PT-3 “Calling A Wretched Sinner” (Luke 5:27-29)

 

MORNNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/4/2026 9:48 PM

My Worship Time                                                        Focus:  PT-3 “Calling A Wretched Sinner”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  Luke 5:27-29

Message of the verses:  “27 ¶  After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28  And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. 29  And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.” (ESV)

            “A significant indication of the reality of Matthew’s transformed life is that he gave a big reception for Jesus in his house.  That it was able to accommodate a great crowd suggests that Matthew’s house was a large one, and is a further indication of the lucrative position he was walking away from.  Having experienced the joyous, liberating experience of having his sins forgiven and his heart transformed, he wanted to expose everyone he knew to the Savior.  Matthew did not invite the proud, elite, religious leaders (who would never have accepted an invitation from a tax collector), but his companions—the outcasts of society with whom he worked and lived daily.  There were, of course, many of Matthew’s fellow tax collectors, along some whom Luke tactfully referred to as other people (Matthew called them ‘sinners’ [Matt. 9:10]).  This group undoubtedly included thieves, thugs, enforcers, drunks, prostitutes—the very people whom the “Son of Man came to seek and save (Luke 10:10).  They had probably all heard of Jesus, and perhaps some had receptive hearts like Matthew’s.

            “Luke’s not that they were reclining at the table indicates that this was a lengthy meal, with lots of time for extended conversation among friends.  No self-respecting Jew would eat a meal with the likes of this crowd.  Meals were important social statements of acceptance in Israel, and Luke describes several in his inspired record of Jesus’ ministry (cf. 7:36; 10:38-40; 11:37; 14:1; 22:14; 24:30).  This one not only celebrated the end of Matthew’s old life and the beginning of his new one, but was also an evangelistic outreach, with the Savior as guest of honor.  It is an amazing picture of Jesus receiving lost sinners.”

6/4/2026 10:00 AM

 

PT-2 “Calling A Wretched Sinner” (Luke 5:27-29)

 

EVENNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/3/2026 8:16 PM

My Worship Time                                                        Focus:  PT-2 “Calling A Wretched Sinner”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  Luke 5:27-29

Message of the verses:  “27 ¶  After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28  And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. 29  And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.” (ESV)

            “All of that was anathema to the Jewish people, who believed God was the only one to whom they should pay taxes.  Tax collectors were viewed as traitors to them people, where classified as unclean, and were barred from the synagogues.  They were also forbidden to give testimony in a Jewish court, because they were considered to be liars.  Repentance was deemed especially difficult for tax collectors” writes John MacArthur.

            He goes on to write “The Talmud listed two types of tax collectors, the gabbai, who collected the more general taxes such as the land, poll, and income taxes, and the mokhes, who collected the more specific taxes mentioned above (Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974], 1:5515-18).  There were two kinds of mokhes, the great mokhes, and the little mokhes.  The great mokhes did not himself collect taxes but employed others as substitutes.  The little mokhes would be employed by the great mokhes to actually sit in a tax booth and collect taxes.  Because they were the ones in contact with the people, they were the most despised of all tax collectors.  Since Jesus found him sitting in the tax booth, Matthew would have been a little mokhes—one of the most hated men in Capernaum.  That his booth was located near the shore (Mark 2:13-14) suggests that he collected taxes from the fishermen, which would have made him even more despised by them than the average little mokhes.

            “Undeterred by Matthew’s status as a social outcast Jesus stopped at his tax booth and said to him, ‘Follow Me.’  The Lord knew his heart.  He saw that Matthew was wretched and miserable; that he was distressed and burdened by his sin and hungering and thirsting for righteousness.  Matthew undoubtedly knew of Jesus, since the Lord had made Capernaum His home base (Matt. 4:13) and the word of His powerful preaching and the miracles He performed had spread far and wide (Luke 4:37).  Although he may not have understood at this point that Jesus was God, Matthew certainly recognized Him as a great prophet and preacher of God’s Word.  Like the Old Testament saints, Matthew knew that he was a sinner, and that his only hope for forgiveness lay in God’s mercy…In time Matthew, like the rest of the Twelve, would come to understand and fully believe the truth that Jesus is God.  Jesus forgave him based on his repentant heart and called him to be a disciple, and later to be an apostle (6:15).

