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

 

PT-3 “The Claim” (Luke 5:20)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/31/2026 8:40 PM

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

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                       Reference:  Luke 5:20

            Message of the verse:  “Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”

            I will begin this evening’s SD by quoting the third paragraph from John MacArthur’s commentary on what is in the “Focus” this evening.

            “But forgiveness has always been the offer of redemption, so it is also the message of the Old Testament.  After Adan and Eve sinned, ‘the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them’ (Gen. 3:21).  Killing animals to provide those garments pictured the ultimate sacrifice of Messiah, whose death would cover the shame and guilt of sin.  The Lord described Himself to Moses as ‘the Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin’ (Ex. 34:6-7; cf. Num. 14:18).  Nehemiah 9:17 calls Him a ‘God of forgiveness.’ In Psalm 65:3 David wrote, ‘Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, You forgive them,’ while in 86:5, he declared, ‘For You, Lord are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.’  In Psalm 103:12, David depicted the extensiveness of God’s forgiveness when he noted that ‘as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.’  In 130:3-4, the psalmist expressed his confidence in God’s forgiveness:  ‘If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?  But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.’  Speaking of the promised forgiveness in the New Covenant, God declared, ‘I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more’ (Jer. 31:34).  Micah joyously exclaimed, ‘Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession?’  (Mic. 7:18; cf. Isa. 55:7).”

            I want to go back to the quotation from Jeremiah 31:34, as there may be some confusion as MacArthur writes about the New Covenant and so I did some digging to find out where that verse is quoted in the New Testament and found it is in the book of Hebrews chapter eight.

“ Yes — Jeremiah 31:34 is quoted in the New Testament. The longest and most direct quotation of this passage occurs in Hebrews 8:8–12, where the author cites Jeremiah 31:31–34 in full to argue that the covenant established by Jesus is “better” and “obsolete” compared to the old covenant made with Israel through Moses Bible Odyssey+1.

In Hebrews, the quotation is used to show that the new covenant inaugurated by Christ fulfills and replaces the Mosaic covenant, offering a more perfect and enduring relationship between God and His people. The passage in Hebrews 10:16–17 also alludes to the same idea, linking Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice to the promise in Jeremiah 31:34 that God will “remember their sins no more’”

“

Jeremiah 31:34 in New Covenant context? ►

 

How does Jeremiah 31:34 fit into the context of the New Covenant? Jeremiah 31:34 “No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their iniquity and will remember their sins no more.” Historical Setting: The Exilic Promise Jeremiah delivers 31:31-34 while Jerusalem teeters on destruction (c. 587 BC). Babylon’s siege signals covenant curses foretold in Deuteronomy 28. Into this despair, chapters 30-33—Jeremiah’s “Book of Consolation”—speak of restoration. Jeremiah 31:34 stands at the climax: Yahweh pledges a “new covenant” that will eclipse the broken Mosaic covenant (31:32). Archaeological discoveries such as the bullae inscribed “Belonging to Gemariah son of Shaphan” and “Belonging to Baruch son of Neriah” (uncovered in the City of David, 1975 & 1996) corroborate the historic milieu and specific individuals in Jeremiah 36, underscoring the prophet’s reliability.”          Now back to where I left off in quoting MacArthur’s commentary. “The Old Testament likens God’s forgiveness to His casting sins behind His back (Isa. 38:17), wiping them out (Isa. 43:25; cf. 1:18; 44:22) trampling them under His feet (Mic. 7:19), and burying them in the depts of the sea (Mic. 7:19).

