Bible Study on Matthew 23, verses 13 to 33 comments, ye generation of vipers

 

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. 14  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 15  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. 16  Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! 17  Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 18  And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 19  Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20  Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21  And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22  And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. 23  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24  Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. 28  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30  And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31  Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32  Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33  Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

 

God, walking in human flesh, condemns the religious elite for refusing to enter into God’s kingdom and holding back others who would do so. They do unjust and mean-spirited things in their civil authority over the Jews and then justify their oppression by long prayers. They went to great lengths to get one Jewish proselyte, a convert to Judaism, and then corrupt him worse than they are. The religious elite had come up with many rules and laws that quibbled over oaths and swearing by holy things and Jesus gives them a sound thrashing for their illogic and dishonesty.

 

This religious elite did a great job of focusing on minor things and avoiding at all costs the more important matters of the Law. Always arguing about tithing of spices in the garden but ignoring judgment, mercy, and faith in their teachings made them spiritually powerless.

 

He uses the great metaphor that they strain at a gnat and swallow a camel showing their illogic and dishonesty yet again. Outside of themselves they appear clean and righteous but their inside is like a dirty cup or a tomb of rotting flesh. Their outward appearance is a thin disguise for the fact that they are filled with hypocrisy and iniquity.

 

These same Pharisees and scribes who claim that they would not have committed the crimes of their ancestors against God’s prophets are, contrary to their claim, cut from the same cloth. He calls them a generation of poisonous snakes worthy of Hell itself. This is pretty strong speech against the powers in Judaism of that day.

 

John the Baptist had also used strong language against them.

 

Matthew 3:7  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Bible Study on Exodus 1, verses 1 to 14, there arose up a new king over Egypt

 

Exodus 1:1 ¶  Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. 2  Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3  Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4  Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5  And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already. 6  And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 7  And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

Genesis 46: 26  All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six; 27  And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.

Deuteronomy 10:22  Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.

Acts 7:14  Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.

The difference in numbers between Moses’ accounts in Genesis, Exodus, and Deuteronomy, and Stephen’s account recorded by Luke in Acts can be attributed to counting different people such as wives not mentioned in one. There are a number of very good explanations for why Stephen would count 75 people leaving for Egypt with Jacob and Moses would say 70 three times.

Look at the factors by which this family of less than 100 people grew. First, there is no mention in the Bible of widespread epidemics or virulent diseases yet. The first known epidemic in scientific literature and history may have been a Typhus epidemic in Athens, Greece in the middle of the first millennium BC, which killed upwards of 100,000 people. It was brought on by war and as many as 30 different microbes have been blamed for it. We will see God placing epidemics directly upon the Egyptians and their livestock.

We will also see indications of a high birth rate and of the hardiness and health of the Hebrews who had come to this land. How fast can populations increase is not only a subject of debate but has been seen as populations arise from great calamity. A high birth rate and abundant food resources can lead to relatively quick growth in population. When resources are abundant a population can experience what is called “exponential growth” and this leads to a rapid multiplication of individuals. If you add God’s supernatural purpose for multiplying the children of Israel you can imagine how amazing this could be.

Exodus 1:8 ¶  Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9  And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10  Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 11  Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12  But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 13  And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 14  And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

If the Pharaoh who welcomed Joseph and then his family was one of what scholars call the Hyksos or Shepherd-kings, who ruled over Egypt for a time, then this would be the return of a native-born Egyptian ruler. This would be a Pharaoh who represented the deep hatred and disgust the Egyptians would feel against the shepherds of Canaan. Here the great numbers of these immigrants from Canaan would make the Egyptians feel threatened and uneasy so they reduced this numerous people to slavery, building the treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

If Goshen was in northeastern Egypt, a possibility we discussed in Genesis, and these cities were there as well, then the area is called Lower Egypt as the part of Egypt adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea. This is the area of the Nile Delta, lush and fertile, the powerhouse of Egypt. It was a rich agricultural region and was where such things as the Rosetta Stone were discovered in 1799 which helped scholars decipher hieroglyphics, the ancient Egyptian picture writing. There are a great many archaeological sites in this area.