            “Matthew’s immediate response revealed the genuineness of his desire for righteousness and salvation: he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Jesus.  The change in his life was miraculous.  The tough, hard-nosed little mokhes became a humble man; in fact, there is no record in the Gospels of him speaking.  In his gospel, Matthew refers to himself only in his account of his calling (Matthew 9:9) omits any reference to leaving everything behind further indicates his humility.  His willingness to forsake everything and follow Jesus is in stark contrast to the rich young ruler.  When the Lord said to him, ‘Go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me’ (Mark 10:21), he ‘was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property’ (v. 22).”

            Now as we look at this passage of Matthew’s conversion we see that his decision was final; as he was abandoning his career.  The great mokhes for whom he worked would have someone else manning his tax booth almost instantly.  Matthew, therefore, made a far more drastic break with his past than the other disciples of Jesus as they were fishermen and could go back to their job, in fact there were who did that as seen in the end of John’s gospel, but the Lord reminded them (mostly Peter) that they were forgiven for leaving Him at the cross, and in Peter’s case for denying that he knew the Lord. 

            Now the aorist tense of the verb anistemi (got up) coupled with the imperfect tense of the verb akoloutheo  (began to follow) illustrates Matthew’s response.  There was a decisive decision to break with his past, then a continual patter of following Christ.  Matthew began to experience then a continual pattern of following Christ.  He began to experience new longings, and also new aspirations, new affections, a new mind, and a new will; so in short, he became a new creature:  “17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  The traitor, extortioner, robber, and outcast sinner became the apostle and evangelist of Jesus Christ, and he would later on become the author of the first book in the New Testament, although he probably did not know that.  Matthew lost a temporal career, but gained an eternal destiny; he forfeited material possessions, but he gained “an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven” (1 Peter 1:4); he lost sinful companions, but gained the fellowship of the Son of God.

6/3/2026 9:08 PM

 

PT-1 "Calling A Wretched Sinner" (Luke 5:27-29)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/3/2026 11:06 AM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  “Calling A Wretched Sinner”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  Luke 5:27-29

Message of the verses:  “27 ¶  After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28  And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. 29  And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.” (ESV)

            The first thing I want to say is that this SD will not be too long this morning as I am needed to help care for my wife this morning.  Next this section will probably take a number of days to complete as it is very long.

            Now after healing the paralytic found in 5:17-26, Jesus went out of the house where He had been teaching.  Then the Lord was followed by a huge crowd that dogged His steps in fascination and wonder, and He continued to teach them as He was walking along a road near the shore of the Sea of Galilee as seen in Mark 2:13.  But Jesus had a divine appointment to keep, and He noticed (lit., gazed intently at’) a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth.  Levi is better known as Matthew, who is the author of the Gospel that bears his name.  Now since Capernaum was the largest city on the lake and was a crossroad for the east-west and the north-south trade, he likely had a flourishing enterprise.

            Matthew’s occupation as a tax collector made him one of the most hated and despised men in Israel.  Tax collectors were the dregs of Jewish society; that were the lowest of the low on the social scale, and symbolized the worth sinners.  (cf. v. 30; 7:34; 18:11; Matt. 18:17; 21:31)  That Jesus would save a tax collector, and then make him an apostle, was utterly inconceivable to the scribes and Pharisees.

            I will not quote a paragraph from MacArthur’s commentary to end this morning’s SD.

