of the Pharisees. So they questioned him about his teachings. Christ in turn questioned them about their authority to change the commandments of God. Who gave them the authority? Who made them greater than God? Who told them that they could make changes to the laws of God, handed down to Moses? And yet, in their arrogance, they made changes and taught the people to follow the changes that they made to God's Laws. And now they questioned Christ about his teaching against the traditions they had made and instituted to the people.
They took offense to Christ. They took offense to his teachings. They took offense to his popularity. They took offense to his miracles. They took offense to everything that Christ did for the people. And the evil within them brought them to anger. The evil within them made them mad. The evil within them had them conspire against Christ. And the evil seed within them made them speak out against the actions of Christ. But Christ instructed his disciples against the Pharisees. But he answered and said "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up."
The disciples did not know. The disciples did not understand that within each of us there is a seed planted. There are two types of seeds, a seed for good and a seed for evil. There is no in between. There is either one or the other. The two do not exist within us together. We may not believe that we are evil but the seed is there in a small way. And the seed grows. It starts to germinate from its shell and pushes outward. It expands and branches out into our soul and our mind and our heart. And the result of a full grown seed of evil is to become a tree with evil fruit. Christ has said that we know a person by their fruit. The parable of the weeds tells us the state of the world we live in. It tells us the nature of the people in the world. And it gives us an understanding of the environment we live in. What seed do you have? Do you know? Do you care what seed grows within you?
Most of us are so in the world that we do not concern ourselves with the good seed or the bad seed. We only concern ourselves with the day to day issues we face in living our lives. We put aside the long term issues as to our spiritual nature and growth. Yet the seed grows, without our knowledge and our effort. It is only with the knowledge of who we are and the daily and hourly maintenance of our seed that we are able to separate ourselves from the world that would have us sleep in the knowledge of who we are. Wake up! Christ's seed is within each and every one of us. But evil will come and take the good seed away. Evil will come and choke and kill the good seed planted by Christ. The decision is yours. Choose the seed of Christ. Nurture the seed of Christ. Water the seed of Christ and watch over its growth. For your seed will grow. Your seed will flourish. Your seed will blossom and produce fruit that will be pleasing to God.
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