PT-2 “His Preaching” (Luke 4:31-34a)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/16/2026 7:57 PM

My Worship Time                                                                            Focus:  PT-2 “His Preaching”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  Luke 4:31-34a

Message of the verses:  “And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was  teaching them on the Sabbath; and they were amazed at Hs teaching, for His message was with authority.  In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth?”

            Now in the New Testament, the unique and bizarre behavior associated with demon possession was never confused with insanity, however I don’t think that can be said of in today’s world.  The demons were always rational when they spoke; they understood who Jesus was and that He was going to destroy them, which will happen, I think at the end of the millennial kingdom or perhaps at the end of the tribulation period when the Lord returns and sends Satan, the anti-Christ, and the false prophet into the pit, so that is when the demons will go with them to the pit as they are not active during the millennial kingdom.  Now even when a demon addressed unbelievers he spoke rationally, saying to some would-be exorcists, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” (Acts 19: 15).  Let me continue to go on with this story as I look at several more verses from Acts 19 “16  And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17  And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.”

            MacArthur then writes “Demon possession was a widespread phenomenon during the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ and, to a lesser extent, during the ministries of the apostles (cf. Acts 16:16-18).”

(cf. Acts 16:16-18)

“16 ¶  As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17  She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18  And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.”

“During the future time of tribulation, demonic activity will again increase dramatically.  Some of the demons now bound in the bottomless pit will be released to join those already operating on earth and they will wreak havoc (Rev. 9:1ff.).

            “Four New Testament phrases describe demon possession.  First, sixteen time such people are said to have a demon or evil spirit (v. 22; 7:33; 8:27; 13:11; Matt. 11:18; Mark 3:22; 30; 9:17; John 7:20; 8:48, 49, 52; 10:20; Acts 8:7; 16:16), indicating that a demon-possessed individual was indwelt, controlled, and tormented by the demon.  The repeated phrases ‘entered him’ (Luke 8:30), ‘cast out’ (Matt. 8:16; 9:33; 12:24, 28; Mark 1:34), ‘came out’ (Matt. 8:32), ‘come out’ (Mark 5:8), and ‘coming out’ (Mark 5:13) also indicate that demons indwell their victims.  Demon possession is a supernatural phenomenon, not explicable in psychological or physical terms (though there can be physical symptoms associated with it; cf. Matt. 9:32; 12:22; 17:14-15; Mark 1:26; 5:5; Luke 8:27; 9:42).  It should be noted too that on no occasion when Jesus delivered an individual from demon possession was there a reference to forgiveness of sins.  Nor did all those delivered repent and believe.  The demon-possessed individuals whom Jesus delivered were not necessarily any more wicked than other sinners.  The emphasis is on Jesus’ power over the demons, not on the individuals being delivered.  But after Jesus and the apostles passed from the scene, the only way to be delivered from demons is through saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

            Now when I was a very young believer I read many of Hal Lindsey’s books, and one of the was entitled “Satan Is Alive and well on Planet Earth.”  I also use to listen to tapes of his sermons on the different books that he wrote, and one of them was on this book about Satan being alive and well on planet earth.  He said that he felt that he would have to deal with someone who was possessed by a demon before he would write this book.  According to him he did run into a woman who was possessed by a demon and as the story goes he was able to cast the demon out of her.

            Another story that I heard was from a former youth pastor, who then became a Pastor later on.  He told the story of a young woman who had demons in her and some men went to try and cast the demon out of this woman and she beat all of them up. 

            I have heard stories about demon possession and have also heard that this does not happen now in the church age, which I don’t believe.  Another story I heard from a friend of ours who was a missionary on one of the Islands in the far east.  He said that he watched hail come down on a tin roof in the middle of a sunny day, and the only way that they got it to stop was to go out in a boat and cut the head off of a chicken, and then it stopped.  I have no reason to believe that this did not happen.

            I will stop here and pick up tomorrow morning, Lord willing where I left off this evening.

