The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Matthew 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12 on one file

Now Matthew 1:

JESUS HEALS  THE LEPER

Jesus Christ has now completed His "Sermon on the Mount" which was an in-depth teaching session attended not by the multitudes, but rather by His disciples only, who went up into the mount to seek Him and "hear the Word of the Lord".You see, it would be His disciples, those disciplined in the knowledge and wisdom of His truth, both then and now in these last days, who would go forth and fulfill the great commission of bringing forth and declaring His righteousness by teaching the truth of His Word.

Now Christ is going to "come down from the mountain" and begin the second period of His ministry, showing that He is Lord by going among the people teaching and healing and casting out evil spirits with His Word (vs. 16). And once again great multitudes will follow Him (Mat. 4:2). However, if you are one of His disciples, one who is disciplined in His Word, you will not only witness the miracles He performs but you will be able to "see" and understand the lessons of those miracles on a different level than the multitudes.

Matthew 8:1
When He was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.

The first lesson to be learned from the great Teacher concerns the cleansing of a leper which is done for a specific reason made known to us by Christ in verse 4.

[2] And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

You see, true faith is knowing without a shadow of doubt that Christ is able, that He has all power! That does not mean that He will always answer our prayers and requests according to our will and our desire, because He may have a purpose we have not yet "seen". For example, consider how the apostle Paul, a man of great faith, asked the Lord thrice to have the thorn in his flesh removed. The answer he got from the Lord was "no". 2 Cor. 12:9-10 "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strengthis made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

When the apostle Paul was told the reason Father wanted him to endure his infirmity, so that the power of Christ may rest upon him, he was simply overjoyed and was willing to bear anything that came his way.

Now back to the leper who asked to be "cleansed", which is what the subject is here!

[3] 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.

Leviticus 14:3-7
And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;

[4] Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:

[5] And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:

[6] As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:

[7] And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.

JESUS HEALS THE CENTURION

                 Matthew 8:5
                 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto Him a centurion, beseeching Him,

"Caper-nahum" means city of consolation or comfort and "The Comforter" was indeed there when the centurion, which means captain of 100, came to Him and "beseeched" Him.

[6] And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.

[7] And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.

[8] The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.

[9] For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

Because the majority of us Christians have forsaken (ignore) His Word and follow after the traditions of men which make void the Word of God... else we would not be a nation of Biblical illiterates, would we?

Again, why is Christ comparing the centurion's faith and belief in the power and authority of the Word of God to that of Israel's? Because the majority of the House of Israel, i.e. America, Great Britain, Canada, etc., do not have that kind of belief and trust in the power of His Word. Many of us have forsaken His Word and rather follow after the traditions of men.

Now notice what Christ has to say next concerning the lesson to be learned in this matter.

Matthew 8:11
And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

[12] But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Luke 13:26-30
Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

[27] But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

[28] There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

[29] And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

[30] And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

Matthew 8:13
And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

JESUS HEALS PETER'S MOTHER-IN-LAW

Remember that Jesus Christ is in Capernaum and we now find He is about to enter into the house of one His chosen disciples, i.e. one of His elect, Peter, who we discover was a married man. So much for celibacy!

Matthew 8:14
And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.

[15] And He touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.

Matthew 8:16
When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick:

What is it we are to learn from this?

[17]That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

Isaiah 53:4
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

[5] But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.

What a wonderful God we serve!

The beginnings of "sorrows" (labor pangs) which precede the birth of a new age.

In our last several studies we saw where Jesus Christ had come down from the mountain where He had been teaching His disciples, and began the second part of His ministry showing that He is Lord by going among the people teaching and healing and casting out evil spirits with His Word. As a result of these wonderful works, great multitudes began to follow Him and next we are going to see two examples of the "attitudes" among some of those in the multitudes when Christ gives them a command. Then we are going to see two examples of the power of the Word of God.

Let us begin with the lesson Christ teaches us concerning the "multitudes".

Matthew 8:18
Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave commandment to depart unto the other side.

John 14:15
If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Matthew 8:19
And a certain scribe came, and said unto Him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

Here is what Jesus said to him:

[20] 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.

John 14:23-24
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

[24] He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

Matthew 8:21
And another of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

Here is what the Lord said unto him. (By the way, did you notice that Christ is now being called "Lord"?)

[22] But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

You see, it is the Word of God, His spirit, that quickens (makes alive) the (spiritually) dead. In other words, it is His Word that gives life eternal to those who seek Him and believe in Him! John 6:63 "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

Let us turn to Dr. Luke's account of a similar statement Christ said to the multitudes and gain some additional wisdom concerning our priorities.

Luke 14:25
And there went great multitudes with Him: and He turned, and said unto them,

[26] If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

In fact, a true disciple of Christ knows and understands in his or her heart that this flesh and this flesh age are but temporary and there is "nothing under the sun" that even remotely comes close to the richness found in Christ. To that end, you may recall that God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac upon the altar, which command Abraham obeyed because he loved and believed God.

Luke 14:33
So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Well, it is now time to depart to "the other side" as Christ commanded in verse 18. Remember that He did not leave room for any doubt nor say "if we make it to the other side" or "hope we make it", etc. When Jesus Christ, the Word of God, said to depart, He meant we ARE GOING to the other side, not maybe!

The lessons we need to learn from the examples which follow are that as disciples of Christ, true follows of Him, we must believe and trust in His word and fully understand He has ALL power and authority in BOTH heaven and earth, both in the spiritual realm and the in earthly realm. All aboard!

Christ rebukes the "wind" and the "sea", and there was a great calm.

Matthew 8:23
And when He was entered into a ship, His disciples followed Him.

Now "behold" what happens next and "see" the power of Jesus Christ, the Word of God.

[24] And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but He was asleep.

The Greek word translated "tempest" in this verse is "seismos" which is the same word used for "earthquake" (Mk. 13:8). This has great relevancy for us these last days as we see the "sea and the waves roaring" (Luke 21:25).

tempest = G4578 seismos sice-mos'
From G4579; a commotion, that is, (of the air) a gale, (of the ground) an earthquake: - earthquake, tempest.

Matthew 8:25
And his disciples came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.

[26] And He saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

Wind = G417anemos,  an'-em-os

From the base of G109; wind; (plural) by implication (the four) quarters (of the earth): - wind.

Psalm 65:5
By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea:

[6] Which by His strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power:

[7]Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.

Luke 21:25-26
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Mark 13:8
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

---

Note: #4016   "Nation against nation" doesn't mean what you first think it means!

---

Luke 21:26
Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Here is a little study of some of the terminology in verse 26 (definitions taken from Strong's) which you should find interesting in the current political/social atmosphere.

Hearts failing = apopsucho From G575 and G5594; to breathe out, that is, faint: - hearts failing.

 
Fear = phobos fob'-os

From a primary phebomai (to be put in fear); alarm or fright: - be afraid, + exceedingly, fear, terror.

Looking after = prosdokia pros-dok-ee'-ah

From G4328; apprehension (of evil); by implication infliction anticipated: - expectation, looking after.

Coming = eperchomai ep-er'-khom-ahee

From G1909 and G2064; to supervene, that is, arrive, occur, impend, attack, (figuratively) influence: - come (in, upon).

Shaken = saleuo, sal-yoo'-o, Greek 4531; from Greek 4535 (salos); to waver, i.e. agitate, rock, topple or (by implication) destroy; figurative to disturb, incite :- move, shake (together), which can [-not] be shaken, stir up.

Let us now return to Matthew where Christ has just rebuked the "wind" and the "sea", and there was a great calm.

Matthew 8:27
But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!

Read on!

Matthew 8:28
And when He was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.

[29] And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

Luke 10:17
And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

[18] And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

[19] Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

[20] Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Christ casts devils out of the herd of swine.

Let us continue now to observe the dialog between the demonic spirits and Jesus Christ.

Matthew 8:30
And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.

[31] So the devils besought Him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.

[32] 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.

So a very good work has now been wrought by Jesus Christ and the two men possessed of the devils have been set free. That should bring good news to the community, shouldn't it?

Matthew 8:33
And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.

[34] And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw Him, they besought Him that He would depart out of their coasts.

Well... it seems that they are not focused on the life given to the two men who were possessed with the evil spirits but rather on the large herd of bacon and pork loins lying at the bottom of the sea. Dr. Bullinger says it like this in the Companion Bible on page 1325: "Those who defiled the temple lost their trade and those who defiled Israel (here) lost their animals." Well, we certainly see where their priorities lie.