The children of Israel’s lives went from the favored and plentiful existence of the welcome guest whose presence was made possible by the savior of the nation, Joseph, in a time of great want to despised slaves whose lives were made of hard, unending labor under mean-spirited overseers. It must have been quite a transition and there was probably much lamentation about the former days.

Bible Study on Matthew 23, verses 1 to 12, one is your Master, even Christ

 

Matthew 23:1 ¶  Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2  Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 3  All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 4  For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5  But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6  And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7  And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. 8  But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9  And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10  Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 11  But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12  And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

 

Now Jesus has finished talking to the high muckety-mucks and turns His attention to the people and His disciples with a warning about the religious elite. They sit in Moses’ seat figuratively dispensing their interpretations of the Law given to him for the Israelites as a seat was the position of authority. In the Roman Catholic Church the latin word ‘cathedra’ is used for the seat of a Bishop and the Pope is said to speak, “ex cathedra,” or “from the seat.” Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount here in Matthew seated.  Jesus tells them to respect what the religious authorities say and do what they related out of the Law but not to follow them as an example. They are hypocrites, saying one thing but doing quite another.

 

They put a lot of stuff on the shoulders of the Jew but don’t follow those rules themselves. They presented themselves as holy and righteous but that appearance was a sham, just for show. And, on top of that, they abused their privileges that respect afforded them and the honorific names of Rabbi, Master; meaning a teacher of the Law in this context.

 

Jesus tells His disciples not to accept these names but in humility, understanding that Christ is THE Rabbi, THE Master, they should point to Him. Notice they were to call no man father as God was their Father, which makes one wonder about why the Roman Catholic Church can justify calling a priest “Father.”

 

In the ministry of Christ verses 11 and 12 make it clear that a humble spirit is what is called for.

 

James 4:10  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

 

1Peter 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

 

John Gill says the phylacteries were four sections of the Law written on parchment; Exodus 13:2-11; Exodus 13:11-17, Deuteronomy 6:4-10; and Deuteronomy 11:13-22. They even thought of them to ward off evil spirits and disease like someone carrying a small King James Bible in his pocket thinking that it will bring him or her a blessing throughout the day by magically protecting them from misadventure or sickness.

 

The fringes on the borders of their garments would remind them of the Law and were thought to show their piety and righteousness. This is what we call today ‘virtue signaling.’ I am righteous because I have a Bible verse attached to my vehicle. The priest of the Hebrews or the Christian in 21^st century America might be a dismal, hateful, wretch but they know what makes them look good.

 

This is not to say that Bible verses on one’s car or home are bad things. They are good things but the heart should not confuse them with God’s approval of your behavior. In other words, a dove lapel pin says nothing about a person’s character or sincerity as God judges the heart not a symbol.

Bible Study on Genesis 50, verses 22 to 26, in a coffin in Egypt

 

Genesis 50:22 ¶  And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father’s house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years. 23  And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph’s knees. 24  And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 25  And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. 26  So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Genesis, also known as the First Book of Moses, covers nearly half of history from the creation of the physical universe and life until the people that God carved out of fallen mankind for Himself are secure in Egypt. Egypt will be a nursery where this people can grow from a few into many. In God’s ministry of reconciliation, drawing mankind to Himself, Genesis lays out the first steps, dealing with man’s sin, using man’s foolish and often wicked choices, and going beyond anything that man himself planned to produce this end result of salvation for those who would receive God in the flesh for their salvation.

It began with a world much different than we live in today. Nothing was meant to die. As one non-Christian evolutionary biologist pointed out whom I referenced earlier;

Humans on rare occasions may survive to 120 years, some turtles to 200. But all animals eventually die. Many single-cell organisms may die, as the result of accident or starvation; in fact the vast majority do. But there is nothing programmed into them that says they must die. Death did not appear simultaneously with life. This is one of the most important and profound statements in all of biology. At the very least it deserves repetition: Death is not inextricably intertwined with the definition of life.[1]

But, Adam, the first man, stood by and watched his wife, Eve, get taken in by Satan’s rebellion against God, his desire to be God, and then followed her lead. She was tempted by the three things that mankind has ever since then fallen to repeatedly.

