Mercy is kindness bestowed as forgiveness by God. It is undeserved by the recipient and freely given by the giver.
Deut. 4:31 "For the LORD thy God is a merciful God"
Neh. 9:31 "Nevertheless, for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them, for thou art a gracious and merciful God."
Dan. 9:9 "To the LORD our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him."
Lk. 6:36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
Ps. 25:6 Remember O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindness; for they have been from old."
Lk. 1:50 "And His mercy is on them who fear him from generation to generation"
Eph. 2:4 "God who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)."
God is rich in mercy. It is boundless in Him. Even before creation, when He had no cause to be merciful within the Godhead, as there was no sin between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God chose to express mercy towards creation in the everlasting covenant forged before anything was created. He purposed to be merciful to sinful humans to forgive their sins due to the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, "slain before the creation of the world."
His mercies do not fail. They are sure for those who believe in the Son. We can be confident in the forgiveness brought to us in Christ because God has determined to be merciful on those He chooses to me merciful (those who are saved by His grace).
We can know that when we sin God is faithful and just to forgive us on account of the sacrifice of Jesus. When we bring to God our sin seeking forgiveness and cleansing, we can know that we have received mercy from Him. He is good to us. We are His children by adoption and heirs with Christ to all the blessings given Him for His perfect life.
Because of this mercy, we are to be merciful to others.
Thank YOU LORD for the brethren on this platform and the wisdom they show in helping and bringing clarity to the discussions. Help us all to stand in YOUR Word and go forth planting and watering as we learn to praise and glorify YOU. May we continue to pray for the peace in Jerusalem and continue to look for YOUR coming. May our nation's leadership turn to CHRIST JESUS for wisdom and direction through HIS salvation.
"Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?/ And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast."
We shall take this up along with reference to John in 11:2-15 and this embassy from the disciples of John is leading us to the falling apart between the friend of the groom and the groom. According to the Scripture one was intended as a messenger and the other as the Messiah. John practiced the rigors of ascetic life could not see beyond his own lifestyle. He was as perplexed as the Pharisees that he would consort with publicans and the sinners. John lacked the insight as to Jesus as the suffering servant and What the prophet had foretold, 'he hath born our griefs'. "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."(8:17)
Vis-a-vis John his order of priorities differed from the Word concerning their respective ministries. As a suffering servant he was on the road to glory."If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us."(2.Ti.2:12)
John wanted to know, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?/Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see." Jesus making the doctrine of his Father as the Servant-King,- and the path inexorably led to Calvary and beyond, a fact that John missed. The beam in his eye was such how the Messiah-King would conduct his kingdom on the earth prevented him obviously. He had all the credentials of being the greatest born of a woman but in the estimation of Jesus,"notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." (11:11). He thought like everybody else, and not as the Word had spoken.
"But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick./ But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Here Jesus is not addressing the thoughts of his interlocutors but responding to them. The word of God had already answerd their spoken word, so Jesus cites the relevant portion. The word had sized them up even before they were born. " For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings./But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me."(Hosea.6:7-8). The scribes, Pharisees and also the Sadducees tempted Jesus on various occasions. (Matt.16:1)
Why did the nation of Israel hate the Son of man without any cause? Satan sins from the beginning.. He is the Father of lies and when he beguiled Eve he set up a no man's land which ever since has served as a cloak. Beyond the complacency of the strict adherence to their traditions and Law of Moses they were serving the interests of Satan instead. In our time also we have great many who recoil from any approach other than their literalism. It is worth their while to keep harping on old Jerusalem that for their many sins have been condemned and "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." (Notice 'behold' in it and it is determined. )"And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.(Is.25 :7). Now we can place the context of the Sermon on the mount. He presented the doctrine of His Father as his Will which he shall fulfill it at the appointed time. The Gospel also presents Judgment of the nation in Ch.24.
Complacency of Israel was like little foxes. "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes."(S.of S-2:15)
"And Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee./And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth./And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?"
Jesus came as the Word become flesh. He was God in his own right since God sent him 'as the only begotten Son' so wherever he healed or suffered rejection he did so since his obedience to the Word that was sent before the worlds began."Behold" here we have another expression which the Spirit uses to indicate the Word which was 'in the beginning'. His obedience as a man to the Word is what we need infer to the confession,"I am the Way."( John 1:1;8:58). Faith of the palsied man and of his four helpers elicited him to address him as 'Son.' We already discussed the doctrine of God he declared against the holy mountain and what we shall read in the gospel, is the practical application of it according to the occasion warranted.
"And behold" the Spirit introduces in the next verse.Certain of the scribes took umbrage at it. "This man blaspheneth" they thought. The Word had already foretold what they signified in Salvation Plan of God. "And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:/For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."(13:14-15)
God as the Creator understand thoughts of man and know of their worth, "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."(Je.17:10)
"O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me..../thou understandest my thought afar off."