5/16/2026 8:29 PM

 

PT-1 “His Preaching” (Luke 4:31-34a)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/16/2026 10:12 AM

My Worship Time                                                                            Focus:  PT-1 “His Preaching”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  Luke 4:31-34a

Message of the verses:  “And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was  teaching them on the Sabbath; and they were amazed at Hs teaching, for His message was with authority.  In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth?”

            In this morning’s SD we begin looking at the verses above, and as mentioned it will take a couple of days to get through this section.

            There was no one better at preaching than Jesus Christ.  Now in Matthew 4:17 we can see the following “17  From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”  Matthew 11:1 notes that “when Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.”  It was shortly after the incident recorded in this passage that Jesus declared, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:13; cf. v. 18; Mark 1:38).  Luke 8:1 fines Him “going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God.”  Then nearing the end of His earthly ministry Jesus was still “teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel” (Luke 20:1).  Even after His resurrection Jesus preached a final sermon to His disciples (Luke 24:27).  The Lord’s example underscores the vital importance of expository preaching in the church.

            Matthew 4:13 tells us “13  And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.”  From this verse we learn that Capernaum was Jesus’ adopted hometown and was a city of Galilee, located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee.  John MacArthur writes “Its name means, ‘city of Nahum,’ but whether it was name for the Old Testament prophet Nahum is not known.  Capernaum was a significant enough city to have had a Roman centurion and a detachment of soldiers stationed there (Matt. 8:5).  That the centurion had been there long enough to have built a synagogue for the Jewish inhabitants (Luke 7:5) suggests that he was permanently assigned there.  A royal official (most likely in the service of Herod Antipas) also lived in Capernaum (John 4:36).  IN Luke 10:15, Jesus rebuked its people for their exalted view of their city’s importance:  ‘And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you?  You will be brought down to Hades!’  In fulfillment of the Lord’s words, Capernaum was eventually destroyed so completely that its exact location is unknown. In addition to Jesus, several of the apostles were associated with Capernaum, including Peter and Andrew (Mark 1:21, 29), who moved there from Bethsaida (John 1:44), and Matthew, whose tax collector’s booth was in or near the city (Matt. 9:1, 9).”

            MacArthur goes on to write:  “As was His custom (cf. the exposition of 4:15-16 in chapter 23, of this  volume), Jesus was teaching them on the Sabbath in the synagogue.  It may be that the Lord chose the same text in Isaiah 61:1-2 that He preached on earlier in Nazareth.  Whatever His text was, the people who heard Him were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.  Amazed translates a form of the verb ekplesso, which describes shock, amazement, or astonishment.  The crowd in the synagogue was surprised, by the power of Jesus’ teaching and His absolute authority.  Unlike the teachers they were used to hearing.  Jesus did not quote other rabbis, but declared the Word of God.  His teaching was powerful, true, delivered with great clarity, and produced tremendous conviction.  But on this occasion, the convicting force of the Lord’s preaching hit, strangely enough, a demon.  In the synagogue that day there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon.  That demon, as the Greek text indicates, literally indwelt him.  That Luke describes the demon as unclean does not indicate he was an especially evil demon; all demons are unclean spirits (cf. 6:18; Matt. 10:1; 12:43; Mark 3:11, 30; 5:2, 8, 13; 7:25; 9:25).”

            I realize that I did not get too far with this section this morning but Lord willing will continue looking at it this evening.

5/16/2026 10:48 AM

“Intro to Jesus’ Authority over Demons” (Luke 4:31-37)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/15/2026 10:32 PM

My Worship Time                                              Focus:  “Intro to Jesus’ Authority over Demons”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Luke 4:31-37

            Message of the verses:  “³¹ And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee; and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; ³² and they were amazed at His teaching, because His message was delivered with authority. ³³ In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ “Leave us alone! What business do You have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” ³⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, it came out of him without doing him any harm. ³⁶ And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another, saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” ³⁷ And the news about Him was spreading into every locality of the surrounding region.”

            I will now begin to quote from John MacArthur’s commentary on the verses above.