            The Roman occupation of Israel involved more than just a military presence; the nation was also subject to Roman taxation.  The taxes in Galilee, for example, were forwarded by tax collectors to Herod Antipass, and by him to Rome.  Antipas sold tax franchises to the highest bidder, and such franchises were a lucrative business.  Tax collectors had a certain amount that they were required to collect, and whatever they collected beyond that they were permitted to keep (cf. Luke 3:12-13).  In addition to the pool tax (on everyone, including slaves), income tax(about 1 percent), and land tax (one tenth of all grain, and one fifth of all wine and fruit), there were taxes on the transport of goods, letters, produce, using roads, crossing bridges, and almost anything else the rapacious greedy minds of the tax collectors could think of.  All of that left plenty of room for larceny, extortion, exploitation, and even loan sharking, as tax collectors loaned  money at exorbitant interest to those who were unable to pay their taxes.  Tax collectors also employed thugs to physically intimidate people into paying, and to beat up those who refused.”

6/3/2026 11:28 AM

Intro to “Calling a Wretched Sinner; Confronting Self-righteous Hypocrites” (Luke 5:27-32)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/2/2026 9:30 PM

My Worship Time          Focus: Intro to “Calling a Wretched Sinner; Confronting Self-righteous Hypocrites”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  Luke 5:27-32

            Message of the verses:  “27After that He went out and looked at a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28And he left everything behind, and got up and began following Him.

29And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. 30The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” 31And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 32I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.’”

            The following is John MacArthur’s introduction to these verses that we will then be looking at as we go through this section of Luke’s gospel.

            “Human beings are inherently religious.  The image of God in man, through corrupted by the fall, still compels people to worship.  As a result, there are thousands of religions, philosophies, and worldviews, ranging from primitive animistic religions all the way to sophisticated religious systems.  But those religions, though differing widely from on another in the details, nevertheless fall into two categories.  On the one hand, there is the religion of human achievement; on the other hand the religion of divine accomplishment.  In every religion other than biblical Christianity, man achieves salvation by his own efforts.  Buddhists seek nirvana by following the Eightfold Path; Muslims hope to enter Paradise by following the Five Pillars of Islam; Mormons seek godhood through baptism, membership in the Morman church, accepting Joseph Smith and his successors as prophets of God, and going through the temple ceremonies; Jehovah’s Witnesses seek to earn everlasting life on earth by their morality and door-to-door proselytizing; Roman Catholics seek salvation by means of the Mass, sacraments, prayer, and good works that cooperate with grace to enable them to earn heaven (even if they have to be aided by the works of others to escape purgatory).

            “But all such self-religious efforts to achieve salvation are utterly futile and serve only to damn the eternal souls of those who vainly t rust in them.  There is only one way to receive right standing before God, the religion of divine accomplishment—belief in the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The gospel, the ‘glorious gospel of the blessed God’ (1 Timothy 1:11), the ‘gospel of the grace of God’ (Acts 20:24), ‘is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes’ (Rom. 1:16).  The heart of the gospel is that ‘Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures’ (1 Cor. 15:3; cf. Matt. 26:28; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 1:4; Eph. 1:7; 5:2; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18; 1 John 2:2; Rev. 1:5), ‘so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life’ (John 3:15; cf. vv. 16, 18, 36; 1:12; 6:40, 47; 11:25-26; 20:31; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9).  Salvation is entirely ‘by grace…through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast’ (Eph. 2:8-1).  Grace completely excludes works as a means of salvation (Rom. 11:6).  God justifies the ‘ungodly,’ not the godly (Rom. 4:5). The redeemed are those ‘to whom God credits righteousness apart from works’ (v. 6) and ‘has saved…and called…with a holy calling, not according to [their] works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted [them] in Christ Jesus from all eternity’ (2 Tim. 1:9).

            “By the time of Christ, the religion of Israel had degenerated into a system of works-righteousness, of external ritual instead of internal reality.  As the apostle Paul lamented concerning his fellow Jews, ‘Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive as that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works’ (Rom. 9:31-32).  Secure in their self-righteousness many, like those in the synagogue at Nazareth (4:14-30), refused to acknowledge that they were spiritually impoverished, imprisoned, blind, and oppressed (4:18).

