St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 15 - 16, The Battle Continues: Christ wins more souls.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The mercy of Jesus) Part 1. 

Christ moves on.  He has finished his preaching and teaching in the synagogue before the people where he spoke against the Pharisees and their interpretation of the Law and the Sabbath.  Christ knew that they now gathered together to consort against him.  But he continued the battle of saving souls and preaching the gospel of the kingdom of heaven.  And the demon possessed Pharisees sought ways to trip him.  They sought ways to trick him.  They sought ways with the evil spirits to bring Christ down before the people because they were loosing control.  

Christ was saving souls.  Large crowds followed him from the synagogue and St Matthew tells us that he cured them all.  He says, "Then, knowing this, Jesus withdrew from the place; and many followed him and he cured them all, and warned them not to make him known."   Christ continues to do the work of the Father by healing the sick, curing the lame, making the blind see and raising the dead.  He was winning souls.  He was bringing back the lost sheep.  He was taking back what had been taken by force by the dark forces of evil.  The battle continued.

Christ did not want to be known.  He did not want to be famous.  He did  not seek large crowds to follow him, yet he preached to the crowds and performed miracles.  And the word spread of him and the works that he performed.  For he wanted the people to know.  He wanted them to understand.  He wanted to remove the blindness from their eyes so that they would see and believe that indeed there was a God who loved them and he came down from heaven to show them his love.  Yet Christ removed himself from those who were controlled by the dark forces of evil.  He removed himself from those who would conspire against him.  For his time had not come.  The time for sacrifice was not yet here.

Christ gave us the example and the principles of how we should live.  He walked this earth with his people.  He gave his life for his people.  He battled with the dark forces for his people.  And he brought us out of captivity from evil.  Do you still find yourself in captivity?  Are you seeking a way to find Christ in your life this day? 

Many preach prosperity in your life, which is what most of us look for in this life.  If I could only be more prosperous today, then I could be a better christian.  If I could only have the anointing upon me to be successful, then I would be living the example of a christian life today.  Christ did not have a bed to call his own nor a roof over his head to call his own.  We pray for success.  We pray for good jobs.  We pray for a house.  We pray for a a good wife or husband.  We pray for all the things of this world and not the things of heaven.  Your home is not of this world and your treasures are not worldly things.  For those who know him, he has blessed with the riches of heaven which no earthly gift can compare.  Come join the battle.  Receive the armor of the Holy Spirit and be convicted of the cause.  

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 13-14, The Battle begins: The trap is removed, the Pharisees take counsel.

Our paragraph topic is:  (A man with a withered hand) Part 3. 

And now we see the true nature of the battle taking place between the Pharisees and Christ and the demons behind the scenes of the battle.  For the Pharisees are only the puppets of the demons.  They are the ones who are calling the shots and making the plays.  They are the ones who are fighting for their lives and the hold that they have upon the people.  The demons have controlled the people for many years.  They have ruled the people with a mighty hand.  They have brought many souls into hell with their rule and they are not giving it up without a fight.  So they bring jealousy on the scene, and envy, and larceny, and hatred, and deceit, and false witness, and all the dark spirits gather in a great huddle to plan and plot a way to ride themselves of Christ.

So Christ has instructed the Pharisees and all the people in the synagogue on that day about the sensibility of the Law.  The Pharisees posed the question about the Law and the Sabbath and Christ shows them how they should be sensible about the Law.  He has already told them previously how he was Lord of the Sabbath.  Now he proves this to them by performing this miracle.  He says to them that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath, contrary to what the Pharisees have taught about the Sabbath.  Christ tells them that if you would save your sheep from a hole on the Sabbath, then you should also save your brother on the Sabbath.  Then he demonstrates how.  He Tells the man with the withered hand,  "Stretch forth thy hand."   And St Matthew tells us, and he stretched it forth, and it was restored, as sound as the other . 

St Matthew tells us that after Christ performed this miracle that the Pharisees went out and took counsel against him, how they might do away with him.   So now we begin to see how the battle is taking place and how the players in the battle are forming their lines against him.  Christ has instructed the instructors in front of the people in the synagogue.  He has demonstrated that his authority is greater than theirs and the Pharisees do not like it.  And the demons in the dark, behind the scenes are furious.  For they want to kill  him.  They want to destroy him.  They want to crucify him, but they cannot reach him for the time has not yet come.

