Matthew 15:12 says, Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?  The disciples, I believe, asked Jesus this question because they were worried about what the Pharisees might do.  We have to acknowledge that the Pharisees were seen as some of the most righteous and powerful religious leaders, and Jesus had upset them.  No matter how powerful a religious leader or group of religious leaders may be, if they are morally wrong, we, like Jesus did, must point out their errors without fear.  Verse thirteen states, But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.  In effect, Jesus was saying that the Pharisees were not planted by God.  They had faith in their own goodness and righteous, instead of acknowledging their own unworthiness.  If our salvation is not planted by God by our faith in Jesus Christ, then in the end we will be uprooted.  If we attempt to justify ourselves by self-righteous, then we are just like the Pharisees, and that is totally lost.  In verse fourteen Jesus declares, Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.  Jesus told the disciples to just leave the Pharisees alone, that they were the spiritually blind leading the spiritually blind.  I know that the word spiritually was not stated, but that was the implication.  People who are not spiritually blind, who are followers of Christ in other words, should never be able to be led astray by someone who is spiritually blind.  Jesus said both the Pharisees and those who followed them would fall into a ditch, or be destroyed in other words.  Verse fifteen says, Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.  Now, instead of being concerned with the Pharisees, Peter was concerned with what Jesus was actually telling the disciples.  We can never allow our concern for what other people may think, even powerful people of the world, to keep us from seeking God's word for us.  We must obey God's teaching above all else.  Verse sixteen declares, And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?  Jesus wanted to know if Peter was also without understanding, as the Pharisees were.  I wonder how often Jesus may ask that of His followers today.  When we accept immorality and corruption as being okay as long as we get what we want, I believe that He is.  If morality does not matter in every aspect of life then why did Jesus live and die to establish it as the way of life.  Verse seventeen asks, Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?  Jesus asked the disciples didn't they understand that what they ate or drank simply passed through the body.  Jesus was telling us basically that we cannot be spiritually defiled by what we eat or drink.  I know this doesn't say drink in particular, but it does say what enters our mouth.  Yet, we should not allow what we eat or drink to harm our witness for Christ, as Paul would later teach.  Verse eighteen declares, But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.  Jesus tells us it is what we say that defiles us, because our words reveal what is in our heart.  We cannot just dismiss a person's words as locker room talk, because if a person's heart is right with God, then there will be no locker room talk.  Verse nineteen continues, For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:  Jesus tells us that evil actions proceed from evil thoughts.  Jesus listed several acts of evil that result from evil thoughts, and all show that a person's thoughts are not on doing the will of God.  Verse twenty says, These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.  I believe that Jesus was simply saying that eating without a ritualistic hand washing, as prescribed by additions to God's law, did not defile a person, because it had nothing to do with the spiritual condition of a person.  We cannot put rituals or traditions ahead of having the will of God determining our actions.

Matthew 15:1 says, Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,  The scribes and Pharisees were also following Jesus, but they weren't doing so because they believed in Him.  They were following looking for ways to discredit Him.  Some people are the same way with Christians today, watching everything they do hoping to discredit their faith.  Verse two states, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.  Again, the scribes and Pharisees were attempting to discredit the disciples based on the tradition of the elders.  I don't believe that it was just a physical washing of the hands that they were referring to, but some spiritual relationship that been added to the hand washing.  Either way, we must be careful not to judge people by tradition instead of judging them by their relationship to Christ.  Not all Christians worship and live the same way, but that doesn't make them less of a Christian.  Verse three declares, But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?  The scribes and Pharisees had questioned the disciples actions based on tradition, and Jesus asked them why they transgressed the commandment of God based on their tradition.  We can never allow tradition to become more important than the commandments of God.  In verse four Jesus says, For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.  Jesus simply stated one of the Ten Commandments, which should have been very familiar to the scribes and Pharisees.  If we have a dispute with other Christians, then we should first see what the Bible has to say about the issue.  