OUR FATHER WHO MADE HUMAN BEINGS MALE AND FEMALE

Matthew chapter 19 verses 1 ~ 10 records Jesus leaving Galilee and travelling south east to a portion of Judah on the east side of the Jordan river. Here, He healed the crowds of people who had followed Him. The religious leaders, still looking to discredit Him because He was becoming an importer center of gravity on spiritual matters, took the opportunity to question Him on the contentious issue of divorce.

1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”

8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

 In response to their question about the acceptability of divorce in the law of God, Jesus explained that even though the law of Moses permitted divorce, it was not in the original design specifications of human beings set by the creator of mankind.

Male and female beings, though born separate, are designed by God to become one flesh upon upon marriage and as such, there is no permissisable grounds for divorce except for sexual immorality by one  the partners.

For those who would be citizens of the kingdom of God, Jesus instructs that the original specifications for human beings are in force and as such divorce is disallowed and those who are divorced must stay celibate in order not to commit adultery.

10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

The disciples, hearing this high standard being reestablished, concluded that it was better not marry in the first place to avoid the hazards of being so permanently joined to someone in an intolerable partnership.

Have mercy on us O God.

8

 OUR FATHER WHO FORGIVES THOSE WHO FORGIVE OTHERS

Matthew chapter 18 verses 21 - 35, in the context of the expected conduct of the citizens of the kingdom of God, the disciple Peter approached Jesus with a question related to how many times a person needed to forgive an offending  brother in Christ before giving up and striking him with retribution. The prevailng culture had set that number at seven.

21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down [e]at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 

30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

The Lord Jesus responded with a different standard and He set the number at 490 ( 7 x 70 ) which was in effect an endless number of times that a person who offends us and asks for forgiveness should be forgiven.

The parable given by Jesus ( about a servant who has a huge debt forgiven yet refused to forgive a small debt ), illustrated the view that our Heavenly Father had of people who had been forgiven of much debt and yet showed no mercy towards others.

The heavenly Father will readily forgive those who forgive and for those who refuse to forgive, everything they owe will be required of them.

Have mercy on us o God.

Amen.

4

 OUR FATHER WHO DOES WHAT WE AGREE TO ASK FOR IN JESUSˋ NAME

Continuing on the theme of the collective power the citizens of the kingdom of God, the Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 18 verses 19 - 20, said this;

19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Strongly emphasising what He was telling them by prefacing it with ˋtrulyˋ, Jesus said that if even a quorum of two people collected together and reached a consensus of what to ask for and asked for it in prayer, it would be done for them by our Father in heaven.

The principle established here is that the authority of Jesus is operational where even a small group of two or three people gather in His name.

This dynamic should encourage citizens of the kingdom of God to form associations with each other that can readily gather to seek  the face of God on any matter facing them or affecting their families or communities.

Amen.

1

 OUR FATHER WHO GAVE AUTHORITY TO HIS PEOPLE

The Lord Jesus, in Matthew chapter 18 verses 15 - 18,  speaking of the protocols of the kingdom of God that would be applicable to the earthly church, said this;

15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 

16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 

17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

This model of corrective action demonstrates a systems of checks and balances that preserves the standing and privacy of individual members while allowing for an escalation process that makes it possible to screen out the most agriegous conduct.

Starting with interpersonal intervention, people can bring up concerns that they have with each other in a private setting and here, much grace is provided to call back a brother or sister into the fold with no fanfare and no humiliation.

If this level is ignored and an escalation is warranted, two or three others can be called in to consider the matter. Here, the other participants are checks on the opinion of the one bringing the concerns and if they agree that there is merit to the concerns, they can approach the offending person. 

If this is rebuffed, then the matter can be refered to their local church to weigh in on the matter and establish the validity of the concerns or the defensive arguments of the one being corrected.

At this point, refusal to respect the considered and final  ruling of the local  church can righfully result in expulsion of the person.

At each level, the process is fully authoritive in the spirit realm.

If the person responds positively at the first aproach, that person is reinstated into the fold on earth and in heaven as well and this is true of the second level as well where a person can be reinstated.

If, however, the person rejects councel all the way up to the church level,  they can be expelled from the church and they are expelled in the realm of the spirit as well. Only a counter-ruling on earth by an authoritative person can reverse that judgement. 

