Our paragraph topic is: (Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 10.
The hypocrisy of the Scribes and the Pharisees presented an opportunity for Christ to teach the people and his disciples an important lesson. He used the Scribes and the Pharisees as an example to show their pride and arrogance and to teach the people of their hidden nature. They practiced piety on the surface but underneath they did not practice the laws that they enforced upon the people. They were hypocrites.
Christ saw through their false piety and instructed the people to do the same. They wanted all the praise and glory but did not do the work to obtain it. They were not servants of the people but served their own purpose. Christ told the people, the disciples, the Scribes and the Pharisees: "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled."
We live in a physical world where we see the individual exalted. We are shown on a daily basis all the stars, singers, athletes, business moguls, millionaires and billionaires, that are paraded before us in the media. Everywhere we turn someone is raised up, someone has just become a hero, a star, a person who has achieve something that we all want to become. This is news, worthy of feeding to the people who will buy it so they can read how they did it. Maybe they too can achieve the same success.
We wish, we desire, we dream of being the one. We would do anything to reach a level of importance that we should be in the news, in the media, before the public eye. We don't know the meaning of humility, we only know praise. And most would do anything to achieve that goal.
Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled. We know nothing of ourselves or who we are as a person. We know even less of where we fit in the cosmic scheme of things. We search the heavens in a constant desire to know that we are not alone. We live in our own self awareness of the world knowing nothing of that which is inside of ourselves.
Christ came that we could began to know who we are. He came to teach us how to live in a physical world that fits within the realm of the spiritual world. For there are powers and principalities far beyond our understanding, far greater than ourselves, that we know nothing of and have not understood. Yet we proclaim ourselves masters and lords within the small realm of the world that we live. How little do we know.
His love provides. His love protects. His love fulfills all desires, all passions, all wants. He is forgiving, merciful, patient, all knowing, all seeing, ever living. He is our Father, God.
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.
Our paragraph topic is: (Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 6.
These were the times in which the people lived. The Scribes and the Pharisees were the caretakers of the people of Israel and the Jews. It was their job to see that the law was taught and understood by the people. They were the teachers. They were the learned. They were the authority for the people. And the Romans were the authority over them.
The Scribes and the Pharisees considered their job description to include binding heavy and oppressive burdens for the people. They had to make sure that the people suffered so that they would follow the Law and not rise up against the ruling class. They loved the front seats in the synagogues, the first places at suppers, and to be called Rabbi. But Christ told the people: "But do not you be called 'Rabbi'; for one is your Master, and all you are brothers."
It was important that the people understood the significance of Master. God created all men equal in his image and likeness. We are all children of light, one not more or less than another. We live in a world that makes distinctions of who we are. We are subconsciously given to categorize each other. One has more money than another. One is prettier than another, one is more athletic than another, more intelligent, more witty, more loving, more etc... This is how and where we live. But we all are the same, children of our Father in heaven, who sees us all as the same.
Christ came to teach us how to live, how to love, and how to see who we are. He is our example in life. He brings peace to those who understand who they are in him. We have life. We have love. We have protection and guidance and provision for everything that we need in life. And we have joy and fulfillment in the transformation of this life to that which we are in heaven.
Our life is simple. Carry the message. Live the life of peace. Show the love that is freely given you to your brothers and sisters. And for those who are of darkness, fear not what they may do. For you are a child of the most high and life is yours. They are lost souls who are blinded and deceived by evil. However, they were once also created in his image and need love to awaken from the darkness.
Love is the key to open the doors of heaven. Love is the life that is given us from our Father. For his love fills completely and satisfies all desires. He is our be all and end all.
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.
Our paragraph topic is: (Humility according to Christ's example) Part 4.
Christ told them: "Not so is it among you. " He wanted them to understand that they were different than the rulers and lords of the day. The rulers of the day exercised control over the Gentiles. They set themselves above the local people and exercised privilege over the people. They were special. They were not of the ordinary. They were the rulers and their great men demonstrated their power over the people.