Hi Jimbob: I didn't realize it's been a month since I communicated with you. I have been posting comments to other people but I'd like to start communicating with you again. Do you have any recent comments I can read or respond to or maybe you might respond to one of my recent comments? Hope I hear back from you. :)
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Matthew 24:14
We are living in a time where an understanding of the nature of the True Gospel and the character of the Day in which we are living could not be more urgent. ZionInTravail provides a Biblical view regarding these fundamental questions and is dedicated to serving Christ in the ministry of the True Gospel to all mankind regardless of age, sex, nationality, or economic status.
They hold that God is saving his elect today from every corner of the world, using sources which are completely non-affiliated with any church or religious institution. They use every possible resource at their disposal to get the True Gospel out into the world, whether via internet, radio, or printed tracts. They teach that as Christians our highest priority is to love our fellow man, and the greatest expression of love that we can have is that of sharing the True Gospel with our fellow man. Their main focus is to serve those who may have very little understanding of the Bible, like the 120,000 Ninevites who believed God in Jonah chapters 3 and 4, and who shall rise in judgment and condemn this generation ( Jonah 4:11; Matthew 12:41).
They are currently ministering in Africa in the countries of Ghana, Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa, and Tanzania. In the nation of China, they are engaged in developing videos to be aired on social media platforms in that country. They have a shortwave facility in Florida and are airing programs in English and Spanish to six different regions of the world.
"But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men."
In the previous chapter The evangelist gives us an instance of Jesus stilling the boisterous sea. He did not use it to walk over the water to go to his own city. Neither did he take on the tempter when he challenged him to turn the stone into bread for the simple reason that faith in God's holiness set him among men and fulfilling his Will gave glory to God. "And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed." It was a novel way to get a cure, on the same scale as the the woman with an issue of blood who touched the hem of Jesus's garment. Faith in both cases worked.("Thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour."-vv.20-22) Faith made the occasion count. Faith of God and man is the savor of salt to which Jesus had referred. "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."(5:13) Two symbols spun out of same faith: you are light of the world, God the Father of lights rendering you thus and the eye of faith is abiding in the true Light would imply. It is thus we see through his light. Salt is also similar.
Salt is made of atoms of Chlorine which is a deadly gas and Sodium a metal that burns when comes in contact with water. But when these trillions of atoms are arrayed precisely in order it is our common salt. Faith is the savor arising of God and man when held in place by the spirit without any deviation. This faith made the man with palsy take up his bed and walk. God gave such power to man, his saltiness was not in his own but in working with God.
"There met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way."
Casting out demons from taking over a person is nothing new. Heart of man is treacherous. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." (Je.17:9-10). The Spirit in dealing with this wants us to remember what Jesus he was there fore. The Evangelist inspired by the Spirit gives us in terms of Prophet Isaiah 'Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."(8:17). Jesus knew the demoniac spirit would not leave him with all his powers at disposal so a legion clamored while he himself did not know how to be himself. How he wanted to follow Jesus after he was healed is what Matthew is laying emphasis on. So 'the two possessed with devils' refer to two personality. This is corroborated by both Mark and Luke versions. According to the fruit of his doings "And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him."( Luke 8:39b)" Jesus searches the heart to give every according to his ways and saw the man could be helped. It was he took over his case and restored him to his family. By the same token the devils were unanimous where they wanted to go." So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine./ And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters."(8:31-32)
The loss of swine was most unspeakable to the city where livestock counted more than men. Our times have no whit improved on the heart most deceitful and desperately wicked at the time of Jesus.
" But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!"
The superscription refers to a Psalm quote, "The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled."(Ps.77:16) The body of waters know the sovereignty of the word of God. The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.(Ge.1:2) Glory of the waters is derived from the Law. "The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever." ( Ps. 29:10)
Matthew gives by citing a few healings that Jesus did validating the quote from Prophet Isaiah (53:1) The centurion an outsider proved by his faith in the word declared by truth that lay writ. Thus the throne set over the flood whether we consider it literally or as a symbol for people(Is.57:20) does work. The earth itself is held by foundations which we know as the Word or the Law. "For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods."(Ps.24:2)This flood rages because these do not know the grace of God and it also helps us understand why the wicked are compared to troubled sea. Isaiah treats them as enemy "So shall they fear the name of theLordfrom the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of theLordshall lift up a standard against him."(Is.59:19)
Before Jesus rebuked the tempest the Evangelist presents the King of glory in terms of his outward circumstances as a vagabond. " And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."(8:20) It is to warn those who go by appearances. The suffering servant as Isaiah would say, "he hath no form nor comeliness" and" Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."(53:2-4)
His testimony as a man aligned with the Word become flesh by 'faith+works
"Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared."
Testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophesy.
Angel of the Lord wherever it is mentioned in the Scripture is as a stand in for the Son. The sons of God mentioned in Ge.6 who took to wives from men were bad actors so St Paul would warn, " But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."(Gal.1:8)
Jesus of Nazareth confessed that he did not come to destroy the Law or prophets. His own testimony was to fulfill them. For this reason he tells the leper what he was to do. Law of Moses applied to the man who he healed. Similarly he would fulfill the Law because as Moses warned the Israelites of the Advent of the prophet from God he was obliged to fulfill it ,"For my nameisin him." Multiplying the loaves earlier instance demonstrated that he was the Word become flesh; in the case of seven baskets his testimony was to his Father who had sent the angels and as the writer to the Hebrews says, "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son."