An example of this is where Moses, in Deutronomy chapter 33 verses 4 - 6 is recorded to have reversed the judgement on Rueben that was cast upon him by his father Jacob;

4 Moses commanded a law for us, A heritage of the congregation of Jacob.

5 And He was King in Jeshurun, When the leaders of the people were gathered, All the tribes of Israel together.

6 “Let Reuben live, and not die, Nor let his men be few.”

As such, whereas even an individual can reinstate a person into the fold on earth and in the spirit, only a church council can expell a person and even that can be reversed by a single person of authority.

The kingdom of God heavily favors reinstatement and expulsion is only narrowly possible.

Have mercy on us o Lord.

8

 OUR FATHER IS NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH

Matthew chapter 18 verses 12 - 14,  recording the Jesus teaching His disciples more about the value of Godˋs little ones, says this;

12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 

14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

The scene painted here by Jesus is that of a sheep owner in the hills tending his hundred sheep.

One of the sheep, maybe seeking greener pasture, wanders away and finds itself separated from the flock and lost.

The man, keen on recovering his lost sheep, leaves the other sheep and scours the hills looking for the lost one and IF he finds it, he is more thrilled about finding the lost one than he is about the ones that were never lost.

The implication is that there is a chance that the man would be unable to find the missing sheep and this translates back to mean that if we, little ones get lost, there is a chance that we may never be found. 

If we get lost and entangle ourselves out of sight and out of reach and refuse entreaties to return to the flock, we could be left behind to fend for ourselves.

The Father is not willing that any of His little ones get lost and He expends much time and treasure to retrieve them but if by their own will, refuse to return, He will not forcefully compel anyone to be part of His Kingdom.

Have mercy on us O Lord.

4

OUR FATHER WHO IS READILY ACCESSIBLE TO THE ANGELS OF THE LITTLE ONES

Continuing in the context of the citizens of the kingdom of heaven being innocent and trusting as little children, the Lord Jesus issues a caution to His disciples (and to us) not to look down on them. To demean or to devalue the Lord's humble servants is a dangerous practice because their angels (their spirits) have continous access to the Father who is in heaven and to bring injury or discouragement to them could invite retribution from God.

If a little one of God is put to grief and the matter comes up before the Father, He will involve Himself and it is inadvisable to be in the position of facing the inquiry of God regarding our conduct towards His little ones.

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. 

It is because of this dynamic that the Lord Jesus gives the counsel found in Matthew chapter 5 verse 40 which reads as follows;

If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.

As little ones, if someone takes you to court to deprive you of your tunic, surrender your cloak as well. This act of weakness and dependence on the Father will involve Him in the case and His response is what the Lord Jesus was speaking of in Matthew chapter 18 verse 10.

The angels spoken of in this passage  are most likely the spirits of the little ones in the same way that Genesis chapter 16 verse 10 speaks of the Angel of the LORD in reference to the Spirit of God. 

10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 

Matthew chapter 18  verse 11 exists only in some manuscripts with the words from Luke chapter 19 verse 10 which reads;

11? for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

This verse, if read into the context,  indicates that because a very high price has been paid for the little ones, when they are found and saved, they are highly valuable to the Father and He fiercely concerns Himself with their welfare.

Thus the Lord Jesusˋ stern warning.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHOSE KINGDOM WE MUST PRIORITIZE

In the context of the little child who was brought among the disciples to illustrate that they should change to be more like children to be eligible for the kingdom of God, the Lord Jesus gave a dire warning to those who would make it their preoccupation to cause believers in Him to stumble or fall away from their belief.

6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 

7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 

This warning,  pertaining to those people who are used by the kingdom of darkness to derail the faith of people, should give pause to those who find themselves engaged in missions to discourage people from their faith in Jesus or to prevent the pure gospel of salvation from reaching the ears of people who would otherwise believe if they heard and thus enter the kingdom of God.

8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

The urgency of  salvation is starkly empahsized here where each person is advised to remove any element in their lives that would prevent them from acquiring and retaining citizenship in the kingdom of God. 

The Lord Jesus gave the analogy of the removal of body parts that impede us from being able to gain the kingdom of God. The point made is that the is no loss of earthly things that can be more grievious than the failure to enter the kingdom of God. 

We must gladly give up any and all things in our lives whether it be wealth, famillial or romantic bonds, social participation or position or any form of attachment to worldly living or sinful conduct that would undermine our faith in Christ and lead us away from the pursuit of the kingdom of God.

