St Matthew, Chapter 17, verse: 22b, The Passion Prediction: The Rise of Christ.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The second prediction of the passion) Part 2. 

They were on their way to Jerusalem with the Lord.  Many had assumed that he would be the ruler.  Many thought that he was going to take over the leadership of the High Priest.  Many were happy because they saw a change coming.  And many were joyous because they believed that it was time for a change.  Christ knew otherwise.  He knew that it was time for a change and that change was a sacrifice, the sacrifice to justify mankind with God.

He told them on several occasions of the Passion.  He warned them of what was about to take place.  He told them that he would suffer and that he would face death.  But they only thought about the change coming.  They only thought about the joy that would come when the old rulers were removed and new ones came to be.  They did not think about the struggle.  They did not think about the sacrifice that would come.  They did not think about the suffering.  They only thought about what they wanted to hear, what they believed would happen, what they wanted to think. 

Evil was afoot and plans were being made to destroy Christ.  Evil was in the house and evil was in the minds and evil was in the mouths and on the lips of those in power.  For they spoke of ways to destroy him.  They wanted to stop him.  They wanted him hanged for the embarrassment that he had caused them.  They wanted to control him and could not.  For each time they attempted to control him they failed.  Each time they sought to win, they did not.  Each time they came with a trick, they could not trick him.  For Christ knew them.  He knew who they worshipped.  He who they were.  For they were children of evil.  They were the sons of evil and their father was the father of all lies. 

Christ came to bring about change.  He came with the sword to separate the wolves from the lambs.  He came to stop the lies, to stop the deceit, to stop the death of the innocent.  He came to bring life.  But evil did not want the people to have life.  Evil did not want the people to know the truth.  Evil did not want the people to know who they are and who they belonged to.  Evil wanted the people for itself.  Evil wanted the people to do evil and to destroy Christ because evil could not change him, could not turn him, could not seduce him, could not control him.  So evil had to destroy him.

Christ had to tell his disciples that they would know.  He had to speak the truth that they would believe after the truth had taken place.  And they were sad to hear this.  For he said:  "And they will kill him; and, on the third day he will rise again."  And they were exceedingly sorry.  

How do we feel today that Christ died?  How do we feel today that he suffered such pain and agony?  How do we feel today that he had to be the sacrifice for our sins and not us?  We live in a world that only rarely shows us the pain that he endured.  We live in a world that deceives us into believing that we are alright and life must go on.  We live in a world that does not want us to know who we are in Christ.  For the world wants to deceive us.  The world wants to hide us from the truth.  The world wants to keep us in the dark and away from the light that awaits us in Christ.

Come!  Follow the path before you.  Read the truth of who you are in Him who gave you life.  Know the truth of your true life and not the artificial life of the physical.  For you are like angels, created in the image and likeness of God.  You are sons and daughters of the one true God, the living God.  If you seek to know, if you seek to find, if you seek to see that which is within you, come read that which is given to you as manna from heaven.  It has been given to me and I now pass it on to you.  I am a witness, a voice crying in the wilderness, testifying that he has come to me and will come to you also if you seek him.  He awaits your call.  He listens for your voice.  He anticipates your needs and will provide for your wants.  Christ loves you, the Holy Spirit greets you and so do I.

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 and 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 15, verse: 3, The Commandments of God vs Worldly Traditions.

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ refutes the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 2 

The Pharisees questioned Christ about the practices of his disciples.  They did not wash before eating as the Pharisees had practiced and preached to the people.  For it was the Law that the people should wash before eating and it was the authority of the Pharisees to enforce the law.  So they witnessed this transgression and questioned Christ about why he did not enforce this tradition.

But Christ saw their plan.  Christ knew their intentions.  Christ understood the hearts of the Pharisees as they came forth to question him.  For the Pharisees were men of education.  The Pharisees were men of influence.  The Pharisees were the authority on the Law.  They were the enforcers of the authority for the people of Israel.  They were the final source of what should and should not be, the ultimate authority.  And in their arrogance and their power they opened their hearts to the evil one.  The Pharisees changed the commandment of God.