Hey, they should look at this way... Christ did them a favor because they shouldn't be eating that stuff anyway.

Matthew 9 next:

Jesus and His disciples got along well with real "down to earth" people who were not "phony baloney" religionists.

It is hard to believe that anyone would ask Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, to leave their presence like the Local Pig Growers Association in Gergesenes did our last study. Nevertheless, Christ did as they wished and entered into a ship and went back to His own city.

Matthew 9:1
And He entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into His own city.

[2] And,behold, they brought to Him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

And as far as the paralytic man was concerned, when Christ told him to "be of good cheer" because he had received forgiveness for his sins, you can be sure he was indeed joyous over that! How so? Because we know he had "faith" and those who have faith are far more joyous over the spiritual things that pertain to salvation and the promise of eternal life living in an incorruptible body than the things that pertain to the flesh which they know shall surely perish. Therefore his spiritual cleansing made him spiritually whole and for men and women of faith, His grace is not only sufficient for them but something over which to rejoice and give thanks and "be of good cheer".

Now let's see how Christ uses this faithful handicapped person to teach certain of the scribes a spiritual lesson.

[3] And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.

[4] And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

[5] For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?

[6] But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith He to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

Christ not only healed this man of his infirmity but also gave him the strength to be able to stand up and lift up his bed and walk away, for without it those unused and atrophied muscles would not have gotten the job done.

[8] But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

Next, Jesus calls a publican, a tax collector of all people, to be His disciple. Imagine that!

[9] And as Jesus passed forth from thence, He saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and He saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed Him.

Luke 5:28
And he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

Matthew 9:10
And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.

Luke 18:10
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

[11] The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

[12] I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

[13] And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

[14] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Matthew 9:11
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?

By the way, instead of questioning His disciples (perhaps in hopes of seeing what else they might find to accuse Him of) you would think these Pharisees would have asked Christ directly! Nevertheless, He heard what they asked and gave them a fitting answer.

[12] But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

To that end, Jesus now instructs the Pharisees to go study and learn the meaning of the great analogy He just gave them. He refers them to the book of "salvation", which is the Book of Hosea in the Minor Prophets (Hosea means "salvation" in Hebrew), and in fact He even makes their homework easy for them by telling right where to go... no not there... but rather to where it is written "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice" which is found in Hos. 6:6.

[13] 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 is the passage of Hosea to which Christ referred:

Hosea 6:6
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

[7] But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

We are now going to learn through Christ's simple analogies how incompatible the religious traditions of men are with the pure living truth of God's Word!

First, here is a question presented by John's disciples.

Matthew 9:14
Then came to Him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?

Matthew 9:15
And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber 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.

John 3:29
He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

Now Christ lets us know that you cannot hang on to the old worn-out traditions of men's church systems and simply add some truth here and there and end up with an improvement.

Matthew 9:16
No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.

You see, some religious people have worn their old comfortable traditions for so long that those ways have become just like an old garment. But again, you cannot continue to wear the traditions of men thinking you can just patch up the old garment with a little truth here and there because you will end up with a bigger confusing mess than you started with. No, you must be willing to forsake the old garment and put on the new, which is that gospel armor of Ephesians chapter 6. The bottom line is... It's time for a new coat!

Here's another great analogy showing how the traditions of men and the truth of God's Word do not mix.

[17] Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

G779 askos as-kos'
From the same as G778; a leathern (or skin) bag used as a bottle: - bottle.

How about you?   Are you willing to learn from the Word of God or will you stick to the traditions of men?

Let us read an excerpt from the introduction to E. W. Bullinger's book, "How to Enjoy the Bible", pg. 6:

"When we come to ask ourselves, and say, "Where did I learn this?" "How did I get this?" "Who taught me this?" it is astonishing to find out how much we have imbibed from man, and from tradition; and not directly and for ourselves from the Word of God.

All that we have learned from our youth up must be tested and proved by the Word of God. Where we find it is true we must learn it over again, from God. And where it will not stand the test of His Word we must be not only content, but thankful to give it up; and receive Divine revelation in the place of man's imagination."

You "see", the sin of America in these last days is IDOLATRY

 Jesus Christ told us in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 that there would be famine in the last days prior to His second advent. He also said in Mark 13:23 "But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things" and so it is that through the prophet Amos He tells us exactly what the famine of these last days is and you know what?

Not a famine of bread nor water! We are in the midst of it now:

Amos 8:11
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

[12] And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

[13] In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.

This next verse explains the problem!

[14] They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beer-sheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

You "see", the sin of America in these last days is IDOLATRY which is the following after the traditions of men instead of seeking after Jesus Christ, the Word of God, and getting to know Him! Though they do it in ignorance because they lack the knowledge of His Word, our people actually worship a false god, the instead of Jesus, the "other Jesus" who is preached through the traditions of men, the one Paul talks about and was concerned about in Cor. 11:4, "For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him." Again, the other Jesus is the one perpetuated by the traditions of men, not Jesus Christ the Word of God.

Remember in our last study Jesus explained by analogy that our people are so steeped in and accustomed to wearing the traditions of men that they cannot let go and put off that old garment. Even when they do hear new truth from the Word of God (New to them that is!) they take it and try to fit it into their traditions, which is like trying to patch up an old worn out robe with new pieces of unfulled cloth. It not only doesn't work but the holes in the old garment are made worse as the new cloth tears away from the old fabric and they end up with a bigger mess than they started with.

Christ then explained in another simple analogy that so many have become stiffened and hardened through their traditions, perpetuated by the "many" (Mat. 24:5) preachers and ministers who keep them in ignorance by not teaching His Word book by book, chapter by chapter and verse by verse, that they are like old leather bottles which have lost their ability to stretch and expand.Thus when new wine which is symbolic of new truth is poured in, they cannot handle it and they burst asunder as the fermentation of the new wine tries to expand their minds.

Now Jesus Christ is about to "send forth" (apostolos) His 12 disciples to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Mat. 10:6) who like sheep that have no shepherd have been scattered abroad both literally, as history documents, and spiritually into a state of confusion. He has been teaching and instructing and admonishing His disciples (students) in preparation for the commission He will give them and now just before He sends them forth, He is going to let them (and us) "see" and learn about the spiritual condition of the true House of Israel, which today basically comprises the Christian nations of the world such as America, Great Britain, Canada, etc.

Finally, as the last item of our introductory, take note of the Biblical numerics given to us in this study for they play a major part in helping us understand on an "expanded level" that which is written. For example, the number "two" in Biblical numerics denotes witness and so it is that we are going to see "two" women and "two" men in our study give witness to the spiritual condition of the house of Israel. We will also find the number "12" used in these passages giving further emphasis that the witness refers to the 12 tribes of the House of Israel.

Matthew 9:18
While He spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

This father and certain ruler of the synagogue had the faith to know that Jesus Christ, the Word of God, could bring his dying daughter back to life.

[19] And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did His disciples.

So Christ and His disciples are on there way and... behold... what have we here?

[20] And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment:

(Did you ever notice how that people will only pay their auto mechanics when they fix their cars but they pay their body mechanics (doctors) whether they fix their chassis or not.)

Luke 8:43
And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,

Matthew 9:21
For she said within herself, If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole.

Rev. 19:16
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Matthew 9:22
But Jesus turned Him about, and when He saw her, He said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

Ok, Jesus and His disciples have finally arrived at the ruler's house.

[23] And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,

[24] He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed Him to scorn.

[25] But when the people were put forth, He went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.

Luke 8:55
And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and He commanded to give her meat.

Read what Paul has to say about "meat" in Hebrews chapter 5:

Hebrews 5:12-14
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. [13] For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. [14] But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Matthew 9:26
And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.

Romans 11:7
What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

Here is what happened when Jesus departed the house of the ruler.

Matthew 9:27
And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.

[28] And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to Him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.

[29] Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

[30] And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.

[31] But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.

Next up... a dumb man possessed with a demonic spirit.

[32] As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.

[33] And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.

Though His works are truly to be marvelled (vs. 33), notice how the religious leaders view them!

[34] But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

[35] And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

And now Christ's final thoughts and words before He calls together His twelve disciples.

