LESSON FOR MATTHEW CHAPTER 23

Jesus spoke to the disciples about the scribes and Pharisees and how they sit in Moses’ seat, but they don’t live up to that standard. “For they put heavy burdens on the shoulders of men, but they themselves will not raise a finger. But all their works they do are to be seen by men: they make broad their holy receptacles and enlarge the border of their garments. And love the uppermost rooms at the feasts, and the chief priests seats in the synagogues. And greetings in the markets, and to be called by men ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’. But you don’t call anyone ‘Rabbi’, except One, the Christ.” Rabbi means “master” in Hebrew. He also told them to not call anyone ‘father’, but for God. He said whoever shall be called ‘master’ will be abased, but those who humble themselves shall be exalted.

Jesus then began excuriating the scribes and Pharisees for being hypocrites, time and time again. He said they shut up heaven to men, but they themselves will not enter it. That they devour the houses of widows, but make long public prayers for them. That they travel all over to find new converts, but when he becomes one they make him more of a child of hell than they are. That they teach if one swears by the Temple it is nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the Temple is a debtor. He said “Which is greater, the gold or the Temple that sanctifies the gold?” Jesus also pointed out that they say if one swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, then he is guilty. He asked them “Which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?”

Jesus continued excuriating them saying that they pay tithes of mint, cumin, and anise, but omitted the greater things of the law, such as judgment, mercy, and faith.  That they clean the outside of the cup and platter but inside them are full of extortion and excess. He said they are like white sepulchres, which are good to behold, but inside them are dead men’s bones and dirt.

He continued “Woe to you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous. And you say ‘If we had been around back with our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ Well you are witnesses of yourselves that you are the children of those that killed the prophets. Fill yourselves up a measure of your fathers. You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell? Look, I send to you prophets, wise men, and scribes: and some of them you shall kill and crucify; and some you will scourge in the synagogues and persecute them from city to city.” Read the book of Acts. ” That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the Earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, whom you slew between the Temple and the altar. Truly I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation.” Sorrowfully, Jesus said “Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that killed the prophets and stoned them which are sent to you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not! Look, your house is left desolate. For I say to you, you shall not see Me again until you shall say ‘Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord’.” This is how Jesus left them.

Here I am going to get into a great revelation as to whom Jesus was really talking to. There is a group of people named Kenites, who are descendants of Cain. The original Hebrew Old Testament testifies to this in a couple of mistranslations in the KJV. These two instances should read as follows

Numbers 24:21-22 “And he looked on the Kenites and took up this parable, and said ‘Strong is your dwelling place and you put your nest in a rock. (22) Nevertheless, the *Cain* shall be wasted away until Asshur shall carry you away captive.”

Judges 4:11. “Now Heber the *Cain*, which was of the children of Hobab, the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.”

Both in Numbers 24:22 and Judges 4:11, the words “Kenite” and “Kenites” in the original Hebrew was the word “Cain”, tying conclusively Cain to the Kenites. As I have made the case at my other website http://www.jnormanii.wordpress.com, it was Satan that fathered Cain. Satan was the serpent that beguiled Eve and God spoke to saying that his seed and the woman’s seed shall have enmity, saying “he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.” In Genesis 4:1, Eve gave birth to Cain and said “I have gotten a child from the Lord.” Now Satan was told about his offspring, but Eve was not told. Plus, God can only create souls. In Genesis 4:2 lies a clearer picture with the original Hebrew. The word “again” really meant “continue” in the original Hebrew. She continued to give birth and had Abel. Eve had twins, but one was from the serpent Satan. Lo and behold, Cain murdered his brother Abel because he was tormented (he shall bruise your head) by the good works of his brother (you shall bruise his heel). The heel is part of the foot, signifying action-work. Cain got married and his descendants, again according to the original Hebrew, became known as Kenites.

Obviously since Cain fathered the Kenites and they were around after the flood, they survived it somehow. As it shows up above in Judges 4:11, Moses’ father in law was a Kenite and by blood. Hobab, also known as Jethro was a Midianite priest before God required priests to be Levites. He was a God-fearing man showing that despite his flesh being half-Satanic, he had a God-created soul. Even Cain had the opportunity to do good works by the Lord God (Genesis 4:7).

In the battle of Canaan, Kenites helped the Israelites in Judges 4. In 1st Chronicles 2:55, it shows Kenites became scribes. This was an important position to have among the Israelites who were not of any tribe. Now we come to what Jesus said. He said their generation killed Abel and the prophet Zechariah, but the original Greek word again there is illuminating. The word “generation” in Matthew 23:33 was “γέννημα” (GHEN-ee-mah), which means “offspring”. Now just a few short verses later in verse 36, “generation” was “γενεά” (gen-eh-AH), which means “generation” as a reference of time. It was Cain that killed Abel, and it was the offspring of Cain that killed Zechariah and later the Christ. In verse 15, Jesus accused the scribes and Pharisees of turning converts (proselytes) “into twice the child of hell as yourselves.” When you add all of these up, you will know that Satan fathered Cain; Cain fathered the Kenites; Kenites became scribes; the prophecy from God to Satan did not stop with the murder of Abel.