The demons still plot against the children of Christ today.  They lurk in the darkness and plan the destruction of those who walk with Christ.  Like the Pharisees, they who participate with the demons know what they do.  They know that they do wrong, but they delight in the wrong that they do.  They have given authority to evil to come into their lives.  Do you run with evil?  Does evil whisper to you from the darkness, suggesting that you operate on its behalf?  It says, be a false witness.  It says, become a messenger for Scandal.  It says, dress with lust that you may be an attraction that causes men to sin in their hearts.  It says, speak the lies of deceit.  It says, spread the flames of hatred.  It says do all the unspeakable acts that bring forth evil, for you are becoming a child of the devil. 

The demons whisper, "Live for today", for the wrath of God awaits your downfall and death rests at your door.  Christ can save you, only if you awaken from your evil ways and understand that evil possesses you.  Repent!  For the Lord your God is a forgiving God.  For you lived in the world and did not understand.  You were blinded by the world and did not understand.  You were deceived by the world and did not understand.  The world possessed you and you did not understand.  But Christ can cast the world out of you.  Christ can heal you of the world.  Christ can make you a new person in the eyes of God.  Repent!, and you will be saved.

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 11-12, The Battle begins: The Uncovering of the Trap.

Our paragraph topic is:  (A man with a withered hand) Part 2. 

So the Pharisees are offended and the gates of hell are opened and focused on the downfall of Christ.  The Pharisees are the rulers.  The Pharisees are the enforcers.  The Pharisees are the preachers of the Law.  They are the ones who keep the people in line.  They are the ones who maintain order.  They are the scholars and men of wisdom who are known and recognized by the people.  But there is Christ who cast out demons.  There is Christ who heals the sick.  There is Christ who makes the lame walk, the blind see, and the dead to rise again.  Never before has there been such a man as this to walk the earth.

The Pharisees do not believe.  They have been seated in the halls of power far too long.  Their judgment is blind and their knowledge is earthly.  So, to deal with Christ they lay traps and plan tricks to accuse him before the people, to shame him before the people, the mock him before the people.  But the people love him.  The people adore him.  The people follow him in large crowds because they believe that this man is different, this man is more than a prophet.  They believe that this man is the Messiah.  So the Pharisees, coached by the wicked demons of the the evil one lay traps.  They question Christ about healing on the Sabbath.  Christ responds by telling them how foolish they are by asking such a question that has such a reasonable answer.  He says, ''What man is there among you who, if he has a single sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?" 

The Pharisees are grasping at straws.  Any man would save his property from ruin on any day including the Sabbath.  So Christ in asking this question appeals to the heart of the issue, do what is good on the Sabbath and every other day as well.  So Christ instructs the Pharisees in front of the people in the synagogue to do what is right and good on the Sabbath, which is totally against what the Pharisees want the people to know.  They have instructed the people and taught the people that you must not do anything on the Sabbath.  And they have used the Law which was given by God to Moses as an instrument to control the people.  But Christ tells them otherwise.  Christ takes away the power of the Pharisees over the people and gives it to them to follow.  He tells them, "How much better is a man than a sheep! Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  

Christ has raised a central issue.  What is good?  The Pharisees have been the ones who dictated to the people what was good and what was not.  Christ gave that decision back to the people, by telling them that it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath.  It was lawful for them to interpret what was good to do on the Sabbath and to not depend on the Pharisees to provide them with that interpretation.  For it is God who is the ultimate judge.  It is God who will decide who did good and who did not.  It is God who sees our inner hearts and who knows our intentions and not the Pharisees.  

Do you know God?  Do you have a relationship with Him?  We are born of the world and are not of the world.  Few come to know their true identity.  Few come to believe their true belief.  And few come to know, here on earth, the true relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit.   Yet that relationship is available to all.  Do you seek to have a personal relationship with Christ?  Do you want to know Him?  Do you want to truly love Him?  He will change your life.  For you in Him there is no desire for sin.  For you in Him there is no desire for the world.  For you in Him there is only his love for you and your love for others.  Come, know for yourself, Christ.  For he calls to you.  He wants to know you.  He wants to wrap you in his love and his protection and his heavenly riches, that cannot compare to anything that this world has to offer.  He awaits you.  Come!