St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 29b; You who pay tribute to the prophets and the just.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their persecution of religion) Part 2.  

Years had come to past as all this took place.  God gave his people the ten commandments to live by.  He gave them the leaders to guide them along the way while they lived in the land that he promised.  He sent prophets to instruct them when they went astray.  But just as when they were in the desert, the Jews had their own way of thinking and evil had slowly crept into their mist.

God warned them of the evil that was among them.  He told them of the wolves that were growing in the flock.  But they were not aware, they did not see, they did not understand until it was too late.  It had come to the time where the evil had grown to the point of taking over the leadership in the highest order of the synagogue and now the Scribes and the Pharisees were turning against and persecuting their own religion.  They were the ones Christ told:  "You who build the sepulchres of the prophets, and adorn the tombs of the just."  

They were the ones who built the great sepulchres to the prophets and set special days to celebrate the just.  Yet they persecuted the people for the very nature of religion.  God sent the prophets and the just to warn the leaders to change their ways, to eradicate the evil that was taking over the people.  And yet the prophets were killed for their message, persecuted, scourged, crucified because they brought the truth from God to the people.  

Are we no less the same today?  Do our leaders rock the boat or do they go with the status quo?  It is said that for evil to triumph all it takes is for good men to do nothing.  Yet if one good man rises up and speaks out against the evil that is present he is put down, castrated, tarnished, scandalized, or even killed.  This is the nature of the times that we live in and God's will be done.

He told us to ask and it shall be given, to seek and we shall find, to knock and the doors shall be opened.  What if we as a collective asked him to bring us home with him?  What if we as the human race got together and sought peace, knocked on his heavenly door seeking to end this earthly reign in order that we might begin our heavenly spiritual life with him?  Would he grant us that wish?  Would he open the doors of heaven and let us in?  Would he give us our hearts desire and end the final hold of death over us all?  Let us ask and we will 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.

St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 29a; Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their persecution of religion) Part 1. 

Christ cries out for the Scribes and the Phatisees for they still did not understand the serious nature of their crimes.  Evil had taken hold of them and possessed their inner souls so deeply they were unable to comprehend the cry of the Lord for them.  He calls them hypocrites in the public eye.  He cries out for them as one would cry out for a lost child, a lost soul who does not know the way.

His cries only fall on deaf ears for they cannot hear.  They cannot understand.  They can only feel the anger from inside that comes from the hatred of evil against him.  The people look on in amazement.  They do not understand the nature of what is happening between Christ and the Scribes and the Pharisees.  If it were anyone else they would be immediately arrested, jailed, and beaten for the things they said.  But this was the Christ, the miracle worker, loved by the people, the prophet, the Messiah.  He was the one to come and no one should touch him.  So he cried out and called to them: "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"  

Strong words indead for someone to use even today, to be called a hypocrite.  Imagine going to church and having a preacher give his sermon on hypocrisy.  It might be quite a shock to the parishioners to listen to such a speech.  Some may even take it to heart, get up and walk out in the middle of the sermon.  But this was the strength of the sermon Christ gave to the Scribes and the Pharisees on that day they came to question him.  

They came in the guise of curious, inquisitive learners with the hidden agenda of a viper to bite in the end.  But Christ knew their intentions.  He knew the intent of the evil within them.  He knew their desires, their wants, their anger, and their hatred.  Yet he allowed them to question him that he might have them open themselves up to him.  He wanted the opportunity to heal them.  He wanted the opportunity to open their eyes.  He wanted the chance to maybe pierce the shield of evil that they might be wounded and stop to think of the consequences of their actions.

Yes, sometimes it takes a hard knock, a wound to be opened up, to stop and think, to reconsider the consequences of our actions.  What if my life was ended?  What if I had lost a leg or an arm or some other part.  I was luckie this time.  There may not be a next time.  I need to stop and think how fortunate I am to be alive now.  I need to stop doing those crazy things and get my life together before I loose it.  

These thoughts and others are the kind of thoughts that we have after we have a tragic event happen to us or to someone near to us.  And it is these events that open us up to hear the voice of God in our lives to put us on a different path to turn our lives around.  We can repent.  We can change.  We can do better.  We can be a better person, a loving person, a believing person, a God fearing person.  Christ died for all who would believe in him.  His love transcends all.  His heart is open to all.   

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: 28; Outwardly appear.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their hypocritical purity) Part 8.  

Christ came down from heaven to walk among mankind that he might experience the depth of life we live as humans.  He came with a purpose to do his father's will and save mankind from the sin committed by Adam and Eve from the beginning.  No one else was able to do so.  Yet his choice was made at a cost of his life on the cross, a horrible cost of pain and suffering for our sins.  He did not have to pay such a cost but because of his love, his passion for mankind, he wanted to give us a second chance to have life eternal.  

He came and he saw the horror and the iniquity that existed from the evil that had come forth upon the people.  They cried out for his help, begged for his assistance, had assurance in his power to heal, believed in his words of faith.  Yet there was still darkness in the shadows that hid from his brightness.  He saw what men could not see.  He looked beyond the outwardly appearance into the inner heart and soul of those who were full of evil and sin.  He heard the inner thoughts of the influence that evil worked upon those of power and prestige and knew their deepest thoughts and feelings.  He told the Scribes and the Pharisees:  "So you also outwardly appear just to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."

You could say he had x-ray vision because he saw what men could not see.  He saw the true filth of who they really were on the inside.  Outwardly they appeared like great men, but inwardly they were filled with dead men's bones and all sorts of ugliness.  Yet these were the men that the people honored and praised.  These were the Scribes and the Pharisees they saw everyday in the market place and the synagogue and places of worship.  These were the men that they idolized and wanted to imitate.  Yet Christ saw the other side, the inside and he called them out.  He told the people who they were.  He let the people know that they were not all they were held up to be.

Faith goes deep within the soul.  It is either there or not there.  It is either believed or not believed.  It is either a part of you or not a part of you.  Sure it can be faked.  It can be put upon like a mask and taken off like makeup.  But real faith, real belief is in the skin, in the bones, in the marrow, in the heart and soul of a person.  They know who they are because they are real.  It does not need to be preached on the corners to have substance.  It does not demand that it is shared with others from a door to door campaign to be real.  It just needs to be lived that others may see the light from which it shines within.  

Let your light shine.  Open your heart to the love that Christ has for you and you will know the truth of the living faith within.

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.