Genesis 3:6  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

1John 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

As Jesus warned the religious of His day of walking on earth as a human being;

Luke 16:15  And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

Genetically, spiritually, psychologically, culturally, and in every way all human behavior was tainted by this willingness to exercise their free will to defy God’s commands and break fellowship with him. The result was death for all living thing, decay and corruption. Death became the primary cause of disruption of God’s perfect plan, a judgment on all of the earth for man’s sin. We alone bear the responsibility for all death from the African savanna to the Mariana Trench in the Pacific, from the hospital in town to a lonely hut in the wilderness.

Man suffered and suffers;

Romans 5:12  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Hebrews 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

And, in fact, all creation suffers because of man’s sin.

Romans 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

Another atheist science writer noted with no hope of reconciliation;

The total amount of suffering per year in the natural world is beyond all decent contemplation. During the minute that it takes me to compose this sentence, thousands of animals are being eaten alive; others are running for their lives, whimpering with fear, others are slowly being devoured from within by rasping parasites; thousands of all kinds are dying of starvation, thirst and disease. It must be so. If there ever is a time of plenty, this very fact will automatically lead to an increase in the population until the natural state of starvation and misery is restored….In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won't find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference. (51)[2]

 

These men have no hope nor do they have any understanding because they reject God’s revelation of His ministry of reconciling mankind to Himself. But we know the truth and should teach it to each other and to our children.

Now, God, the Creator of all things and master of all reality, has taken a people for Himself from out of a sin-darkened world through which He will insert Himself physically into this dimension of existence for a brief time as one of us while still being fully God. Thus ends the first book of the account given to Moses, the story of God’s ministry, His-story.

And so, the first half of history ends in a coffin in Egypt.

---

[1] William R. Clark, Sex and the Origins of Death (London: Oxford University Press, 1998), 54.

 

[2] Richard Dawkins, River out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life (New York: Basic Books, 1995), 154-155.

 

Bible Study on Matthew 22, verses 41 to 46, What think ye of Christ, whose son is he?

 

Matthew 22:41 ¶  While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42  Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43  He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44  The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45  If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46  And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

 

The Pharisees are tripped up when asked who Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah is. They call him the Son of David, a name of the Messiah who is in the lineage of David. Jesus refers to a verse in Psalms,

 

Psalm 110:1  «A Psalm of David.» The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

 

They viewed the Messiah as a man coming in triumph to restore the kingdom of Israel to its former glory but how could He be a mere man, the son of David, when He was God in the flesh? How could David call his descendant, his son, Lord? This is the mystery of being fully God and fully man which Jesus was. They couldn’t answer His question and they stopped asking Him questions. This exact question plagued the Eastern Roman Empire hundreds of years later and was important in the establishment of the religion of Islam. The question of the full divinity and full humanity of Christ, though answered at councils drove a wedge between Christians in that part of the world and resulted in a fierce religion of conquest, Islam, a subject not for this venue.

Bible Study on Genesis 50, verses 15 to 21, Joseph forgives, seeing the plan of God

 

Genesis 50:15 ¶  And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. 16  And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, 17  So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. 18  And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. 19  And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 21  Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

We have no evidence that Jacob told his sons to make this request of Joseph. As far as we know this is pure self-interest and understandable as the brother whom they abused is the second most powerful man in their world’s great superpower. They plead with Joseph, through a messenger, not to seek revenge and then further the plea in person. But, they do admit the evil that they did to him in restraining him in the pit and selling him into slavery into Egypt those years ago.

Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then, he gave an important statement about God’s permissive will that we all must understand if we are to understand reality.  This is akin to understanding through the book of Job how all reality, even the most simple thing like dust turning into a clod of dirt in a farmer’s field (see Job 38:38), is a function of His will. Man chooses to do evil; malicious violence, with harmful intent. God can and does use that bad intent to accomplish something for His purpose. You can’t escape His will, though try as you might.

This principle will be noted in the book of Esther, that God’s hand and control can be seen in all events and He has a purpose for us in that situation that we may be blessed by if we acknowledge His sovereignty.