The value of the kingdom of God far exceeds any percieved advantage that we may have in this world and so, when it comes to making the trade, Jesus counsels us to discard all the parts of our lives that would keep us attached to the systems of this world and instead reach for the kingdom of God in faith.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHOSE SON IS THE KING OF KINGS

Matthew chapter 18 verses 1 - 5 records a debate question that the disciples of Jesus raised and the counterintuituve answer that the Lord Jesus responded to the question with.

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

The disciples were trying to understand their place in the heirarchy of the kingdom of God and as such, wanted to establish who was at the top of the pyramid and thus would have the most authority and power in the coming kingdom that Jesus had been unfurling for them.

In the most cynical reading, one could infer that the disciples, given the name of the person who was at the top, could then begin currying favor with that person by being obsequious towards them. 

In the most generous reading, the disciples may have wanted to know who was going to be at the top so that they could emulate that personˋs conduct because it was the currency of the new realm. If, for example, the person chosen to be at the top was extremely organized and well-spoken, they would try to develop and showcase their own organizational skill and practice their diction and speech making abilities.

Either way, the understanding of the kingdom of God being structured as a top-down command and control system in which gaining the favour of men or personal merit was the means of advancement, was incorrect.

The Lord Jesus cut through the false understanding of the kingdom of God by calling a random child and placing the child among them. Jesus said to them that unless they changed their machiavelian self-seeking ways and become like the innocent non-descript, unassuming child, they would never even enter the kingdom of God let alone being great in the kingdom.

Once prideful and selfish ambition was eliminated and the humble innocence of a child was adopted, a person could enter the kingdom of God and become great in the kingdom.

Jesus chose a child as the standard template for citizenship in His kingdom because a child is small, dependent and trusting and thus those who would be able to enter the kingdom of God would need to see themselves as small and insignificant, see themselves as dependent on God and be trusting towards God to care for them.

In that posture, a citizen of the kingdom of God is able to be taught by God (through service towards the Lord and others), to grow into faithful and responsible servants who are great in the kingdom of heaven.

Further to that, the Lord Jesus added an injuction that linked His humble servants (who unambitiously made themselves lowely) to Himself such that any person who welcomed these servants was in effect welcoming the Lord Himself.

The citizens of the kingdom of God can understood to be peculiar servant / king hybrids who are at once lowly servants and also mighty kings under the kingship of the Lord Jesus.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS OWN SON TO ISRAEL

The Lord and His disciples, returning from the mountain of the transfiguration, arrived back in their main operating base of the town of Capernaum, a  contingency of tax collectors approached Peter and asked him if Jesus his rabbi paid the temple tax of two drachmas to which Peter replied answered in the affirmative. Matthew chapter 17 verses 24 - 27 capture this interaction.

24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

25 “Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

When Peter entered the house, Jesus, knowing about Peterˋs  conversation with the tax collectors, asked Peter a question regarding whom the rulers of the kingdoms of the earth collected taxes from.  The question was whether the administrators collected taxes from their own children or from other people.

26 “From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. 27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

This question, treated as a parable, has these elements and what they correspond to;

• Revenue collections as taxes  -   Financial obligations to support the temple 
• Kings of the earth  -   The God of Israel
• The kingˋs children  -  The Lord Jesus the Son of God
• Others (subjects of the king)  - Regular parishoners of the religious system

When Peter replied that kings did not collect taxes from their own chidren, the Lord Jesus made the point to Peter that as the Son of the God of the temple, He was rightfully exempt from paying the taxes for the temple.

However, to avoid offending the administrators of the jurisdiction they were in, Jesus instructed Peter to go to the lake and throw out his fishing line and in the mouth of the first fish he caught, he would find a four drachma coin which would exactly pay Jesusˋ tax bill as well as Peterˋs.

This event gives us a view into the position that Jesus held in the spirit but shows us the accomodations that He made to allow His ministry to continue to the fullness of time.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO DIE FOR THE SALVATION OF MEN

Matthew chapter 17 verses 22 - 23 records the return of Jesus and His Disciples back to their home region of Galilee and at this time, the Lord Jesus told them explicitly what was goingto happen to Him in the near future.

22 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.

The disciples reacted with grief because they could not reconcile the two points that Jesus had mentioned pertaining to being killed and then being raised to life after three days.

