St. Matthew, Chapter 22, verses: 38; The First Commandment.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The great commandment) Part 5.  

They put him to the test thinking that he would fail.  One of the Doctor's of the Law asked him the question that they believed he would not know having not studied under their direction.  But they were wrong in their assumption, for he knew the great commandment of the law, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind."

And he recited it to them as though he lived it.  But he added more to that statement to let them know that he also was knowledgeable of the Law.  He said:  "This is the greatest and the first commandment."

You see they only knew about the great commandment as being the foundation of the Law.  They did not know that there was another commandment that was also a foundation principle of the Law.  They were the scholars.  They were the ones who studied the Law.  They read it, discussed it, practiced it, applied to their lives and the lives of the people on a daily basis.  So they believed that they knew it like the back of their hand.  Yet here comes a commoner like Christ who knew more about the Law than they did.  How was that possible?

And this was the way of God working according to the promise that was made to the forefathers of those who believed in him.  The prophets foretold the coming of the Messiah and the redemption of the people from sin.  They foretold of his sacrifice, the resurrection, and his ascension into heaven.  All this written down for those future generations to read and believe.  

It is there for those who want to know, for those who seek to find, for those who are tired of what the world has offered.  You see, once your eyes are opened and you are healed, you know the truth of what happened.  So, the struggle becomes keeping your eyes opened, keeping the truth in front of you, and following the path given you by your spirit.  For the Spirit will lead you and guide you every day.  The Spirit will protect you and provide for you.  Your life will be filled with joy and peace because now you have a path, a sense of direction, a purpose and a goal in life that leads to fulfillment.  We are his children and he is our Father.  He will care for us. 

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: 37; The Great Commandment.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The great commandment) Part 4. 

The Pharisees came with their questions seeking to test the knowledge of Christ.  Others came before him and failed.  But the Pharisees were determined.   They gathered among themselves and came up with a question that they thought no one who had not studied the Law as they had would know the answer.  They believed that their great knowledge and wisdom of the Law came from the years of study with the masters.  No one knew or had heard of Christ studying with any of the Doctors of the Law.  So they came to question him with this one question that they believed he did not know and would not be able to answer.

They wanted to know what was the one great commandment in the Law.  One had to discern this commandment after years of study for it was not given outright.  So one Pharisee asked Christ and:  Jesus said to him,  "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind." 

This is the great commandment upon which all the Law is based and upon which we should practice.  But, one should ask how to practice this commandment?  How do you love the Lord with your whole heart, your whole soul and your whole mind when you only know physical love?  Our love is based upon that which we can see, taste, touch, smell, and feel.  Can we see the Lord, or taste, him?  Can we touch him or feel him?  How then are we to know how to love him?  

What is love?  Love is what moves us inside, what makes us feel good about ourselves and someone else.  Love is the thought of someone we picture, how they look, the little things about them that we like, how they smell, reminding us of them and bringing back fond memories of them.  Love is the emotions that we have of a person and how they make us feel.  Love is a touch, a whisper, a breath, a breeze, a flower, a blue sky, a rainbow, the smell of freshness in the air.  Love is all these things and more.  Love is awakening to a beautiful day and realizing that life is joy and life is happiness and life is full.  Love is the happiness in the understanding that we are children of God and he is our creator, and our provider and our protector.  Love is our whole being in 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.  

St. Matthew, Chapter 22, verses: 36; The Great Commandment.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The great commandment) Part 3.

Time and time again they came to question his knowledge of the Law.  They could not believe that he had a complete grasp of the Law.  They did not know him.  Their colleagues did not know him.  No one had studied with him.  So how was it that he knew the Law?  How is it that he knew the Torah, the ins and outs, the intricacies of what had taken others years of study to comprehend.  They had to test him.  They had to prove him a fake, a charlatan.

Yet he came to teach the people in simple ways the love of God.  He came to walk and talk to them.  He came to show compassion and mercy to those who were in pain and sorrow.  He came to give relief to the lost and to open the minds and hearts of all who would hear him and believe in his message that the kingdom of heaven was at hand.   But they questioned him saying: "Master, which is the great commandment in the Law? "

What is the great commandment in the Law?  Is it thou shalt not steal?  Is it thou shalt not kill?  Is it thou shalt not covet thy neighbors wife?  Or is it thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart and all thy mind and all thy soul?  There shall be no other greater love before you.  Is this true today?  Do we love the Lord more than we love anything else?

To love something we have to know something about that which we love.  Do we know the Lord enough that we can love him?  Or do we love something else more because we know more about that thing which we love?  We love money.  We love what money can buy.  We love what money can bring.  We love what money can do for us.  We love all the things that having lots of money will bring us.  We lust for money.  We dream for money.  Our eyes glaze over when we think of winning millions of money in a lottery.  Yet do we think of winning love of God the same way?

We see with our eyes not.  We hear with our ears not.  We know with our mind not.  We are our hearts.  The heart knows the emptiness.  The heart knows true love.  The heart knows what it needs to fulfill its desires.  Do not be fooled by what you see and hear in the world.  The world is dying.  God is life and through his love we are renewed.  Christ Jesus came to renew life to those who would receive his message.  Now is the time.  Now is the place.  Now is the reason to open your heart and know the truth of who you are in his love.  The heart knows.

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.