Christ did not address the question of the Pharisees.  He did not speak to the traditions that they sought to enforce.  Christ saw them for who they were.  He saw their hearts and knew that they were not followers of the laws of God.   But he answered and said to them "And why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?"

The influence of power and the suggestions of the evil one had infected the hearts of the Pharisees.  For they had held the seat of power for many years.  They had ruled over the tribes of Israel for decades.  Their minds and their hearts were filled with the intoxication of power that they knew no wrong.  And the arrogance of power opened the door for Satan to come in and turn them.  For through his influence the laws were changed.  Through his influence men placed themselves above the commandments of God and made their own decisions.  How would it hurt if we lusted just a little?  How would it hurt if we lied just a little?  How would it hurt if we stole a little?  How would it hurt if we committed adultery just a little?  And how would it hurt if we influenced the people to do the same things just a little?

And so it is today.  We are entertained.  But through our entertainment we are influenced.  We see, through our entertainment, stories of lies, deceit, lust, adultery, murder, false witness, and all manner of evil.  And it is accepted as entertainment, entertainment that influences the mind and the heart.  For what we see, we practice.  For what will it hurt to lie a little?  What will it hurt to steal a little?  What will it hurt to commit adultery a little, to deceive a little, disrespect our parents a little, to worship idols a little?  And the world draws us into its web, we fall asleep, and we become the lost sheep not knowing or wanting to know that we are children of light and children of love. 

God is our father and he gives to us things that will keep us away from the evil that is in the world.  His love is our protection and our provision.  To know him is to love him.  To love him is to want to do the things that he has given us that will protect us.  Be not conformed to the world but be transformed out of the world.  Though we live in the world we do not belong to the world.  Our treasure is in heaven,  Your peace is in heaven. our eternal joy awaits us in heaven.  Do not fall asleep with the temporary fixes of this world.  Satan wants you to loose your treasure.  He wants you to forget about your eternal joy.  He wants to steal your everlasting peace.  Awake!  And know the true love of Christ.  Open your heart to his spirit and you will know the truth of who you are.  Experience the abundant life of Christ , here and now and awaken from the sleep of death offered by the world.         

St Matthew, Chapter 11, verses: 23 - 24, The Reproach.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The impenitent towns) Part 2. 

Christ continues with the appraisal of his work.  For he has traveled through many towns and villages.  And he has sent his disciples through many towns and villages preaching the kingdom of heaven.  Yet there are those towns that do not repent.  There are those towns that have had great miracles and wonders completed in them and they reject the gospel.  Those are the towns Christ looks back and calls damnation upon.  Those are the towns that Christ remembers their unwillingness, their unbelief, their sin, and Capharnaum is one of them. 

Christ says about Capharnaum, "And thou, Capharnaum, shalt thou be exalted to heaven? Thou shalt be thrust down to hell!"  No glory for this town.  No honor for this village.  It shall be cast into hell for its sins and iniquities.  For it is an evil town.  It is a town filled with the dark forces.  It is a town where the people are blind and cannot see.  They are deaf and cannot hear.  Their understanding has been taken away from them by the evil one.  Many miracles were completed in Carpharaum.  Many demons were cast out.  Many sick were cured and many lame were made to walk.  Yet they did not repent.  They did not turn to the true God.  They continued to worship pagans and live in sin.

Christ told his disciples that Sodom would fair better in the day of judgement.  Sodom would receive a lesser penalty than this town because Sodom had no miracles, Sodom had no signs, Sodom had no prophets come to them.  But Capharnaum had Christ.  Capharnaum had the miracles.  Capharnaum had the light of the world come to its doorstep and it still did not repent.  And Capharaum has the wrath of God upon it because of its impenitence.  Christ says,  "For if the miracles had been worked in Sodom that have been worked in thee, it would have remained to this day.  But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for thee."   