[36] But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

So as Jesus looked over this multitude of people who were without a shepherd, He had compassion on them, took pity on them, for they were spiritually scattered in all directions indeed. What a pitiful condition the children of Israel are in at this late hour. Worse yet, there are very few labourers, few true disciples who are knowledgeable of His Word and qualified to gather in the harvest. You "see", the false shepherds, the hirelings, are nothing more than robbers of our people, but it is not just the money they sheer from sheep althiugh that is a big problem. It is that by teaching people to follow the traditions of men instead of teaching them His Word, they rob them of the opportunity to enter into the kingdom of heaven! They rob them of life!

Matthew 23:13
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

John 10:11-12
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

[12] But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

Matthew 9:37
Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

If so, and you are moved with compassion on them, then let us pray that our brothers and sisters will wake up from their sleep and become true labourers in the field!

[38] Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.

Yes, it is the generation called the "Baby Boomers" which "shall not pass away until all these things be fulfilled (Mat. 24:34)"! What a fitting description of this final generation!

True disciples of Jesus Christ, students of the Word of God, know who the lost sheep of the house of Israel are.

The word "disciple" means "learner" or "student" and so it is that a true disciple of Jesus Christ is one who is trained and educated in the Word of God. And so far in this great Book of Matthew, written by one whose name means "Gift of Yah", that training and education is precisely what has been transpiring between Jesus Christ and the twelve disciples He chose to follow Him. And now that they have gone up into the mountain and been instructed in His Word and have now both seen and understood the spiritual significance of the wonderful works He performed, they are now prepared, not by some seminary but by Jesus Christ the Word of God, to be sent forth as apostles to do the will of God and labor in His harvest. In fact, the very word "apostle" means "one that is sent forth".

To that end, we we saw in Mat. 9:38 where Jesus said to pray to the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth laborers into His harvest. Now we are going to see the Messiah do just that, but not before He gives them some specific instructions. You will find that these important instructions pertaining to the manner of their "going forth" and serving Him as a laborer in the harvest, even the harvest of these last days, are followed by those who are truly sent forth by Him.

So if you see one who claims to come in Christ's name, i.e. in His authority as one of his ministers, and they do not do as Christ has commanded here in Matthew 10, then consider that something is surely amiss and be on guard!

Matthew 10:1
And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

[2] Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

By the way, why do you suppose Jesus Christ gave us the names of these twelve apostles? Well, for one thing it shows that they did not carry and were not identified by big lofty religious titles like some of the high and mighty muckity mucks of some groups. You see, true servants of God do NOT elevate themselves above their brothers and sisters. For example, here is what John wrote concerning himself in the great Book of Revelation:

Rev 1:9
I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 10:3
Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

[4] Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

Also, once you have dug a little deeper you will find that the Aramaic word "Canaanite" means "zealous" and that it is an epithet which by definition is "a characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing". In other words, Simon was a zealous one which is why he is called Simon Zelotes (zealous) in Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13.

Canaanite, G2581 ??????????  Kananites kan-an-ee'-tace
Of Chaldee origin (compare [H7067]); zealous; Cananites, an epithet. (By mistake for a derivative from G5477): - Canaanite [by mistake for a derivation from G5477].

Matthew 10:5
These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

[6] But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

True disciples of Jesus Christ, students of the Word of God, know who the lost sheep of the house of Israel are. It is part of the Key of David given to the brothers and sisters of the church of Philadelphia (Rev. 3). The sheep have been "scattered" and have lost their way and so it is that the laborers who are sent forth are to show them who they are and "the way" to their Father's pasture!

What is a kingdom? It is a King and His dominion which is now also the Shepherd and His sheep! So go tell the lost sheep that the true Shepherd is at hand, that He is with them NOW. Not only that, tell them that He has been with them all along and show them how it came to be that they have been blinded and therefore are lost in that they cannot "see". Show them from the Word of God how it is that they have become spiritually sick, unclean as lepers, and spiritually dead as the dry bones of Ezk. 37. Let the Word of God cast out the evil spirits of the traditions of men and let their eyes be opened and cause them to be set FREE from the bondage of the wicked one to leap (for joy) as an hart!  Log unto pamphlet #1274

Isa 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Isa 35:6 Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

Matthew 10:8
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

freely = G1432 ??????? dorean do-reh-an'
Accusative case of G1431 as adverb; gratuitously (literally or figuratively): - without a cause, freely, for naught, in vain.

Matthew 10:9
Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,

[10] Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.

What Christ is saying is that if you do things His way and go forth teaching His truth as it is written, then you do not need financing nor do you need to beg or plead for money! The reason is very simple and that is because God will bless you and take care of your needs, for one cannot imagine the love and gratitude people have for their heavenly Father when the truth sets them free from the bondage of the traditions of men.

And so they recognize the truth that is being taught and voluntarily support that worthy effort.

To that end, just as Christ has instructed, those who teach the truth do it as freely as it was given unto them and so they never beg nor plead for money. Again, the reality is they do not have to. Therefore, any ministry who constantly pleads for money is a ministry who is going forth with a "scrip", which means what? They are disobeying Christ's commands, aren't they? You "see", a workman is worthy if he is a laborer who rightly divides the word of truth and teaches it as it is written. Quite frankly, those who lazily teach the traditions of men instead of God's Word and then pass the plate or plead for money, are not worthy. They have their reward!

2 Tim. 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Matthew 10:11
And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.

[12] And when ye come into an house, salute it.

[13] And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

[14] And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

Here is how Luke puts it:

Luke 10:11
Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

Matthew 10:15
Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

This next verse is packed with both comfort and wisdom... so "behold"!

Matthew 10:16
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

So the question is, "Who is the One who sends you forth?" (The capital "O" gave it away, didn't it?) Therefore if you are one of His sheep that means that Jesus Christ is your Shepherd and you shall not want (Ps. 23)! Nevertheless, we are not to be foolish and do stupid things. He expects His own who know the serpent's MO and are fully aware of his wicked devices, to be sharper than Satan, to exercise wisdom and responsibility and always use good common sense.

And though we seek to entreat each house peaceably as doves and not bring harm to others, be advised that those who seek to enter into our own house, are in for a fight in which they will wish they never engaged! Doves are truly harmless until someone messes with their nests or their youngin's!

Next Christ is going to instruct us what to do when trouble and persecution come our way... and by the way, if you follow in His steps, it will!

It is written that most of our loved ones, though they call themselves Christians, will be deceived by the spurious messiah, Satan when he comes to earth claiming to be Jesus, and will believe in their hearts that he is really Jesus Christ, the Messiah, when in fact he is none other that the "son of perdition", the son who has already been sentenced to die (Ezk. 28:18-19) and perish in the lake of fire.

Jesus Christ is now giving final instructions to His disciples (students) before sending them forth as apostles (ones sent forth) to teach the Word of God and "proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Mat. 10:7)". He told them that they did not need financing for their journey (to teach His Word) so there was no need to take a purse, nor were they to take a "beggars bag" to plead for money, for as long they went forth as per His instructions, which means according to the Word of God, then He would see to it that their needs were well taken care of. You see, the reality is that our Father, the One who created and owns this vast universe, is quite capable of blessing and taking care of His own. Either you believe that or you don't! Those who spend a great deal of their teaching time asking and pleading for money, obviously don't!  In fact, they even rob, as in "take away", the very opportunity for the people to freely give. Think about it!

Christ also told His disciples that in their going forth they were to seek out those houses who were worthy, those who would receive His truth, and to freely and graciously give the truth and blessings of His Word, for the love of God, even as they received it freely and graciously from Him. That only makes sense for when you think about it, if one truly loves the Lord and His righteousness then how could one have it in his heart to do otherwise?

Then Jesus warned them that they would be as sheep sent forth in the midst of wolves. Therefore they should be wiser than the serpent always using good common sense so as to not invite trouble, while at the same time being peaceful and harmless as doves. Of course doves will defend their homes and their loved ones with a ferocity that would seem to many to be uncharacteristic of an otherwise peaceful bird. Those who come against or mess with the home or loved ones of a true Christian will likewise be surprised.

Nevertheless, even though the wolves will not be able to devour you, take heed and beware for men will deliver you up and persecute you because of the Christ in you, because of your discipleship and apostleship concerning what you believe and say and teach.

Matthew 10:17
But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;

To further document that fact, we will parallel some of the scriptures from Luke concerning these last days.

Luke 21:12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.