            “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils,’ wrote C. S. Lewis.  ‘One is to disbelieve in their existence.  The other is to believe, and to feel and excessive and unhealthy interest in them.  They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or magician with the same delight’ (The Screwtape Letters [New Your: MacMillian, 1977], 9).  Our postmodern, post-Christian culture leans toward the latter error.  A veritable flood of books and movies have introduced fantasy worlds of wizards, spirits, and alien beings.  Ironically, research has documented that skeptics, irreligious people, and people in liberal churches are far more likely to believe in superstition, the para-normal, and pseudoscience than evangelical Christians.  But even within Christianity reality and fantasy have merged to create a confusing and often unbiblical view of the demonic realm.  Many believers, churches, and ministries are preoccupied with demons.  They view virtually everything that goes wrong in a Christian’s life as the direct result of demonic activity, the cure for which is to exorcise the demon, or demons responsible.  But believers cannot be possessed by demons, and need not be terrified by them…

            “There is no confusion in the Bible regarding Satan and his demon hosts; it reveals clearly their origin, present activity, and destiny.  Originally, they were holy angels, and Satan was the highest-ranking of all of them.  They lived in heaven, where they served and worshiped God.  But through pride Satan rebelled against God (Isa. 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:12-16), and one third (Rev. 12:3-4) of the holy angels joined him in the attempted coup.  As a result of their pride and rebellion, they were cast out of heaven along with their leader (Luke 10:18), though they still are granted access to it (Job 1:6; 2:1).  During the tribulation, after a climactic battle with Michael and the holy angels, Satan and the demons will be permanently cast out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-9). 

            “In the present age, demons operate in the world to achieve the purposes of Satan and thwart the purposes of God.  They are behind the evil world system that dominates the lives of all those who do not belong to God through faith in Jesus Christ. In John 8:44, Jesus declared that all unbelievers are children of Satan, while Ephesians 2:1-2 and 1 John 5:19 say that the whole unbelieving world is in Satan’s power.  Satan is the god or ruler of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), who blinds unbelievers to spiritual truth (2 Cor. 4:4) and leads them to deception (2 Cor. 11:13-15). 

            “Demons made their first and only appearance in the Old Testament in Genesis 6:1-4 (though they are alluded to in Lev. 17:7; Deut. 32:17; Ps. 106:37), where they possessed fallen men who cohabitated with women (cf. 2 Peter 2:4-5; Jude 6).  In the New Testament, demonic activity is confined to the Synoptic Gospels and Acts (though Jesus was accused of being demon possessed in John 7:20; 8:48-52; 10:20-21; and demons are alluded to in 1 Cor. 10:20-21; 1 Tim. 4:1; James 2:19; 3:15; Rev. 9:20; 16:14; 18:2), as they made a supreme assault on Jesus and the apostles. They are real, personal, fallen spiritual beings who are wholly given to wickedness.

            “This passage introduces a new theme in Luke’s gospel.  Up to this point, Luke has focused on the person of Christ, presenting His credentials as Messiah, Son of God, and Savior.  Starting with verse 31 and running through chapter 5, Luke revealed Jesus’ power in the spiritual and physical realms, over everyone and everything, including demons, religion and religious teachers, disease, nature, and even death.  He began by discussing Jesus’ power over demons for a very important reason.  If Jesus is to free those held in bondage by Satan and his demon hosts, He has to be able to break their power over the souls of men to free them from the kingdom of Satan (cf. 2 Cor. 10:3-5; Col. 1:13; Heb. 2:14-15).  It is precisely that power over the demonic realm that the Lord demonstrates in this passage.  

            “The evil spirits knew why Jesus had come.  They also are well aware of the fate that God pronounced against them—everlasting torment in the ‘eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels’ (Matt. 25:41).  The incarnation of the Son of God, who came to save sinners (Matt. 1:21; Luke 19:10), intensified the age-long battle for the souls of men.  In desperation, during His earthly ministry the evil spirits launched their most widespread and visible assault ever.  Even so, whenever confronted by the incarnate Son of God, the demons reached with sheer terror and often screamed out loud (v. 33; cf. Mark 1:23-25; 3:11; 5:1-7). They are compelled to believe the truth, and tremble in fear because of it (James 2:19).