Christ is doing an appraisal of his work.  He is reviewing the towns and the cities and the villages where his message is being preached.  Do you live in an impenitent town?  Do you live in a place where sin abounds and the message of the kingdom is not preached?  Miracles are being worked.  Wonders are being created. Signs are being sent to those who have eyes to see and those who have ears to hear.  Do you live in a house of peace?  Or is your house a house of lies and deceit?  Christ is doing his appraisal.  Will your house be exalted to heaven or cast down to hell?  Christ is doing an appraisal and life hangs in the balance.  Which way will the scales fall for your house?  Your house is your temple.  Does Christ live in you?  May the gift of God be in your heart.

St Matthew, Chapte 11, verses: 4-6, The Scandal of John the Baptist.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The Baptist's deputation) Part 2. 

Now we know how scandal is spread, through the mouth of others.  Those who have been bitten by Scandal will desire to tell others of the news and thereby pass it on to others.  And the flame spreads, the flame of scandal.  Christ was able to see Scandal for what she is, a witch clothed in partial truths and lies.  And he saw it in the disciples of John the Baptist.  Christ knew that John did not doubt his origins.  John had baptized him and witnessed the heavens open and the descent of the Holy Spirit.  John knew Christ even when he was in his mothers womb, so how could he allow Scandal to take hold of him.  Yet his disciples wanted to regain their position.  They wanted the fame that they had when John preached in the Jordan and thousands came to see him from the surrounding territories.  They missed their main attraction.  

When the disciples approached under the guise of a question from John, Christ saw Scandal approaching.  They asked their question allowing Scandal to come forth doubting the origin of Christ.  But Christ closed the door and prevented Scandal from taking hold.  He told the disciples of John,  "Go and report to John what you have heard and seen: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise, the poor have the gospel preached to them."   This was something that they already knew.  They had reported to John while he was in prison all the miracles that Christ performed.  They had stirred up this hatred for Christ and brought forth the doubt in their minds of his origins.  John listened to all of their issues until he could stand no more.  So he sent them to the one who would cancel their doubts.  He sent them to the one who would destroy their fears.  He sent them to the one who would lock Scandal in a prison and not allow her to run loose.  

You see, Scandal had to have a platform.  She had to run on the name of an authority.  She had to have someone of notoriety to pitch her claims.  And she used the disciples of John and the name of John the Baptist to start her campaign.  When she approached through the disciples of John Christ saw her coming.  He told the disciples to carry the message back to John, but he also told them, "Blessed is he who is not scandalized in me."   This is a better statement than cursed is he who scandalizes me.  For this is what the disciples of John sought to do by asking the question and allowing doubt and thereby Scandal, to come forth. 

Christ opened the door for the disciples of John to gain salvation.  He stopped Scandal from coming forth.  He offered the opportunity for the disciples of John to be blessed, a far better choice than Scandal offered.  Christ offers us the same choice today to be blessed.  Scandal wants you to be cursed.  Scandal wants to spread her rotten lies and deceits to destroy those who hear them.  She wants to pull down those who would be exalted and crush their dignity and character.  She wants to bring shame and dishonor.  She wants to destroy.  Her tools are the one thing that we use easily and most often, our mouth.  It is the one thing that speaks often without our having control, only because she has placed her web of lies within us to be passed on to others. 

Are you a disciple of Scandal?  Do you spread her lies and deceit at will, without hesitation or forethought?  She will destroy both you and the person with which she talks about.  She will shame you.  She will cause you pain.  Yet she tempts you with the momentary pleasure of having spoken her words to your satisfaction.  For in that moment she gives you a sense of power.  She allows you to think that you are in control when you scandalize others.  But this is only a temporary pleasure like taking a drug that gets you high for a moment and then brings you crashing down hard.  Do not allow yourself to become her tool.  Do not accept her false promise of power.  Beware of her deception and lies.  For just as she spreads them about others she will spread them about you also.  Christ said blessed is he who is not scandalized in him.  As a disciple of Christ and a believer, do not be cursed by Scandal.  Are you ready to stop Scandal from taking hold of you?  Be blessed in Christ!!