Matthew 10:18
And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

Luke 21:13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

The good news is that Christ has promised His servants that He will never leave them nor forsake them (Heb. 13:5). That means that the Shepherd will be with you always, even unto the end of the world (Mat. 28:20). And since you are to give testimony for Christ, you are not to worry nor be anxious nor premeditate about you will say. Why not? Because the Holy Spirit will speak through you at the time just as He did through those disciples on that first Pentecost Day following the resurrection, which as Peter documented was done to show us an example of how it will be in these last days.

Matthew 10:19
But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

Luke 21:14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:

Luke 21:15 For I will give you amouth and wisdom,which all your adversaries shallnot be able to gainsay norresist.

gainsay, G471 ??????? antepo an-tep'-o
From G473 and G2036; to refute or deny: - gainsay, say against.

resist, G436 ?????????? anthistemi anth-is'-tay-mee
From G473 and G2476; to stand against, that is, oppose: - resist, withstand.

Matthew 10:20
For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

[21] And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.

The point is that your loved ones will believe they are doing the right thing by bringing you to the one they think is "Jesus" when in fact they shall unknowingly be delivering you up to death himself. How so unknowingly? Because they are Biblically ignorant of who is actually standing in the holy place and sitting in the temple claiming to be God (2 Thes. 2:4). Many have been listening to false shepherds who have been telling them that Christ is going to return at any moment and take them up in some "rapture" while the rest of us sinners are left here to face Satan, the false-christ. Do not listen to preachers and ministers and pastors, including this one, without first checking out what they say in the Word of God to see whether or not it aligns with that which is written. Start with the fact that Christ just said His disciples will be delivered up, not raptured out of here!

Luke 21:16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

---

Current event note: It is amazing, since 9/11, to see that our government is now recruiting one million of our kinsfolk, our friends and brothers and sisters who are postal workers, utility workers, etc., i.e. those who have access and are most privy to our homes, to report any suspicious terrorist activity to the authorities. Just wait until the prince of spiritual terror arrives at the sound of the 6th Trump and exercises all the power of the first beast, which is the NWO. Then shall the betrayal and persecution be taken to a new level!

---

Matthew 10:22
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

hated, G3404 ?????? miseo mis-eh'-o
From a primary word ????? misos (hatred); to detest (especially to persecute); by extension to love less: - hate (-ful).

You "see", God's warriors who have the gospel armour on and in place (Eph. 6) are going to stay right here and take a stand, even take "the stand", and endure and kick dragon unto the very end! God's elect are not fearful one bit of Satan and his troops! Have you not read that Christ has given them power over snakes and serpents and over all the power of the enemy (Satan)? He cannot hurt us for our Shepherd is always with us! Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

Here then is Strong's definition of "endureth":

endureth, G5278 ???????? hupomeno hoop-om-en'-o
From G5259 and G3306; to stay under (behind), that is, remain; figuratively to undergo, that is, bear (trials), have fortitude, persevere: - abide, endure, (take) patient (-ly), suffer, tarry behind.

2 Cor. 11:1
Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.

[2] For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

[3] But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

[4] For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

In our next study we will see what kind of commitment it takes to be a true disciple of Christ. Don't miss it!

You must go to Jesus Christ, to the Word of God, privately (Mark 13:3) when you do not know something and seek revelation (understanding) by listening to His Voice, hearing His words in your ear! Yes, His Word, it's written in your Bible!

It is written concerning the last days that if you are a true and faithful disciple and servant of Jesus Christ, then you should expect persecution to come your way and for some to even be delivered up before kings and rulers for HIS NAME'S SAKE to give "testimony against them and the nations"! Jesus Christ told us that in Mat. 10:18 and we can read it again in Mat. 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 which reads as follows:

Luke 21:12
But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.

[13] And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

Matthew 10:19
But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

[20] For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

Always use the wisdom contained in the instructions of Jesus Christ who has already told us to keep our peace and depart "shaking the dust off of our feet" from those houses and cities where we are not welcome and who will not hear His Word (Mat. 10:14).The same applies when we are persecuted for His name's sake. Of course Christian soldiers do not quit serving Him when a little persecution comes their way. On the contrary, they are "doers" of His Word who shall stay in the field of battle and endure unto the end (Mat. 10:22)... "till the Son of man be come" (Mat. 10:23)! That last phrase lets us know that Christ is talking to His disciples about the events and the persecution of these last days, just prior to His second advent.  That means He is talking to you if you are one of His disciples!

[24] The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.

[25] It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

[26] Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.

[27] What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

Ezekiel 3:10
Moreover He said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.

[11] And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

Let us read one more time for emphasis what it is we are to hear in our ears.

Ezekiel 3:17
Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

Matthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

destroy, G622 ????????? apollumi ap-ol'-loo-mee
From G575 and the base of G3639; to destroy fully (reflexively to perish, or lose), literally or figuratively: - destroy, die, lose, mar, perish.

G623 ????????? Apolluon ap-ol-loo'-ohn
Active participle of G622; a destroyer (that is, Satan): - Apollyon.

Hey wait a minute! That is not commonly taught by the majority of Christianity (who teach that the wicked are going to be barbequed for ever and ever)! So what? God's Word says over and over again that the wicked are consumed away, that they PERISH! Even the most quoted verse of the Bible declares it to be so: Thus saith the Lord in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Yes, the word perish in John 3:16 is "apollumi" which now you know means to "destroy fully".

Now hear these words of your Father in your ear:

Matthew 10:29
Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

[30] But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Luke 21:18 But there shall not a hair of your head perish.

Luke 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

It is amazing how good our Father is to us. Did you know that He has not only foretold us all these things (Mark 13:24) but He has also had "written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come (1 Cor. 10:13)", ensamples, types, acted out in HisStory to give us a visible similitude of those things that are invisible, i.e. that are spiritual?  And in so much as Christ brings the Book of Daniel into the picture in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 concerning "that same hour" of great tribulation when some of God's elect are delivered up to death, i.e. Apollyon, Satan, the abomination of desolation, the king of Babylon of Revelation, etc., we find an ensample in Daniel where "not an hair" on the head of His servants was harm when they were delivered up to death. In this ensample we see real fire being used that we might "see" spiritual fire, even the spiritual confrontation of these last days. To that end, let us go to the Book of Daniel and spend some time there learning from the type.

We pick up the story flow where the king of Babylon, Satan as a type of false-christ in the last days, has set up a golden image and as world ruler he has "heralded the command" to ALL people, nations, and languages to be in tune to the music and when they hear it to "fall down and worship" that image (see Rev. 13:15).

Here is the decree:

Dan 3:4 Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,

Dan 3:5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:

Dan 3:6 And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

Dan 3:7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

Dan 3:8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.

Dan 3:9 They spoke and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever.

They are "little tattle tales" and here is their snitch report where they even cite excerpts from the official decree:

... Dan 3:12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Dan 3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.

Dan 3:14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

Dan 3:15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

Dan 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

Dan 3:17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

Dan 3:18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Dan 3:24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spoke, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Dan 3:27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

So should you be anxious or worry about those who call kill the flesh when you know with certitude and it is written that your Father knows exactly what is happening in your life? Again, if He knows about the status of each little insignificant-by-comparison sparrow, like when one falls to the ground, how much more is He aware of each of His precious children, like when some of them are cast into a burning fiery furnace? Woe!

Matthew 10:31
Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Thank you Father for the love you have given us.

"What would it take for you to 'sell out' and compromise the Word of God? Could you be swayed from the truth of His Word because your family turned on you?

Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ, a follower and doer of His Word? If so, is there anything in this world that could separate you from the love of Christ? Think about it as we complete our study of the great tenth chapter of the Book of Matthew. Remember that Christ is about to send forth His disciples to labor in the field, thereby making them "apostles", the word itself meaning "sent forth". He has already forewarned them not to depart from His teachings but in doing so, i.e. by faithfully following the Master as His students, they could expect to be ridiculed and persecuted even as He was!  However, no matter how hot things "are wont to be", as the good Shepherd He will always be there in the midst of the fire to lead, guide, and protect His own.

Let us now take heed to His final instructions.

Matthew 10:32
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

And so it is that "whosoever" will confess Jesus Christ, the true Logos, the Word of God, before men instead of the "sweet little Lord Jesus" traditions of men, is that servant who shall be in good standing... having done the Father's will... and the Lord Jesus Christ who now sits at His right hand in heaven shall surely confess that faithful one before the Father!
On the other hand...

[33] But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

deny, G720 ????????? arneomai ar-neh'-om-ahee
Perhaps from G1 (as a negative particle) and the middle of G4483; to contradict, that is, disavow, reject, abnegate: - deny, refuse.

