Our paragraph topic is: (Their distorted religion) Part 12.
You see they had no idea what they were doing. They were led by their intuitions, by their instincts, by the influences of the world around them which would have them maintain their positions of power and influence. They were the rulers of the time. They had positions of power and prestige that they did not want to lose. And Christ came along and questioned their positions by calling them blind guides in the public eye which challenged their authority and prestige. Any other person they would have had the temple guards arrest and thrown into jail or beaten.
This was Christ, however, the miracle worker. He had cured many of the sick and the lame and the blind and the cripple. There were many followers who believed in him and his teachings. So the Pharisees and the Scribes and the Elders had to think of another way to capture him so that they could silence him for good. But they did not realize who they were dealing with. They did not know the storm that was brewing behind the scenes and the parts they were playing. Christ had to stir the hornet's nest. He had to take them to task. He had to show them up to the people so that everyone would know who they were. This is why he told them: "And he who swears by the temple swears by it, and by him who dwells in it."
You see they didn't know. They were being influenced by the evil in the world, like pawns on a chess board. To swear by the one who dwells in the temple is to swear by Almighty God. And to swear by Almighty God is a bond that must be kept, a bond that must not be broken. Yet here the Scribes and the Pharisees were telling the people that to swear by the temple it is nothing. How foolish they had become. How distorted they had rationalized the truth of their religion. How broken were they making the people against the God of their fathers.
Two thousand years ago Christ came down from heaven to walk among mankind. He gave up his majestic robe, his kingly spirit and became human that he might experience the truth of humankind. He walked with us. He talked with us. He danced and drank, and eat with us. He laughed, cried, smiled, sighed, felt human emotions as we do. He lived a full life with us and he left his legacy for us to know that he was here with us. And lastly he fulfilled his promise for which he came; he gave his life to pay for the original sin committed in the garden.
For his life and for his passion we have life again. We have a new soul. We have but to believe in him who came, him who is, him who guides and saves our life is anew. The choice requires daily renewal and confidence for there is one who will test that belief, that faith, that trust of the soul within. But there is one also that will renew and guide and support and walk with you every minute, every hour of the day to be the light in the darkness that comes. Keep the faith. Know the love. Trust in the truth of the light of life that is within you.
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.
You see they had no idea what they were doing. They were led by their intuitions, by their instincts, by the influences of the world around them which would have them maintain their positions of power and influence. They were the rulers of the time. They had positions of power and prestige that they did not want to lose. And Christ came along and questioned their positions by calling them blind guides in the public eye which challenged their authority and prestige. Any other person they would have had the temple guards arrest and thrown into jail or beaten.
This was Christ, however, the miracle worker. He had cured many of the sick and the lame and the blind and the cripple. There were many followers who believed in him and his teachings. So the Pharisees and the Scribes and the Elders had to think of another way to capture him so that they could silence him for good. But they did not realize who they were dealing with. They did not know the storm that was brewing behind the scenes and the parts they were playing. Christ had to stir the hornet's nest. He had to take them to task. He had to show them up to the people so that everyone would know who they were. This is why he told them: "And he who swears by the temple swears by it, and by him who dwells in it."
You see they didn't know. They were being influenced by the evil in the world, like pawns on a chess board. To swear by the one who dwells in the temple is to swear by Almighty God. And to swear by Almighty God is a bond that must be kept, a bond that must not be broken. Yet here the Scribes and the Pharisees were telling the people that to swear by the temple it is nothing. How foolish they had become. How distorted they had rationalized the truth of their religion. How broken were they making the people against the God of their fathers.
Two thousand years ago Christ came down from heaven to walk among mankind. He gave up his majestic robe, his kingly spirit and became human that he might experience the truth of humankind. He walked with us. He talked with us. He danced and drank, and eat with us. He laughed, cried, smiled, sighed, felt human emotions as we do. He lived a full life with us and he left his legacy for us to know that he was here with us. And lastly he fulfilled his promise for which he came; he gave his life to pay for the original sin committed in the garden.
For his life and for his passion we have life again. We have a new soul. We have but to believe in him who came, him who is, him who guides and saves our life is anew. The choice requires daily renewal and confidence for there is one who will test that belief, that faith, that trust of the soul within. But there is one also that will renew and guide and support and walk with you every minute, every hour of the day to be the light in the darkness that comes. Keep the faith. Know the love. Trust in the truth of the light of life that is within you.
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.
