St. Matthew, Chapter 21, verse:16b; The Mouths of Infants.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Anger of the Jewish leaders) Part 4. 

Jesus was a man who came to Jerusalem to preach and teach.  Many had heard his words and many had not.  He had many followers who praised him for the things that he did for the people.  Just like many who had come before him, prophets, preachers, and teachers, sent by God, he came to bring the word to the people.

The Jewish leaders saw him as a threat.  They did not want the people to follow him, to believe in his words.  He brought new words.  He brought new meaning.  He brought a new way of life that could threaten the existing power and leadership.  And the leaders were afraid of what could happen.  They were fearful of what the people would think and believe about their leadership.  So they sought every way to destroy him and the word he brought to the people.  In the temple when the children were crying out praise to him, the leaders questioned him about what was happening.    And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings thou hast perfected praise'?" 

And so it was, even the little ones gave praise to Lord Jesus.  The leaders did not.  They were fearful.  They were in doubt.  They did not see or believe what was happening before their eyes.  Theirs was the concern of power and influence.  For they were held in power and influence for so long that they could not understand what was written in the word.  Even praise from the mouths of infants came to him.

We are our Father's children.  He created us and gave us eternal life.  Yet even though we lost what was freely given, Christ came and restored the gift of life, eternal life.  And the Holy Spirit comes and waters that gift in those who seek the eternal water of life so that they may grow and prosper in this world.  For our growth is not the growth of death but the growth of life.  And our fruit is not the withering and dying fruit of the flesh but the fruit of life that we freely give to those who are lost and without hope.

We are the example that Christ left for others to follow.  We are the example for the world to see, a light unto the darkness of the world.  We are the example to new life, a new beginning, a life eternal.  For those who can believe, for those who are not blinded by the world, we are the examples of hope, and trust in the promises of Christ Jesus.  He returned to his father that he might build a place for us in his father's kingdom.  And for those who know the spirit of the Advocate, peace be upon them.  For they no longer toil for the fruits of death but work for the fruits of eternal life.  Yours is the gift of life should you choose to accept and believe.  For belief is the key to open the door to the heart and unlock the love that awaits you from the overflowing cup of love from the Father. 

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, verse:16a; The Sounds of Praise.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Anger of the Jewish leaders) Part 3. 

They were angry.  They were furious at him.  They did not know what to do.  They were fearful of losing the power and influence obtained through their positions.  They were never praised as he was.  They were never sought after as he was.  They were never brought the sick and the lame and the cripple to be cured.  They were only the keepers and enforcers of the Law as handed down by Moses.

The chief priests and the elders saw what Christ did for the people.  He helped the poor.  He cured the blind and the lame.  And he did this in the temple for all to see.  He taught them.  He showed love to them.  He cared for them as no other elder or priest had before.  And all loved what they received from him.  Even the little ones felt his influence.  And the priests could not understand:  And said to him, "Dost thou hear what these are saying?" 

Even the little ones were giving praise to him.  They understood.  They knew.  They saw with their on eyes and they believed.  Yet those with knowledge and experience did not believe, did not know, did not understand.  How was it that the babes could see and believe yet those with years of experience and knowledge could not see or believe?  Even today with all the beauty and wonder in the world, how is it that we do not see what is plainly before our eyes?  Are we blind?  Can we not see the wonders of this world and where they came from?  Do we not breathe the air?  Do we not feel the warmth of the sun?  Do we not have food to eat that comes from the ground itself?  Are these not miracles and wonders for us to see and know that we did not create these things?

Our God provides.  Our God protects.  Our God gives us bountiful gifts to demonstrate his love for us.  Yet we cannot see.  We cannot believe.  We cannot know because we are blinded by the world before us.  Science and industry have turned the world around such that we no longer believe that which we are given.  We have devised a system that turns us away from the wonders of the natural world we were given and turns us toward the world that is created by man.  For man, through his own ingeniousness, has changed the world.  Man has created his own world.  Man has made anew a world inside the natural world and now calls this the new world that we live in.

And with this new world comes the influence of evil and evildoers.  With this new world doors are open that should be closed.  Behaviors are common that once were forbidden.  Acts are accepted as commonplace and necessary that were once frowned upon as outside the norm and unacceptable.  And these same acts and behaviors are permeated throughout society for all to see as normal or necessary to succeed.  Black, brown, blue, green, yellow, white, we are all the same, no one above another.  For God is our creator and it is he who judges and punishes for their sins.

We are all created in his image and his likeness.  We are all spirits.  We are all his children.  God is not a physical being with blue eyes, or black or brown, with colored skin.  He is spirit and we are spirit just as he is, not physical.  He gave to us this form that we might live and exist in this physical realm.  But upon our death, we are transformed into the true beings that we are, spirits, and our lives begin on a different plane, a spiritual plane.  And those that have gone before us await our coming.  Even the little ones that were called early are there to greet us.  They were the ones who saw.  They were the ones who believed.  They are the ones who know the truth more than we do today. 

Christ has said that the little ones make up the kingdom of heaven and that no one can enter unless they become like them.  Let us give shouts and praise like the little ones.  Let us see the coming of the kingdom as the little ones.  Let us know the truth of who we are like the little ones.  For theirs is the true knowledge of the kingdom, theirs is the true glory of the kingdom,  theirs is the gift that God has given us to follow and believe.

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, verse:15; Praise and Indignance.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Anger of the Jewish leaders) Part 2. 

He cleansed the temple of the money changers and the buying and selling.  He brought prayer and worship back to the temple.  Christ taught the poor and downtrodden in the temple and he cured all that were brought to him.  He was kind.  He was compassionate.  He was loving to all.  He was the Messiah.

He knew what his actions would bring.  He knew that the scribes and the chief priest would not like that he was swaying the people.  He knew that they would fear that someone else was taking control of the people away from them.  Yet his actions brought praise even down to the children.  But the chief priests and the Scribes, seeing the wonderful deeds that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David," were indignant. 

He came into Jerusalem with praise from the people that caused an uproar to all who did not know him.  He went to the temple and caused an uproar with the money changers and the buying and selling in that place of worship.  He taught the people of a new way, a way of faith, a way of peace, a way of love.  He taught them of the Father and the Father's love for all.  For he came to bring about a change.  He came to renew.  He came that all would know the truth of who he was and that the Father in heaven would forgive all of sin.  He came, to be the perfect sacrifice.

We live today with the knowledge and the words that he left for us.  We live today in the belief that there is more to this life than just what we have today.  We live in this world today with the hope that if we follow his life we will be saved for all eternity.  We live today because he gave to us a church, a temple, a place to worship, a place to belong, a membership in his body in the family of God. 

We are blessed, those who know the truth of who we are in the spirit.  Those of this world do not have the same truths.  Their truth is death.  Christ came and gave us a new life.  He came and gave us a new beginning.  He came and paid for our sins that we would no longer live under the cloud of death.  We are new beings in him.  We are spiritual in him.  We are eternal in him.  We are loved and protected in him.  The world does not know.  The world does not believe.  The world wants to take away that knowledge and change us into the living dead.  The world hates those who know and believe because the world is indignant.

Praise be to the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end.  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.