“Jesus’ Amazing Sacrifice” (Luke 9:43c-44)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/4/2026 9:43 AM

My Worship Time                                                                   Focus:  “Jesus’ Amazing Sacrifice”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference: Luke 9:43c-44

            Message of the verses:  “He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”

            Now when Jesus demonstrated His power and His authority over even a very strong demon, it heightened the disciples’ fervent messianic exceptions. The disciples have been taught all of their lives that Messiah would be a political and military deliverer, they then found it difficult to let go of those deeply embedded hopes. However Jesus repeatedly made clear to them, in His first coming that He did not come as a conqueror and ruler, but as Savior and sacrifice for sin.

            Jesus wanted to make certain that they did not cultivate and nurture any false expectations, He once again  said to His disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears.” Jesus exhorted them to listen; to pay attention and understand what He was about to tell them.  The homage of the crowd was fickle; the praise being offered to Him in wonder and awe at the greatness of God was trivial and only temporary.  In about six months the people would turn on Him, and they would reject Him, and demand that He be crucified.  At that time the Son of Man  would be delivered into the hands of men.  Now the individual by whom He would be delivered was, of course, Judas.  John MacArthur writes “But the Jews also were culpable for delivering Jesus to death.  In Acts 3:13 Peter said, ‘The God of Abraham, Ksaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified Hi servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate.’ Pilate also is to blame, because it was ultimately he who, in violation of the proud tradition of Roman justice, gave in to the threats and demands of the Jews and delivered Jesus to be crucified (Matt. 27:26).”

(Matt. 27:26)

“26 ¶  Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.”

            “But ultimately, it was God Himself who delivered His Son to be killed:  ‘The Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief’ (Isa. 53:10).  In Romans 8:32 Paul wrote that God ‘did not spare His won Son, but delivered Him over for us all.’  It is not true, as some skeptics claim, that Jesus intended to bring in the kingdom, but His plans went awry and He was killed.  The plan of God from the beginning was that Jesus would offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin.  He was, as Peter said, ‘delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God…[and] nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men’ (Acts 2:23).  Therefore it was absolutely necessary for the Lord to ‘go to Jerusalen, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day’ (Matt . 1k6:21).  Before the kingdom came the cross, Jesus had to die; the plan of God could not be set aside (cf. Matt. 26:24, 54; Luke 24:25-26, 46).

(cf. Matt. 26:24, 54; Luke 24:25-26, 46).

“24  The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born."

“54  But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?"

“25  And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26  Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?"

“46  and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,”

            Lord willing I will finish this chapter in this evening’s SD as there is one more sub-section to look at, and it will also be short.

11/4/2026 10:14 AM

 

“Jesus’ Amazing Power” (Luke 9:43b)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/3/2026 7:28 PM

My Worship Time                                                                       Focus:  “Jesus’ Amazing Power”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                     Reference:  Luke 9:43b

            Message of the verses:  “But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing,”

            I mentioned in this morning’s SD that the SD that was written this morning and the one for this evenings SD will be very short.  This morning’s SD was just an introduction to Luke 9:43-45, the last section in MacArthur’s 30^th chapter which he entitles “The Significance of Faith” which we began on the 30^th of October.  I have to say that from this section I have found new insights to the disciples that Jesus left while He, James, John, and Peter were on the mountain of transfiguration.

            “The people were marveling not only at Christ’s deliverance of a young boy from a powerful and obstinate demon, but also at all that He was doing.  That phrase indicates that as was typical of His ministry, Jesus had been performing other miracles (cf. 6:17-19; 7:21; 9:11; Matt. 4:23; 8:16; Mark 1:32-34; 3:10).

(cf. 6:17-19; 7:21; 9:11; Matt. 4:23; 8:16; Mark 1:32-34; 3:10).

“ 17  And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 18  who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19  And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.”

“21  In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight.”

“11  When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing.”

“23 ¶  And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.”

“16  That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.”

“32  That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33  And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34  And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.”

“10  for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him.”

“Thaumazo (marveling) means to be filled with wonder and astonishment at something outside the realm of human explanation.  The absolute sovereign authority Christ displayed over disease, death, demons, nature, and sin was inexplicable apart from it being the power of God at work.  All of that authority was demonstrated on a limited basis during His incarnation, confined to His presence in Israel.  But after the resurrection and ascension, His unlimited authority over all the created universe was restored (Matthew 28:18).”

