SEPTEMBER 19 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#29 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” (Matthew 22:42)

 

SEPTEMBER 19  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  

JQ#29  

“What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”  

(Matthew 22:42)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Lord and Savior, my Light, my Salvation — 

You alone are Worthy to be praised by every nation,

by every tongue and  every knee shall bow 

for You Lord Jesus 

are the One True King of kings and Lord of lords! 

Your Life on earth was short but You lived the Perfect Life

 in obedience to the Will of the Father, You became by virtue of

 Your Perfect Life the Perfect Sacrifice acceptable by God

 for the Atonement of ALL sin. You died the Perfect Death

 and by Your death You won victory over the grave so that no man

 that believes in Your Life need fear the bodily death that 

awaits us all. Your Gift of Mercy and Grace and Your Victory 

over death and the grave is extended to all who believe

 on You LORD Jesus, the Only Begotten of the Father, 

who fulfilled God’s Great Plan of Redemption through 

the Blood of Your Perfect Sacrifice 

— we need not fear death for You have promised

 that through belief in You, we

 “shall not perish but have life everlasting”        

AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus has shut down His detractors and has returned to explaining

 to His disciples and the multitudes “why” Jesus has spent so much

 of His time dealing with the religious rulers. Now Jesus makes 

a list of the “rulers of Israel’s” actions that is the self-convicting 

evidence that will be the basis for their judgement which Jesus

 pronounced about their iniquities and “hypocrisy” that their 

punishment will “be executed speedily on [them]” for their abuse

 of their “God-given wisdom” that they were supposed to apply 

to teaching and judging the nation of Israel as Ezra 

described 500 years earlier. (Ezra 7:1-6, 25-26) 

This “list” should be used by everyone as a 

“Spiritual-Do-Not-Do-List”

 for Jesus is laying out very clearly and in simple terms 

what God has judged as “sin”. 

Jesus started the list by qualifying by which “authority” 

He was pronouncing “judgement” when Jesus referenced the 

“scribes and Pharisees [sitting] in Moses’ seat. 

Therefore [since they were given their offices and 

responsibilities by God that] whatever they tell you

 to observe, that observe and do…” 

(Matthew 23:2-3a) 

then Jesus gave a summation of the problem as He continued, 

“but do not do according to their works; 

for they say and do not do.” 

 (Matthew 23:3b)  

Jesus had also just Taught 3 Parables on 

“True Power and Authority”, 

the first was about two sons being given instructions by the “father” but only

 one son actually did as the father had asked and Jesus asked this question, 

“Which of the two did the will of the father?”

 (Matthew 21:28-31) 

So this is not the first time 

Jesus has Taught this Lesson of actually being 

“obedient” in doing what the “Father commands” 

and not just paying Him “lip service” 

— and now Jesus is again saying to 

“do” what the Father commands with the phrase 

“whatever [those given authority by God] tell you

 to observe, that observe and do…” 

(Matthew 23:3a) 

Therefore Jesus starts His “Do-Not-Do-List” when He states 

that the scribes and Pharisees are defiling their God-given offices because

 “they say, and do not do.” (Matthew 23:3b) 

When we study these passages where God is passing judgement

 for a particular action, we should not fall for the “Great Lie”

 that God’s Law only applied to the Old Testament followers, 

remember that 

God’s Law will NEVER be void or irrelevant 

as Jesus proclaimed, 

“For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away,

 one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law 

till all is fulfilled.” 

(Matthew 5:18)  

It is only logical that if 

God is the 

“God of the living” 

Therefore, since we fall into the category of "the living” 

then God is the God of our “life” — 

and  God, being the Supreme Power and Authority 

is not going to “change His mind”

 being the “Fair and Just” God that HE IS, 

all of God’s Commands apply to EVERYONE 

and God will JUDGE EVERYONE ACCORDING TO OUR ACTIONS 

and REWARD OBEDIENCE and PUNISH DISOBEDIENCE 

— its your choice!?!?!?!?

SEPTEMBER 18 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#29 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” (Matthew 22:42)

 

SEPTEMBER 18  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  

JQ#29  

“What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”  

(Matthew 22:42)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, You are the Master Teacher, You use every circumstance

 in our lives to reveal the Father in Heaven to us and You demonstrate

 the Love of God because of Your concern for our daily lives. 

Lord, I pray that I will be open to the guiding of Your Holy Spirit that

 has been given the specific task to “teach us all things of God” 

through the divine appointments that You arrange daily for us. 

