St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 17b; Which is greater?

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their distorted religion) Part 5.  

He called them blind.  He called them fools.  They could not see, they could not hear, they could not understand.  They had distorted everything that was given to them.  They had made their own religion to conform to their own desires so that they would be in control of the people and the people would respond to their wishes.

They were the rulers of the people.  They made the laws and handed them down to the people.  Moses gave them the Law from God but they changed it to meet their own needs.  God sent prophets to show them the errors of their ways but they did not listen, they did not hear.  This is why Christ called them blind fools: "For which is greater, the gold, or the temple which sanctifies the gold?"  For this is what they made their religion to believe.

Many years had past since their forefathers had left the dessert and the memories of the miracles of the hand of God protecting the children of Israel.  The prophets had come and gone and nothing changed.  The generations did not remember the lessons of the past.  The leaders and rulers came and went without handing down the wisdom of the forefathers.  The world was the same.  Everyone sought power and fame and fortune.  Everyone sought the glory of men and no one sought the glory of God.

Gold had more value than anything on earth, and yet man had not reached or sought the inner value of the soul.  He had not witnessed the truth of the burning light of life within that came from the life of the soul given by the sacrifice of Christ.  And the light of the world walked the earth without being noticed.  The demons noticed his light but man could not see it.  The leaders of the people could not see it and the crucified him for it.  Yet that is why he came down from heaven that he might pay the price for our transgressions and free us from sin.  

We are blessed to have a second chance.  We are blessed to be so loved to have him as a savior.  We are so wonderfully blessed to not have to walk in darkness anymore but are now guided by the light of his Advocate, the Holy Spirit.  Thank you Father for your love.  Thank your Christ for your passion.  Thank you Holy Spirit for your guiding light.  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 22, verse: 17b; Is it lawful.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Tribute to Caesar) Part 5.  

And there it was the question of the season.  The question that they knew would cause Christ to stumble, the question that would cause him to hesitate because he was a man of God and did not care for the person of man.  Yet Caesar was the emperor and they knew that all had to bow to Caesar and pay tribute.  So they waited with glee to hear what would be the response of this man of God who called himself the Christ.

Yet still with all their learned knowledge and their wisdom, they did not understand the words that they had studied, the words that they had heard, the words that came forth from the mouth of Christ.  They were blind and deaf and without understanding of the knowledge that comes from the children of God so they asked the question:  "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?"  

How he must have felt for them at that moment that they asked him this question.  What volumes it must have told him about the persons that were before him at that moment and what they wanted from him.  How shallow they must have seemed as he gazed upon them and through them to see the emptiness within, that they did not or could not comprehend the nature of the question that they asked of him.

He was the Christ, the Son of God, who came down from heaven to walk and talk among the children of God.  He came to experience first hand the nature of who we are and the life we live.  He wanted to be an example to us, to show us how life should be and is in heaven without hatred and lust, and murder and slander, false witness, and all the other sins that have came from the fall of man and the triumph of evil on earth.

Yet there were those who were under the influence of evil and wanted to continue the reign and dominance of evil for all eternity.  But Christ came to bring an end to death, an end to the dominance of evil.  He came to be a light in the darkness, a door open to those who sought a new life, a life without the influence of evil.  Oh what a glorious day it must have been to walk in the presence of the Lord, to experience his light, his mercy, his love, his peace.  Heaven awaits those who have not seen but still believe.  For the soul hungers for the presence of the Lord and nothing can satisfy that hunger except his 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.