St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 12b; The Exalted.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 11. 

We end this paragraph topic about the Scribes and the Pharisees but this entire chapter of Matthew revolves around them.  They came together at the end of chapter 22 to challenge Christ since they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees.  Christ used this opportunity to speak directly to all of them since they had come together to challenge him.

This was his chance to give them instructions while he was with his disciples and the people.  Yet even more so, it was an opportunity to open their minds that they might see the truth of who they were and the influence of evil over them.  He had told them that he who is the greatest among you shall be your servant which was contrary to their sense of belief that they would be servants to anyone.  He further tells them:  "And whoever humbles himself shall be exalted."   

These statements were spoken to the Scribes and the Pharisees but were also meant to instruct the disciples and anyone who listened.  The Scribes and the Pharisees certainly were not humble by any means.  They sought recognition.  They sought praise.  They sought honor and fame because of their positions among the people.  They believed that they were above the laws they imposed upon the people.  And their beliefs did not encompass humility.

The disciples were being trained by Christ to follow in his footsteps.  This statement was an instruction to them also.  Do not exalt yourself above the people but follow a humble path.  Follow his example of humility and you will be exalted by the Father.  He is the son of the most high God, first born above all creation, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Prince of Princes.  Yet he humbled himself, discarded his crown of glory and became a servant to the people.

Here is our example today of how to live a humble life.  Be of service to one another.  Help where help is needed.  Show compassion on the lowly and the needy.  Give with a loving heart and God will give to you.  We are all from one body, created in the same image and likeness, all the same brothers and sisters.  Let us not go astray from ourselves.  Let us not divide ourselves.  Let us not make comparisons that bring jealousy and envy.  We are all one in him who created us and gave us life.  Christ is our savior.  He is our Lord.  He is the architect of the life we have today.  Be the example.  Live the life he has given us in peace and harmony with our brothers and sisters.  For we are from one God, one Father, one Lord.  Amen.

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 23, verses: 11; The Greatest.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 9.  

Honor and prestige they sought.  Dominion they practiced over the people.  They were the law makers.  They were the enforcers.  They were the eyes and the ears of the law.  Everyone must obey or suffer the consequences of punishment.  Respect was what they needed and the Scribes and the Pharisees demanded it.

They were out in the public everyday watching the people to make sure that the rules were followed.  They had spies who reported to them the what and wherefore of the people.  It was a hard time for the people and they resented the rule of law.  But the Scribes and the Pharisees sought to be great among the people.  And Christ turned the tables upon them.  He told the people and the disciples:  "He who is greatest among you shall be your servant."   

Indeed, he was the servant of the people; he came to serve mankind.  He was greatest among them.  They did not know.  They did not believe.  They did not see who he was.  Their minds could not comprehend the truth of the statement.  Even the evil that dwelled within them knew who he was and paid tribute to him.  But he would not have his identity known until it was his time.

The Scribes and the Pharisees hated him.  They wanted to get rid of him because he exposed them to the people.  He removed the masks so that the people could see who they really were.  Christ taught the people the truth.  He taught them who they were and how to live with one another in peace and love.

Today we can take a lesson from his teachings.  Serve the people.  Humble thyself.  Live a peaceful life, not one filled with self seeking love, competing to be the best, the greatest.  Be your self.  We all have God given gifts and talents that can be used in service of others.  It is those gifts that allow us to become fruitful.  It is those talents that allow us to multiply the kingdom of heaven.  It is those gifts that will help us to spread God's love to all our brothers and sisters that they too may know the truth of who they are in Christ.  Love one another.  Keep the faith.  God's will be done.

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 20, verse:28a, To Serve.

Our paragraph topic is: (Humility according to Christ's example) Part 7. 

Whoever wishes to be first shall be your slave is what Christ told his disciples.  Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.  And they did not understand his meaning.  He spoke in parables.  He spoke in riddles.  He spoke in words that had one meaning on the surface and a different meaning on a deeper level. 

They wanted to be great.  They wanted to be known.  They wanted all the things that they saw exhibited by the leaders of their time and that was their example.  So they assumed that he would follow the example of the day and lead them to be great leaders of the new order.  But his example had one meaning on the surface and another meaning on a deeper level. 

