St. Matthew, Chapter 22, verses: 42a; Whose son is the Christ?

Our paragraph topic is:  (The son of David) Part 2.  

Now the tables are turned and Christ has the opportunity to test the Pharisees in their knowledge and wisdom.  He wants to save them.  He wants to heal them from their blindness.  He wants to open their eyes so that they may see the truth.  So he makes an attempt to purge their minds with a question that might lead them to understand the truth of the scriptures.
They are the Pharisees.  They are the leaders of the people, the scholars who have studied the scriptures all their lives.  They have learned from the masters of their time the inner meanings of the writings of their forefathers.  They should know the answers to these questions.  So Jesus questioned them:  saying "What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?" 

They knew the scriptures of the old testament.  They studied them everyday.  They knew the answer to the question.  Would their minds allow them to accept the answer?  Would the answer allow itself to be spoken?  It would contradict everything that they thought and believed.  Yet there it was in the scriptures, the answer that they had not put together with the facts of what was before them today.  Contradiction!  Confusion!  Anxiety!  Would they believe?  

God gave man free will to choose his own destiny.  He wanted to save all mankind at first but Adam failed and Satan deceived.  So the soul of man died for many years until Christ came to redeem mankind and give new life to those who would believe.  The decision is not made.  The decision is ours alone to make.  We must decide, individually, as a group.  Do we live or do we continue to die?  

God our Father loves us.  The proof is in his mercy.  The proof is in his love.  The proof is in the sacrifice of his only son.  

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 21, verse:27b; The Deceit of their answer.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The Authority of Jesus) Part 8. 

They refused to answer the question.  They knew the answer.  They knew the outcome if they were to speak the answer.  Having weighed all the possibilities among themselves they decided that it was best to not answer.  But that was the dilemma of their initial issue.  They came to Christ seeking an answer to a question.  They wanted to know the origin of his authority.  They wanted to know who gave him the power to preach, the authority to teach, the wisdom to know, and the knowledge to perform miracles.  So they came to him with the question.

He saw them coming.  He knew of their question.  And he wanted to answer their burning desire that they too would know from whence he came.  But first they had to open their hearts to receive the truth.  Did they believe?  Did they seek the truth?  Could they open themselves so that they could hear the word and be converted?  Jesus asked them a question to open the door that they may walk through.  But they could not.  They did not.  They decided to close the door and answered that they did not know the answer to his question.  Then he in turn said to them, "Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things." 

They wanted to know, but they could not understand.  They wanted to see but were blinded.  They wanted to understand but had not understanding except their own.  So in their wisdom they decided to be deceitful.  In their knowledge they could not respond.  In how they saw the outcome there's was no answer.  And that is what they received, missing out on the opportunity to become open to the joy of the word, the peace of the truth, and the love of the Father.

How often are we the same?  How often do we deny that which is within us only to appear real to ourselves and to others?  We can not see.  We can not believe.  We do not allow the opportunity for something far greater than ourselves to become a part of our lives simply because our own thoughts and beliefs have determined that it is not the truth.  Our thoughts are not our own, but those of the world.  Our beliefs are not our beliefs but those given to us buy the influence of that which surrounds us.

It is only by examination of that which surrounds us and that which is within us that we may come to understand who we are, why we are here, and what is our purpose.  Death is not the answer, life is.  Life is what we have here and now and for eternity, if we choose to accept it.  When the world has beaten you down and you know not what to do, the world may suggest giving up.  The world may suggest despair and depression.  The world may even suggest destruction in one form or another. 

Yet there is life.  There is hope.  There is peace and joy that awaits us in the here and now.  There is an unbelievable guide that will walk with us each and everyday to help us along the way.  And then there is our savior who brought us back from death that we may live eternally with him in his kingdom.  We are blessed.  We are loved and cared for.  We are the children of the creator of the universe and he loves each and every one of us dearly.  Our Father who art in heaven, provide for us.  Our Father who art in heaven, protect us.  Our Father who art in heaven show us your love.

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.