            “This passage reveals four things about Jesus that terrified the demons:  His preaching, purpose, purity, and power.”

            Lord willing I will begin to look at His Preaching in tomorrow morning’s SD, but it will take more than one SD to get through that section.

5/15/2026 11:05 PM

PT-3 “The Reaction” (Luke 4:22-30)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/15/2026 9:42 AM

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  PT-3 “The Reaction”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Luke 4:22-30

            Message of the verses:  “22 And all the people were speaking well of Him, and admiring the gracious words which were coming from His lips; and yet they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” ²³ And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! All the miracles that we heard were done in Capernaum, do here in Your hometown as well.’” ²⁴ But He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. ²⁵ But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a severe famine came over all the land; ²⁶ and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And there were many with leprosy in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸ And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; ²⁹ and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and brought Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, so that they could throw Him down from the cliff. ³⁰ But He passed through their midst and went on His way.”

            In this morning’s SD I want to finish this section which will also finish the 23^rd chapter in John MacArthur’s first commentary book on the gospel of Luke.

            Jesus was not through in his talking to these people of His hometown.  To the rising anger of those gathered in the synagogue at such an indictment, He then added another familiar and somewhat distasteful Old Testament story, and this one involved Elija’s protégé and successor, Elisha.  There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.  This was probably a bigger shock to His hearers than the first story that He told to them about Elijah’s ministry to the Gentile widow.  Naaman the Syrian was not only a Gentile, but also a leper, and hence doubly an outcast. The following verses from the Old Testament speaks of this: Numbers 5:2 “2  "Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead.”  2 Kings 7:3-4 “3 ¶  Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die? 4  If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.’”  As if that was not enough, he was also an enemy military commander, the “captain of the army of the king of Aram” through whom “the Lord had given victory to Aram” (2 Kings 5:1).  “1 ¶  Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.” Now when Elisha told him he would be cured of his leprosy if he bathed in the Jordan River, Naaman was at first unwilling (vv. 10-12). “10  And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean." 11  But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, "Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. 12  Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.”  Now later, however, he humbled himself, obeyed the prophet’s word, was cured, and acknowledged the God of Israel as the only true God (vv. 14-15. “14  So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 15 ¶  Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, "Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.’”

            Now back to what Jesus’ point was here as it was clear and unmistakable that God has brought salvation by His arrival—but, as always, it is only for those who know they are spiritually poor, prisoners, blind, and oppressed.  Unless His hearers were willing to humble themselves like that outcast Gentile widow and that Syrian leper terrorist did and admit their spiritual need, they could not be saved.  MacArthur writes “That was too much for their nationalistic pride and self-righteousness to bear, and consequently and suddenly all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff.  They were an out of control lynch mob, intent on killing the one whom they knew so well and who had taught them the truth of God’s Word.  But Jesus’ time had not yet come (cf. John 7:30; 8:20), so passing through their midst, He went His way.”

(cf. John 7:30; 8:20)

30  So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.”

“20  These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.”

“At least, the mob got a miracle, if not the one they were looking for, as Jesus super-naturally escaped their attempt to murder Him (cf. John 7:30; 8:59; 10:39).”

(cf. John 8:59; 10:39)

59  So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.”

“39 ¶  Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

            “The proud people of Nazareth never did humble themselves, despite the Lord’s miraculous escape from their grasp.  When Jesus returned some time later, ‘He wondered at their unbelief’ (Mark 6:6; cf. Matt. 13:58).  Their refusal to admit their spiritual destitution, bondage, blindness, and oppression stands in stark contrast to the repentant Gentile widow and leper.  It is a striking illustration of the truth that ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble’ (James 4:6).

            “By all considerations, our Lord’s approach in the synagogue was not ‘seeker friendly,’ but bold, confrontive, denunciatory, and infuriating to the religious crowd—to the severest degree.  They were so outraged they tried to kill Him.  The truth about the sinner’s condition is always least acceptable to the religious hypocrite.”