St Matthew, Chapte 11, verses: 1-3, The Scandal of John the Baptist.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The Baptist's deputation) Part 1. 

Now it came to pass that after Christ had finished instructing his disciples and training them for their solo journey in which they would preach to the lost sheep of the tribe of Israel, he preached through the towns and villages also.  After all this had passed, this verse says that John  the Baptist heard of all that Christ was doing while in prison.  John did not see for himself the miracles of Christ.  He did not hear for himself the words that Christ preached in the Sermon on the Mount.  John had been captured and put into prison by Herod for proclaiming the sins of Herod with his brother's wife.

The disciples of John came to him and spoke to him of all that Christ was doing.  They told him of the healings.  They told him of the cures.  They told him of the dead being restored to life.  They were the ones who brought John the news.  And that news had a way of being transformed, deleted, transposed by the persons bringing it, so that, it may reflect the views of that person.  John knew that Christ was the Messiah.  He had witnessed the heavens open and the spirit of God descend upon Christ when he was baptised.  So there was no doubt in John.  There was no scandal in John.  There was no fear or concern in John about Christ.  But his disciples had doubt.  They had fears, they had misgivings and reserevations in themselves.

Christ had told the disciples of John that one does not place new wine into old wine skins.  He had said to them that one does not place a new patch of cloth on an old garment because the patch will tear and a worse rent will be made than the one before.  Christ had indicated to the disciples of John that they would not become his disciples because he needed new wine skins to carry this new message.  This was not to the liking of the disciples of John.  They had made themselves to be the messengers of the new gospel preached by John.  They had become his spokesmen proclaiming the need for repentance.  And then Christ comes and ignores them completely.  Christ comes  and changes the plans altogether.  Christ comes and they are on the outside looking in.     

So the disciples of John were scandalized.  They were looked down upon by the people.  They were turned away from by those who had looked upon them with favor.  John was in prison, they were turned out by Christ, and the people turned against them.  Restoration was their desire.  Glory was their need.  Fame was their calling.  But John was not there to assist them.  And they were scandalized.  So they brought the news to John while he was in prison.  They told him of the things that Christ was doing.  They filled his ears and his mind with the talk of Christ according to their view and their slant.  For they needed to be restored.  They needed fame.  They needed glory.  So, John sent them to Christ with the question that was on their minds.  The doubt in their minds led them to ask Christ through the words of John, "Art thou he who is to come, or shall we look for another?"

And with these words scandal was released.  Doubt was brought forth.  The question of credability was asked.   Scandal is an aweful witch.  She seeks to destroy subtly.  She weaves lies and deceit in a fine tapestry that seems to create a real picture.  Yet time reveals the gaping holes and the rotted material that is used in its creation.  And it is that same material that is accepted as real, the false beauty of which allows it to be accepted by many.  Scandals today are like wildfire sweeping across a dry field of grass.  It is unstoppable.  It eats everything in its path and sets afire all who receive it.  For the burning is not in the receipt of it but in the unquenchable desire to tell others thereby passing the flame of lies and deceits to others. 

Do you love Scandal?  Are you the first to hear it and the first to spread it along?  Scandal loves you if you do.  She will cling to you like flies to the dead.  You are her messenger.  She will always find you to help her spread her lies and deceit.  Do not be caught with her for she will corrupt you. When she comes leave her.  Do not allow yourself to become her messenger.  Separate yourself from those who would bring her to you.  For they have become her slaves and desire to enslave you also.  They desire to make you a messenger of Scandal.  Spread  not lies and deceit.  Our God is a God of truth and his wrath awaits Scandal and those who are her messengers.  Stop the lies and deceit!  Stop Scandal!