In this context among so many unnamed angels we have the names Gabriel and Michel and their service also fell under the gospel which is one. They may be considered as 'prophets'. The place prepared overarches the land of Canaan and it is new Jerusalem as the Spirit wants us to take note of.
"And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes."
The Spirit gives the number Seven to indicate God's completeness so we have seven 'days' relating to the God document, the Holy Bible. (Ge.1) The House that Wisdom built has seven pillars, relating to 'my Father's mansions.' Seven golden candlesticks (Re.1:12) covering all those who are called and chosen for eternal habitations. Similarly seven seals relate to the judgment upon the disobedient beginning with 'woe to you' and sword, death and pestilence three horsemen color coded are spread out while the word gone forth from the mouth of the Lord is shown as the first horseman 'went forth conquering, and to conquer. We are told that he is none other than the Son, "and his name is called The Word of God.'(Re.19:13) It is of him Moses referred, "Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my nameisin him."(Ex.23:20-23)
Now the Isaiah quote: "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, "This is also tagged Seven which we infer from the martyrdom of the Two witnesses. "And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet;." What affrighted their enemies was the fact that resurrection is indeed true! The everlasting life promised to the world ( John 3:16)shall be made manifest. Sending the bread of heaven was one part and gathering the broken remains in seven baskets prove this part of the Isaiah quote:"but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."(Re.19:10) After healing the leper Jesus told him, "but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony."(Matt.8:4)
Matthew refers Testimony of Jesus to indicate, "it is done."
Ephesians 4:13 Till WE ALL COME into the UNITY of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a PERFECT MAN, unto the measure of the FULLNESS of Christ.
Colossians 2:9 For IN HIM dwelleth all the FULLNESS of the Godhead BODILY.
Colossians 1:27 .... this mystery ..... Christ IN YOU ......are you not the body of Christ .....
1 Corinthians 12:27 ... ye are the BODY of Christ ......
John 19:34 ..... Is it not written IN YOU LAW, I HAVE SAID, Ye are gods?
GOD WILL SEND STRONG DELUSION-THAT THEY BELIEVE A LIE
The false messiah,the main head of the universal and religious and satanic Antichrist's Kingdom,is at door- John 5:43-47
Will be also elected the next and last Pope.It is he who will rule the first half of the last week:42 months- Luke 21:24 combined with Re.11:2 and 13:5-.Will be his nickname Paul VII?
The Word is GOD. Isaiah 66:4 combined with 2Thessalonians 2:12 and Matthews 24:15-25KJV:
Isaiah 66:v.4:
4 I also will choose their delusions,and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called,none did answer;when I spake,they did not hear:but they did evil before mine eyes,and chose that in which I delighted not.
2Thessalonians 2:8-12:
8And then shall that Wicked be revealed,whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth-His Word- , and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9Even him,whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;because they received not the love of the truth,that they might be saved.
11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,that they should believe a lie:
12That they all might be DAMNED who believed not the Truth - believed not in JESUS -, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Matthew 24:15-25
15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,spoken of by Daniel the prophet,stand in the holy place(whoso readeth,let him understand)
You know that the Hebrews had to cross the Red Sea.
Now GOD's people will have to go through(I mean win a war)against the Red Dragon,a Red Dragon yes
Isaiah 26:21-22
20Come,my people,enter thou into thy chambers,and shut thy doors about thee:hide thyself as it were for a little moment,until the indignation be overpast
21For,behold,the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:the earth also shall disclose her blood,and shall no more cover her slain.
"And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them./And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them."
Isaiah refers to sending the word (Is.55:11)and it makes a full circle. In the parlance of the Spirit the Number Seven refers to completeness. Thus God sanctifies 'the day' after blessing man and his creation.(Ge.2:3)The Word sent forth covers three and a half days and the latter half refers to the work of these two witnesses which is when they ascend upto heaven in 'a cloud" age of grace comes to an end. Tribulation shall be great for this reason. Jesus assured,"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be./And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."
This whole circuit of the Gospel has baptism by water and also baptism by fire. "But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth?"( Luke 12:49-56) This division we see right now in our midst. A house divided between Israel and Gaza, both from the same Semitic stock.
The pillar of cloud by day and fire by night are introduced in the Book of Exodus and these makes a distinction between the Israelites and the Egyptians. In Daniel's vision we have the witnesses (Dan.7:9-10. Thus we have them as symbols and in relation to 'his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire."Of this latter His ministers is 'fire'.("Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire"-Ps.104:4-6) Martyrdom of Two Witnesses shall explain culmination of Gospel outreach from heaven(fire) and the earth (water)."
"Ye have wearied the LORD/Yehvh with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD/Yehvh, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God/lhym of judgment?