Spiritual Meaning for My life Today:  I desire to trust the Lord’s plan, whatever it is, in the case of the cancer that my wife has.  I certainly do not know the outcome, but think it is my duty as her husband to do all I can to help her get rid of this aggressive cancer that has invaded her body.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trusting in the Lord’s plans even if they are not my plans for He is God and knows the beginning from the end.

5/15/2026 10:20 AM

 

 

PT-2 “The Reaction” (Luke 4:22-30)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/14/2026 9:02 PM

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

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Luke 4:22-30

            Message of the verses:  “22 And all the people were speaking well of Him, and admiring the gracious words which were coming from His lips; and yet they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” ²³ And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! All the miracles that we heard were done in Capernaum, do here in Your hometown as well.’” ²⁴ But He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. ²⁵ But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a severe famine came over all the land; ²⁶ and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And there were many with leprosy in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸ And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; ²⁹ and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and brought Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, so that they could throw Him down from the cliff. ³⁰ But He passed through their midst and went on His way.”

            I want to continue where I left off in this mornings SD:  Now we know that Jesus had the power to read the minds of those that He came into contact with, and so Jesus said to them, No doubt you will quote this proverb to me, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’” In other words, prove your claims to us.  Jesus knew they were thinking He should reveal His power and were ready to challenge Him to verify His messiahship miraculously.  These were not the only people who challenged Jesus to perform miraculous as it will happen a number of times during His ministry on planet earth. They were thinking, “Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.”  Now I want to remind you that Jesus had been ministering for a while before He came back to His hometown and this can be seen in the early chapter of John’s gospel.  Now if He wanted them to accept His claim to be the Messiah, then let Him perform the same signs that had reportedly been done in nearby Capernaum.

            MacArthur writes “The question, however, was not lack of evidence, but hardness of heart.  There were never enough miracles to satisfy.  No one in Israel, not even the leaders (John 11:47), ever questioned the reality of Jesus’ miracles, but neither would they accept what they proved.  Rather, they continually demanded more signs as a condition of their belief (Matt. 12:38; 16:1-4), or else attributed His miraculous power to Satan (Matt. 12:24).  No amount of miracles would convince those whose minds were hardened. ‘But through He had performed so many signs before them,’ John wrote, ‘yet they were not believing in Him’ (John 12:37).

            “Jesus understood that, humanly speaking, it was difficult for them to accept that someone they were so familiar with could really be the Messiah.  Acknowledging that , He made the now proverbial truism, Truly (amen; a word used to introduce important statements) I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown (cf. Matt. 13:57; John 4:44).”

            Next Jesus made a brilliant transition.  In effect He said to them, “Speaking of unwelcome prophets, what about Elijah and Elisha?”  Now the phrase I say to you in truth actually reiterates the importance of what He was about to say next.  The Lord then reminded them first that there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah.  Now Elijah prophesied during the reign of Ahab, one of Israel’s most wicked kings, the one who had even a more wicked wife, who “did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him’ (1 Kings 16:33). “33  And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.”  Influenced by his pagan Gentile wife Jezebel, Ahab was a worshiper of the Canaanite deity Baal, and under his influence Baal worship was flourishing in Israel.

            MacArthur then writes: “As God’s judgment on the apostate nation, Elijah announced a drought, and the sky was shut up for three years and six months (cf. James 5:17), as a result of which a great famine came over all the land.  The severe conditions were especially hard on widows, since the people who were responsible to care for them (cf. Ex. 22:22; Deut. 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:17-21) were unable (or unwilling) to do so.  Yet despite the proliferation of widows in Israel, Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  This was not a story that the Jewish people like to be reminded of.  Jesus’ hearers no doubt began to get uncomfortable, or even angry at Him for bringing it up.  It was bad enough from their perspective that Elijah ministered to a Gentile widow instead of an Israelite.  But the land of Sidon was the homeland of the wicked queen Jezebel (1 Kings 16:31).” “31  And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.”  “This particular widow, however, was a believer in the God of Israel (1 Kings 17:12, 24).” 12  And she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.’” “24  And the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.’” “Jesus’ point, which must have shocked and outraged the audience, was that God would save an outcast Gentile woman who admitted her poverty, bondage, blindness, and oppression (1 Kings 17:18), not a Jew who would not.  The implication was that if they refused to abandon their self-righteousness and admit their desperate spiritual need they could not be saved.”