In verse five Jesus continues, But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;  Jesus now adds what the tradition had become.  If a person declared what he did for his parents a gift, and not a requirement of the Ten Commandments, then he could say that his parents were indebted to him.  We cannot change God's law to suit our purposes.  In verse six Jesus says, And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.  Jesus said that when someone made what they did for their parents more of a debt, then they could feel free to not honor them.  This put tradition above the law of God.  We do not need to look for ways to avoid God's law, but for ways to keep it.  In verse seven Jesus declares, Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,  Once more, Jesus referred to the scripture, particularly a prophecy by Isaiah.  When we disagree with other people who profess to be followers of Christ, we need to make sure that our position is based on scripture, and not on some tradition that has become a part of our worship.  Verse eight declares, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.  Jesus tells us that like the scribes and Pharisees, we cannot be right with God without a change of heart.  Simply professing Christ with empty words and vain, or meaningless, traditions is not enough.  In verse nine Jesus continues, But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.  Jesus said the scribes and Pharisees worshipped Him in vain, because they taught the commandments of man for doctrine.  Once more, we cannot allow the teachings or traditions of the world to take priority over the teachings of God.  Empty worship is not enough, but the word of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, must be our guide.  Verse ten declares, And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:  Jesus called the multitudes to hear and understand, then verse eleven tells them what, stating, not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.  Jesus said that what we say defiles us more than what we eat or drink, when what we say is not based on God's word.  The scribes and Pharisees were more concerned with ritual and tradition than they were with the word of God, and as followers of Christ, we must never allow ourselves to be the same as they were.

Matthew 14:22 says, And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.  Jesus sent His disciples by ship to the other side of the sea.  We must always be willing to go where Jesus sends us, even if it is away from the site of a great miracle.  Verse twenty-three says, And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.  Jesus first sent His disciples away, and then He sent the multitudes away and went up the mountain alone to pray.   Jesus could have stayed with His disciples and the multitude and have received praise for what He had done, but this was not His purpose in coming.  Jesus needed time alone to pray, and no matter how effective we may be in sharing the gospel, or meeting the needs of people, we need time alone to pray.  Verse twenty-four says, But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.  The disciples experienced a storm on the ship.  We can expect to experience some adversity when we are doing what God leads us to do.  The disciples were where Jesus told them to be, and that alone should have given them peace.  Verse twenty-five declares, And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.  The stormy sea was nothing to Jesus, and He came to the disciples walking on water.  In our stormy seas, the Holy Spirit is already with us, so we don't have to look for Jesus walking toward us on the water.  Verse twenty-six says, And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.  The disciples did not recognize Jesus, and they were afraid.  These are the people who were the closest to Jesus, and they did not recognize Him.  As followers of Christ, we should be the people closest to Jesus, and hopefully we will never fail to recognize Him when He comes to us in our storms of life.  We can only do so by faith, though, and not by sight.  In verse twenty-seven Jesus says, But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.  Jesus is always ready to answer our concerns.  We are told that Jesus spoke to them straightaway, or immediately.  Jesus does not leave us lingering in doubt if we will simply look to Him in faith.  Verse twenty-eight says, And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.  Peter did not state that he knew it was Jesus.  Peter said that if it was Jesus, to bid him to come to Him.  When we have doubts, we simply need to ask Jesus to bid us to come to Him in faith that He is indeed able to keep us safe.  Verse twenty-nine states, And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.  If we ask Jesus to bid us to come to Him, we must be willing to go.  Jesus said come, and Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water.  Too often, especially when we are already afraid, as the disciples were, we simply stay in the boat when Jesus says come.  If we ask Jesus to tell us to do something, and He tells us to do it, then we must step out by faith.  Verse thirty says, But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.  Peter stepped out by faith, but he nearly drowned by sight.  He ceased to see Jesus, and saw the boisterous wind instead.  We need to always keep our focus on Jesus, or the storms around us may begin to drown our faith.  At least Peter knew the answer to his fears, and cried out for Jesus to save him.   