Esther 4:13  Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews.14  For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

This does not make our evil acceptable. The follower of Christ who believes in His resurrection and that He is the visible image of God, the body of God, and to see Him is to see God, and is the only way to God the Father, in other words, a Christian, is not to do evil so that good may come. In Romans 3 Paul condemns those who twist His words to make it sound like that is what he is implying, that we may do evil that good may come. Instead, we are to seek God’s complete and perfect will as he said in Romans 12.

Romans 12:1 ¶  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are to keep our minds focused on what is right and good.

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

And to permit the fruit or proof of having God’s Spirit indwelling us to shine from us.

Galatians 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Any so-called Christian who professes that they are willing to do evil so that God may bring something good out of it should be removed from the congregation and you should have no fellowship with them. Your only action should be to pray for them, that they may be genuinely saved at some point before it is too late.

God used Joseph’s brothers’ human frailty and hatred of him as a youth to set up His temporal salvation of the people He was creating for Himself.

Joseph forgave and did not seek revenge for wrongs done to him. The Bible speaks often of forgiveness, particularly under the Law where there was a judgment for not forgiving.

Matthew 6:14  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

Mark 11:26  But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

            Paul told us that revenge belongs to God.

Romans 12:19  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

 Joseph understood these things more than most Christians, particularly in dealing with wrongs done to them by the members of their own family.

Jesus forgave His brethren, the Jews, on the cross, for their ignorance.

Luke 23:34  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…

A willingness to forgive is a fundamental Christian principle although it does go against the American ideal of demanding respect from others and getting fired up if we don’t get our “propers.” In fact, we are so jaded that we will treat someone else in a cruel or thoughtless manner and then become incensed when they respond negatively. We then talk about forgiving them, as Christians, ignoring the fact that we were the original malefactors.

Joseph was abused by his brothers; kidnapped and sold into slavery. He rose to prominence in his new surroundings and was able to turn around and help his own family survive. He realizes God’s hand in these events and does not turn and rend his brothers. He promises to care for them and their families and does so. There are many lessons here for those of us going through trials and tribulations with our families. We must always realize, in every thing, God’s hand in the affairs of men who think they are in control, when they are not. Joseph is a prime example we should follow not some character in an action movie about ‘get-backs’ on people who have hurt you. Remember, though, the brothers are repentant. Forgiveness can only include restoration when there is repentance. That is an important lesson to learn, as well, as some fundamentalists demand women who are abused not only to forgive their tormentor but to restore a sincerely unrepentant tormentor to a position where they can do more harm.

Still, the important thing in this passage is the quality of Joseph’s forgiveness as he recognizes how God acted in his life. We see this more often than we admit if our eyes are open.

Bible Study on Matthew 22, verses 34 to 40, two commandments

 

Matthew 22:34 ¶  But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38  This is the first and great commandment. 39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

 

Here is a great summation of the Law given to Moses. Here, God in the flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ, gives this lawyer the essence of God’s intention for the Law. This makes it so simple to understand that it is an amazing set of verses. Love God with all your being and love your neighbor as yourself. This is something we most certainly all fail at. This will stun the Pharisees as Christ has dealt with all parties, political and religious, that He is facing. What God expects from His people is unquestionable.

 

Deuteronomy 6:5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

 

See how the Holy Spirit substitutes one word for understanding with mind and might indicating that this is a spiritual command. In no way could one confuse this with killing anyone in the name of Christ.

 

Again, I do not want to make this a harmonization of the gospels so we won’t compare the gospels. They each have their unique memories and takes on the things Jesus said that are worth studying in context. I thought this was interesting in Mark, chapter 12.

 

  Mark 12:28 ¶  And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 32  And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou

hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 33  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34  And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

 

And then from Luke;

 

Luke 10:27  And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

 

Notice also further instruction in Deuteronomy on this subject.

 

Deuteronomy 10:12 ¶  And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

 

Deuteronomy 30:6  And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

 

Verse 39 is also a reference to the Law;

 

Leviticus 19:18  Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

 

James 2:8 ¶  If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

 

Luke, chapter 10, shows us that whomever we come in contact with, even one of those we don’t approve of, is our neighbor in God’s eyes. This is very troubling for us. Think about what it means to be like Christ.