St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 35a; All the Just Blood.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their persecution of religion) Part 11.  

And now comes the pronouncement of judgment against the Scribes and the Pharisees and all their kind who have persecuted religion throughout the ages.  They have massacred the prophets, slain the messengers, crucified the holy ones sent by God, and scourged those who spoke against them in the temples of the synagogues.  The evil within them has taken over and used them to commit sins against God to prevent the people from believing in the one true God.

Anger, pride, lust, slander, false witness, greed, all the sins of man have come upon the leaders of the religious sect to prevent them from seeing or feeling the sorrows of their people.  And God speaks through Christ Jesus to pronounce judgment upon them saying:  "That upon you may come all the just blood that has been shed on the earth."

They were offered the opportunity.  They were given the chance to change.  The door was opened for them many times but they refused to believe, they refused to see, they refused to go through.  Their anger, their pride, their desires, their blind ambition, led them to follow that which was given them from their lust from within, their desire for power.  They thought that they knew.  They thought that they understood.  Little did they know that they were being led down the path of destruction.  Little did they see that they would be required to do more and more evil to demonstrate their loyalty, until there was no turning back, until they had reached the point of no return and their souls were fully committed to evil.  The slippery slope of evil.  If there is no internal compass to guide one then all hope is lost and deceit will eventually play a part in the downfall.

God help us.  God guide us.  God protect those who fear him and those who love him.  Fear not for the events of the day for he has a plan that will always work to his advantage even if evil seems to win the day.  Our Father watches over us and provides and protects us.  We are in his hands and no one or nothing can take us away.  Today is our day to rejoice and be glad.  For we are protected by our Father in heaven and it is his love that will watch over us day in and day out.  Sleep well and be at peace.

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: 34b; Scourge and persecute.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their persecution of religion) Part 10.  

In the previous part God speaks to the Scribes and the Pharisees through Christ Jesus to let them know his judgment upon them.  God and Christ are one.  But we know that God speaks simply through the use of the pronoun I.  He says " I send you."  Christ does not speak this but God speaks this through Christ to the Scribes and the Pharisees.

Christ has offered them opportunities to repent of their ways.  He has opened the door for them to repent of their persecution of their religion but they are not open to the idea of repentance.  They are set in their ways, completely possessed of the evil within them.  This is why Christ calls them a brood of vipers.  They cannot change.  God tells them that the prophets and the wise men he will send them:  "And some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from town to town."

How did he know what they would do?  How did he foresee their actions?  Would they fight and continue to persecute the spread of God's religion from town to town?  Were they that zealous in their beliefs against the spread of God's love for his people?  

Christ came to establish a new covenant with man.  He came to build his church on earth, to teach his disciples how to love, how to live, how to spread the words of the kingdom of heaven.  In order to do that he had to suffer the sacrifice for our sins and pay the price for our deliverance.  The Lamb of God shed his blood for us.  He died, was buried, and rose again on the third day declaring his deliverance over death and the grave.  And God took him into his arms up into heaven where he sits at his right hand waiting for the coming of judgment day.

Do not be afraid Christ told his disciples many times.  His last words were that he will be with us always, even until the end of the world.  Let us remember that we have a Father in heaven who is the creator of all things who is in control.  When things do not go the way that we expect or would like and we get disappointed, always remember that God is in control and it is he who has the ultimate say.  It is his plan that will work out and not ours.  We must be thankful that he is in control and not us.  Thank you Father for the blessings that you have given us this day.  Keep us in your grace. 

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: 34a; Behold, I send you.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their persecution of religion) Part 9.  

It is amazing and chilling these next sentences in this paragraph because they pose a unique perspective from which we can view the nature of our God.  Christ speaks for God the Father because he is one with the Father.  Everything that he does comes from the Father.  Many times he tells the disciples that a cripple has not sinned as they might believe nor has someone in their family done so.  But it is the will of God that the cripple is there before them that he may be cured so that they might believe in him.

God has allowed those things to happen so that they will serve his purpose in showing the disciples who he is and who his son is, that they may believe in him.  And it is through his son that he works and performs his miracles.  And yet he does not speak.  But in this one sentence the voice of God comes forth after offering the Scribes and the Pharisees opportunity to escape hell.  God tells them:  "Therefore, behold, I send you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and some of them you will put to death, and crucify."

It is the "I" that testifies to the speaker.  For Christ does not speak but it is God the Father that speaks through him telling the Scribes and the Pharisees what they have done and will do to those that God sends to help his people.  They persecute religion and it is the evil within them that has taken over completely and will not let go of their souls.

They are possessed and ignorant of the fact.  They are workers of evil and see no wrong in what they do.  They are doomed to the judgment of hell as those before them and do not understand the punishment before them.  How can they escape?  How can they not reap the rewards of hell?  

How thankful are we to have the knowledge and the understanding we have today.  It has been given us the way and the truth of who we are.  It has been given us the word of God that we may know his will for us that keeps us from harms way.  It has been given us the path to follow that leads us to the kingdom of heaven.  It has been given us a guide to help us along the way that we may not go astray or be led astray.  All this is ours for the asking if we believe in him who came to save us and the one who sent him, our loving Father.  God is real, God is ever living, God is loving and forgiving.  He is merciful and full of joy and hope and peace for those who love him.  God your Father loves you as much as you love him.  Open your heart to him and see.


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.