LESSON FOR MATTHEW CHAPTER 9

Early in this chapter, Jesus ran into a man sick from palsy and bed-ridden. Jesus saw the faith of the people around him and said “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven.” Some of the scribes there said within themselves “this man blasphemes”. Jesus asked why they have such evil in their thoughts. He said to the palsied man “Arise, take away your bed, and go into your house.” Not only was the man able to walk, but he was also able to carry his bed. The people around Him marvelled. Those scribes for the most part who had evil thoughts were Kenite scribes. If you want to read up about them, read “The Definitive Work On Kenites, Cain, And The Seed of Satan” at my other site “One of the Election of Grace” at http://www.jnormanii.wordpress.com. It is worth reading. These Kenite scribes and Pharisees showed the hardness of their hearts in the gospels so clearly that even with Jesus performing miracles in their plain sight wouldn’t soften them. Remember the man with the withered hand Jesus healed on the Sabbath? These Kenites were waiting to see if He would “break the law” concerning the Sabbath. Jesus knew their hearts and asked them whether it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath. I heard one Christian teacher years ago (don’t remember which one) say “What an amazing time that must have been for people to see Jesus heal and be unimpressed. They must have had a lot of people heal back then.” I’m paraphrasing. This was well over a decade ago. No, the people ready to accept Jesus marvelled. Those who were not ready didn’t marvel. The man blind from the day he was born that Jesus healed in the gospel of John said that no one has ever done such works. No matter how incredible of an action it is that works righteously, evil will hate it and downplay it. Evil hates good. Those of Satan will hate the most incredible works of Jesus. It’s a reflex because of the evil that lies in their hearts.

Jesus then ran into the next disciple, a tax collector named Matthew. Yes, the same Matthew that spread this gospel. Jesus then ate with publicans and sinners which offended the Pharisees, so they asked the disciples why their Master is eating with these wicked people. Jesus hearing them said a very important thing for all Christians to take to heart. He said “Those that are healthy have no need of a physician, but those who are sick do.” Then He put them in their place by saying, “But go and learn what this means. I will have mercy and not sacrifice: for I am not here to call on the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” We as Christians and Christian teachers must not look at the flesh of a sinner, but the soul of a sinner. There is a big difference between those who sin and those who are evil. Jesus had more ears that belonged to prostitutes than He had the ears that belonged to the Jewish authority, many of them not being Jews at all. Prostitutes were willing to accept Him, but Caiaphas and the other Kenites were not, yet the Kenite chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees were held in high esteem in the Jewish community.

The disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus wanting to know why His disciples don’t fast like they do, but Jesus said as long as He is with them they will not fast. When He leaves, they will fast. He was basically saying they need to be nourished because they will have a lot of work to do while He’s with them.

In verse 18, a certain ruler worshipped Jesus and said his daughter was dead. He then asked Jesus to touch her so she might live again. On the way, Jesus had a woman who was constantly bleeding for twelve years came toward Him thinking if she could just touch His garment that she could be healed. Jesus knowing her thoughts turned around and said “Daughter, be of good comfort; your faith has made you whole.” She was healed right then. Jesus came to the ruler’s house where people were already outside mourning the death of the girl. Jesus said “Make way, the maid is not dead but asleep.” The people there mocked Him. Jesus went inside and took her by the hand and she came back to life. They stopped mocking Him.

In verses 32 and 33, a dumb man was brought possessed with a devil, so Jesus healed him so the devil was cast out and he was able to speak. The Kenite Pharisees, again evil hating good works, told the multitudes who marvelled that Jesus cast out devils by the prince of devils. They made this accusation again (maybe because it might have worked somewhat) in Matthew 12:24 naming it Beelzebub. This is an interesting word in the Greek and the Hebrew. The Hebrew version is Baalzebub, which is a deity of the Ekronites and should be recognized by people with the prefix Baal from the stories throughout the OT, including Elijah in 1st Kings. Baalzebub means “Baal of the Fly”. Now the Greek version is a taaaaaad bit different. Beelzebub is the Greek parody version of Baalzebub, which means “dung god”. Like I said, it’s a wee bit different. Beelzebub is a common Greek name for Satan.

Jesus went teaching and healing so that a great multitude followed Him tirelessly until they began to faint. Jesus had compassion on them because these people were starving for Truth in God’s ways. This is why Jesus said to the disciples to pray to send more laborers for the harvest is plenty, but there are few laborers. These people knew they were getting the Truth from Him, so they couldn’t get enough of Him as they weren’t getting the Truth from anyone else. Sound familiar?

Matthew Hebrew pronunciation and definition: (Mat-tith-YAW-hoo), which means “gift of Yah” (God)