They were witnessing His dynamic ministry of healing and teaching which, to them, was a harbinger of the restoration of the kingdom of Israel and they were having a difficult time comprehending the antithetical timeline that the Lord was introducing to them.

The Lord, speaking of Himself in the third person using the title of Son of Man, gives them a sequence of three events.

The Son of Man was going to be;

1. Delivered into the hands of men
2. Be killed by men
3. Be raised to life three days after He was killed

The timeline given should have mystified the disciples and filled them with questions about Jesus being raised from the dead but they seemed not to have heard that part and only heard that He was going to be killed and thus they were filled with grief.

Interestingly, it appears that the kingdom of darkness could not hear what Jesus was telling His disciples either because He had the power to keep the information from being overheard in the spiritual realm even as He spoke to His disciples.  1 Corinthians chapter 2 verses 7 - 8 tells us that the spiritual rulers of the age did not comprehend the mystery of the resurrection because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

The book of John Chapter 1 verses 4 - 5 tells us that the incomprehension of the kingdom of darkness was what the plan of salvation was going to hinge on.

 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

The life that was in Jesus was the light of men and even as He explained what was to occur for the plan of salvation to be completed, His light shone in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO HEAL AND TO SAVE

Matthew chapter 17 verses 14 - 21 records an event when Jesus descended the mountain after the transfiguration and they came up to the crowd of people who had been waiting below. One of the people came up to Jesus and asked the Lord to help his son who had suffered from seizures. He had brought the young man to the disciples but they had been unable to heal him.

14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

Upon getting this report, Jesus reacted with indignation and asked how long He would have to put up with being among a faithless and perverse generation. He commanded that the boy be brought to Him and He evicted the demon with a rebuke and the boy was healed.

17 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”  

(verse 21 ? - Mark chapter 9 verse 29; This kind can only come out by prayer and fasting)

Later, in private, the disciples asked the Lord Jesus why they were unable to cast the demon out themselves. They had done what they had seen Jesus doing but they were foiled by the particular demon in the epileptic boy.

Jesus told them that their faith was too small. He taught them that if their faith was even the size of a mustand seed, they would be able to say to the mountain (that they had just descended) to move from one location to another location and it would move. 

If they had been able to generate even a little faith, they would have been able to heal the epileptic boy.

Matthew 17 verse 21 is missing from the text but some manuscripts insert the verse from Mark chapter 9 verse 29.  This verse reads a little out of synch in the context but indicates that evicting  the type of demon in question requires prayer and fasting.

This corollary points to prayer and fasting as the ingredients needed in order to grow the required level of faith. Support for this inference can be found in Jude verses 20 - 21;

20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Amen.

24

OUR FATHER WHO IS UNSEEN, SEES IN SECRET

The Lord and His three closest disciples returned down the mountain after the revealing of Jesus in His glory. Mathew chapter 17 verses 9 - 13 continues the narrative this way;

9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

The Lord told the three men to be silent about what they had seen and only to reveal it to other people when He was raised from the dead. This request revealed the discreet nature of the kingdom of God. Many of the spiritual experiences that are part of the kingdom of God are to be kept in secret and only if explicitly instructed to reveal them should  they be described to other people. This is a mirror of what is said in Matthew chapter 6 verse which describes God as one who operates in the unseen and sees in secret.

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Thus the interactions that we have with our Father in heaven should be held close to our hearts unless instructed otherwise.

10 The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

As they walked, the disciples, curious and puzzled about what had just happened, tried reconcile their vision of Elijah with what the religious teachers  had been teaching them about him.

Jesus clarified for them that the Elijah did come first and they saw him in the person of John the Baptist but the establishment had him eliminated by killing him and that is why they saw him standing with Moses and Jesus.

Ominously, the Lord told them that He too would suffer at the hands of the religious and political establishment.

Lord have mercy on us.

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER INTRODUCED HIS SON AS ONE IN WHOM HE WAS WELL PLEASED

Nearly a week after talking to His disciples about the prudent path of transacting the temporal world for the eternal kingdom, the Lord Jesus gave His close followers a glimpse into the eternal reality that He was from.

 Matthew chapter 17 verses 1 - 8 records the event known as the transfiguration where the veil over Jesus that concealed His glory was temporarily lifted so that His refulgent glory was visible to mortal men.