“Aware that the paralyzed man had genuine, penitent faith, Jesus on His own divine authority, extended full and permanent forgiveness to him.  He did not necessarily understand the truth that Jesus was God; people were forgiven in the Old Testament by acknowledging that they were sinners, deserving of God’s judgment and unable to save themselves, confessing and repenting of their sin, and throwing themselves on God’s mercy.  The penitent tax collector is an example of how people were saved before the cross: ‘But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’’(Luke 18:13).  His humble repentance and faith in God’s grace and forgiveness resulted in his justification (v.14).  After the cross and resurrection, there is no salvation apart from believing in the only object of saving faith—the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 17:30-31; 1 Tim. 2:5).  As Paul wrote in Romans 10:9, ‘If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.’  It is because of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross that God can be ‘Just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus’ (Rom. 3:26).”      There is much to think about in this section that actually took three Spiritual Diaries to complete, so it is my prayer that the Holy Spirit of God will use what is written in this SD to bring salvation, and bring glory to my Lord Jesus Christ. 5/31/2026 9:09 PM

PT-2 "The Claim" (Luke 5:20)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/31/2026 10:02 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                         Focus:  “The Claim”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                       Reference:  Luke 5:20

            Message of the verse:  “Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”

            I will see if I can get further into looking at this verse than last night as I did not get too far, but what I wrote I believe can be used by the Lord to bring glory to my Lord Jesus Christ.

            John MacArthur writes “One can only imagine what went through the minds of the people in that crowded house as the four men began tearing up the roof above Jesus.  They must have wondered what the scraping noise was, and notice the pieces of the roof falling.  Finally, the men broke through; the daylight streamed in and, to the crowd’s amazement, an immobile man lying on a stretcher was slowly lowered to the ground in front of Jesus.  It was a dramatic moment, with all eyes on Him to see how He would react.

            “There is no record that either the paralyzed man or his friends said anything; his need of physical healing was self-evident.  On the other hand, what Jesus said was unexpected and shocking.  Seeing the faith of all five men, He said to the paralyzed man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you” (cf. 7:48).” “And he said to her: Your sins are forgiven.”  “The Lord addressed first the more significant issue of the man’s need of salvation.  Saken with grief and fear because of his sins, he wanted healing, but more important, Jesus knew he wanted forgiveness.”

            Pay close attention to what is written next by MacArthur “Forgiveness is both mankind’s greatest need, and God’s most important gift—and the only means for blessing in this life and eternal life in heaven.  Jesus Christ came into the world to ‘save His people from their sins’ (Matt. 1:21; cf. 26:28), and ‘through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins’ (Acts 10:43; cf. 5:31; 26:18; Eph. 1:7; 4:32; Col. 1:14; 2:13-14; 3:13; 1 John 1:9; 2:12; Rev. 1:5).  Forgiveness is the distinctive message of the Christian proclamation (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 13:38).”  Now I am going to quote all of these verses mentioned above in the order of which they are in this paragraph.

(Matt. 1:21; cf. 26:28)

“21   And she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus; for he will save his people from their sins.”

“28   for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many in order to the remission of sins.”

(Acts 10:43; cf. 5:31; 26:18; Eph. 1:7; 4:32; Col. 1:14; 2:13-14; 3:13; 1 John 1:9; 2:12; Rev. 1:5). 

“43  All the prophets testify about Him that through His name everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins.’”

“31  God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”

“18  to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”

“7  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,”

“32  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

“14  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

“13 ¶  And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,14  by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

“13  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

“9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

“12 ¶  I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.”

“5  and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.”

            I will stop here as there are many verses to read and think about, and so Lord willing I will finish this section in this evening’s SD.

Spiritual Meaning for My Life Today:  I mentioned in last evening’s SD about the importance of forgiveness and it is worth mentioning again.  Forgiveness is the most important thing that God offers us, and it came with a great cost to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Father took His face away from His Son and then proceeded to take out on Him all the sin of the world.  For this I am eternally thankful, and desire to serve Him forever.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To be controlled by His Holly Spirit in order to do the works for Him that He has planned for me to do in eternity past.

