EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/6/2026
8:59 PM
My
Worship Time Focus: “The Scope of Jesus’ Ministry Was
Limited Socially”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Luke
8:2-3a
Message of the verses: “and also some women who had been healed
of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven
demons had gone out, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and
Susanna,”
As we look at these verses, we can
see that not only were there twelve men traveling with Jesus, but, surprisingly,
also some women. Now for a rabbi to have
women accompanying Him was virtually unprecedented. Like many others in the ancient world, the
rabbis had a low view of women and so they refused to teach them. Jesus’ action was politically incorrect; it
flew in the face of conventional wisdom.
Given the lowly status of women in Jewish society, they had little
influence they could use to help Him.
However despite that these women traveled with Jesus, though not
necessarily all of the time, or all at once, they had been healed spiritually
of evil spirits and physically of
sickness. How many there were is
not stated, but Luke names three of the many others who followed the Lord. You can imagine that this entourage made
Jesus socially unacceptable when measured by rabbinic standards.
Mary who was called Magdalene and
this was after her hometown of Magdala, which was on the western shore of the
Sea of Galilee about three miles north of Tiberias, figures prominently in the
accounts of the Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection (Matt. 27:56; Mark
15:47; John 20:1-18).
(Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:47; John 20:1-18)
“56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the
mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.”
“47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses
saw where he was laid.”
“1 ¶ Now on the first day of the week Mary
Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the
stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2
So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom
Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and
we do not know where they have laid him.” 3
So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward
the tomb. 4 Both of them were running
together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
5 And stooping to look in, he saw the
linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and
went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’
head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.
8 Then the other disciple, who had
reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the
Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10
Then the disciples went back to their homes.
11 ¶
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to
look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two
angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and
one at the feet. 13 They said to her,
“Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord,
and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14
Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did
not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus
said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him
to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell
me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and
said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I
have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I
am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the
disciples, “I have seen the Lord “—and that he had said these things to her.”
MacArthur
writes “This is her only other appearance in the Gospels. (As noted in the
previous chapter of this volume, she was not the sinful woman who anointed
Jesus as the house of Simon the Pharisee [Luke 7:36-50]). Nor does the fact that seven demons had
gone out of her prove that she had lived an immoral life, since there is no
necessary connection between demon possession and immorality.
“Joanna was the wife of
Chuza, Herod’s steward (a high ranking official, possibly the manager of
Antipas’ estate). (Luke 23:55; 24:10),
and probably the crucifixion as well.”
(Luke 23:55; 24:10)
“55 The women who had come with him from Galilee
followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid.”
“10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary
the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the
apostles,”
“Christ’s
influence reached into Herod Antipas’ household, as well as the tiny village of
Magdala. Another person close to Herod
Antipas, Manaen, would later become one of the leaders of the church at Antioch
(Acts 13:1).”
(Acts 13:1)
“1 ¶ Now there were in the church at Antioch
prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.”
“Nothing is known of Susanna, since
Luke gives no information about her, and her name appears nowhere else in
Scripture.
“Jesus brought into the kingdom all
whom the Father gave Him (John 6:37), men and women from every strata of live.”
(John 6:37)
“37 All that the Father gives me will come to me,
and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”
“There
were no limits on the scope of His ministry in that regard. Women, including Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-25, 39-45,
57-60), Mary (Luke 1-2), Anna (Luke 2:36-38), Peter’s mother-in-law (Matt.
8:14-15), the widow of Nain (Luke 7:12-15), Mary and Martha (Luke 10:39-42;
John 11:1-45; 12:1-8), the woman in the parable of the lost coin (Luke
15:8-10), the widow in the parable of the unjust judge (Luke 18:3-5), and the
widow who offered her last two coins (Luke 21:1-4), played a role in the life
and ministry of Jesus Christ that far exceeded their significance in
contemporary Jewish society.”
There are a great many verses in
this last paragraph, and I have chosen not to copy and paste them because of
the length it will make this SD.
It looks like tomorrow morning that
I will be able to finish this 19th chapter in MacArthur’s commentary
and then in the evening begin with part of the introduction to the 20th
chapter. It looks like it will take a
number of SD’s in order to finish that introduction.
9/6/2026
9:32 PM