Verse thirty-one states, And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?  Jesus immediately rescued Peter, as He will us, if we call out to Him,  when life seems to be about to drown us.  Then Jesus asked Peter why he had so little faith that he doubted.  It is not enough to have the faith to step out of the boat on the stormy sea.  We must have the faith to sustain us when we get out and start toward Jesus.  Verse thirty-two states,  And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.  We are told that Jesus caught Peter and they returned to the ship, and then the wind ceased.  Until Peter got back to the boat, the seas were still stormy, but the difference was that he was with Jesus, I believe both physically and by faith.  Peter had to believe that Jesus would keep him safe, just as we must in the storms of life today.  The storm may not immediately cease, but we must have faith that we are safe as long as we put our faith in Jesus.  Verse thirty-three states, Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.  Those on the ship, which were the other disciples and the people who operated the ship most likely, came and worshipped Jesus.  They proclaimed Jesus to be the Son of God.  Those who follow Christ are not the only ones to witness miracles, and sometimes miracles lead others to believe in Jesus.  Verse thirty-four says,  And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret.  Then verse thirty five continues,  And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased;  Jesus had sent the disciples across the sea to escape the multitudes, but news of His arrival spread.  We today are to spread the good news of Christ, but I am not sure that we do it as well as it was done in Jesus's day when He was not yet ready for His disciples to point people to Him.  Verse thirty-six states,  And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.  Their faith was so great that they felt if they could just touch the hem of Jesus' garment that they would be made whole, and they were.  It wasn't the touching of the garment, but their faith in the power of Jesus that made them whole.  We need that same faith today.

Matthew 14:14 says, And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.  Jesus had withdrawn from the multitudes, but they still gathered where He was.  It is too bad that people today do not have that same desire to come to Jesus.  When Jesus saw the multitudes, He had compassion on them.  We know that Jesus always has a spiritual compassion for people, but I believe that it is safe to say that He also has a compassion for their physical suffering.  Verse fifteen states, And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.  His disciples came to Jesus and told Him to send the multitude away into the villages so they could buy food.  Instead of telling Jesus what to do, they should have been asking what He wanted them to do.  We cannot come to Jesus with our concerns and attempt to tell Him how to react to them.  The disciples saw the physical situation without looking to Jesus in faith.  We may miss a miracle because we think we have the answer without looking to God for the answer to our problems.  Verse sixteen says, But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.  Jesus said let them stay and feed them.  The disciples were likely questioning Jesus' decision.  When we limit God to what we can physically see, then we, like the disciples of Jesus, are living by sight and not by faith.  Verse seventeen says, And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.  The disciples were still living by sight instead of faith.  Jesus had instructed the disciples to feed the multitude, but they only saw five loaves and two fish.  Often today, we as followers of Christ may believe that He is leading us to do something, but we look at what we have and decide it can't be done.  Verse eighteen declares, He said, Bring them hither to me.  The disciples were told to bring the five loaves and two fish to Jesus.  That should be our instruction today.  When we believe that God is instructing us to do something, instead of looking at what we don't have, we should simply bring what we do have to Him.  Verse nineteen states, And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.  The multitudes also had to follow the instructions of Jesus.  We cannot always help people, because they refuse to listen to what they need to do.  After the people were seated, Jesus looked to heaven and blessed the food, then He broke it and gave it to His disciples, and they gave it to the multitude.  We must first look to heaven if we expect miraculous things to happen.  Then, like the disciples, we must start acting by faith.  The number of loaves and fish had not increased, but the disciples began to pass the food to the people.  Verse twenty says, And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.  Not only were the people filled, but there were twelve baskets of leftovers.  We can rely on God to abundantly meet our needs, but we often aren't satisfied with that, and want Him to fulfill our wants or desires as well.  Verse twenty-one says,  And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.  This was indeed a large crowd who experienced a miracle, but I have to wonder where they were when Jesus was arrested and crucified.  It is not enough to simply follow Christ for material reasons.  We must follow in faith, to the cross and beyond.