(Matthew 28:18)

“18  And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

11/3/2026 7:48 PM

 

 

“Dazzling Person” (Luke 9:43-45)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/3/2026 10:18 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                    Focus “Dazzling Person”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Luke 9:43-45

            Message of the verse:  “And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.  But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”  But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.”

            Luke’s not that they were all amazed at the greatness of God provides a very fitting climax to this story.  MacArthur explains Ekplesso (amazed) has the connotation of being driven out of one’s senses with amazement.  The crowd was astonished at the incomprehensible greatness, majesty (the noun translated greatness, here is translated ‘majesty’ in 2 Peter1:16), and power Jesus displayed.”

(2 Peter1:16)

“16 ¶  For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”

“The majesty Peter, James, and John witnessed on the mountain during the transfiguration was displayed in the valley as Jesus vanquished the demon.  These verses reveal three reasons why Jesus was amazing: because of His power, sacrifice, and sympathy.”

            This section is just the introduction to the remaining sections found in John MacArthur’s commentary and so in this evening’s SD we will be looking at what I want to call “subpoints,) and the first subpoint which is also a very short section is called “Jesus’ Amazing Power” which covers Luke 9:43b.

            In the United States, today is voting day, and my prayers are that God will be glorified as we look this evening as to who has won and who has lost.

11/3/2026 10:35 AM

“Divine Power” (Luke 9:42b)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/2/2026 7:48 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                      Focus:  “Divine Power”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                     Reference:  Luke 9:42b

            Message of the verse:  “But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.”

            Now before I begin this very short evening Spiritual Diary I want to talk about some of the opportunities that the Lord has given me to witness to a number of people as I take my daily walks.  Last week in the evening I was walking around our neighborhood and ran into the neighbor who lives on the other side of our street.  They have been there for about four years and have a little boy who is over three years old.  His mom is pregnant with twins which is due around Christmas day, and so she was in no shape to carry her son when he got tired out near the end of their walk.  I was able to give her a short version of my story of my salvation and then was able to have her put the address of my blog on her phone.  My hope is that my daughter will be able to talk to her when we can get them together. 

            A week or so I was able to take to a lady over at a park where I usually walk at each day and was able to talk to her also about my blog.  Today I ran into her again as she was walking her granddaughter who was in a buggy.  I also gave her my blog address and she promised to look at it. 

            After than I ran into a man who walks his dog there most everyday and as we chatted he told me about all of the times when he was in situations where he could have been killed, and so I was able to talk to him about my blog and I put the address on his phone.  God is good all the time and it is a privilege to share things with people that the Lord brings into my life.  Now I will just quote this short section from MacArthur’s commentary.

            “Without fanfare, in simple, matter of fact language, Luke records the boy’s deliverance.  Noting that a curious crowd was gathering and seeking to spare father and son any further embarrassment, Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit.  Authoritatively the Lord said to him, ‘You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again’ (Mark 9:25).  That triggered one final, violent paroxysm as the demon, ‘after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsion,…said, ‘He is dead’’ (v. 26).  He was alive, however, and Jesus, having healed the boy…gave him back to his father.  Once again the Lord exhibited the love, compassion, mercy, and kindness in the heart of God for those who suffer.”

11/2/2026 8:06 PM

PT-2 “Disciple Perversion” (Luke 9:40-42a)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/2/2026 8:47 PM

My Worship Time                                                                    Focus:  PT-2 “Disciple Perversion”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  Luke 9:40-42a

            Message of the verses:  “I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.”  And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you?  Bring your son here.”  While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion.”

            John MacArthur writes: “The Lord’s rebuke, ‘You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you?’ encompassed the entire nation of Israel, whom He denounced on other occasions as a generation of ‘vipers’ (Matt. 12:34; cf. 23:33), an ‘evil and adulterous generation’ (Matt. 12:39; 16:4, a ‘wicked generation’ (Luke 11:29), and an ‘adulterous and sinful generation’ (Mark 8:38).

(Matt. 12:34; cf. 23:33)

“34  You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

“33  You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?”