            “It was against that backdrop of self-righteousness based on outward conformity to the law of God (cf. Mark 10:20) that Jesus made one of His most clarifying and definitive statements.  In verse 32, He declared, ‘I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.’  That statement expressed the essential uniqueness of Christianity and concisely summarizes His mission.  It sums up the whole glorious scheme of salvation: the Lord Jesus Christ came to save repentant sinners (19:10).  Christ’s statement also defines the church’s mission.  The heart of all gospel ministry is calling sinners to repentance.  Salvation is not for those who think they are righteous, like those in the synagogue at Nazareth and the scribes and Pharisees, but for those who know they are not, like the tax collector in Luke 18:13-14).  Thus Jesus centered His ministry on people who understood their lost condition.  Often, these were the outcasts of society, which earned Him a reputation as ‘a friend of tax  collectors and sinners’ (Luke 7:34).  Because such people were willing to come to grips with their true condition as hopeless sinners, the Lord was able to minister to them (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26-31).

            “This dramatic incident answers the question of whose sins Jesus would forgive.  It reveals how deep into the dregs of society He would delve to rescue lost sinners.  In this account Jesus saved someone at the very bottom—a hated, despised tax collector.  The story of His call of Levi (Matthew) and its aftermath falls into two contrasting parts: His call of a wretched sinner, and His confrontation of self-righteous hypocrites.”

6/2/2026 10:44 PM

 

 

“The Consequences” (Luke 5:25-26)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/2/2026 9:19 AM

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  “The Consequences”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  Luke 5:25-26

            Message of the verses:  “Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he was lying on, and went home glorifying God.  They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have see remarkable things today.”

            I have writing about the healings that Jesus did while on planet earth stating that all his healings were complete, as is the case with the paralyzed man, and they were all done instantaneously.  Also there were no lingering effects of his disability, no gradual healing, with a long period of rehabilitation before he was “healed.”  Instead we see immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home. Unlike the leper, the paralytic did not have a contagious disease, and hence was not required to go first and show himself to the priests.  As was often the case when someone was healed, the paralytic went on his way glorifying God (cf. 13:13; 17:15; 18:43).

(cf. 13:13; 17:15; 18:43)

“13  And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.”

“15  Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;”

“43  And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.”

This man rejoiced not merely because he was physically healed, but even more so because his sins had been forgiven.  Jesus connected His power over the effects of sin with His authority over sin’s guilt.  The One who healed necessarily could forgive.

            John MacArthur writes “Between the religious leaders, who remained implacably hostile despite this and other displays of Christ’s divine power and authority (cf. 6:11; 11:15, 53; 13:17; 15:1-2; 19:47), on the one hand he healed paralytic on the other was the crowd.  Struck with astonishment at the amazing, unprecedented (cf. Mark 2:12) miracle they had just witnessed, they also began glorifying God (cf. 7:16; Matt. 15:31).  Further, they were filled with fear.  Phobos (fear) can refer to panic induced by frightening circumstances or events.  It can also describe general, long-term apprehension or anxiety (it is the source of the English word ‘phobia’).  Third, and most significantly, it is the fear that results from and understanding of God’s holiness, power, and presence, which is how it is always used in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts (1:12, 65; 2:9; 7:16; 8:37; 21:26; Matt. 14:26; 28:4, 8; Mark 4:41; Acts 2:43; 5:5, 11; 9:31; 19:17).  In that sense, it is a healthy fear.  It can produce reverence for God, and help believers avoid sin (cf. 2:Cor. 7:1, 11) and lead godly lives (Phil. 2:12).”

(cf. 2:Cor. 7:1, 11)

“1 ¶  Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

“11  For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.”

(Phil. 2:12)

“12 ¶  So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

“Godly fear also motivates believers to mutually submit to each other and serve each other (Eph. 5:21).