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before ME: AND THE LORD, WHOM YE SEEK, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD/Yehvh of hosts.
Isaiah 40:1-5
"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God/lhym.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD's/Yehvh hand double for all her sins.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD Yehvh, make straight in the desert a highway for our God/lhym.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
And the glory of the LORD/Yehvh shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD/Yehvh hath spoken it.
It's interesting that you have Yehvh, lhym, and dn 'dn being represented as the same individual in these passages and if you add Mark 1:1-4Matthew 3:3 and John 1:14-29.
"When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him./And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean./And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed."
4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
Jesus came as the good gift, mentioned in previous chapter,"How much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (7:11). The leper just found it out. He asked and he received healing. Somilarly at Capernaum a centurion would come knocking and the door of salvation was opened to him. (vv.5-13).His faith was such the nation of Israel ought to have been ashamed. This was also a testimony for their nation's downward spiral. His Advent did not give them a cloak for their sin. He was the true Light and they certainly did everything to put him out.
From this chapter onwards the Evangelist reveals Jesus demonstrating the holiness of God as the Word become flesh. His death and resurrection are according to the Scriptures. Doctrine of God is that of Christ since he perfected the will of his Father. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."(5:17-18) He told the leper who was healed to testify to the fact 'as a testimony to them'. Till he had fulfilled his Father's will he was obliged to fulfill the law. Similarly when Jesus fed the multitude the testimony of 12 baskets of broken pieces remaining was his testimony before his Father.
"For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."
People are always astonished when they hear truth instead of it as spoken by the scribes and the Pharisees. In our times it is contextual truth so those lawmakers when the place the bill for the House to take up for votes see to the elections coming around in four years. It is the question of their survival and not in the public good or truth that is the inflection point. "Let truth prevail" is what Jesus taught. He also would prove it is possible even if the cross was awaitng him at the end. He was the Word become flesh and not waiting for popular vote of the Sanhedrin to determine his future.
The scribes and the Pharisees taught, 'But all their works they do for to be seen of men 'and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi'.(23:5-7) which through the prism of men and their opinions was not truth at all. Jesus warned his crowd,"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."(7:15) They teach contextual truth which is based on their faulty understanding. "Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,/(Touch not; taste not; handle not;/Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?/Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship."(Col.1:20-23)
Will worship begins where a believer leaves contact with Christ the Head. They point to specific verse "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh,"(2 Co.5:16) which is not the same as Jesus the word become flesh "that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;/He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption"(Ac.2:30-31)
v.11 "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"
Jesus Christ as the bread from heaven. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:/Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."(John1:12-13). Abiding in the true Light established the quality of the gift. Everlasting life it is called. "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." (1:4)
God sent his messenger to prepare the way before his Son. "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."(3:3)
The Way,
v.14 "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."(He.11:6) Without faith it is impossible to please him. The whole duty of a believer is to trust Him and do the will of God, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." we stay the course.(1 Pe.5:7). Jesus explained how anyone may do the works of God. It is to believe on him that He sent. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."(7:21)
The Truth,
Is.28:16 "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation":Before the worlds began He laid the foundation stone in Zion. Whosoever has died to the world, who has made a sacrifice,("Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."-Ps.50:5) trusting in his promises is like the wiseman "which built his house upon a rock."(vv.24-25) This is same House with seven pillars. 'In my Father's House' We have been fellow laborers with all other saints.
The second part of Peter's confession, he says that Jesus is "the Son of the living God." This phrase (Son of the living God), if you ever have the time to look up that phrase from a Hebrew standpoint, you will find out that is the phrase that is used for God. The phrase "Son of the living God" to a Hebrew person is the same as calling Jesus God.
And please keep in mind that Jesus was accused of blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God. Why did the Jews consider this to be blasphemy? It's because when Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, according to the Jews, He was claiming to be equal to God, God Himself. That's what that phrase means to a Jewish person.
What Peter was confessing was that you (Jesus) are the Messiah, and you are God. Wow, what a Confession! That is different than the public opinions, even in today's opinion on who Jesus is. But the importance is that everybody must settle it in their own hearts and minds about who Jesus is.
Was He just a great man? Was He just a great teacher? Was He a great healer? Was He a prophet? Was He the brother of Satan? Was He Michael the archangel? Or was He God in the flesh? Did Peter give the right answer?
In Matthew 16:17, Jesus answers Peter and says, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." Was Peter's response to the question on who Jesus is revealed to Him by God? And if God the Father revealed this to Peter, why should our answer be any different than Peter's when we asked this most important question about who Jesus is? Is He the Christ, the Son of the living God? Or is he someone else?
He is MERCIFUL
Mercy is kindness bestowed as forgiveness by God. It is undeserved by the recipient and freely given by the giver.
Deut. 4:31 "For the LORD thy God is a merciful God"
Neh. 9:31 "Nevertheless, for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them, for thou art a gracious and merciful God."
Dan. 9:9 "To the LORD our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him."
Lk. 6:36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
Ps. 25:6 Remember O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindness; for they have been from old."