(Matt. 12:39; 16:4)

“39  But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

“4  An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it the sign of Jonah." So he left them and departed.”

(Luke 11:29)

“29 ¶  When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.”

(Mark 8:38)

“38  For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

“They were acting as if they were no different from their fathers, whom Moses characterized as ‘a perverse and crooked generation (Deut. 32:5).”

(Deut. 32:5)

“5  They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation.”

“Deficient in their knowledge of the true and living God, the people of Israel had become perverse, twisted, and faithless—the ultimate manifestation of which was their rejection and murder of His Son.

            “Sadly, the specific targets of the Lord’s rebuke on this occasion appear to have been His own apostles.  Though not lacking in saving faith like the unbelieving crowd, their faith too was perverted in that they consistently failed to believe what He told them.  His exclamation, ‘How long shall I be with you and put up with you?’ reflects the disappointment and pain that their constant failure to believe and trust in what He told them caused Jesus.

            “Christ stepped in to do what the apostles could have done had they believed Him.  Turning to the boy’s father, the Lord commanded him, ‘Bring your son here.’  The man was going to get what he so desperately wanted.  The demon, however, was going to get what he definitely did not want.  He was about to come face-to-face with his sovereign, God the Son, who had thrown him out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-9) and will one day cast him into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10; cf. Matt. 25: 41).”

(Rev. 12:7-9)

“7  Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8  but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9  And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

(Rev. 20:10; cf. Matt. 25: 41)

“10  and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

“41  "Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

“In desperation, while the boy was still approaching, the demon made one last attempt to kill him.  As the father and the son approached Jesus, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a violent convulsion.

            “At this point Mark notes that his father, looking on in helpless anguish, cried out to Jesus, ‘If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!’ (Mark 9:22).  The Lord replied, ‘If You can?  All things are possible to him who believes’ (v. 23).  Jesus did not usually call for faith in those He healed.  In this case, however, He intended to use this man as an illustration for the apostles of what even imperfect faith in Him can accomplish.  In brutal honesty, ‘the boy’s father cried out and said, ‘I do believe; help my unbelief” (v. 24).  Desperately, he pleaded for Jesus to give him whatever was lacking in his faith.”

Spiritual Meaning for my Life Today:  In faith I desire for the Lord to continue to see me through this difficult period of morning over my wife’s passing on into heaven a little over three months ago. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to do the things that are in His Word that go along with mourning over the loss of a loved one.

11/2/2026 10:15 AM

 

 

 

 

PT-1 “Disciple Perversion” (Luke 9:40-42a)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/1/2026 8:47 PM

My Worship Time                                                                    Focus:  PT-1 “Disciple Perversion”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  Luke 9:40-42a

            Message of the verses:  “I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.”  And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you?  Bring your son here.”  While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion.”

            Now anyone living in Israel at the time when Jesus was there would have identified the Jewish leaders and followers as extremely religious.  They zealously observed religious laws, duties, ceremonies, rites, rituals, celebrations, and festivals.  They lived lives of fastidious external morality, observing the rules and standards of conduct their religious culture demanded.  I have to say that when ever I think of the word religion it makes me think of someone having to do things in order to please the Lord.  Now there is nothing wrong with serving the Lord, but first one has to be right with God in order to serve Him properly.  I guess it could be explained as having the horse before the cart, in other words one has to come to know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, as He is the One who has done all of the work in order for a person to become a born-again believer.  The Pharisees and the rest of the “religious” group during Jesus day were trying to do the work for themselves, and that is totally not the way to please the Lord.  Nothing wrong with doing the Lord’s work after you become saved, for that is what believers are to do.  These “ religious people of Jesus day worshiped the God of the Old Testament; the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the giver of the covenants writes John MacArthur.

            He goes on to write “All of this religious activity had convinced the Jewish people that when the Messiah came, He would be pleased with their self-righteous religious achievements.  They assumed that He would oust the Romans, establish His kingdom and usher them into it as a reward for all that they had achieved.  But when the Messiah, Jesus, arrived He indicted them for their self-righteous hypocrisy and bankrupt religious activities.  He warned them that they were not part of God’s kingdom (Matt. 8:12), but rather the riff raff of society, the tax collectors and prostitutes, stood a better chance of entering it than they did (Matt. 21:31).”