1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

The transfiguration is decribed as a display of brilliant white light where Jesusˋ face shone like the sun and His garments gleamed as radiant white as the light itself.

As the three disciples looked on, Moses and Elija who were talking to the Lord, suddenly became visible to them. 

As Jesus stood in His Father's glory, these two men at His side can be understood to be the Father's angels and this appearance to Peter, James and John was due to their giving up of their lives to follow Jesus and serve His kingdom.

This was in keeping with His promise in the previous chapter in verse 27 where he said He would come in His Father's glory with His angels.

The disciple Peter, awed by the astonishing sight, immediately wanted to spring into action and build a shelter or shrine to each of them but He was interupted when a cloud covered them and  the voice of the Father spoke to introduce them anew to Jesus in the revealed glory. 

“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

This caused Peter, James and John to fall to the groud in terror and the Lord had to touch them to revive them out of their petrifaction and reassure them not be be afraid after the vision of His glory had passed.

Thus the Lord Jesus was shown to be the One of whom the law (represented by Moses) and the prophets (represented by Elijah) were written.

Amen.

12

OUR FATHER WHOSE GLORY IS GIVEN TO THE SON OF GOD

The Lord Jesus, having spoken to His disciples about the changing season where He would go to Jerusalem and face death at the hands of the religious and political leaders, taught them that their involvement in the kingdom He was ushering in would require them to follow His example by taking up their crosses the way He was going to take up His.

He explained to them that the economy of the kingdom of God worked counterintuitively  by sacrifice where working to preserve oneˋs own life caused the loss of the life while losing oneˋs for the sake of Jesus would result in the recovery of that life.

In the kingdom of God where eternal values are being traded for, the Lord Jesus counsels His disciples to value nothing of the world because even if they acquired the entire earth, what help would that be to them if they lost their soul?

In another transactional analogy, the Lord asked His disciples what they would offer to retain their own souls. The loss of oneˋs soul is the loss of oneˋs being and continual conciousness and in face of the extinguishing of oneˋs conciousness, would not even oneˋs life be a reasonable trade for the retention of the soul seeing that life on earth is temporal while the concious soul would be eternal?

The soul, if preserved in Christ, would, if one was to give their life to Christ for His Kingdom, be rejoined in eternal life so that a person would experience a contiguous progression of their being from the temporal realm to the eternal realm.

Matthew chapter 16 verses 24 - 28 says this;

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 

26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 

27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

If a person gave up their lives for Christ, they would see the Son of Man in His Fatherˋs glory with His angels where what they forfeited and what they did in obedience would be compensated for in the form of a reward.

Jesus concluded this elucidation by declaring to His disciples that some of them standing there with Him,  having given up their lives and livelihoods to follow Him, would see Him in the context of His kingdom before they died and the truth of His words would be made clear to them.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO GAVE HIS SON AS A RANSOM FOR MANY

After Peter had said that he believed that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God, Jesus began to speak of the end point of His ministry on earth where the religious leaders would orchestrate His death but that he would rise on the third day. Matthew chapter 16 verses 21 - 23 records this change in messaging that occured.

21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

There seemed to have been an agreement between the Father and the Lord Jesus that Jesus would know that the time had come to prepare to fall into the hands of the religious leaders when the spiritual understanding of Jesusˋ true identity became clear to at least one person.

Jesus began to educate His disciples about the approaching eventuallity that was the ultimate reason for His mission on earth.

In reponse to this, Peter grew very concerned and countered Jesusˋ words by saying that He and the others would never let the terrible fate of death happen to HIm.

Jesus rejected Peterˋs objection seeing that it was a fleshly impulse to avoid difficulty while the pertinent impulse should have been to attend to Godˋs concerns over every other considersation.

Lord have mercy on us.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER REVEALED HIS ETERNAL SON TO MORTAL MEN

Matthew chapter 16 verses 17 - 20 continued from where Peter spoke the words that confirmed that the Father had given the revelation of Jesusˋ identity to one of His followers and Jesus responded by blessing him and telling Him that tehe source of what He now knew about Jesus was not as a result of earthly pursuit but rather an intervention by our Father in heaven.

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I  will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

The Lord Jesus declared that the revelation that had been issued to Peter was the foundation upon which He would build His church and that the gates of hell would not be able to withstand the onslaught of the the chuch when it came to plunder the souls of men from out of its grasp.