(Eph. 5:21)

“21 ¶  submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

“It also prompted Paul’s desire to persuade others of his personal integrity (2 Cor. 5:11).

(2 Cor. 5:11)

“11  Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.”

            “The crowd acknowledged that they had seen remarkable things, but not all of them were convinced of Christ’s deity.  Some concluded that He was merely a man to whom God had given authority (Matt. 9:8).  Despite the unprecedented display of His divine, miraculous power, many refused to believe.  ‘But through He had performed so many signs before them,’ (John wrote, ‘yet they were not believing in Him’ (John 12:37; cf. 1 Cor. 1:22).  Paul explains the spiritual pathology of such senseless rejections:

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which your formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. (Eph. 2:1-3)

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor. 4:3-4).”

Spiritual Meaning for my Life Today:  As I look at the passage above from Ephesians 2:1-3 it shows me that Satan is always active in the believer’s life and therefore putting on the Spiritual Armor is necessary. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  “13  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14  Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15  and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16  In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 

and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18  praying at all times in the Spirit, with all and prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”

6/2/2026 10:13 AM

 

 

 

PT-2 “The Confrontation” (Luke 5:21-24)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/1/2026 9:41 PM

My Worship Time                                                                      Focus: PT-2 “The Confrontation”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                       Focus:  Luke 5:21-24

            Message of the verses: “21  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22  When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, "Why do you question in your hearts? 23  Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24  But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"—he said to the man who was paralyzed—" I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.’” (ESV)

            I want to continue from where I left off this morning and it is again my desire to quote some, or all of the verses that John MacArthur adds in his commentary. 

            “That Jesus was aware in His spirit (Mark 2:8) of their reasonings offers further proof of His deity, since on God knows the heart (1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Kings 8:39; 1 Chron. 28:9; Jeremiah 17:10; Ezek. 11:5).”

(Mark 2:8)

“8  And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question these things in your hearts?”

(1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Kings 8:39; 1 Chron. 28:9; Jeremiah 17:10; Ezek. 11:5)

7  But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.’”

“39  then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind),”

“9  "And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.”

“10  "I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.’”

“5  And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and he said to me, "Say, Thus says the LORD: So you think, O house of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind.”

“Yet Jesus ‘did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man’ (John 2:25).  Significantly, Jesus did not protest that they had misunderstood Him, that He was just a teacher or a prophet who was merely offering God’s forgiveness to the paralytic, instead of claiming the right to forgive sins.  If that was all He was claiming, His failure to correct their misunderstanding is inexplicable.

            “Unmasking their unspoken thoughts and escalating the confrontation, Jesus challenged them with the question, “Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?’ Obviously, both are impossible for a mere man to do, but that was not the question.  Jesus asked which is easier to say as a convincing reality?  They all knew that only God can forgive sin, which is the root cause of sickness.  The end result of salvation will not be judgment, but will be glorification, when believers will be freed from all sin’s consequences and effects both in the inner and outer man forever.  They will have perfect souls, free from sin, and glorified bodies, free from disease and death.  Since this would require forgiveness of all sins, truly the Messiah, God incarnate, had to demonstrate power to remove sin’s consequences in the physical world.  That would be proof He could overpower the effects of sin, implying forgiveness.  He was about to do both.

            “The answer to the Lord’s question is that it would have been easier to say to the paralytic that his sins were forgiven, because there was no way to empirically confirm or deny it.  On the other hand, it would be obvious to all whether or not he actually got up and walked.  Jesus chose to do the obvious miracle of physical healing so that they might know that the Son of Man (the Lord’s favorite designation of Himself [used by more than eighty times] in the Gospels) had authority on earth to forgive sins.  Turning to the man lying on his stretcher, He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, get up, and pick up0 your stretcher and go home.” That was the acid test as to whether Jesus could negate the power, presence, and penalty of sin.  There was no time to doubt, because the response came instantly.”