(Matt. 8:12)

“12  while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

(Matt. 21:31)

“31  Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.”

“Needless to say, they were shocked and outraged.  Infuriated by Christ’s unmasking of their hypocrisy and denunciation of their religious system as a worthless abomination, the religious elite had long been conspiring against Him and eventually murdered Him.

            “It was perfectly reasonable for this man to have brough his demon-possessed son to the disciples to cast it out.  They had recently concluded an extended preaching tour during which they had cast out demons by the authority Christ had granted them (Matt. 10:1; cf. v. 8; Mark 6:13).”

(Matt. 10:1; cf. v. 8; Mark 6:13)

“1 ¶  And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.”

“8  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.”

“13  And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.”

“But surprisingly on this occasion they could not cast out the demon plaguing the boy.  After the Lord cast it out, the bewildered apostles ‘came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not drive it out?’ And He said to them, ‘Because of the littleness of your faith’’’(Matt. 17:19-20).  The apostles did not lack power, experience, or authority; they lacked the faith to deal with this exceptionally powerful demon.  (Evidently demons vary in strength just as humans do.  For example in Daniel 10:12-14, a holy angel sent with a message for Daniel was held up by a stronger fallen angel until Michael the archangel intervened.)”

(Daniel 10:12-14)

“12  Then he said to me, "Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 13  The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, 14  and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come."

“Having discerned the strength of the demon inhabiting this boy, the apostles should have sought God’s help in believing prayer (Mark 9:29).”

(Mark 9:29)

29  And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

“If they had done so with even a tiny amount of faith—‘faith the size of a mustard seed’ (Matt. 17:20)—they could have handled even extreme difficulties (symbolized by the Lord’s metaphorical statement, ‘you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move’).  The word had been spoken, the promise given, the will of God made manifest.  All the apostles needed to have done was to believe and ask God for the power.  Unfortunately, in this instance they did not.”

11/1/2026 9:45 PM

 

PT-2 "Demon Possession" (Luke 9:37-39)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/31/2026 7:27 PM

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  “Demon Possession”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Luke 9:37-39

            Message of the verses:  “On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him.  And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy, and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves.”

            I will pick up where I left off in last evening’s SD as I was quoting from John MacArthur’s commentary.

“How, why or at what age the child became demon possessed is not revealed, so it is futile to speculate.  God ultimately permitted it to happen, as He did in the case of the man born blind (John 9:1-3), for His glory in demonstrating Christ’s power.

(John 9:1-3)

“1 ¶  As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2  And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3  Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

“The boy’s condition also illustrates the reality that everyone who is outside the kingdom of God is under the power of Satan (Eph. 2:2).  It is only a question of degree.

(Eph. 2:2)

“ 2  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience”

            “That the boy’s father addressed Jesus as ‘Lord’ (Matt. 17:15) and teacher suggests that he had faith not only in the person of Christ, but also believed that His teaching was the truth of God.”

(Matt. 17:15)

“15  said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.”

“He begged the Lord to look (epiblepo; to look upon with concern, have regard for [Luke 1:48], or to ‘pay special attention to’ [James 2:3] at his son.”

(Luke 1:48)

“48  for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;”

(James 2:3)

“3  and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,”

“Adding to the poignancy of the situation, his father told Jesus, He is my only boy.’  Only Luke notes the detail that the boy was his father’s only son (cf. 7:12; 8:38).”

(cf. Luke 7:12; 8:38)

“12  As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her.”

“38  The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,”

            “The father then described his son’s terrifying symptoms: he suddenly screams (exhibiting the demon’s control of his physical faculties; (cf. 4:33; 8:30), and it throws him into a convulsion and slams him to the ground (Mark 9:18) with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves.”

(cf. Luke 4:33; 8:30)

33  And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,”

“30  Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him.”

(Mark 9:18)

“18  And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able."

“That the demon only left the boy with difficulty signifies the relentless, prolonged, non-stop nature of the attacks.  Mauling translates a form of the verb suntribo which means, ‘to crush,’ ‘to shatter,’ or ‘to break in pieces,’ signifying the violence of the demon’s assaults on this unfortunate boy—violent, sustained demonic assaults not unlike the bizarre behavior of the men in Gadara.”

11/1/2026 8:26 AM