Lk. 1:50 "And His mercy is on them who fear him from generation to generation"
Eph. 2:4 "God who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)."
God is rich in mercy. It is boundless in Him. Even before creation, when He had no cause to be merciful within the Godhead, as there was no sin between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God chose to express mercy towards creation in the everlasting covenant forged before anything was created. He purposed to be merciful to sinful humans to forgive their sins due to the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, "slain before the creation of the world."
His mercies do not fail. They are sure for those who believe in the Son. We can be confident in the forgiveness brought to us in Christ because God has determined to be merciful on those He chooses to me merciful (those who are saved by His grace).
We can know that when we sin God is faithful and just to forgive us on account of the sacrifice of Jesus. When we bring to God our sin seeking forgiveness and cleansing, we can know that we have received mercy from Him. He is good to us. We are His children by adoption and heirs with Christ to all the blessings given Him for His perfect life.
Because of this mercy, we are to be merciful to others.
December 2, 2023
"Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?/ And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast."
We shall take this up along with reference to John in 11:2-15 and this embassy from the disciples of John is leading us to the falling apart between the friend of the groom and the groom. According to the Scripture one was intended as a messenger and the other as the Messiah. John practiced the rigors of ascetic life could not see beyond his own lifestyle. He was as perplexed as the Pharisees that he would consort with publicans and the sinners. John lacked the insight as to Jesus as the suffering servant and What the prophet had foretold, 'he hath born our griefs'. "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."(8:17)
Vis-a-vis John his order of priorities differed from the Word concerning their respective ministries. As a suffering servant he was on the road to glory."If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us."(2.Ti.2:12)
John wanted to know, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?/Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see." Jesus making the doctrine of his Father as the Servant-King,- and the path inexorably led to Calvary and beyond, a fact that John missed. The beam in his eye was such how the Messiah-King would conduct his kingdom on the earth prevented him obviously. He had all the credentials of being the greatest born of a woman but in the estimation of Jesus,"notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." (11:11). He thought like everybody else, and not as the Word had spoken.
"But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick./ But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Here Jesus is not addressing the thoughts of his interlocutors but responding to them. The word of God had already answerd their spoken word, so Jesus cites the relevant portion. The word had sized them up even before they were born. " For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings./But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me."(Hosea.6:7-8). The scribes, Pharisees and also the Sadducees tempted Jesus on various occasions. (Matt.16:1)
Why did the nation of Israel hate the Son of man without any cause? Satan sins from the beginning.. He is the Father of lies and when he beguiled Eve he set up a no man's land which ever since has served as a cloak. Beyond the complacency of the strict adherence to their traditions and Law of Moses they were serving the interests of Satan instead. In our time also we have great many who recoil from any approach other than their literalism. It is worth their while to keep harping on old Jerusalem that for their many sins have been condemned and "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." (Notice 'behold' in it and it is determined. )"And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.(Is.25 :7). Now we can place the context of the Sermon on the mount. He presented the doctrine of His Father as his Will which he shall fulfill it at the appointed time. The Gospel also presents Judgment of the nation in Ch.24.
Complacency of Israel was like little foxes. "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes."(S.of S-2:15)
"And Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee./And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth./And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?"
Jesus came as the Word become flesh. He was God in his own right since God sent him 'as the only begotten Son' so wherever he healed or suffered rejection he did so since his obedience to the Word that was sent before the worlds began."Behold" here we have another expression which the Spirit uses to indicate the Word which was 'in the beginning'. His obedience as a man to the Word is what we need infer to the confession,"I am the Way."( John 1:1;8:58). Faith of the palsied man and of his four helpers elicited him to address him as 'Son.' We already discussed the doctrine of God he declared against the holy mountain and what we shall read in the gospel, is the practical application of it according to the occasion warranted.
"And behold" the Spirit introduces in the next verse.Certain of the scribes took umbrage at it. "This man blaspheneth" they thought. The Word had already foretold what they signified in Salvation Plan of God. "And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:/For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."(13:14-15)
God as the Creator understand thoughts of man and know of their worth, "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."(Je.17:10)
"O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me..../thou understandest my thought afar off."
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Matthew 24:14
We are living in a time where an understanding of the nature of the True Gospel and the character of the Day in which we are living could not be more urgent. ZionInTravail provides a Biblical view regarding these fundamental questions and is dedicated to serving Christ in the ministry of the True Gospel to all mankind regardless of age, sex, nationality, or economic status.
They hold that God is saving his elect today from every corner of the world, using sources which are completely non-affiliated with any church or religious institution. They use every possible resource at their disposal to get the True Gospel out into the world, whether via internet, radio, or printed tracts. They teach that as Christians our highest priority is to love our fellow man, and the greatest expression of love that we can have is that of sharing the True Gospel with our fellow man. Their main focus is to serve those who may have very little understanding of the Bible, like the 120,000 Ninevites who believed God in Jonah chapters 3 and 4, and who shall rise in judgment and condemn this generation ( Jonah 4:11; Matthew 12:41).
