Our paragraph topic is: (Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 5.
The Scribes and the Pharisees walked among the people. They talked to the people. But they considered themselves above the common people. They were learned. They had knowledge that was not available to the common man. So they portrayed themselves as better than everyone else. They expected recognition from the common man.
They liked to be seen and acknowledged in the markets and on the streets. They liked to be heard in the synagogues. They wanted first places at table. They were above everyone else. As Christ told the people: "For they widen their phylacteries, and enlarge their tassels, and love the first places at suppers and the front seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the market place, and to be called by men 'Rabbi.' "
All their works they do to be seen. This is what Christ was telling the people about the Scribes and the Pharisees. He told them all things that they command you, observe and do, but do not act according to their works. For they do everything to be seen, to bring praise to themselves, to gain recognition to their position.
And we can see examples of this behavior today. We can find many in our circle of experience who seek to be seen and heard. Humility is not a trait to practice. Pride is their moto. Recognition is their game. Persuasion and influence is the rules by which they operate for it is required for them to succeed. This is the picture that Christ wants the people and the disciples to see, to open their eyes that they might understand how not to be.
Yet it is a natural tendency for us to observe and to emulate those who seek to be seen. We want to be like them. We want to be liked. We want to be loved so that we can have the front seats, be recognized, be called by all. For we are but human and we do what we see. But Christ wants us to have another example to follow, another example to see. He wants us to know that despite what we see, as a model to follow in life, this is not the road to travel.
We are all sisters and brothers, born from the same father. All are alike in the same spirit. We are all sinners in the eyes of God, seeking forgiveness, acceptance, justification, and sanctification. Christ came that we might be transformed in the eyes of God. He came to be our example. He came to be our sacrifice. He came that we can have new life instead of death. He came because of his passion and love for all mankind.
His love is overflowing. His love is ever forgiving. His love is fulfilling. Tread not the ways of the world but the path of Christ. For he will lead you. He will guide you. He will protect you and provide for you all the days of your life. Open the door 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.
Our paragraph topic is: (The vine-dressers kill the master's son) Part 4.
They killed the master's son, the most precious gift of all. Greed had turned them into evil men. They sought to steal and kill to get what they wanted. They sought to lie and cheat to take what was not theirs. They sought to influence others to support their evil schemes to enrich themselves to reach their goals.
How often do we see these themes today. They are presented to us as normal and an accepted way of life, what one must do to get ahead. This is true especially in business. You have to be ruthless to get ahead. Destroy the competition. Slander their products. Take over their customers and you will win. And what did Jesus ask will happen to this type of person: They said to him, "He will utterly destroy those evil men."
Who are our idols? What do we look up to as our model in life? What do we desire more than anything else in this world? We want to be like the rich and the famous. We want to have money, and leisure, and yachts and penthouse condominiums and gold chains and diamond rings and fur coats and travel in our own jets. We want all that is shown to us each and every day in the media. They advertise to us. They project to us the way that we should live. They provide the model by which we dream. They are our motivation for all that we desire.
What must we do to get there? What must we forsake, what must we give up to get what we want? We must change. We must turn away from what was freely given us. We must become ruthless and focused on our target. We must not be distracted away by morals and ethics, those boundaries that hold us back from reaching our goals. What would you do given the chance, the opportunity to reach your goals?
How blinded are we? How deceived are we? How innocent are we to accept the vision that is given us on a daily basis. We are the children of the creator of the universe. We are created in his image and likeness. We are children of light and not of darkness. Yet the world would have us become dark, to turn away from ourselves, to give up that which was freely given through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.
He came to give us life. He came that we would know. He came to show us a way to find him in his kingdom. We are his children and he is our savior. It is he who purchased us with his blood. It is he who was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. It is he who seeks to help you find the way into the light and out of the darkness of this world. The shell will be broken but what comes forth will be in your hands. Will it be the child of God or the creation of darkness? The choice is yours and the opportunity is now.
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: (Parable of the two sons) Part 3.