5/31/2026 10:42 AM

 

 

“The Claim” (Luke 5:20)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/30/2026 9:28 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                         Focus:  “The Claim”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                       Reference:  Luke 5:20

            Message of the verse:  “Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”

            I have to say that this verse has the greatest message in it “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”  This is the best news that anyone can ever hear, and one has to think about this, both those who have been saved, and those who need this saving grace offered to you from the Lord Jesus Christ.  One can have great trouble in their life as they live on planet earth after the fall found in Genesis chapter three when our earthly parents Adam, and Eve decided to fall prey to Satan’s temptation as this put the entire world from then on in the power of the evil one.  When Jesus came to earth born of a virgin fathered by the Holy Spirit then the time was put on hold for Satan and his evil demons, as Jesus would grow up under the leadership of Joseph and Mary until the time came when He would begin His public ministry, which began when Jesus was Baptized by John the Baptist. 

Matthew’s Account of Jesus’ Baptism (Matthew 3:13–17)

In Matthew 3:13–17, Jesus’ baptism is presented as the opening event of His public ministry, marking a pivotal moment of divine revelation.

The Scene
Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist. John, recognizing Jesus’ sinlessness, tries to deter Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replies, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:14–15). John consents, and Jesus is baptized Bible Gateway.

The Divine Confirmation
As Jesus emerges from the water, heaven opens, the Spirit of God descends like a dove and rests upon Him, and a voice from heaven declares, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16–17) Bible Gateway. This Trinitarian moment—Father’s voice, Son’s obedience, and Spirit’s descent—affirms Jesus’ identity as the Messiah.

Let us now look at Matthew 3:13-17: 

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³ Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?” ¹⁵ But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. ¹⁶ After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him, ¹⁷ and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

            Now this was the very beginning of our Lord’s ministry and the entire trinity was seen or heard as seen in verse seventeen above.  After that our Lord would then go out into the wilderness in order to be tempted by Satan.  We have earlier gone over this and have seen that Jesus in his weak condition from fasting for 40 days in the wilderness still would not fall into the temptations of Satan, and this would not be the first time that Satan would tempt him.  Jesus, the second Adam would not fall to Satan’s temptations and then would go on to begin His ministry as He would begin to add His disciples and for the next three years go out and preach and teach all throughout Israel.  At the end of this He would then go to the cross and suffer and die, and while there on the cross for three hours, when the whole world would be in darkness as the Father would take all the sins of the world out on His Son, and after that was over we know that Jesus had at that time finished His ministry as He would state “It is finished.” 

Meaning of “It Is Finished” in John 19:30

In John 19:30, Jesus said, “It is finished” (Greek: tetelestai), after receiving the sour wine offered to Him on the cross. This statement is one of His last words recorded in the Gospels and carries deep theological significance.

The Greek Word Tetelestai

Tetelestai is the perfect passive indicative of the verb teleō, meaning “to bring to an end, complete, accomplish, or fulfill” scriptureriver.com. The perfect tense indicates a completed action with ongoing results, and the passive voice shows that the subject (the work, task, or debt) was completed for the subject. In first-century Greek, tetelestai was used in three common contexts:

What Was “Finished”?

Three key things are completed by His death:

1. The mission of redemption — Jesus has fulfilled the work the Father sent Him to do, including revealing the Father, teaching, performing signs, and offering Himself as the Lamb of God www.pastorjasonelder.com.
2. The atonement for sin — The cross satisfies the penalty for sin, as Hebrews 10:12 teaches that Christ offered a single sacrifice for sins, “sitting down at the right hand of God” www.pastorjasonelder.com.
3. The victory over death and Satan — Death is disarmed, and Satan’s grip on humanity is broken www.pastorjasonelder.com.

            When a person was in prison in the days when Christ was on earth, and after he had finished his sentence the word tetelestai would be stamped on his papers as he would leave prison.  This meant that his sentence was finished as it was paid in full.  This is what Jesus did while on the cross, as He paid for our debt of sin, and all a person has to do to receive the salvation He paid for is to first of all confess that you are a sinner, and then after that believe in your heart that Jesus paid for your sins while on the cross.  Thank Him for doing that and invite Him into your heart to live there in the person of the Holy Spirit and you will be saved.

            Sometimes when I am writing my Spiritual Diaries it seems to me that the Spirit of God is prompting me to write something that really does not go along with the planed SD for that time, and this was one of those times.  It is my prayer that the Spirit of God will use this SD, as really all that I write to bring glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Lord willing I will pick up in writing from this section in tomorrow morning’s SD.