5/14/2026 9:52 PM

 

PT-1 “The Reaction” (Luke 4:22-30)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/14/2026 9:21 AM

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  PT-1 “The Reaction”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  Luke 4:22-30

            Message of the verses:  “22 And all the people were speaking well of Him, and admiring the gracious words which were coming from His lips; and yet they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” ²³ And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! All the miracles that we heard were done in Capernaum, do here in Your hometown as well.’” ²⁴ But He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. ²⁵ But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a severe famine came over all the land; ²⁶ and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And there were many with leprosy in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸ And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; ²⁹ and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and brought Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, so that they could throw Him down from the cliff. ³⁰ But He passed through their midst and went on His way.”

            Now as we begin to look at these verses we can see that the reaction of the people to Jesus’ message was positive, as all were speaking well of Him.  They were especially wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His libs.  I don’t think that these people in they synagogue had ever heard Jesus speak in public like this before, and were very impressed in the way that He was speaking to them, and this ability was also seen on the Sermon on the Mount seen in Matthew 7:28-29, and those who were sent to arrest Jesus at the end of His ministry as seen in John 7:46.  I will now quote these verses that I have listed beginning with Matthew 7:28-29.

Matthew 7:28-29

“28  And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29  for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”

John 7:46

“46  The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!’”

            Shockingly the crowd will change their mind very rapidly as they will want to kill Him, and even try but as is written “He passed through their midst and went on His way.”  The question is What went wrong?  What changed their assessment of Jesus so radically?

            MacArthur writes “Som, no doubt, were wondering why Jesus stopped His reading of Isaiah 61:1-2 in the middle of verse 2, omitting the reference to ‘the day of vengeance of our God.’ The Jewish people expected that when Messiah came, He would take vengeance on their enemies. John the Baptist had spoken of the unquenchable fire of Messiah’s judgment (3:17), and even he became perplexed when Jesus showed no signs of executing vengeance on the wicked (7:19-10).”

            There is something else that others could not reconcile, and that is the stunning power of Jesus’ oratory with the reality that this was Joseph’s son.  Familiarity breeds contempt, and all experts are from out of town seems to be a familiar saying.  These people resented His claim to be the Messiah, especially since according to popular belief Messiah would be unknown until He suddenly appeared to redeem Israel (John 7:27).  

 (John 7:27)

“27  But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.’” 

The question that they had was how then could this man, whom they had known since He was a child, possibly be the Messiah?

            MacArthur then writes “But most of all, the people resented Jesus’ assertion that salvation is available only to those who acknowledge themselves to be the poor, prisoners, blind, and oppressed.  They were not about to accept such labels, since they viewed themselves as righteous.  After all, they kept the law (at least outwardly); they honored the Sabbath, paid their tithes, observed the ceremonies, and performed the rituals.  Besides, as the Jewish leaders proudly reminded Jesus, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone’(John 8:33).  Rather than acknowledge their spiritual poverty, sinful bondage, blindness, oppression, and need of a Savior, they questioned whether Jesus was really the Messiah.  How could He be if He could not even distinguish the righteous from the wicked?”

5/14/2026 10:02 AM

 

PT-3 “The Message” (Luke 4:16-21)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/13/2026 7:28 PM

My Worship Time                                                                            Focus:  PT-3 “The Message”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  Luke 4:16-21

            Message of the verses:  “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

18“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,

BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO BRING GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR.

HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO CAPTIVES,

AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,

TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,

19TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” 20And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. 21Now He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’”

            I will continue with MacArthur’s commentary from where I left off this morning.