Christ continues his parable to help open the minds and the hearts of the chief priest and the elders. He gave them the opportunity to understand but they were filled with deceit. So he now tells them this parable to give them a second chance to see, to understand, to open their eyes that they might be saved.
The two sons each were told by their father to go to work in the vineyard. One said that he would not and later regretted his answer and went to work. The other lied to his father and told him that he would go to work but later did not. Christ asked them: "Which of the two did the father's will?" They said "The first."
The first did the father's will being obedient to his request. Most of us come of age knowing the authority of a father or a father figure. It is in his will that we find our own. It is in his will that we come to know who we are. It is in his will that we have our example to follow through life. And it is in his will that we have a model to reshape our own authority in life.
Where does this authority come from? Who gave it to our fathers and their fathers and their fathers before them throughout history? Did it just come of its own? Did it just evolve into itself without the help of anyone or anything? Or were we given the authority from our Father on high and passed it down from generation to generation?
Fathers are protectors. Fathers are providers. They are the rule makers to the young and the givers of love and comfort to the children who do not know for themselves. Fathers come with mothers and together they make the home in which we grow and develop. They form us from the womb, give us our character and guidance through life. They are our patterns, our examples in life. We carry the genes of generations of learning passed down to us from our mothers and fathers. They have gone before us, experienced life that we have not, and survived with a knowledge that we can inherit.
Do the Father's will for he was here before us. He knows that which we do not. He teaches that which we have yet to learn. His is the love that filled his heart from the day we came into this world. He knew us in the womb. He rejoiced with our every kick, our every turn, our every move. He is the ultimate love and protection that comes to us, if we accept him. He comes to those who had an earthly father and for those who did not. God is our Father and the authority is with him. Do the Father's will and all will be well.
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 2.
The mother of James and John had spoken the words that were in the hearts of the other disciples but were not spoken. The others heard the words and their hearts were opened to Indignance. They were angry. They were mad. They felt slighted that others would ask, through another, their mother, what was in their hearts. They felt injustice in their hearts that others would speak their desires that they would be able to sit at the right hand of Christ in his kingdom. Yet there it was in plan hearing, Indignance.
All wanted to be considered special. All wanted to be number one with Christ. But no disciple spoke these words that lay within their hearts. No one knew where they stood with Christ. Their model was what they saw in the real world. Their representation was what they knew with the rulers of the day. They knew how the rulers treated them. They knew how they were regarded by the lords of the day. They knew how they felt about the current lords and they wanted to be first at the table with Christ. But Jesus called them to him, and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them."
They all wanted to be lords. They all wanted to kings in Christ's kingdom. And they knew that by following him that they would receive a reward. Their example was what they saw in their time. Their understanding was what they knew of the leaders of the day. They knew who the leaders were. They saw them everyday. It was not a big town or a big city with millions of people. The rulers of the day had special privileges. They wanted to be special. They wanted to be known. They wanted the rewards that came with following the Messiah.
Christ would have them understand what their desires meant. He would have them know that they were different. He was different and not like what they knew and saw in their times. His kingdom would be different. His Lordship would be unlike what they knew in their times. So they would have to be different. They could not be like the current rulers. They could not walk with pride. They could not expect to be privileged as those they knew in their times. They could not lord their authority over the people as the rulers they knew in their times. They had to be different.
Christ gave up his kingship to come to earth. He gave up his divinity to become like man. He came to walk among us that we would know him. He came to teach us the ways of the Father, to be an example that we could follow. He came that we could know the love that the Father has for us, just as the Father loves his son. He came out of love. And the love that he brought to us is still available today. As we go about our daily lives we can see before us the love of the Father . The air that we breathe, the sun that we feel, the things that we are able to see are all manifestation of his love. They show us his might and his majesty. They show us that his glory is available for all to see, for all to feel and to taste, if we just open our hearts. Take a moment to know him. Take a moment to see him. Take a moment to let him into your hearts. He will come if you ask him. He will speak if you call him. He will touch you if you let him. and in his touch is a lifetime of goodness and mercy, and forgiveness, and love. The choice is your. Pick up the phone and call 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 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.