Matthew 14:1 says, At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,  The fame of Jesus reached Herod the tetarch.  As the ruler, Herod would have been interested about anyone he might have seen as a threat to his rule.  People today may feel that their position in the world is threatened if they accept the truth of the gospel.  Verse two says, And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.  Herod thought that Jesus was John the Baptist come back from the dead.  John the Baptist did not have this power, though Herod evidently did not know that.  Verse three states, For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife.  Herod had John the Baptist imprisoned at the request of Herodias, his sister-in-law.  Verse four adds, For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.  Herod had imprisoned John the Baptist because he had pointed out Herod's sinful relationship with Herodias, at her request.  Some people today attempt to arrest, or at least discredit, those who speak out against their sins.  Verse five declares, And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.  Herod would have put John the Baptist to death, had he not feared the multitudes who followed him.  It would be nice if we, as Christians, had that same power over the rulers of the world today, but we never will.  Verse six says, But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.  On Herod's birthday, Herodias' daughter danced for him and he was pleased by it.  There may be things today that please us, but at the same time lead us away from God.  If so, instead of enjoying them, we must turn away from them and turn toward God.  Verse seven states, Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.  Herod made a promise without really considering the outcome.  He was bound by his word as the ruler.  We cannot afford to make binding promises simply because something pleases us.  We must consider how our promise will affect our relationship with God.  Verse eight declares, And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist’s head in a charger.  At the instructions of her mother, the daughter of Herodias asked for the head of John the Baptist on a server.  Herod had been admonished by John the Baptist because of his relationship with Herodias, and this was her chance at revenge.  Evidently, John the Baptist being in prison was not enough for her, possibly because he could still speak out against the relationship.  Some people today are not satisfied until those who proclaim the word of God are completely silenced.  Verse nine states, And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath’s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.  Herod regretted his promise, but because he was bound by his oath, he ordered that it be carried out.  Before we make promises to anyone, no matter how much we like them, we must consider the consequences.  Herod allowed his promise to overcome what he knew was wrong.  Being sorry for what we are going to do and yet still doing it is not enough.  Verse ten says, And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.  Herod was true to his word, which might be an admirable quality, if it were not for the fact that he was doing something very wrong.  Being a person of our word is not a good thing when our word is wrong.  Verse eleven says, And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.  I believe that we can say that neither the daughter nor Herodias had any real desire for the head.  Herodias simply wanted John the Baptist dead, but she really freed him from all prison walls when she was able to get him killed.  Whatever happens to us in this life, death frees us from all problems and pain.  Verse twelve states, And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.  The disciples of John the Baptist took his body and buried it, and then went and told Jesus what happened.  When something bad happens to someone we love, all we can do is look to Jesus for guidance and comfort.  The disciples of John the Baptist may have thought that Jesus would take action against Herod, but they had to simply be satisfied with telling Him what happened.  We can never dictate how God should react in any situation, but must be satisfied with simply bringing our concerns to Him and accept His answer.  Verse thirteen states, When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.  On hearing the news, Jesus withdrew by ship to a desert place apart from the people, yet they followed Him by foot out of the cities.  Jesus withdrawing may not have been the action the people expected, but they were following Him.  When we follow Jesus, and something happens that we think He should take action on, our best reaction when we share our concerns with Him is to simply keep following Him.