They are currently ministering in Africa in the countries of Ghana, Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa, and Tanzania. In the nation of China, they are engaged in developing videos to be aired on social media platforms in that country. They have a shortwave facility in Florida and are airing programs in English and Spanish to six different regions of the world.
[Comment Removed]
"But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men."
In the previous chapter The evangelist gives us an instance of Jesus stilling the boisterous sea. He did not use it to walk over the water to go to his own city. Neither did he take on the tempter when he challenged him to turn the stone into bread for the simple reason that faith in God's holiness set him among men and fulfilling his Will gave glory to God. "And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed." It was a novel way to get a cure, on the same scale as the the woman with an issue of blood who touched the hem of Jesus's garment. Faith in both cases worked.("Thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour."-vv.20-22) Faith made the occasion count. Faith of God and man is the savor of salt to which Jesus had referred. "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."(5:13) Two symbols spun out of same faith: you are light of the world, God the Father of lights rendering you thus and the eye of faith is abiding in the true Light would imply. It is thus we see through his light. Salt is also similar.
Salt is made of atoms of Chlorine which is a deadly gas and Sodium a metal that burns when comes in contact with water. But when these trillions of atoms are arrayed precisely in order it is our common salt. Faith is the savor arising of God and man when held in place by the spirit without any deviation. This faith made the man with palsy take up his bed and walk. God gave such power to man, his saltiness was not in his own but in working with God.
"There met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way."
Casting out demons from taking over a person is nothing new. Heart of man is treacherous. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." (Je.17:9-10). The Spirit in dealing with this wants us to remember what Jesus he was there fore. The Evangelist inspired by the Spirit gives us in terms of Prophet Isaiah 'Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."(8:17). Jesus knew the demoniac spirit would not leave him with all his powers at disposal so a legion clamored while he himself did not know how to be himself. How he wanted to follow Jesus after he was healed is what Matthew is laying emphasis on. So 'the two possessed with devils' refer to two personality. This is corroborated by both Mark and Luke versions. According to the fruit of his doings "And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him."( Luke 8:39b)" Jesus searches the heart to give every according to his ways and saw the man could be helped. It was he took over his case and restored him to his family. By the same token the devils were unanimous where they wanted to go." So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine./ And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters."(8:31-32)
The loss of swine was most unspeakable to the city where livestock counted more than men. Our times have no whit improved on the heart most deceitful and desperately wicked at the time of Jesus.
" But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!"
The superscription refers to a Psalm quote, "The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled."(Ps.77:16) The body of waters know the sovereignty of the word of God. The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.(Ge.1:2) Glory of the waters is derived from the Law. "The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever." ( Ps. 29:10)
Matthew gives by citing a few healings that Jesus did validating the quote from Prophet Isaiah (53:1) The centurion an outsider proved by his faith in the word declared by truth that lay writ. Thus the throne set over the flood whether we consider it literally or as a symbol for people(Is.57:20) does work. The earth itself is held by foundations which we know as the Word or the Law. "For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods."(Ps.24:2)This flood rages because these do not know the grace of God and it also helps us understand why the wicked are compared to troubled sea. Isaiah treats them as enemy "So shall they fear the name of theLordfrom the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of theLordshall lift up a standard against him."(Is.59:19)
Before Jesus rebuked the tempest the Evangelist presents the King of glory in terms of his outward circumstances as a vagabond. " And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."(8:20) It is to warn those who go by appearances. The suffering servant as Isaiah would say, "he hath no form nor comeliness" and" Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."(53:2-4)
His testimony as a man aligned with the Word become flesh by 'faith+works
Hebrews 1:2 Hath in these last days hath spoken to by his Son, WHOM he hath appointed HEIR of ALL THINGS ...
Being an heir of God, what does Christ possess?
Romans 8:17 And if children, then HEIRS of God, and joint heir with Christ ...
If Christ was made HEIR of ALL THINGS, would not you also, being and heir of God and joint heir with Christ? posses the same things?
Don't let your carnal mind LIMIT what God says he has done by the death and resurrection of his SON.
God Bless YOU!
What are the saints of God going to be doing in the AGES TO COME?
Ephesians 2:7 ... that in the ages to come ....
Psalms 2:10 Be wise therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye JUDGES of the earth.
God is calling out a priesthood to rule and reign in the kingdom of God.
Keep growing into maturity.
God Bless YOU!
"Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared."
Testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophesy.
Angel of the Lord wherever it is mentioned in the Scripture is as a stand in for the Son. The sons of God mentioned in Ge.6 who took to wives from men were bad actors so St Paul would warn, " But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."(Gal.1:8)
Jesus of Nazareth confessed that he did not come to destroy the Law or prophets. His own testimony was to fulfill them. For this reason he tells the leper what he was to do. Law of Moses applied to the man who he healed. Similarly he would fulfill the Law because as Moses warned the Israelites of the Advent of the prophet from God he was obliged to fulfill it ,"For my nameisin him." Multiplying the loaves earlier instance demonstrated that he was the Word become flesh; in the case of seven baskets his testimony was to his Father who had sent the angels and as the writer to the Hebrews says, "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son."