In fact, this is the very first warning Christ gives concerning this final generation:

Matthew 24:4-5
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

[5] For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

If you think not, then read again Mat. 7:21-23.

Matthew 10:34
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

To better understand this we could consider another analogy used for the Word of God... Light! From the beginning God sent the Light into the world of darkness to divide the light from the darkness, the day from the night, even the children of light from the children of darkness. It is the Plan for this flesh age. Genesis 1:4 "And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." You "see", Jesus Christ is that Light (John 1:1-12) which came into the world and those who dwell in Him are children of light. 1 Thes. 5:5 "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness."

It is written that in this final generation of the fig tree that Satan, i.e. the Prince of Darkness, will appear as an angel of light to bring peace to this earth. However, it will be a false peace by a false messiah for the children of light know that there can be no real and lasting peace until the Prince of Peace comes to rule all nations with a rod of iron. To that end, there is a great spiritual battle raging in these last days and the true servants of God are mentally and spiritually prepared to war against the evil one and take a stand against his fiery darts.

Ephes. 6:11-17
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

[12] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

[13] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

[14]Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

[15] And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

[16] Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

[17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Next, Christ tells us what happens, even at home, when we pick up that sword of truth He sent to us and begin to use it.

Matthew 10:35
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

[36] And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

Micah 7:5
Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.

Micah 7:6
For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.

So now that Jesus Christ has foretold us that teaching the Word of God as it is written will at times cut and cause division and bring about persecution even from your closest loved ones, He now gives His disciples/apostles instructions concerning their priorities and their commitment to Him. The questions that arise are, "What would it take for you to 'sell out' and compromise the Word of God? Could you be swayed from the truth of His Word because your family turned on you? How about if you were delivered up to death, to antichrist himself, as were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneggo in type?"Jesus Christ says that if either is the case, you are not really not a true believer in Him and so you are not worthy of being His disciple.

Matthew 10:37
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Rev. 2:4
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

first, protos, pro'-tos, Greek 4413; contracted superlative of Greek 4253 (pro); foremost (in time, place, order or importance) :- before, beginning, best, chief (-est), first (of all), former.

love, agape, ag-ah'-pay, Greek 26; from Greek 25 (agapao); love, i.e. affection or benevolence; specially (plural) a love-feast :- (feast of) charity ([-ably]), dear, love.

[5] Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Luke 14:26
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Matthew 10:38
And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

cross, stauros, stow-ros', Greek 4716; from the base of Greek 2476 (histemi); a stake or post (as set upright), i.e. (special) a pole or cross (as an instrument of capital punishment); figurative exposure to death, i.e. self-denial; by implication the atonement of Christ :- cross.

[39] He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Matthew 10:40
He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

John 17:17
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

[18] As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

[19] And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

[20] Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

Matthew 10:41
He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

And you know what else? The prophets like Jeremiah and Isaiah and Daniel are all part of that same brotherhood who all receive the same eternal reward. Even the apostle John declared that he was one of our brothers (Philadelphia) and companions in tribulation (Smyrna) and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, the Word of God. In other words, John did not elevate himself above others.

Rev. 1:9
I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 10:42
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

You see, you cannot out give your heavenly Father, for it is NOT about volume or quantity. It is about love and doing things His way, according to His will, that which you are able. And in doing so, you show your faith and your love for Him and so you shall in no wise lose your reward!

Matthew 11 next:

The "curse" that comes before the second advent is the accursed one, the abomination of desolation, i.e. Satan as the false Messiah.

Jesus Christ has now finished giving His final instructions to His twelve disciples who are now also called apostles because He has chosen to "send them forth" to the lost sheep of the house of Israel to teach His Word and preach that the "the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Mat. 10:7)". Of course as always, the good Shepherd leads the way and sets the example.

Matthew 11:1
And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding His twelve disciples, He departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

teach, didasko, did-as'-ko, Greek 1321; a prolonged (causative) form of a primary verb dao (to learn); to teach (in the same broad application) :- teach.

preach, kerusso, kay-roos'-so, Greek 2784; of uncertain affinity; to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth (the gospel) :- preach (-er), proclaim, publish.

You "see", Jesus Christ the Messiah, the One who was prophesied to come in all the Law and the Prophets (Mat. 11:13 below), is now out teaching and preaching in the cities while at the same time, John the Baptist, the one who prepared the way as the voice in the wilderness is bound in prison and his ministry is over. In fact, in real short order his very life will be over.

Let us see why he is in prison in the first place.

Mark 6:17
For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.

[18] For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.

[19] Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:

[20] For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

Matthew 11:2
Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,

Now close your eyes and think for a moment. You "see", John was a student and an excellent teacher of God's Word who not only knew the scriptures well but he also knew with certitude, which is without a shadow of the doubt some scholars would like to attribute to him, that Christ was indeed the Son of God! To wit, he was right there at Christ's baptism and heard the voice from heaven as the Spirit of God descended like a dove saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased (Mat. 3:17)". Understand that it was John's very purpose and destiny to come and bear witness that Christ is the Son of God, and he did just that... never waving like some reed in the wind! John 1:-34, "And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God."

Here then is the question John instructed his disciples to seek answer to from Jesus Christ, the Word of God. (Note to the deeper student: You will find that John is actually seeking an answer to the "if" in verse 14 (Mat. 11:14) concerning His ministry, which would have been counted as the Elijah ministry before the ushering in of the kingdom at the second advent if the people would not have rejected it!)

[3] And said unto him, Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another?

another = heteros, het'-er-os, Greek 2087; of uncertain affinity; (an-, the) other or different :- altered, else, next (day), one, (an-) other, some, strange.

Isaiah 35:4-6
Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; 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 shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

Here is what the angel told Zacharias concerning John:

Luke 1:15-17
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

[16] And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

[17] And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Here are words of the LORD in Malachi chapter 3.

Malachi 3:1
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 of hosts.

[2] But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' sope:

Now let's hear the answer Christ sends back to John... for it is the answer itself which verifies what the actual question was!

Matthew 11:4
Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:

[5] The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Isaiah 61:1-2
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

[2] To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Here is the account in Luke:

Luke 4:18-19
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

[19] To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Now back to Christ's answer to John. The last thing the two disciples were to tell John was...

Matthew 11:6
And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

offended = skandalizo, skan-dal-id'-zo, Greek 4624; ("scandalize"); from Greek 4625 (skandalon); to entrap, i.e. trip up (figurative stumble [transitive] or entice to sin, apostasy or displeasure) :- (make to) offend.

Mark 4:17
And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.

To that end, John the Baptist gave a tremendous witness in the power and spirit of Elijah in paving the way for the advent of "He who was to come"!John spoke boldly and didn't pull any people-pleasing punches when it came to teaching God's Word. He was not a soft-spoken, mealy-mouthed pansy who wavered to and fro in his beliefs and his doctrine! He called a kenite a kenite right to their faces and he told king Herod that taking his brother's wife was sinful and against the law of Almighty God.

So now that Christ has answered the "advent" question concerning John's ministry to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, He is going to address the multitudes concerning John... who was His messenger sent forth to prepare the way. Of course we know that the "if" condition of verse 14 was not met and therefore we know there shall be another time of preparation before the second advent in which Malachi 4:5-6 will be fulfilled. Therefore, consider what your expectations are of "Elijah the prophet" who comes before the second advent and what his preparatory ministry will be like! Use John's ministry as a type... a word to the wise is sufficient!

Malachi 4:5-6
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

[6] And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Christ now addresses the multitude. The subject is John the Baptist!

Here is Question number one:

Matthew 11:7
And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

You can read more about John's ministry in Mark:

Mark 1:1-7
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;

[2] As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

[3] The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

[4] John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

Question number two:

Matthew 11:8
But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

Mark 1:6
And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

Question number three.

[9] But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.

[10] For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Malachi 3:1-2
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 of hosts.

[2]But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' sope:

Matthew 11:11
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Luke 1:15-17
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

[16] And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

[17] And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Matthew 11:12
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

[13] For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

[14] And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

Malachi 4:5-6
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

[6] And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest (or before) I come and smite the earth with a curse.

So the question is: "What do you expect to see in these last days concerning the Elijah ministry?"

1. Do you expect to see some "reed shaken in the wind"?

2. Do you expect to see some "man clothed in soft raiment"?

3. Do you expect to see a prophet.... or more than a prophet... sealing and "making ready a people prepared for the Lord"?

