SEPTEMBER 10 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#28 “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?” (Matthew 22:18)

 SEPTEMBER 10  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#28 “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?”  (Matthew 22:18)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, it is still a mystery to this sinner why such Divine Perfection would be Sacrificed for my wretched soul — why would the Almighty Creator God that is completely Self-Existent even bother to expend so much effort to insure that creatures that He does not need can be Redeemed from our self-made iniquities against such a Gracious God??? Lord Jesus, that You would Suffer and Die to Purchase my Pardon is indeed unfathomable but Lord I Praise You for Your Mercy and Your Grace, for I know I have done nothing and can do nothing to earn such Divine Favor except to accept the Gift of God which is Salvation through Belief in His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, I do not need to know why any more, for Your Grace is Sufficient and I pray that my Faith grows each day as I learn to die-to-self daily and let Your Holy Spirit dwell in this new vessel of Divine Regeneration — for now I am learning to pray “The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want…” Thank You Jesus for life, guide me throughout my day that I can worship You and the Father in Spirit and in Truth!   AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus fulfilled prophecy when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, then upon entering the city Jesus demonstrated that He was the Messiah as He went immediately to the temple and put His Father’s House in order which is what any Obedient Son and Heir would do for His Father’s Kingdom. It is interesting to note that the actions of Jesus were never questioned but that once Jesus demonstrated His “Authority-from-God” that all those that had previously been in “self-appointed authority” who now were being exposed for their sins were trying to defend themselves and their man-made doctrines which they had been imposing on God’s chosen nation, Israel. Jesus cleansed the temple which they had defiled (see Jeremiah 7:11-15) and then He entered the temple and began giving sight to the blind and the lame could walk again for everyone was “healed” that “came to Him in the temple” (Matthew 21:14). Again, if Jesus was an actual criminal and was guilty of any punishable crimes against the temple then surely the temple guards that were there on the premises would have arrested Him yet Jesus “drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple” and then immediately Jesus sat down and began performing miracles of healing that could only be accomplished through the Power and Authority of ALMIGHTY GOD Himself, hence there were no arrests. Even “the chief priests and scribes [in the temple] saw the wonderful things that [Jesus] did” after cleansing the temple (den of thieves who were robbing God) and returning its function back to God’s Intended Purpose which was to be “A House of Prayer”. None of the works that Jesus was doing could be questioned so all the religious rulers probably got together and “plotted” how they might make Jesus look bad in front of the multitude and regain their positions of “self-appointed authority” where they had high offices and lofty titles which Jesus was stripping away with every Lesson He Taught this final week before culminating His earthly ministry at the Passover with His Sacrificial Death on the Cross as the Lamb of God! We should also note that the common thing among all the “authorities” was that they all used the same argument to try and trap Jesus as they each asked in their own ways “Is it lawful?” which in reality is the reason why Jesus was on earth in the first place, because man had ignored the “commands of God [The Law]” because of their “manmade traditions” [doctrines of men] and here they were facing God in the flesh who was performing works that could only be performed by God! These “self appointed leaders” who were not being able to cast aspersions on the    Works of God through His Only Begotten Son Jesus tried to attack the Creator of the Law with those things that are “lawful”??? We should look closely at our own “arguments” against God, especially when our arguments are based on things that are clearly “things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21b) !  Jesus made it clear early on in His Ministry why He was here on earth when He gave the Sermon on the Mount and then declared, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:18) Jesus then expressed clearly why the “self-proclaimed authorities” were in trouble as He continued on His fulfilling of the LAW of GOD as He said, “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20) And yet, here in the temple of God where Jesus has just cleaned out all who bought and sold in the temple, what makes these scribes and Pharisees think that Jesus will not also clean up the “spiritual garbage” as well??? — maybe we should remove the plank in our eye so that we can see the Truth of God that Jesus came to Teach to all people and for every generation??? Review your life and see how it lines up with God’s Truth and not your “traditions” because there are both “Blessings” and “Curses” being taught in God’s Truth, and He Teaches everyone, it is our responsibility to “Listen and Learn”!!!