In this context among so many unnamed angels we have the names Gabriel and Michel and their service also fell under the gospel which is one. They may be considered as 'prophets'. The place prepared overarches the land of Canaan and it is new Jerusalem as the Spirit wants us to take note of.
"And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes."
The Spirit gives the number Seven to indicate God's completeness so we have seven 'days' relating to the God document, the Holy Bible. (Ge.1) The House that Wisdom built has seven pillars, relating to 'my Father's mansions.' Seven golden candlesticks (Re.1:12) covering all those who are called and chosen for eternal habitations. Similarly seven seals relate to the judgment upon the disobedient beginning with 'woe to you' and sword, death and pestilence three horsemen color coded are spread out while the word gone forth from the mouth of the Lord is shown as the first horseman 'went forth conquering, and to conquer. We are told that he is none other than the Son, "and his name is called The Word of God.'(Re.19:13) It is of him Moses referred, "Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my nameisin him."(Ex.23:20-23)
Now the Isaiah quote: "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, "This is also tagged Seven which we infer from the martyrdom of the Two witnesses. "And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet;." What affrighted their enemies was the fact that resurrection is indeed true! The everlasting life promised to the world ( John 3:16)shall be made manifest. Sending the bread of heaven was one part and gathering the broken remains in seven baskets prove this part of the Isaiah quote:"but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."(Re.19:10) After healing the leper Jesus told him, "but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony."(Matt.8:4)
Matthew refers Testimony of Jesus to indicate, "it is done."
Do you exist, other than being the BODY of Christ?
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I (as the body) live, yet NOT I, but CHRIST ......
this mystery... HIDDEN from the foundation of the world
Is Christ God?
Ephesians 4:13 Till WE ALL COME into the UNITY of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a PERFECT MAN, unto the measure of the FULLNESS of Christ.
Colossians 2:9 For IN HIM dwelleth all the FULLNESS of the Godhead BODILY.
Colossians 1:27 .... this mystery ..... Christ IN YOU ......are you not the body of Christ .....
1 Corinthians 12:27 ... ye are the BODY of Christ ......
John 19:34 ..... Is it not written IN YOU LAW, I HAVE SAID, Ye are gods?
The false messiah,the main head of the universal and religious and satanic Antichrist's Kingdom,is at door- John 5:43-47
Will be also elected the next and last Pope.It is he who will rule the first half of the last week:42 months- Luke 21:24 combined with Re.11:2 and 13:5-.Will be his nickname Paul VII?
The Word is GOD. Isaiah 66:4 combined with 2Thessalonians 2:12 and Matthews 24:15-25KJV:
Isaiah 66:v.4:
4 I also will choose their delusions,and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called,none did answer;when I spake,they did not hear:but they did evil before mine eyes,and chose that in which I delighted not.
2Thessalonians 2:8-12:
8And then shall that Wicked be revealed,whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth-His Word- , and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9Even him,whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;because they received not the love of the truth,that they might be saved.
11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,that they should believe a lie:
12That they all might be DAMNED who believed not the Truth - believed not in JESUS -, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Matthew 24:15-25
15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,spoken of by Daniel the prophet,stand in the holy place(whoso readeth,let him understand)
You know that the Hebrews had to cross the Red Sea.
Now GOD's people will have to go through(I mean win a war)against the Red Dragon,a Red Dragon yes
Isaiah 26:21-22
20Come,my people,enter thou into thy chambers,and shut thy doors about thee:hide thyself as it were for a little moment,until the indignation be overpast
21For,behold,the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:the earth also shall disclose her blood,and shall no more cover her slain.
Get ready
Can you be EQUAL to your God, and yet, not be your God?
What would make you EQUAL to God?
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind BE IN YOU, which was also IN CHRIST JESUS,
Philippians 2:6 Who being in the form of GOD, though it not robbery, to be equal to God.
If you have a GOD, and call out to that God: can you be that GOD.
Christ cried out to HIS GOD, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me.
Can God (Spirit) DIE?
"And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them./And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them."
Isaiah refers to sending the word (Is.55:11)and it makes a full circle. In the parlance of the Spirit the Number Seven refers to completeness. Thus God sanctifies 'the day' after blessing man and his creation.(Ge.2:3)The Word sent forth covers three and a half days and the latter half refers to the work of these two witnesses which is when they ascend upto heaven in 'a cloud" age of grace comes to an end. Tribulation shall be great for this reason. Jesus assured,"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be./And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."
This whole circuit of the Gospel has baptism by water and also baptism by fire. "But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth?"( Luke 12:49-56) This division we see right now in our midst. A house divided between Israel and Gaza, both from the same Semitic stock.
The pillar of cloud by day and fire by night are introduced in the Book of Exodus and these makes a distinction between the Israelites and the Egyptians. In Daniel's vision we have the witnesses (Dan.7:9-10. Thus we have them as symbols and in relation to 'his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire."Of this latter His ministers is 'fire'.("Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire"-Ps.104:4-6) Martyrdom of Two Witnesses shall explain culmination of Gospel outreach from heaven(fire) and the earth (water)."