[15] He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

 2 Cor. 11:4 "For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him."

In our last study we learned that there would not have been a second advent IF they had received Messiah at which point, as Jesus Christ Himself said, John the Baptist would have been accounted as Elijah. However, the kingdom of God was rejected by that generation and so even though John came in the spirit and power of Elijah as it was written of him in Luke 1:17, he was not Elijah. John even so stated that fact when he was directly asked the question, "Are you Elijah?"

John 1:21
And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

But alas, that wicked and adulterous (idolatrous) generation who both "heard" Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God, and "saw" the mighty works He performed among them, refused to repentant and accept Him as Lord and Savior. They rejected the King and therefore His king-dom, which is the dominion of the King! You see, it is one thing to believe not when one has neither heard His voice nor seen His mighty works. It is quite another matter when people have Him in their very midst and reject Him because their religious leaders have trained them to follow man's ways and traditions while refusing to give ground to His Word of truth.

The point is, we have the Word of God extant and in our very midst in this final generation and yet most Christians, even those who have gone to church for decades, are Biblically illiterate and do not know that Word for the very same reason stated in the previous paragraph. In other words, their spiritual leaders have led them to follow a form of religion which they call Christianity but in reality it is only Churchianity composed of the vain traditional teachings and rituals of men which make void the true Word of God! That is precisely how Jesus Christ is forsaken and rejected in these last days and the false messiah accepted in His stead. A word to the "wise" is sufficient!Mark 7:7 "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."

So take heed and pay close attention to Christ's words in today's study, for they are written for our final generation who has the written Word of God available and accessible to literally everyone, yet it is increasingly ignored and forsaken, even denied, by both our religious and civil leaders! Woe unto them!

Christ now gives us a simple analogy or parable to describe the generation that neither accepts Messiah nor repents of their idolatrous ways.

Matthew 11:16
But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,

[17] And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.

So, simply put, we would say in English that "they did not leap... did not weep". In other words they did not "advance and dance", for even when they heard the wedding music itself they would not take action. And not only did they not RSVP and come to the wedding feast to which they were cordially invited, they would not "lament and repent" when they heard the sounds and mournings of the funeral, which will someday be their own if they do not repent and change their iniquitous ways. In other words, they would neither accept the invitation to come to Him, nor heed the warning of the ultimate consequences of their iniquities! What will it therefore take to bring them to their senses? The good news is, God has a plan and there is more to it than just the invitation and the warning for the unwilling and the unrepentant!

However, before we get a glimpse of the second advent when Christ returns as King of kings and Lord of lords to execute justice throughout all the land, let's understand the next two verses which give further explanation to the parable above.

[18] For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.

On the other hand... Christ came in just the opposite fashion, eating and drinking, attending weddings, and socializing in a friendly manner even with the common people. For that he was accused of being a glutton and a winebibber which is to be "non-religious" as the self-righteous see it. You just can't please religious hypocrites, can you?

[19] The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

Now let's see what Christ has in store for those who have witnessed His mighty works among them and yet repented not!

Matthew 11:20
Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:

[21]Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

[22] But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

[23] And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

[24] But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

So wake up and take heed! Stay in His Word and follow Him, doing those things which He has commanded, not because of the fear of judgment (which is actually reward for His servants), but because you love Him and are grateful having an "attitude of gratitude" for what He has done for you.

John 14:15
If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 14:21
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Matthew 7:21-23
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. [22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? [23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

[26] Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.

[27]All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.

To wit, "all things" are even written and delivered unto us through Jesus Christ the Word of God, and those things He foretold us of, even His marvelous plan, shall unfold and happen exactly as they are written. Therefore go to Him as He has called you (next verse) and He will reveal those things to you and give you peace of mind. Mark 13:23 "But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things." You "see", it is written that the second advent shall be witnessed by those of the final generation which is identified through the knowledge of the parable of the fig tree which Christ commanded us to learn in Matthew 24 and Mark 13)! Have you learned it?

[28]Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Here is how it works! It is real simple, IF you are willing.

[29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

How "wise" are you? You "see", you can receive His gentleness and kindness as you walk with Him, IF you take His yoke upon you. Or you take the "thumps and lumps" route all the way to the pit of hell if that is what you so choose, for the choice is yours!

[30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

May God grant you rich understanding of His Word.

If you think you know Jesus Christ and yet you are ignorant of His Word, you are deceiving yourself and headed for a great fall when Satan shows up as the false-christ.

Jesus Christ told us at the conclusion of Matthew chapter eleven that if you are heavy laden and a willing "laborer", meaning that you are willing to "come to Him" and "take His yoke upon you" and "learn about Him", then He will give you "rest"!

Matthew 11:28-29
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

[29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Hebrews 4:11
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

[12]For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

You "see", as Christians we must go to Him and "learn of Him" and mature to the point that we understand that Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is our rest which means He is our "sabbath". In fact, the word "sabbath" means "rest". Yet there are those even this day who teach that you must keep a certain "day", even from sunset to sunset, in order to be in good standing with God. Is that true? We will find out in this study as Christ teaches us concerning the sabbath day.

Matthew 12:1
At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and His disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.

[2] But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto Him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.

"In the ninth chapter of Hebrews Paul compares the details of the earthly tabernacle, along with the ordinances of divine service, to the true tabernacle, Jesus Christ, and what He has done for us as our High Priest who entered into the Holy of Holies once and for all time. By teaching us in this manner, Paul shows us how perfectly the Old Covenant explains the New by letting us "see" how those shadows represent the true tabernacle, which is Jesus Christ. Col. 2:17 "Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." For you see, the New Covenant is simply the fulfillment of, the reality of, the Old Covenant, that schoolmaster which brings us to know and understand Jesus Christ, the true tabernacle.

The ordinances of "divine service" and the "worldly sanctuary" were only figures, visible likenesses, images of the true tabernacle, Jesus Christ. In other words, they were earthly things our flesh eyes could see, things made and services performed to show us and teach us as a schoolmaster the things which cannot be seen, even His eternal power and Godhead, that power which can forgive sins and grant us "life" eternal. Romans 1:20 "For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse."

And so it was that the worldly (earthly) tabernacle was made by men's hands according to the "pattern" God gave Moses, and the ordinances of divine service were ordained so that we might be able to clearly "see" and "understand", and come to know Jesus Christ, the true tabernacle and the one and only true sacrifice for sins. He was the "real thing", the reality, the One promised by the sworn oath of Almighty God who would come and "open the way", fulfilling all things. And once the reality came, all those representative "things" were completely done away with (Col. 2:14-17).

To that end, Paul is now going to give us a description of how the earthly tabernacle was set-up and what the ordinances of divine service (vs. 1) entailed pertaining to the Holy of Holies, the Holiest part of the sanctuary, and compare them to Christ. He speaks first of that part of the sanctuary wherein all the priests could go.

Hebrews 9:2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.

The candlestick or lampstand with the seven lamps, the detailed description of which you can read in Ex. 25:31-40, was placed on the south side of the first apartment of the tabernacle, opposite the table of shewbread (Exodus 25:37) and it was lit permanently to give light inside the Holy Place. Wise virgins might find it interesting to know that the priests in the tabernacle were responsible, evening and morning, for trimming the wicks and filling up the seven lamps with the purest of olive oil sufficient to keep it burning throughout the night (see Mat. 25:1-13).

Exodus 27:20-21
And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. [21] In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

You will also find that the shewbread, consisting of "twelve" loafs of "unleavened" bread, was placed on the "pure" table before the LORD and set in two rows of six cakes each.

Leviticus 24:5-7
And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. [6] And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. [7] And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

One should take it upon himself or herself to study and learn all he or she can about the tabernacle and the things contained therein and the ordinances of service. Why? Because they teach us all about the true tabernacle, Jesus Christ, and the things of the spirit."

---

Matthew 12:3 But He said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;

Now notice that Jesus relates what has happened, i.e. His disciples going through the field plucking and eating the grain, to what David did in 1 Samuel 21 when he and his men were an hungered and they entered into the tabernacle and ate the shewbread!

[4] How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?

1 Samuel 21:5-6
And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.

[6] So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

Now here is another teaching of Christ regarding the sabbath days!

Matthew 12:5
Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

[6] But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

[7] But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

Here is the verse Christ quoted from the great Book of Hosea, whose name means "salvation"!

Hosea 6:6
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Matthew 12:8
For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Mark 2:27-28
And He said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

[28] Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Since this seems to be so difficult for so many people, let us go to Colossians chapter two and nail this down once and for all!