6/1/2026 10:08 PM

 

 

 

 

 

PT-1 "The Confrontation" (Luke 5:21-24)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/1/2026 9:36 AM

My Worship Time                                                                               Focus: “The Confrontation”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                        Focus:  Luke 5:21-24

            Message of the verses: “21  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22  When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, "Why do you question in your hearts? 23  Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24  But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"—he said to the man who was paralyzed—" I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.’” (ESV)

            As I begin this SD I can promise you that this is not the last time that you will see this term “the Scribes and the Pharisees,” as they will be very active during the time period that Jesus is on the earth, and will be the ones that prompt the Romans to crucify Jesus Christ.  Now with that said I want you to think about who was the one who caused Jesus to go to the cross?  One could say it was me because of my sin.  Another could say it was the Romans, or the Scribes and the Pharisees.  I think that it was God the Father who caused Jesus to go to the cross in order to pay for the sins of the world, and the reason that He did that was and is because of His great love for us.

            John MacArthur writes “Appalled and outraged that Jesus presumed to forgive the paralytic’s sins, the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, ‘Who is this man who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins, but God alone?’  They were absolutely correct in their assertion that no one can forgive sins, in the fullest sense so that the sinner is cleansed, righteous, and never again guilty or condemned, but God alone.  Only He as lawgiver and judge can forgive sin in that eternal way, since all sin is ultimately against Him (Psalm 51:4).”  “4  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.”  “But their characterization of Jesus as this man who speaks blasphemies (cf. Matt. 26:65; John 10:33) wrongly assumed that He was merely a man and not God incarnate.”

(cf. Matt. 26:65; John 10:33)

“65  Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy.”

“33  The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.’”

“By claiming the authority to forgive sins, Jesus was either God, or a blasphemer.  There is no middle ground; Jesus could not have been merely a good man, a true prophet, or a teacher of morality and ethics, if He were a blasphemer of God.”

            John MacArthur goes on to write about blasphemy.  “Blasphemy was the most heinous crime in Jewish thought, since it was a direct affront to the person of God.  They defined three levels of blasphemy.  First, one blasphemed God by speaking evil of His law, as Stephen (Acts 6:13) and Paul (Acts 21:27-28) were falsely accused of doing.”

(Acts 6:13)

“13  and they set up false witnesses who said, "This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law,’

(Acts 21:27-28)

“27 ¶  When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 28  crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”

“A more serious form of blasphemy was to slander, speak evil of, or curse God Himself (Lev. 24:10-16; cf. Ex. 20:7).”

(Lev. 24:10-16; cf. Ex. 20:7)

“10 ¶  Now an Israelite woman’s son, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of Israel. And the Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought in the camp, 11  and the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name, and cursed. Then they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. 12  And they put him in custody, till the will of the LORD should be clear to them. 13  Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 14  "Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15  And speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. 16  Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.”

“7  "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”

“But the ultimate form of blasphemy was to assume the rights and prerogatives of God; to  usurp the role of God and act as if one were God.  It was this third and most severe type of blasphemy that the scribes and Pharisees accused Jesus of (cf. John 5:18; 8:58-59; 10:33; 19:7).”

(cf. John 5:18; 8:58-59; 10:33; 19:7)

“18  This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.’

“58  Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59  So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.”

“33  The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.’”

“7  The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.”

            Now as I go over the verses that John MacArthur references in his commentary I have to make a decision as to how many of them I want to quote, and this is a difficult decision for me at times, as it has to do with what I feel is most important to quote or to leave out.

Spiritual Meaning for my life Today  As I look at this section and what was written about it I have to be so very thankful for what God has done for me in saving me, and then allowing me to do the things that I believe He has called me to do, and that is to write these Spiritual Diaries each day and then have the Holy Spirit of God send them around the world so that they can be used to the glory of God.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to be with my dear wife to be able to get through the session today to help her in her battle with cancer.

6/1/2026 10:12 AM