The revelation would give those who believed it and adhered to it a super-power that would give them the access codes to the kingdom of heaven and they would have the authority to bind and loose things in the spiritual realm by binding and loosing them on earth.

In other words, because of the revelation of Jesus as Messiah, coporeal beings operating in the corporeal realm would be bestowed with the power to bind and loose things in heaven.

This momentus turn of events where a mortal man was given the understanding that jesus was the Messiah, as stunning as it was, needed to be kept discreet because the time had not yet come to proclaim it to the wider society and it was such a bold and consequential claim that it became the flash point that triggered the religious esablishment plot how they could  kill Jesus.

Lord have mercy on us.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO MAKES KNOWN THE SON TO US

The Lord Jesus and His disciples, traveling west from Capernaum to ease the political tension that was mounting between Jesus and the religious leaders (when He called them hypocrites), came to the Caesarea Philippi area where construction and urban renovations were underway which was one of the ways that the Romans set their mark in the lands that they occupied. While they were in that construction environment, Jesus asked His disciples a question to detect whether the Father in heaven had revealed the ongoing plan of salvation to anyone to them who Jesus actually was. The disciples listed some guesses such as Elijah, Jeremiah and other prophets that they had been hearing being mentioned by the people they had come in contact with. Matthew chapter 16 verses 13 - 17 recorded this interchange.

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

The fact that people were identifying Jesus as a re-appearance of various prophets demonstrated to Him that His  Father in heaven had not yet opened the understanding of the people of Israel. 

Jesus decided to narrow the scope of His inquiry to just the people who had been with Him from the beginning of His ministry and He asked this;

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

He asked a non-leading question of His disciples to see if any of them had recieved insight into who they had been following all that time and if so, Jesus was expecting to hear very specific words in their response. 

It was Simon Peter to whom the Father had given a grasp of the true identity of Jesus;

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 

The Lord Jesus was thrilled by this development because He had been waiting for it and His Father in Heaven began this phase of Jesusˋ ministry by opening a window of spiritual undestanding to Peter, the humble fisherman who had left his boat to follow Jesus.

Jesus informed Peter that He was blessed of God because he had not arrived at the conclusion that Jesus was Messiah and the Son of God by the coporeal means of logic or study but rather that the heavenly Father revealed it to Him so that he was able to know what was otherwise concealed.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO INTRODUCED NEW WINE FOR NEW WINESKINS

The Lord Jesus, having just confronted the Pharisees and religious leaders over their hypocrisy of playing the role of spiritual leaders while knowing nothing of spiritual things, wanted to warn His disciples to stay clear of that kind of hypocritical conduct.

In Matthew chapter 16 verses 5 - 12, Jesus said to them to be on high alert against the yeast of the pharisees and Saddusees.

5 When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6 “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

7 They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”

8 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 

11 How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

The disciples mistook Jesusˋ caution to be a rebuke for forgetting to bring bread with them on the journey across the sea of galilee and they discussed this among themselves.

Jesus,  knowing about their conversation, was exasperated by their inability to understand that bread (or the lack thereof) should not have been a concern for them especially having, on two occassions, seen bread being multiplied enough to feed thousands of people.

Jesus clarified for them that the yeast He was speaking about were the teachings of the religious leaders whose corrupt doctrines were devised to benefit themselves and to maximize their dominance over the people of Israel.

Jesus was warning them that based on their failure to understand the times, the Pharisees and the Saddusees were going to be their primary persecutors starting with Jesus Himself and then the disciples after Him.

Jesus was also warning them against letting the same corruption infect their own doctrines where lifeless religious traditions replaced the potent spiritual life of faith.

In the absence of true spiritul understanding, their own teaching would devolve into the  same corruption that the Pharisees and Saddusees propagated: A directionless and contradictory corpus of man-made traditions enforced by intimidation.

Have mercy on us Lord.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE SON WAS GIVEN UNTO US

Matthew chapter 16 verses 1 - 4  says this;

1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; 3 and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.

The Lord Jesus went on healing campaigns in the northern areas of Israel and attracted large numbers of people and His growing popularity and influence concerned the religious figures from the establishment and they tested Him by asking Him to prove that He was indeed sent from heaven by showing them a sign from heaven.

