St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 31b; Those who killed the prophets.

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

Christ is speaking directly to the Scribes and the Pharisees on how they are destroying the religion of the people.  The things they are doing and the rules and the laws they enforce have little to do with increasing the faith of the people but instead destroying their belief in their God.  Why is it so difficult on the people at this time in their lives?  Why do the leaders proclaim so many laws that they have to follow?  Why are they treated like slaves where every move is watched over by the religious leaders to make sure they are doing no wrong?  Why is there no mercy in the Lord?

God heard the cries and sighs of his people and sent his prophets to warn the leaders of their harsh treatment of the people.  He sent messengers to the Pharisees to tell them of their wrongs. The prophets proclaimed in the streets the message of God but the leaders would not have them stirring up the people with a different word than that which came from them.  To put an end to the messenger they killed the prophets, spilled their precious blood.   And the people were left without the message.  The new leadership followed in the same footsteps as their fathers maintaining the same rules, persecuting the religion as their fathers before them.

When Christ confronted them about their fathers, they tried to escape their heritage but they only convicted themselves by their own words.  He told them that they can not deny: "That you are the sons of those who killed the prophets." 


They, indeed, were the heirs of their fathers who killed the prophets.  As much as they might try to hide from that fact it would be part of their heritage.  Their fathers trained them, taught them how to rule the people.  They taught them the ins and out of leadership, and getting ride of the opposition was one of the key tools handed down to the children.  This was how they ruled the people.  Keep everyone in line.  

We see this even today, in every corner of industry, government, management, finance, business, etc.  As long as you stay in line with your leaders and do as they ask, keep your head down, don't make trouble, no matter what, you will be fine.  If you see something wrong, ask too many questions, speak up at the wrong time, you are subject to find yourself at the back of the line and out the door.  These are the rules of our society and they are enforced down to the man.

Ask yourself, where do you want to be in life?  On the inside or on the outside?  How far are you willing to go to achieve your goals?  What are you willing to do to get there?  Are you willing to lie, cheat, steal, slander, cause harm, murder, lower your moral standards, whatever? We are driven to get ahead.  We are motivated daily to have the things that we see that others have.  We want the same things and we will have them!  And then there is that little voice that sits on our shoulder that tells us how to get what we want if we only have the guts and the courage to take it.  Evil has come full circle.

Christ came to redeem us from the evil in the world.  He came to give us a new life, a life rich with all the joy and happiness that this world cannot offer.  He came that we might have peace within, knowing that we are already wealthy, rich beyond the worldly material of mankind.  Our joy lies with him.  Our peace is in him.  Our love is from him.  We are in him and he is in those who will accept 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 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 21, verses:31b; The publicans and harlots.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the two sons) Part 4. 

After telling them the parable of the two sons, Christ asks them the question:  "Who did the father's will?"  They answered, the first son.  He gave them the opportunity to understand this simple parable on their a level that they were familiar with.  He wanted them to know.  He wanted them to understand, to have the knowledge and the opportunity for their eyes to be opened that they might be healed.

This parable led them down the path to that knowledge.  They had to open the door.  They had to see.  They had to allow themselves to come to know what was right in front of their eyes.  Could they do this?  Were they open enough?  Could they break through the darkness that blinded them?  So:  Jesus said to them , "Amen I say to you, the
publicans and harlots are entering the kingdom of God before you." 

And there it was, right in front of their faces.  They were so blind that they could not see what was happening.  Others were accepting and entering the kingdom but they were not.  The kingdom of heaven was at hand.  The kingdom of heaven had come to them here on earth.  The kingdom of heaven had come down from heaven and was now here on earth that all might have the opportunity to see and believe.  But the chief priest and the elders could not see.  They could not understand.  They could not hear the truth of the word.  They were blind.

Are we blind today?  Are those with the wisdom and the knowledge unable to see the opportunity?  Has the knowledge of the world so influenced their inner life that it is dimmed and turned to darkness?  Can they not believe?  Can they not see?  Can they not know that we are human beings but more than that we are spiritual beings created in the image and likeness of God himself.

He gave us life.  He created us from dust.  He provided the earth, the air, the water, the sun that we might have the right environment to grow and prosper.  Yet we in our finite wisdom have converted the truth to our own interpretation and liking, that it might make sense to us.  Yet we, not knowing, can not comprehend the knowledge and wisdom of our Father who created us.  Even more we are not supposed to understand but to take a leap beyond our own wisdom and knowledge to exercise the wisdom and knowledge of the spiritual being within us.

Christ came that we would have the truth.  He came that what was lost through deceit could be regained through truth.  We were dead, without a spiritual being, according to God's decree.  Christ came to give us life again.  And that life is open to all who seek it.  It is open to all who want to know the truth.  It is open to the young and the old, the wise and the dumb, the sick and the able, it is open to all.  Let us become like the publicans and the harlots, regain our spiritual light, and enter into the kingdom of heaven, 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.