Christ did not want his disciples to think of themselves as such, but the disciples wanted to have power and prestige. They thought of themselves as though they were to be the new rulers and the new lords according to the authority of Christ. But Christ had to show them that they were different. He had to close the door to enmity, and hatred, and anger, and jealousy, and all the emotions that were a part of the rulers of the day. For his disciples must take their example from him. They must follow his guidance, his path, his sacrifice.
So he gave them the understanding that they were different than the everyday ruler of the time. They were his followers. They were his witnesses that carried his message. They were his teachers and his preachers and his examples of the love that comes from the Father. They were not to become rulers and lords of the day. Not so, is it among you that you lord your authority over the Gentiles.
They were meek and mild. They were loving and forgiving. They were understanding and helpful to all the people because they saw something in the people. Christ showed them the love that he had for the lowly. He demonstrated the forgiveness that he possessed for the sinner. He opened his heart to those who were suffering, the lame, the blind, the sick, the deaf, the widowed. For he saw that which was in them that was in him. He saw the beauty of the life that was given to mankind that was created by God our Father. And he knew that the love that the Father had for him was the same love that he had for all men.
So he came to serve not to become a king. He came to give and not to take. He came to light the path and not to leave us in darkness. He came to pay the price for disobedience and not to trespass against the Father. He came that what was lost could now be found if we only search for it. The choice to find it is ours to make. The choice to believe in it is ours if we want. The choice to know is ours if we seek to know. The choice to see the truth is ours if we are not blinded. What, do you choose?
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.
Our paragraph topic is: (Humility according to Christ's example) Part 3.
The disciples have expressed their anger and their frustration at James and John. They want to sit with Christ also. They want to be at his right and at his left also. They want to be first also and that is the problem. James and John did not express these wants, these desires. Their mother came forth and spoke to Christ about what she wanted for them. She came forth and spoke what was in their hearts.
What she did not realize was that her words opened the door to the hearts of the disciples. Her words exposed them to anger. He words exposed them to injustice. Her words exposed them to jealousy. And Christ had to speak to their hearts to help them understand what they were doing. He had to speak to the jealousy, and their anger and their heartfelt injustice. So he gave them an example. He told them of the lords of the Gentiles. He told them of their practices. He told them how they would become like the Gentiles, how the rulers of the Gentiles lorded their power over them. "And their great men exercise authority over them."
They wanted to be great. They wanted to be known throughout the land. They wanted to be like the lords and rulers of their time. This was the example that they knew. This was what they saw in their time. The rulers would parade through the streets with their guards and their attendants. They would receive privileges everywhere they went. The people would give them special recognition and this was what they thought that they would become being disciples of Christ.
Yet Christ wanted to give them a different image. He wanted to give them a different understanding of who they were and who they would become through him. For he was a lord. He was a king. He was the ruler of all the world. Yet he did not come to be a king. He did not come to be a lord, a ruler. He gave up all his royal trappings to become like an ordinary man. He gave up his crown and his glory and his majesty to become the pauper among us. And this was the example that he wanted his disciples to understand.
For without the power and without the glory, one does not assume a position of greatness. Without the majesty and the privilege one does not become haughty, and aloof and assume an attitude of being special. And without the attitude of feeling special the heart is closed to jealousy, and anger, and injustice. For Christ came to right the injustices of the world, he came to act as a sacrifice for the injustices. He came that the punishment may be lifted. He came that what was lost may now be restored. He came that his love for man would be established for all eternity.
We are here today to be witnesses to the love and the mercy and the forgiveness of our God and Father. We are here today to testify to his love. We are here today to become living examples of the life that is within each of us that others may see and know that they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. For he came and gave that we would have life. He came and walked among us that we would know the truth. He came and gave us an example, a history, and a path to follow that would lead us to him. He came to demonstrate his passion for us that would last throughout all eternity. It is that passion that carries us. It is that passion that guides us. It is that passion that leads us to him each day. And it is that passion that is available for all to know, to see, to feel, to become a part of their lives today. His love is there for the asking. His love is there for those who seek it. His love is there for all to receive it even if they do not know him. All you have to do is open the door to your heart and let him in.
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.
