Friday, April 10, 2020
Happy Good Friday
During this beautiful Holiday we celebrate a very holy moment in History.
"Prepare me a body"
He came to save the world.
Man cannot live by bread alone but by every word that precedes out of the mouth of God. I always remind myself that I cannot live by my intuition or ideas, or the social systems designed by men. But life is meant to be lived by God's word. When he said let there be light, Light was. When he said rejoice and be glad, I was glad. When he said arise, my chains were broken by his words. When he said be humble, I lowered myself. When God said be blessed, I am. When he says, move, my legs stumbled but they moved at his word. What he says goes. I pray that your day is filled with sunshine and happiness.
The Gospel According to Matthew
In light of the Readings we see two times so thus far in the readings the scribes and pharisees asked Jesus for a sign confirming his divinity. But he told them two times no sign would be given but the son of man would be like Jonah in the belly of the whale that would be the only sign of his divinity they would get.
He was referring to the resurrection. He would be dead for three days and on the third day he would raised from the dead.
I want to stress the world divine. (From God)
(they had an issue accepting his divinity)
And because they wanted a sign it was a sign that they did not have a relationship with the father. It seems when Jesus asked Peter who he was to him, Peter said he was the Christ the son of the living God. And, Jesus blessed him saying, my father in heaven has revealed this unto you. The Father draws us to his son.
The Lord Heard My Cry
PSALM 40
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay,
and He set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footsteps and establishing my path.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear [with great reverence]
And will trust confidently in the Lord.
Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not regard the proud nor those who lapse into lies.
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of your wonders,
They would be too many to count.
Sacrifice and meal offering You do not desire, nor do You delight in them;
You have opened my ears and given me the capacity to hear [and obey Your word];
Burnt offerings and sin offerings You do not require.
Then I said, “Behold, I come [to the throne];
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my heart.”
I have proclaimed good news of righteousness [and the joy that comes from obedience to You] in the great assembly;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips [from proclaiming Your righteousness],
As You know, O Lord.
I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart;
I have proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation.
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.
Do not withhold Your compassion and tender mercy from me, O Lord;
Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
For innumerable evils have encompassed me;
My sins have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see.
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has failed me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to save me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Let those be ashamed and humiliated together
Who seek my life to destroy it;
Let those be turned back [in defeat] and dishonored
Who delight in my hurt.
Let those be appalled and desolate because of their shame
Who say to me, “Aha, aha [rejoicing in my misfortune]!”
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
Even though I am afflicted and needy,
Still the Lord takes thought and is mindful of me.
You are my help and my rescuer.
O my God, do not delay.
Matthew 16
Now the Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus [to get something to use against Him], they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven [which would support His divine authority].
But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’
And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and has a threatening look.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but cannot interpret the signs of the times?
An evil and [morally] unfaithful generation craves a [miraculous] sign; but no sign will be given to it, except the sign of [the prophet] Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.
When the disciples reached the other side of the sea, they realized that they had forgotten to bring bread.
Jesus said to them, “Watch out and be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring bread.”
But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves that you have no bread?
Do you still not understand or remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you picked up?
Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many large baskets you picked up?
How is it that you fail to understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the [false] teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
And they answered, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or [just] one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of the living God.”
Then Jesus answered him, “Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, favored by God] are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood (mortal man) did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades (death) will not overpower it [by preventing the resurrection of the Christ].
I will give you the keys (authority) of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth will have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth will have [already] been loosed in heaven.”
Then He gave the disciples strict orders to tell no one that He was the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).
From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples [clearly] that He must go to Jerusalem, and endure many things at the hands of the elders and the chief priests and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), and be killed, and be raised [from death to life] on the third day. Peter took Him aside [to speak to Him privately] and began to reprimand Him, saying, “May God forbid it! This will never happen to You.”
But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on things of man.”
Discipleship Is Costly
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].
For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory and majesty of His Father with His angels, and then He will repay each one in accordance with what he has done.
“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
During this beautiful Holiday we celebrate a very holy moment in History.
"Prepare me a body"
He came to save the world.
The Gospel According to Matthew
In light of the Readings we see two times so thus far in the readings the scribes and pharisees asked Jesus for a sign confirming his divinity. But he told them two times no sign would be given but the son of man would be like Jonah in the belly of the whale that would be the only sign of his divinity they would get.
He was referring to the resurrection. He would be dead for three days and on the third day he would raised from the dead.
I want to stress the world divine. (From God)
(they had an issue accepting his divinity)
And because they wanted a sign it was a sign that they did not have a relationship with the father. It seems when Jesus asked Peter who he was to him, Peter said he was the Christ the son of the living God. And, Jesus blessed him saying, my father in heaven has revealed this unto you. The Father draws us to his son.
The Lord Heard My Cry
PSALM 40
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay,
and He set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footsteps and establishing my path.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear [with great reverence]
And will trust confidently in the Lord.
Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not regard the proud nor those who lapse into lies.
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of your wonders,
They would be too many to count.
Sacrifice and meal offering You do not desire, nor do You delight in them;
You have opened my ears and given me the capacity to hear [and obey Your word];
Burnt offerings and sin offerings You do not require.
Then I said, “Behold, I come [to the throne];
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my heart.”
I have proclaimed good news of righteousness [and the joy that comes from obedience to You] in the great assembly;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips [from proclaiming Your righteousness],
As You know, O Lord.
I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart;
I have proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation.
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.
Do not withhold Your compassion and tender mercy from me, O Lord;
Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
For innumerable evils have encompassed me;
My sins have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see.
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has failed me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to save me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Let those be ashamed and humiliated together
Who seek my life to destroy it;
Let those be turned back [in defeat] and dishonored
Who delight in my hurt.
Let those be appalled and desolate because of their shame
Who say to me, “Aha, aha [rejoicing in my misfortune]!”
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
Even though I am afflicted and needy,
Still the Lord takes thought and is mindful of me.
You are my help and my rescuer.
O my God, do not delay.
Now the Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus [to get something to use against Him], they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven [which would support His divine authority].
But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’
And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and has a threatening look.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but cannot interpret the signs of the times?
An evil and [morally] unfaithful generation craves a [miraculous] sign; but no sign will be given to it, except the sign of [the prophet] Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.
When the disciples reached the other side of the sea, they realized that they had forgotten to bring bread.
Jesus said to them, “Watch out and be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring bread.”
But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves that you have no bread?
Do you still not understand or remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you picked up?
Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many large baskets you picked up?
How is it that you fail to understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the [false] teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
And they answered, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or [just] one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of the living God.”
Then Jesus answered him, “Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, favored by God] are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood (mortal man) did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades (death) will not overpower it [by preventing the resurrection of the Christ].
I will give you the keys (authority) of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth will have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth will have [already] been loosed in heaven.”
Then He gave the disciples strict orders to tell no one that He was the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).
From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples [clearly] that He must go to Jerusalem, and endure many things at the hands of the elders and the chief priests and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), and be killed, and be raised [from death to life] on the third day. Peter took Him aside [to speak to Him privately] and began to reprimand Him, saying, “May God forbid it! This will never happen to You.”
But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on things of man.”
Discipleship Is Costly
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].
For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory and majesty of His Father with His angels, and then He will repay each one in accordance with what he has done.
“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
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