Being religious leaders, the expectation of them was that they should have been able to disern the times they were living in and guide the people of Israel accordingly but even though they had learned how to read the signs of the sky to predict the coming weather,  they had failed to learn how to read the spiritual signs and for this reason, Jesus called them hypocrites. They had presented themselves as spiritual leaders of the people but had no understanding of spiritual things. Instead, they had mastered the signs of the corporeal realm to forecast the weather and passed that skill off as spiritual understanding.

The Lord informed them that because they were seeking signs from heaven, this was an indicator that they were wicked and adulterous and as such, no sign would be given to them except the sign of Jonah. If they were righteous and devout towards God, they would has been able to disern the times as Simeon of Jerusalem did as Luke chapter 2 verses 25 - 32 says.

25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, 28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying

29 “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.

30 I have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared for all people.

32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

Simeon had set an example of righteousness and was therefore able to disern the times by following the Holy Spirit but the religious leaders were disconnected from the culture of righteousness and so Jesus told them that the only sign they would receive was the sign of Jonah where for three days, Jonah was in the belly of the fish before being regurgitated back on land.

This sign that Jesus promised the religious leaders was a cryptic reference to Jesusˋ own death at their hands where He would descend into the belly of the earth for three days before being vomited out of hell due to the incompatibility between His righteousness and the wickedness of hell.

By actively participating in sign of Jonah, the religious leaders, with only a few exceptions, overlooked the sign altogether and missed the day of their visitation.

In the book of Luke chapter 19 verses 41 - 44, Jesus described the situation this way;

41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Lord have mercy on us.´

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO GAVE HIS SON TO SAVE THE WORLD

The Lord Jesus, in Matthew chapter 15 verse 32 - 39, revealed that He was deeply concerned about the condition of those who had followed Him for up to three days without food.

32 Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

33 Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?”

34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.”

35 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36 And He took the seven  loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. 37 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. 38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

The disciples, looking at the desolate surroundings they were in, were not convinced that they could help the large crowd.

Jesus asked them for a small amount of food that they had in reserve and having given thanks, broke up the bread and fish and as it was being distributed by the disciples, it multiplied and became enough to feed all 4000 men and the women and children who had followed Him.

This miracle was a forshadowing of the sufficiency of Jesusˋ sacrifice of His body to be broken for all those who would follow after Him.

His body, symbolized by the broken bread, multiplied to be the grace for all men who believed in Him with even seven baskets to spare.

The pieces of fish that were being distributed alongside the bread symbolized the sacrifices of Jesusˋ  followers (who were themselves fished into the kingdom) who would give their lives to spread the gospel in service of Jesus and together, the power of the gospel would be sufficient to save all those in the world who were to be saved.

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO SAVE US

Leaving the towns by the Mediteranian Sea, the Lord Jesus travelled inland again and went around the edge of the sea of Galilee to an elevated position and sat down there.

The people from all the surrounding areas came with their friends and relatives who had various afflictions like blindness and the inability to talk as described in Matthew chapter 15 verses 29 - 31.

29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. 31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

With Jesus healing all the people from their ailments, He was fulfilling the prophecy of  Isaiah chapter 35 verses 4 - 6 which desribes the arrival of God as the salvation of Israel as being distinct because it would be accompanied by the healing of the afflictions of the people.

4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear!

Behold, your God will come with vengeance,

With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” 

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing.

For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.

Amen.

4

 OUR FATHER WHO CANNOT BE PLEASED WITHOUT FAITH

The Lord Jesus, having antgonized the religious leaders who had come to the Capernaum region to take stock of Him, travelled westward to the Mediteranian coast to visit the cities of Tyre and Sidon.  

While ministering there, a woman of the Syro-Phoenecian culture heard of Jesusˋ miraculous power and decided to track Him down and ask for His consideration regarding her daughter who was terribly demonized. The passage from Matthew chapter 15 verses 21 - 28 captured the interaction between Jesus and the woman.

21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”

24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

The Lord Jesus did not respond to her when she cried out to Him to help her with her child who was at home completely debilitated by the affliction and so she turned to the disciples and badgered them so persistently that they pleaded with Jesus to send her away.

Jesus said to them that He was specifically sent to the children of Israel and thus, she, being a syro-phoenician rather than a child of Israel, was excluded from His ministrations.

The woman elbowed her way through the disciples and worshiped Jesus and pleaded with Him for assistance.

