St. Matthew, Chapter 22, verses: 35; A Doctor of the Law tests him..

Our paragraph topic is:  (The great commandment) Part 2.   

And so they brought forward the great minds of the Law to question Christ.  These were the scholars who had studied and taught the Law down through the ages.  They knew the ends and outs of the Law.  They knew the minutia of the Law.  They knew the intent of the Law as far as man could understand the Law as given by God.  But they could not understand the Law according to the mind of God.  Only Christ had the wisdom and the insight of the Holy Spirit.

You see, they did not believe.  In the face of all that was spoken, all the miracles that were performed, they still did not understand or believe he could be the one.  They only knew that he had to be taken down because he did not belong to their group.  So they gathered together and came up with one question that they believed was the one great question of the Law.  And one of them, a doctor of the Law, putting him to the test, asked him.   

Christ had no formal training in the synagogue.  He did not attend the temple where all the other trainees were taught the ins and outs of the Law.  Yet he knew more of the Law than the masters and the doctors.  They wanted to know who taught him.  They wanted to know how he knew.  They wanted to know were he was trained.  Yet he did not reveal to them who he was and they did not accept that he was the Messiah.  They believed that he was a charlatan, a fake.  

The people knew.  The people accepted him as real.  They could believe what they saw.  They could understand what they heard.  Their minds were opened, their eyes were not blind, their ears could hear.  They could see and believe.  Would we do the same today?  Would we know the truth today if he came to us, spoke to us, performed miracles, healed the sick, made the lame walk, cast out demons? Would we believe?  Yet all that has happened and has been given to us in the written words of the Bible.  He has told us that there will be those who will come after him performing miracles in his name.  He has told us that he will only come again on a cloud with his angels for all to see.  He has given us signs to look for before he comes that we will know that time is drawing near.

Be prepared!  Everyday the thief may come.  Put on your armor in the morning and know that you are ready to face what the day has to offer.  Know that you do not fight alone that you have an army with you to guide you and fight with you in your daily battles.  Be strengthened by your prayers.  Call upon the Lord at all times and he will be your right arm.  Be patient in your needs because he knows what you need.  The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.  I am but a sinner who asks forgiveness and seeks to do his will in the hope that I may be with him in his kingdom.  May the Lord have mercy on my soul.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ .   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.  

St. Matthew, Chapter 22, verses: 34; The Pharisees gather.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The great commandment) Part 1.  

They, the Sadducees, could not silence him.  They tried several times and did not succeed.  They were silenced in front of the crowds and the crowds marveled at the wisdom of Christ.  The people were not educated.  They received their wisdom from those who came from the temple and the synagogue.  They were not learned.  They were not learned in the Law or the Torah.  They were simple farmers who worked the land for a living.  So they received all their knowledge from those who were trained and educated from the temple.

Christ was not trained in the temple.  He was not taught by the those educated by the masters of the Law and the Torah.  Yet he came and taught the people about the love of God and the ways of God.  He brought miracles and healed many.  The people had not seen such or heard such before.  Such a man of God or prophet had not existed.  Yet here was Christ in their mist and they listened, and they heard, and they saw, and they believed.  The Sadducees were silenced.  But the Pharisees, hearing that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered together. 

Now they knew that he was a threat to them.  They knew that he had to be silenced once and for all.  Christ had come and tore through the half of legal body of the law and made a mockery of it, so now it was time for the other half to come together and create a serious plan to stop him.  They did not consider that he was the Messiah.  They did not stop to think that he was the Son of Man come down from heaven to walk among the people to teach and preach.  They only knew that their authority was challenged.  I wonder if it will be the same in our time.

There are those who know and those who do not.  There are those who want to know and those who do not want to know.  And then there are those who walk the line not knowing and those who question the line asking themselves if this is all there is to life.  These are the ones who seek to find more, the ones who want to know more, the ones who are ready to have their eyes opened or who are opened to the suggestion of deception, and death.

Those who know walk in two worlds.  They straddle the worlds of life and death.  The church gives life and the world gives death.  Yet we must find a way to live in both.  Christ dealt with the death of the world he lived in, we struggle with the same.  We are given his commandments to live by the best we can yet, we live in a world that disregards those commandments.  The Holy Spirit is our guide to lead us along the path of life helping us to avoid the pitfalls that may lead to our downfall.  And the church is our sanctuary in times of struggle and need.  Ultimately prayer to God our Father is our call in times of need and patience and belief in his answer is our assurance in his love for us.  We are his children and he is our beloved father.  Call on him.   

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ .   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.