"Ye have wearied the LORD/Yehvh with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD/Yehvh, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God/lhym of judgment?
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before ME: AND THE LORD, WHOM YE SEEK, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD/Yehvh of hosts.
Isaiah 40:1-5
"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God/lhym.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD's/Yehvh hand double for all her sins.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD Yehvh, make straight in the desert a highway for our God/lhym.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
And the glory of the LORD/Yehvh shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD/Yehvh hath spoken it.
It's interesting that you have Yehvh, lhym, and dn 'dn being represented as the same individual in these passages and if you add Mark 1:1-4 Matthew 3:3 and John 1:14-29.
Jesus showed up as a member of the Elohim.
God bless
[Comment Removed]
"When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him./And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean./And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed."
4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
Jesus came as the good gift, mentioned in previous chapter,"How much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (7:11). The leper just found it out. He asked and he received healing. Somilarly at Capernaum a centurion would come knocking and the door of salvation was opened to him. (vv.5-13).His faith was such the nation of Israel ought to have been ashamed. This was also a testimony for their nation's downward spiral. His Advent did not give them a cloak for their sin. He was the true Light and they certainly did everything to put him out.
From this chapter onwards the Evangelist reveals Jesus demonstrating the holiness of God as the Word become flesh. His death and resurrection are according to the Scriptures. Doctrine of God is that of Christ since he perfected the will of his Father. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."(5:17-18) He told the leper who was healed to testify to the fact 'as a testimony to them'. Till he had fulfilled his Father's will he was obliged to fulfill the law. Similarly when Jesus fed the multitude the testimony of 12 baskets of broken pieces remaining was his testimony before his Father.
"For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."
People are always astonished when they hear truth instead of it as spoken by the scribes and the Pharisees. In our times it is contextual truth so those lawmakers when the place the bill for the House to take up for votes see to the elections coming around in four years. It is the question of their survival and not in the public good or truth that is the inflection point. "Let truth prevail" is what Jesus taught. He also would prove it is possible even if the cross was awaitng him at the end. He was the Word become flesh and not waiting for popular vote of the Sanhedrin to determine his future.
The scribes and the Pharisees taught, 'But all their works they do for to be seen of men 'and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi'.(23:5-7) which through the prism of men and their opinions was not truth at all. Jesus warned his crowd,"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."(7:15) They teach contextual truth which is based on their faulty understanding. "Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,/(Touch not; taste not; handle not;/Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?/Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship."(Col.1:20-23)
Will worship begins where a believer leaves contact with Christ the Head. They point to specific verse "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh,"(2 Co.5:16) which is not the same as Jesus the word become flesh "that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;/He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption"(Ac.2:30-31)
v.11 "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"
Jesus Christ as the bread from heaven. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:/Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."(John1:12-13). Abiding in the true Light established the quality of the gift. Everlasting life it is called. "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." (1:4)
God sent his messenger to prepare the way before his Son. "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."(3:3)
The Way,
v.14 "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."(He.11:6) Without faith it is impossible to please him. The whole duty of a believer is to trust Him and do the will of God, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." we stay the course.(1 Pe.5:7). Jesus explained how anyone may do the works of God. It is to believe on him that He sent. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."(7:21)
The Truth,
Is.28:16 "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation":Before the worlds began He laid the foundation stone in Zion. Whosoever has died to the world, who has made a sacrifice,("Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."-Ps.50:5) trusting in his promises is like the wiseman "which built his house upon a rock."(vv.24-25) This is same House with seven pillars. 'In my Father's House' We have been fellow laborers with all other saints.
(Part 2):
The second part of Peter's confession, he says that Jesus is "the Son of the living God." This phrase (Son of the living God), if you ever have the time to look up that phrase from a Hebrew standpoint, you will find out that is the phrase that is used for God. The phrase "Son of the living God" to a Hebrew person is the same as calling Jesus God.
And please keep in mind that Jesus was accused of blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God. Why did the Jews consider this to be blasphemy? It's because when Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, according to the Jews, He was claiming to be equal to God, God Himself. That's what that phrase means to a Jewish person.
What Peter was confessing was that you (Jesus) are the Messiah, and you are God. Wow, what a Confession! That is different than the public opinions, even in today's opinion on who Jesus is. But the importance is that everybody must settle it in their own hearts and minds about who Jesus is.
Was He just a great man? Was He just a great teacher? Was He a great healer? Was He a prophet? Was He the brother of Satan? Was He Michael the archangel? Or was He God in the flesh? Did Peter give the right answer?
In Matthew 16:17, Jesus answers Peter and says, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." Was Peter's response to the question on who Jesus is revealed to Him by God? And if God the Father revealed this to Peter, why should our answer be any different than Peter's when we asked this most important question about who Jesus is? Is He the Christ, the Son of the living God? Or is he someone else?
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