Paul writes:

Col. 2:8
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

[9] For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

[10] And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power:

[11] In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

[12] Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

[13] And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

[14] Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross;

[15] And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

[16] Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

[17]Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Let us return to Matthew 12 where Christ has just finished explaining to the Pharisees that the Father does not want burnt offerings and sacrifices from His children. He wants them to turn to Him and love Him and learn of His ways. To that end, even the sabbath was made for man to teach him about God's love and the rest He will give all those who labor.

Matthew 12:9
And when He was departed thence, He went into their synagogue:

[10] And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse Him.

We see the real motive for these religious types in questioning Jesus Christ, the Word of God. It should be obvious that they ask not TO SEEK THE TRUTH but rather to find fault and make accusations that they may justify and perpetuate their own religious ordinances and traditions.

[11] And He said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

Note: Interestingly enough, this was not against their traditions at this time but they would shortly hereafter make it such.

[12] How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

[13] Then saith He to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

So... after seeing that miracle you would think that the Pharisees would be overjoyed at the wonderful works of God, wouldn't you? However, they were not in the least bit concerned about the welfare and healing of the people who they themselves have spiritually handicapped and kept in the pits. I mean, if you lift up the lame, and heal all the blind and diseased people, thereby setting them free in Christ, in the truth of His Word... then who would you have left to yourself to fill your own tabernacle and extract tithes and offerings from?

You "see", you can't have both a religion and Jesus Christ at the same time! One or the other must go! Unfortunately, it seems that "religious leaders" will always choose religion!  Therefore, the Truth must go!

[14] Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against Him, how they might destroy Him.

John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

When you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, you have got big, big problems!

If you recall from our last study, Jesus Christ had entered into the church of the Pharisees, which was their synagogue, their house, and proceeded to set one of His sheep free from the pit by healing a man's hand that had withered on the unfruitful vine. Matthew 12:9-10 "And when he was departed thence, He went into their synagogue. [10] And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him." Now this miraculous healing from the Word of God Himself shall be the beginning of their house becoming divided. So, put on your eyes to see for understanding and picture in your mind's eye the following scene.

Matthew 12:14
Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against Him, how they might destroy Him.

Watch and observe the wisdom and power of Messiah.

[15] But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all;

This will all be explained in a parable a few verses hence, but first notice that not only did great multitudes of people follow Jesus Christ as He departed from the synagogue, He healed all those who followed Him! Wow! You "see", they ALL needed (spiritually) healed after withering to the point of (spiritual) death in that "God forsaken" house!

Then He charged them not to make Him known, as in renown. In other words, He was not looking to "make a big splash" and be publicly exalted. Remember what we read of Him in Matthew 11:29 "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

[16] And charged them that they should not make Him known:

[17] That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

The next few verses are quoted from Isa. 42:1-4.

Matthew 12:18
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved (Son), in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon Him, and He shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

Isaiah 42:1
Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

Matthew 12:19
He shall not strive, nor cry (aloud); neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets.

Isaiah 42:2
He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

Matthew 12:20
A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory.

Isaiah 42:3
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

[4] He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

[21] And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.

So Jesus, now having perceived that the Pharisees were plotting to kill Him, walked out of their synagogue with a great multitude of people following Him and He healed them ALL.

Now notice what happened next.

Matthew 12:22
Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

[23] And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?

Here's what they came up with...

[24] But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

But you see, here is the clincher! The Pharisees also just admitted that He did in fact cast out evil spirits which is a victory over Satan's kingdom!

Here is the wisdom with which Christ handled this and convicted them.

[25] And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

So Christ has just made an irrefutable statement which has been true by observation since time immemorial, and that is that any kingdom or city or house which is divided against itself cannot stand! (Keep in mind what has transpired in that their house has just been divided!)

[26] And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

[27] And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

[28] But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

But wait, there's even more logic and proof declaring that Jesus Christ has the Spirit of God and the power over Satan!

[29] Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

[30] He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

Do you know what the unpardonable sin is?

Many Christians worry that they might have already committed it because they are laden with guilt feelings or are ashamed because of some sin or sins they may have committed... such as committing adultery. However, in today's study we are going to learn that the only sin which shall not be forgiven unto men (anthropos) has nothing to do with your falling short in the flesh, nor is it even possible to commit at this present time.

To that end and in order to prepare our minds for understanding exactly what the unpardonable sin is, let us go to the Word of God and learn about the first one who committed the unforgivable sin. His name was Lucifer and although it happened in the "world that then was (2 Pet. 3:6)" when man was not in the flesh, keep in mind that there is "nothing new under the sun" and just as he was judged and consequently sentenced to be hewn down as a "corrupt tree" to be cast into and perish in the lake of fire at the end of the Millennium, so shall those who follow in his footsteps by becoming corrupt trees themselves, likewise be sentenced to perish and be cast right along with him into that lake of fire (Rev. 20:15).

We begin in the 28th chapter of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 28:12
Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

Now notice the status of this one among the children of God.

[13] Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

In other words, he was a priest of God, one who was anointed by God (next verse) to cover (guard) the mercy seat by upholding and maintaining our Father's truth and justice!

Ezekiel 28:14
Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

[15] Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

It was not just that iniquity was found in him, but that he "sinned", he "missed the mark", which is "chata" in Hebrew.

[16] By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence [i.e. corruption], and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

sinned = chat*a', khaw-taw', Hebrew 2398; a primitive root; properly to miss; hence (figurative and general) to sin; by inferance to forfeit, lack, expiate, repent, (causative) lead astray, condemn :- bear the blame, cleanse, commit [sin], by fault, harm he hath done, loss, miss, (make) offend (-er), offer for sin, purge, purify (self), make reconciliation, (cause, make) sin (-ful, -ness), trespass.

[17] Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

[18] Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

[19] All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

We also find this same knowledge of Satan as the corrupt tree, the Assyrian, "te-ashshur*" (box-tree), of Ezek. 31:3 who led astray and deceived all great nations in the first earth age and caused them all to dwell under his shadow (of darkness).

Ezekiel 31:3
Behold, the Assyrian* was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.

* See note in the Companion Bible, page 1150.

[4] The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.

[5] Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.

[6] All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.

[7] Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.

[8] The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.

[9] I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.

Nevertheless, Satan willingly and unrepentantly committed sin (chata) for which there is no pardon by standing against the Holy Spirit of God and denying truth and justice to flow through him. You "see", he chose of his own free will rather to lead astray God's precious children. So with that knowledge and background in mind concerning the first unpardonable sin, and knowing that there is nothing new under the sun (i.e. in this flesh age), we are ready to return to Matthew and learn what "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is", for it is the only sin which shall not be forgiven unto men in this flesh age!

First however, you may recall from our last study that Jesus Christ revealed His power and His Spirit unto the Pharisees who not only witnessed His good works but even admitted that they were good works when they said that He did cast out evil spirits. However, rather than joining with Him and acknowledging the power of the Holy Spirit of God to overpower Satan's house, his evil empire, and "rescue the sheep from the pit", i.e. free the people from the evil one, they chose to willfully and purposely, because of the evil in their hearts (minds), stand against Him and deny His power and authority by actively accusing Him before the people of casting out evil spirits by the power of Beelzebub, one of Satan's names which means Lord of the Dunghill (how fitting). In other words, they attributed the good fruit He produced of coming from the "evil tree", of being produced by Satan himself, so that they could maintain their own self-exaltation, i.e. their power and authority over God's children, and keep them in bondage to their traditions of men, keeping also the children's hands withered that they might not be able to stretch forth and be healed and labor for the Lord!  Remember also that Jesus Christ "knew their thoughts", i.e. what was in their hearts, and they had become unrepentant corrupt trees which could only bear corrupt fruit!

Matthew 12:25
And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

Matthew 12:30
He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

John 10:12
But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

Matthew 12:31
Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

Let us look at the Greek word for "blasphemy" which is the act of being "blasphemous".

blasphemy = G988 e?mia blas-fay-me'-ah
From G989; vilification (especially against God): - blasphemy, evil speaking, railing.

blasphemous = G989 blasphemos blas'-fay-mos
From a derivative of G984 and G5345; scurrilous, that is, calumnious (against man), or (specifically) impious (against God): - blasphemer (-mous), railing.

blapto = G984 ??????? blapto blap'-to
A primary verb; properly to hinder, that is, (by implication) to injure: - hurt.

against = G5345 ????? pheme fay'-may
From G5346; a saying, that is, rumor (“fame”): - fame.

