May 6th, 2020

Psalm 100 starts with “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.” The rest of the Psalm speaks for itself with line after line that we see in hymns and praise songs from today. In Ezekiel 19 we have a lament for Israel’s princes. An allegory of God as a lioness raising male cubs to be strong lions only for Egypt and Babylon to capture and imprison them. Closing with a withered vine in a “dry and thirsty land.” Then we come to Matthew 21 and the Triumphal Entry and Jesus cleansing the temple. Matthew is showing us that all are eligible for the kingdom of heaven if they repent. The son who said “no”to going into the field but then turned around and obeyed repented, the tax collectors and sinners who heeded John the Baptist’s message to repent versus the Pharisees and Sadducees who never did. Then finally the tenants who killed the vineyard owner’s son and the owner gives it over to new tenants who have done the right thing and believed in the resurrected Christ. All to show that salvation comes by believing the message and acting upon that belief. I pray all who read this have or will believe in Jesus, who is The Christ the Son of the living God.

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