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.

St. Matthew, Chapter 22, verse: 22; They Marveled.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Tribute to Caesar) Part 12.  

So finally they heard the words from Christ as to whether one should give tribute to Caesar.  You see they thought that if Christ said that Christians should give tribute to Caesar then that meant that they should worship Caesar as their god.  They believed that Caesar was a god and that there was no other god except him.  But Christ was teaching that there was one and only one God above all including Caesar.  So they wanted to hear his words on this matter so that they would have ammunition for their case against him.

They did not know the truth of who he was.  They were indeed learned.  They were indeed learned in the scriptures, in the Jewish Laws, and text handed down from the time of Moses.  But they did not have the wisdom of God within them.  They did not have the insight of the Holy Spirit upon them that they could interpret the truth in the scriptures.  They only had the words before them and the directions of those who wanted to destroy the living word of God.  Christ spoke his words to them.  And hearing this they marveled, and leaving him went off.

He set them on a different course.  They wanted him to be on one course with Caesar at the head as one god.  But he separated the course and gave them two to follow: Caesar or the living God.  The Jews knew the living God.  He had walked with Abraham, guided Moses, lead them through the desert and into the promised land.  He had protected them and fed them through the forty years, fought the Egyptians to protect them from slaughter.  So they knew their God and what he could do.  Yet they lived under the rule of the Roman Empire and they knew what the Emperor Caesar could do.

They were fearful.  Their rulers sought not to know but only to maintain the status quo, to go along with what was being handed to them through the rulers of the Roman Empire.  The Son of Man came to walk among them and the everyday people felt his presence.  They saw his miracles.  They heard his words.  They walked with him, touched him, lived with him, breathed the same air that he did.  His presence was upon them and they knew.  But the rulers did not.

Each day we live is our trial.  We wake to carry our cross, to be tested as to if we will or will not give way to the temptations that we face.  Will we waver,  will we doubt,  will we give up hope?  The light within flickers and shines less bright.  Yet we must carry on.  We must not falter.  We must find the strength, the courage, to believe, to know, to trust that we are not alone.  We must know that the sacrifice of love and passion was not for naught.  One light shining from a distance can barely be seen, but many shining together light up the universe.  Remember, we are not alone.  He is with us each day, each hour, each and every minute of the day.  We must seek him out and hear his voice within us.  Christ is with us.

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.