So Lord Jesus, my prayer is that I “listen” with all my heart, mind, 

and soul — for every lesson that I fail to learn is another glimpse 

of the kingdom that  I missed because I let the darkness of this 

world blind me to seeing Your Glory. 

Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, Loving Father,

 Praise to the Holy Trinity and Your Mercy and Grace renewed daily

 that we may grow in Spirit and in Truth. Forgive me of those 

moments of blindness when my spirit is clouded with self-pity

 for my present circumstance and I am looking at the world in fear

 instead of letting Your Light of TRUTH open my blinded eyes 

and soften my hardened heart and reveal the circumstance 

as an opportunity to see Your Silver Lining 

and learn Your Intended Lesson —

 give me this day, my Daily Bread (of LIFE)!!!   

AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus addressed the Pharisees “…while [they] were gathered together…” 

and when He had finished addressing them

 “…from that day on [no one] dared question Him anymore…” 

Jesus was able to return to Teaching the multitudes and His disciples 

in these last days before His crucifixion, now that Jesus was giving

 His final Lessons on “True Power and Authority” to the “hypocrites” 

that had been contending with Him. This “usurping of

 God’s True Power and Authority” 

was a very serious issue for Jesus who now turns to the multitudes 

and expresses in direct terms “why” this is a major problem — 

mainly that if this problem of “True Authority” is not corrected

 that many will be deceived and will miss the 

“True Path” 

to the kingdom of God! 

(See Matthew 22:41-46) 

Jesus begins outlining the problem to 

“…the multitudes and to His disciples, saying, 

‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.

 Therefore what ever they tell you to observe, that observe and do,

 but do not do according to their works; for they say and do not do.’”

 (Matthew 23:1-3)  

Jesus always uses the Holy Scriptures to Teach His Master Lessons

 and one of the Truths of God Jesus Teaches us by using Holy Scripture

 to make His Point is that God has already addressed that problem before, 

God has demonstrated that He is the Unchanging Living God 

and that His Word WILL STAND! 

When Jesus states that

 “the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat” 

He is making reference to a passage from the prophet Ezra which

 is very significant to this Lesson for all Israel was familiar with 

the fact that God had called Moses and that the 

Law of Moses was in reality the Law of God 

given through Moses.

 Another relevant fact is that through Moses, God also had established

 the office of priests and had placed great responsibility on them 

to use their “God-given wisdom” to teach and to judge God’s chosen

 people according to God’s commands! The passage from Ezra has

 special relevance in this instance for Ezra could trace his lineage 

all the way back to Aaron for the Holy Scriptures record 

that Ezra’s lineage was through “…the son of Abishua, 

the son of Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the son of 

Aaron the chief priest —this Ezra came up from Babylon;

 and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, 

which the LORD God of Israel had given.” 

(Ezra 7:1-6) 

So this reference to the “seat of Moses” used by Jesus connected

 His Lesson all the way back to the Exodus, God giving the Law to Moses,

 and also the Israelites release from the Babylonians.

 Jesus also makes reference to what the problem is when He refers

 to Ezra through this reference as the scriptures record, 

“And you Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom,

 set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people …

 who know the ‘Laws of God’ and teach those that 

do not know them…

Whoever will not observe the [Law of God] … 

let judgement be executed speedily on him…” 

(Ezra 7:25-26) 

This is exactly what Jesus is saying to the scribes and 

Pharisees with the reference to 

“Moses’ seat” — 

“Your office and duties are to be used 

to teach and judge the people according to God’s Law  that 

was given to you by God Himself and because you have not

 faithfully executed the responsibility of your office according

 to the command of God, your judgement will be executed speedily”. 

Ezra was a contemporary with Nehemiah and Esther 500 years before

 this Lesson Jesus is Teaching in Jerusalem on Passover week 

which 500 years later still sends the clear message that

 

God is the Supreme Source of  All Power and Authority 

and because the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 

is the Eternal Almighty God, 

His Commands will NEVER be void! 

God is serious about us following His Commands because

 of His Great Love for us — 

all His Commands are the Path to Eternal Life 

and God’s Heart is for the GOOD of His people 

as He continually directs us to 

“Repentance” 

for that Path leads to 

“Remission of Sin, Salvation,

 and Life Everlasting!” 

All those are very good reasons 

for following God 

instead of our selfish desires that lead to destruction, 

don’t you think?!?!?!?