Jesus spoke to her in a parable to clarify for her why he couldnˋt take what was alloted to other people to give to her. The parable described a scene where the children of a household were at the table eating and there were dogs under the table who were begging for food but it would be inappropriate to divert the childrenˋs food to the dogs. Jesus was asking how, in good concious, one could take food away from children in order to feed the little dogs?

In the parable, the children were the people of Israel to whom Jesus was sent. The bread was the teaching and healing ministry that Jesus was dispensing. The little dogs were the non-Israelite people such as the syro-phoenician woman. 

Jesus categorically told the woman that it would be a misappropriation for resources to expend effort on her case but she pressed him with an irrefutable response.

She said to Him that while it was true that taking food from children to give to dogs was wrong, if the children were not eating everything that was being offered to them and some fell off the table, surely the dogs could eat what was being discarded without harming the children.

This answer was very perceptive. 

The children of Israel had been ambivalent about the arrival of their Messiah and as a nation, had not wholeheartedly accepted the fact that the kingdom of God had touched ground in their midst. The woman noticed this and claimed for herself the crumbs that the children of Israel were dropping off the table.

The Lord was arrested by that response. He said to her:

“O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.”

The ˋO womanˋ phrase was an exclamation of surprised admiration that Jesus expressed for this woman.

Because of her great faith, He granted her what she was seeking because she had perceived the unseen substance of the thing she had hoped for.

As the book of Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1 says, 

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO WILL ONLY PRESERVE THOSE HE HIMSELF PLANTED

The Lord Jesus, having castigated the religious leaders for placing the traditions of men above the law of God, spoke to the people and explained the absurdity of slavishly following the traditions of men. 

10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”

Here, the Lord Jesus gave a spiritual axiom that renders the tradition of washing hands before eating spiritually unprofitable. While the cultural traditon was promoted as mandatory in order to maintain spiritual purity,  the Lord explained that eating with unwashed hands cannot cause spiritual contamination. 

Spiritual contamination is caused by the corrupt heart of a man moving the man to say and do  corrupt things and so it can be understood that what goes into a man by means of unwashed hands does not contaminate him but rather, what comes out of his heart in the form of words or actions that manifest from his physical body, is what what contaminates him.

12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”

13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”

15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

16 So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

The disciples were concerned that the Lord was provoking the religious and political leaders by challenging the traditions they upheld and so Jesusˋ disciples alerted Him that the Pharisees were offended at Him. 

The Lord told them that His heavenly Father would uproot the doctrinal authority structures that He Himself did not plant (mirroring the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew chapter 13). Because of their lack of spiritual understanding, the pharisees were like blind men and those who followed them were blind and as a result, they would all fall in a ditch. 

Because the religious leaders of the day did not understand spiritual matters, they were concerning themselves with traditions that were pointless and teaching others to focus on these observances that had no effect on their spiritual well being and thus condeming them to lives of futile religious activities.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO DESIRES OBEDIENCE OVER SACRIFICE

Matthew chapter 15 starts with the religious and academic leaders of the day, having traveled north from Jerusalem to assess what the Lord Jesus was doing in the Samarian territory, observed that the disciples of Jesus did not observe the traditions that were laid down by men.

They approached Jesus with an objection to the fact that his disciples did not wash their hands before they ate bread. The washing of hands before eating was not a legal requirement but had been established as a cultural tradition and the religious leaders were  enforcing the tradition as though it were law.

The passage in Mathew chapter 15 from verse 1 to verse 9 records the confrontation between Jesus and the pharisees on this point.

1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 

3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 

7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 

8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.  

9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

The Lord Jesus turned the hyper-sensitity of the religious leaders to their traditions back on them. Jesus told them that they venerated the man-made cultural norms so highly that they displaced the actual commands of God with their traditions.

He gave an example of a tradition had been set up where a person could say to his parents that whatever they were going to receive from him was a gift to God and by saying this, that person was no longer obilgated to honor his parents with support and thus the law of God that required a person to honor his parents was nullified by a artificial custom.

The Lord, incensed by the scribesˋ and phariseesˋ disregard for the holy law of God, quoted the prophet Isaiah in chapter 29 verse 13 which foretold of the teachers of the law who made a public showing of their peity but were insincere and preferred their own mandates over what God actually required.

“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips,

But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,

Amen.

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