[32] And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Again, what was the example set forth in Matthew 12? The Pharisees, the spiritual leaders, refused to teach the people the truth that the Tree of Life was present before them, that the Kingdom of God had come, and having seen and witnessed His power they stood right before Jesus Christ and knowingly and publicly denied His Spirit and taught others that His power was of Satan! That constitutes blaspheme against the Holy Spirit! Here it is:

[30] Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

Matthew 12:33
Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

So if we were to ask the question, "Who can commit such an unforgivable sin?" The answer would be "trees"! Again, a word to the wise is sufficient. To that end, let's go back to Matthew 7 and review verses 15 to 20.

Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

[16] Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

[17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

[18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

[19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

[20] Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Matthew 12:34
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

generation = gennema, ghen'-nay-mah, Greek 1081; from Greek 1080 (gennao); offspring; by analogy produce (literal or figurative) :- fruit, generation.

vipers = echidna, ekh'-id-nah, Greek 2191; of uncertain origin; an adder or other poisonous snake (literal or figurative) :- viper.

[35] A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

[36] But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

idle = argos, ar-gos', Greek 692; from Greek 1 (a) (as a negative particle) and Greek 2041 (ergon); inactive, i.e. unemployed; (by implication) lazy, useless :- barren, idle, slow.

ergon, er'-gon, Greek 2041; from a primary (but obsolete) ergo (to work); toil (as an effort or occupation); by implication an act :- deed, doing, labour, work.

speak = laleo, lal-eh'-o, Greek 2980; a prolonged form of an otherwise obsolete verb; to talk, i.e. utter words :- preach, say, speak (after), talk, tell, utter. Compare Greek 3004 (lego).

[37] For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

Luke 12:8
Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:

[9] But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.

denieth = arneomai, ar-neh'-om-ahee, Greek 720; perhaps from Greek 1 (a) (as a negative particle) and the middle of Greek 4483 (rheo); to contradict, i.e. disavow, reject, abnegate :- deny, refuse.

[10] And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.

However, if your heart is pure and you are a true servant of God, then you need take no anxious thought nor premeditate what you shall say when you are delivered up, for as it is written the Holy Spirit shall speak through you as He did those on that first Pentecost Day following the resurrection.

[11] And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:

The point is, stay in His Word and be filled with His Spirit and then there is no need to be anxious nor even think about what you will say at the time of the delivering up, for as He promised those who stand with Him, He will never leave you nor forsake you.

[12] For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.

Until then, stay yoked with Him and focused in His Word. Remain steadfast as a faithful laborer with Christ until the end of this age and He shall indeed confess your name before the angels.

Thank you Father for your Word!

What part of three days and three nights don't our church leaders understand?

There is so much precious truth and wisdom contained in the Word of God that if one will only take the time with "opened eyes and ears" to go to His Word (open the Book,Yes, the little one laying there on the coffee table) and ask and seek and knock, then the door to spiritual riches beyond compare to any material riches "under the sun" shall be opened unto him. In fact, one can find eternal life and peace and happiness contained therein! John 5:39 "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think [means to know] ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

However, some would rather play church and rather than search the scriptures which testify of Him, building their foundation of faith upon the Rock, they choose rather to seek other things as evidence to testify of Him, like sideshows and signs and wonders.

Therefore consider the following scripture which begins today's study:

Matthew 12:38
Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

Stop and think about it a moment! Think about the fact that they had "in their midst" the "Tree of Life", the Living Word of God, yet even after seeing His power whereby people were healed and demonic spirits were cast out they still would not open their ears to "hear Him" and believe His words.

Well I suppose as wise old Solomon (mentioned by Christ later in this chapter) said, there is nothing new under the sun, for many people today have the written Word of God "in their midst" and yet they likewise will not open their ears to "hear Him" and believe His words!  No, they would much rather listen to men and follow vain religious traditions which make void the Word of God.

Nevertheless, these "certain scribes and Pharisees", no doubt the same "generation of vipers", i.e. kenites, that He has been addressing, answered Christ by tempting Him (Luke 11:16) and challenging Him both as a "Master" (teacher of the law) and as one whose power and authority comes from God. As the saying goes, "Like father, like son", for their father the devil (Jn. 8:44) did tempt Christ after the same manner in Matthew 4:6 at which time "Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God" (Mat. 4:7).

Of course those who possess wisdom concerning "good trees" and "corrupt trees" as per our earlier study, know that a "sign" would not satisfy the unbelief of these "certain scribes and Pharisees" which stems from an unrepentant and idolatrous heart.

Here is what Jesus said to the gathered crowd concerning their demand for a sign:

[39] But He answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

And so it came to pass that Jonah, whose name means "Dove" which is used symbolically of the Holy Spirit, did die and was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights and was then vomited up on the shore to bring salvation to the gentiles, even the Assyrians! And guess what? When Jonah preached unto them they did repent*!

* It should be noted that the Assyrians worshipped Dagon, the "fish god", so when the people saw and/or heard that their god brought forth Jonah alive from its mouth, they took heed and "heard Jonah's words" and did repent. In other words, in their minds they believed Jonah was sent from God, and He was, just as Christ was sent from God!

Therefore as Jonah was sign unto the Ninevites, so likewise it would come to pass that the Son of God would be brought forth out the heart of the earth after three days and three nights and bring salvation to the gentiles... to "whosoever will".

[40] For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Now the "Master" gives them a witness and a Bible lesson!

[41] The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

And not only would they not repent, they had no desire to seek His wisdom, the wisdom from the Living Word of God who was standing right there before their very eyes! Compare that to the following testimony of the Queen of Sheba.

[42] The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

1 Kings 10:1-2
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. [2] And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

1 Kings 10:7
Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.

1 Kings 10:8-10
Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. [9] Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. [10] And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

Chances are you are not even aware that they wrote it because the "light snuffers" have had it removed from the publications of most Bibles... which only gives further witness to the darkness of their motives!

Here is just one excerpt from that letter (emphasis ours):

"Now the Church of Rome would seem at the length to bear a motherly affection towards her children, and to allow them the Scriptures in their mother tongue: but indeed it is a gift, not deserving to be called a gift, an unprofitable gift: [Sophecles] they must first get a License in writing before they may use them, and to get that, they must approve themselves to their Confessor, that is, to be such as are, if not frozen in the dregs, yet soured with the leaven of their superstition. Howbeit, it seemed too much to Clement the Eighth that there should be any License granted to have them in the vulgar tongue, and therefore he overruleth and frustrateth the grant of Pius the Fourth. [See the observation (set forth by Clemen. His authority) upon the 4. rule of Pius the 4. his making in the index, lib. prohib. pag. 15. ver. 5.] So much are they afraid of the light of the Scripture, (Lucifugae Scripturarum, as Tertulian speaketh) that they will not trust the people with it, no not as it is set forth by their own sworn men, no not with the License of their own Bishops and Inquisitors. Yea, so unwilling they are to communicate the Scriptures to the people's understanding in any sort, that they are not ashamed to confess, thatwe forced them to translate it into English against their wills. This seemeth to argue a bad cause, or a bad conscience, or both. Sure we are, that it is not he that hath good gold, that is afraid to bring it to the touchstone, but he that hath the counterfeit; [Tertul. de resur. carnis.] neither is it the true man that shunneth the light, but the malefactor, lest his deeds should be reproved [John 3:20]: neither is it the plain dealing Merchant that is unwilling to have the weights, or the meteyard brought in place, but he that useth deceit. But we will let them alone for this fault, and return to translation."

You "see", if one goes to the Word of God and is enlightened by the Tree of Life, then he or she will discover that there is only one High Priest and there is only one Mediator between God and man and that One is Jesus Christ. The truth will then sent that person free of the captivity of religion and men's traditions (as a sheep lifted out of the pit) and their blind eyes shall be opened and their withered hands will be made whole whereby they can labor for Him.

Matthew 12:43
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

[44] Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

However, if your house (mind) remains empty and swept and garnished, then you are inviting in more trouble than you started with!

[45] Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

Rev. 18:2
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

Matthew 12:46
While He yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with Him.

[47] Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

[48] But He answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?

[49] And He stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

[50] For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

In our next study we are going to begin the great 13th chapter of Matthew wherein is contained a parable that Christ said must be understood if one is to have the wisdom to understand any of His parables!

How truly precious is the Word of God and we plan to do some digging!