Matthew 13:45 says, Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:  Then continuing in verse forty six, Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.  Jesus was still teaching in parables, and we must interpret what He is telling us.  Jesus was not speaking about gaining earthly riches, but the pearl is the gospel, and people should be willing to leave all their material possessions to gain the gospel.  We cannot allow the things of this world, no matter how rich we may be in them, to come between the gospel and us.  Verse forty seven states, Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:  Then continuing in verse forty eight, Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.   Jesus tells us that a fisherman cannot determine which fish he will catch, but brings all in the net into the boat and then separates the good fish from the bad.  Again, this is not about fishing, as Jesus explains in the next verse.  Verse forty-nine states, So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, Jesus said there is a coming judgment when all people will be gathered like the fish in the net, and the angels will sort the good from the bad.  The good will be those who have accepted Christ, and the bad will be those who have rejected Him.  As I have stated before, there is no neutral ground.  Verse fifty declares, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Those who have rejected Christ will be sent away to everlasting punishment.  Verse fifty one says, Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.  Just as Jesus asked His disciples then if they understood what He was saying, we must ask ourselves the same thing today.  We must accept the truth of the gospel.  Verse fifty-two says, Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.  I believe that Jesus was referring to our understanding both the Old and New Testament if we are to be faithful followers.  God is the same God in both, and His plan for salvation is the same in both.  Verse fifty-three says, And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.  When Jesus had finished teaching, He left.  Jesus was limited by His physical being, but as followers of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit living in us Who will never depart.  Verse fifty-four says, And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?  Jesus went to His home country, and the people began to question His wisdom and His works.  Sometimes, those closest to the church are those who fail to believe that Christ is Who He says He is.  In verse fifty-five they ask, Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?  The people of His country only saw Jesus in earthly terms, as a carpenter's Son, whose mother and brothers they knew.  It is not enough to acknowledge Jesus as a person without acknowledging Him as the only begotten Son of God and the Savior of mankind.  Verse fifty-six further asks, And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?  Jesus also had sisters that were still there, so the people asked how could He do all these things.  Again, we cannot just see Jesus in physical terms, but must accept Him by a spiritual understanding.  Verse fifty-seven states, And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.  Those who knew Jesus in only an earthly way were offended by Him.  Jesus told them the a prophet often has no honor in His own country, because the people only see him in earthly terms.  Verse fifty-eight declares, And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.  Belief was and is always the key to miracles.  If we only see Jesus as a man and not as Savior and Lord of our lives, then He can never do great things for and through us.

Matthew 13:34 says, All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:  Jesus taught the multitudes in parables.  He was not attempting to hide the truth, but was simply speaking to them in simple terms that they could understand.  We, as followers of Christ today need to speak to the lost in terms that they can understand, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse thirty-five says, That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.  By speaking in parables, Jesus also fulfilled another prophecy about the coming Messiah.  Since the book of Matthew was not written as a daily diary, but was written as an account of the life of Jesus after His death, burial and resurrection, Matthew likely saw the use of parables as the fulfillment of a prophecy.  Verse thirty-six states, Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.  Jesus once again withdrew from the multitudes.  He once again was spending time with His closest disciples.  We can be thankful that none who seek Christ today will be sent away.  When Jesus was on the earth, He was limited by His physical body, but today there are no limitations on the Holy Spirit, Who is the Comforter sent by Christ after His death and resurrection.  The disciples asked Jesus to help them understand the parable of the tares of the field.  Like the disciples, if we have a problem understanding God's word, we simply need to ask for the ability to understand what God is saying to us.  I believe that we can best get the answer to our questions when we take the time to withdraw from the multitudes and the cares of this world.  Starting in verse thirty-seven, Jesus answered, He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;   Jesus told the disciples that the One Who sowed the good seed was the Son of man, or Jesus Himself.  Jesus sowed the good seed of salvation for all the world.  Verse thirty-eight states, The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;  Jesus' redemptive plan is for the whole world, but it has to be accepted to be of benefit.  The good seed, which would include anyone who puts their faith in Christ, are the children of the kingdom of God, and the tares are anyone who refuse to believe in Christ.  As I have said before, there are only two possibilities, we are either saved by faith in Christ, or we are doomed to eternal separation from Him.  Verse thirty-nine says, The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.  Jesus makes it clear that the Devil does exist, and that he is determined to destroy the gospel.  There will always be half-truths and lies that attempt to destroy the truth of the gospel.  Verse forty states, As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.  Jesus tells us that at the end of the world all these attempts by the Devil and those who follow him to destroy the gospel will themselves be gathered and burned away by fire.  Verse forty-one says, The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;  The angels will be sent by Christ to remove everything that offends God and all iniquity.  I believe that some things will even have to be removed from the lives of the followers of Christ, because in this world we never become perfectly obedient.  Verse forty-two declares, And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  As I have stated before, there are only two possibilities of where a person will spend eternity, heaven or hell.  We make the choice by either accepting salvation through Christ or rejecting it.  Jesus tells us here that hell will be a place of torment.  Then, verse forty-three declares, Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.  We can spend our everlasting life in either heaven in the kingdom of God, or in bell, the kingdom of the devil.  Jesus tells us to hear the truth of His word.