            I begin looking at the second point that MacArthur speaks of, “Messiah will proclaim spiritual release to the captives.  Lost sinners imagine that they are free, and see Christianity as infringing on their right to be and do what they want to.  But that is a tragic deception; sinners are not free.  All sinners owe God an unpayable debt for violating His law (James 2:10; cf. Matt. 18:23-35), and are in bondage to ‘Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell’ (Matt. 10:28).  The lost are also in bondage to Satan (Eph. 2:1-2), ‘held captive by him to do his will’ (2 Tim. 2:26).  Satan uses their fear of death to enslave them (Heb. 2:14-15).  They are also slaves of sin (Rom. 6:6, 16-20), since ‘everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin’ (John 8:34).

            “The good news of the gospel is that God has sent His Son to free those who are in spiritual bondage.  In Isaiah 42:5-7 (God said to the Messiah,

⁵ This is what God the Lord says,

Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its ^[a]offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it:
⁶ “I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness,
I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
⁷ To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.

            Aphesis (release) means ‘forgiveness’ (it is so translated in 1:77; 3:3; 24:47; Matt. 26:28; Mark 1:4; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; Heb. 9:22).  Messiah will set the prisoners free by paying the penalty for their violation of God’s law.  Through His sacrificial death God has ‘canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross’ (Col. 2:14).  As Charles Wesley expressed it in his magnificent hymn ‘O For a Thousand tongues,”

He breaks the power of cancelled sin,

He sets the prisoner free.

            “Third, Messiah’s mission was to provide recovery of spiritual sight to the blind.  Spiritual blindness is the natural condition of fallen man.  ‘They do not know nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness’ (Ps. 82:5); they ‘have eyes but do not see’ (Jer. 5:21).  ‘This is the judgment,’ Jesus declared, ‘that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.  For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed’ (John 3:19-20).  In addition to their natural blindness, God judicially blinds the minds of unrepentant sinners.  The apostle John wrote, ‘He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them’ (John 12:40; cf. Rom. 11:8).  Satan also ‘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. 4:4).

            “But the Messiah came ‘to open blind eyes’ (Isa. 42:7).  He is the ‘Sunrise from on high’ (1:78) who will ‘shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death’ (v. 79).  Since He is ‘the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5; cf. 3:19; 12:46) those who follow Him ‘will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life’ (John 8:12).  Paul reminded the Corinthians that ‘God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ’ (2 Cor. 4:6).  ‘You were formerly darkness,’ Ephesians 5:8 says, ‘but now you are light in the Lord’ (cf. Col. 1:13).  Paul was sent to the Gentiles ‘to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in [Jesus]’ (acts 26:18).

            “Finally, Messiah came to set free those who are spiritually oppressed.  These are people overwhelmed by life’s painful circumstances, especially the wearying burden of sin and the inability to keep God’s law (cf. 11:46; Matt. 23:4; Acts 15:10).  Jesus promises such people ‘Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light’ (Matt. 11:28-30).  ‘For this is the love of God,’ John wrote, ‘that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome’ (1 John 5:3).

            “Because Jesus had already been ministering for many months, these things were already happening.  For the spiritually bankrupt, imprisoned by their sin and awaiting sentence by the Judge of all the earth (Gen. 18:25), blind to the truth, and oppressed by the heavy burden of their sins, the favorable year of the Lord had come.  The ‘day of salvation’ (Isa. 49:8) and the ‘year of redemption’ (Isa. 63:4) had arrived.

            “Stopping His reading of Isaiah 61:2 in the middle of the verse, Jesus closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  It was a dramatic moment, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him wondering what His message would be.  What He said was shocking, unexpected, and unprecedented: He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Other teachers had spoken of a future fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, but Jesus told them that they were witnessing its fulfillment before their eyes.  Salvation had come; the messianic era had begun; the Messiah was present that day in the synagogue in the person of Jesus, a man from that very village.”

5/13/2026 9:46 PM