On the surface they were repulsed at the thought of being great with being a servant.  They definitely did not want to become a slave in order to be first.  But on a deeper level Christ was telling his disciples not to be like the leaders of their time.  He was telling them to be humble, to be obedient.  He wanted them to understand that greatness comes from the Father and that it is rewarded through humility.  He told them that even he who is lord of all, came to be a servant:  "Even as the Son of Man has not come to be served but to serve." 

Follow his example.  Listen to his words.  Walk in his footsteps and know the will of the Father.  For we are but his servants, here to spread the good news of our redemption to all who have not heard, to all who do not know, to all who are blinded by the world.  Love is the key to what we do.  For we are all his children.  We are all brothers and sisters.  We all come from the same tree of life that he created.  And we are all created in his likeness and his image.

We are not black or white, Asian or Latin, Native Indian or immigrant.  We all belong to one family.  We are all the same.  Beneath the skin of the flesh, beneath the muscle and bones of the body, we are all living spirits created in his image and likeness.  And we all have one Lord, Jesus Christ, who came to serve and not to be served.  For he loved the life that was in us.  He came to restore that life because it was lost.  And through the knowledge of the spirit within us we can come to know and come to see that which he gave to us.

Follow the example.  Humbly seek that which has been given you.  We all have a purpose.  We all have a place.  And we all are loved by the Father who knows our hearts desires.  He will provide.  He will protect.  He will listen to your needs.  But you must open the heart to believe in him.  You must act on him.  You must know, with everything that is within you, that he will take care of you.  Practice the patience of heaven.  And in that patience is the proof of who you are in him.  Open the mind!  Open the heart!  Seek the truth that is within you and you will know the truth of who you are in Christ.  God, your father loves 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 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 20, verse:26b, The Great Disciple.

Our paragraph topic is: (Humility according to Christ's example) Part 5.  

When we look back upon the teachings of Christ to his disciples, one must wonder how they felt, how they thought, how they understood his teachings.  They followed Christ because they knew, within themselves, that he was the Messiah.  His miracles proved that.  He did things that no other prophet or other great leader could do.  They were amazed at what they saw, what they heard him say, and what they believed that he would do.  Their hearts and minds were opened to his teachings, his love, his passion, and his will. 

They all wanted what they saw.  They wanted to be powerful.  They wanted his fearlessness. They wanted to be like him because they thought that this would give them leverage over the leaders of their day.  They thought that being like him would make them famous with the people.  They thought that imitating him would give them prestige and privilege like other leaders of the day.  Little did they know or think that what they thought they wanted was completely different from what would be offered.  Christ told them:  "On the contrary, whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant." 

How was that to be?  How were they who sought to be great to become a servant?  A servant was a position that they sought to turn away from.  A servant was a person that they saw with disdain.  A servant in their day and time was a nobody.  Yet here was Christ, their leader, their teacher, their Messiah, telling them that they must become servants.  Certainly this did not go over well with them.  Certainly this did not sound good to them.  Certainly this saying was not immediately understood.

He had just spoken with them about the honor of sitting at his right hand and at his left in the kingdom of heaven, a position that they all sought.  He had questioned them about the price that they will pay to be his followers.  He had just placed the doubt in their minds and their hearts as to the courage of their convictions being his followers when the time of tribulation came.  Were they ready?  Were they prepared?  Were they strong enough to face that which was in their future?  And now he tells them that they must become servants if they want to become great.

Christ had a way of teaching that cut to the quick, got to the heart of the matter.  He taught in ways that required insight and thought, ways that revealed meaning and understanding with deeper thought.  In our day and time we can look back.  We can read about what happened.  We can study the text and meaning in many different ways and from many different authors.  But beyond all of the literature lies the inner meaning that comes to each of us individually guided by the Holy Spirit. 

In our society today, we strive to be top dog, the lady that stands out in a crowd, the one that gets noticed.  We do not seek to be servants.  We do not seek to be the lowly.  This is contrary to what we are given from birth in our society.  Yet here is the greatest teacher that walked the earth giving us an example of how to be great, how to serve and not how to be served.  He is giving us the example of how to give of oneself and not to take, the example to humble oneself and not to be proud.  This is the example that he brought to us, the example that he gives to us, the example that he left for us to follow.  For he, the king of the universe, humbled himself and came to save us.  Can we not seek to follow his example?

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.