5/30/2026 10:10 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pt-3 “The Context” (Luke 5:17-19)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/30/2026 10:52 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                Focus:  Pt-3 “The Context”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Luke 5:17-19

            Message of the verses:  ““17 One day He was teaching, and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. 18And some men were carrying a man on a stretcher who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. 19But when they did not find any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.”

            John MacArthur writes:  “That scribes and Pharisees there that day had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem testifies to the level of concern the Jewish authorities had about Jesus.  His first act in His Judean ministry had been to disrupt the Sadducees’ temple business operations by driving out the money changers and merchants (John 2:14-16).”

(John 2:14-16)

“14  In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15  And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16  And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.’”

“They, along with the Pharisees, had watched in growing alarm (and jealousy; cf. Matt. 27:18) as His ministry of teaching and healing had drawn huge crowds, both in Judea and Galilee (cf. 5:15).  Now they dogged His steps, looking for something for which they could indict Him.  The incident that was about to unfold would provide these hostile visitors with an unforgettable, undeniable (John 11:47) experience—and formidable challenge to their aberrant theology.”

            Now Luke’s note that the power of the Lord was present for Jesus to perform healing reminds his readers of the truth that he had mentioned earlier.  It was in His incarnation, when He “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant” (Phil. 2:7), Jesus set aside the independent  use of His divine power.

(Phil. 2:7)

“7  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

Jesus set aside the independent use of His divine power, as He ministered in submission to the Father, and in the power of the Holy Spirit is how these miracles were done.  Now I have written about this in earlier SD’s as this all took place, at the baptism of Jesus Christ. That event, His baptism, was the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, and as mentioned it was done in the power of the Holy Spirit that He did these miracles.  I realize that when a person accepts the Lord Jesus Christ in the Church age, that they too have the Holy Spirit come into their lives in order for Him, (the Spirit) to show each believer what their ministry is and that is what is needed in order for believers to do the things that they are to do for the cause of Christ.  Now when the judgment seat of Christ happens after the rapture when all true believers in the Church age are in heaven that they will receive rewards from the Lord for how they did the things that they were called to do in the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is also at that time that believers who receive these rewards will lay them down at the feet of Jesus, for with Him, and His sacrifice for them that none of this will be possible. 

            John MacArthur writes:  “While the Lord was teaching, some men arrived (Mark 2:3 notes that there were four of them), carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed.  He was one of the countless others with physical problems who sought out Jesus wherever He went.  Unable to come to Jesus on his own, he was fortunate enough to have loyal and determined friends available to help him.  How he became paralyzed, whether through a birth defect, spinal cord or brain injury, or a degenerative disease, is not stated.  Unlike lepers, the paralyzed were not ostracized from society.  They were stigmatized by their condition, however, since many would see all such disabilities as God’s punishment for their sin (cf. John 9:2).”

(cf. John 9:2)

“2  And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’”

            “Having arrived at the house where Jesus was ‘speaking the word’ (Mark, 2:2), the paralyzed man’s friends were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him.  But they could not find any way to bring him in because of the overflow crowd (cf. Mark 2:2).  No one would move aside to allow the men to carry him in; the crowd formed a barrier both with their bodies and their hearts.  Fortunately for the paralyzed man, his friends were both determined and resourceful.  Unable to gain access to the house, they went up on the roof.  Most houses in Israel were single story houses.  The beams spanning the walls and supporting the roof were set below the tops of the walls to form and enclosed patio, which was accessible by a stairway.  The larger houses had tiles between the beams, as this one did.  After moving aside some of the tiles and digging through the underlying roof (Mark 2:4), the four men lowered their paralyzed friend with his stretcher into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.”

Spiritual Meaning for My life today.  I want to focus in on the friends of this paralyzed man and their desire to help their friend to receive healing from Jesus.  As mentioned his friends were surely loyal to this man, but they did not know that their friend would not only receive physical healing from Jesus, but also spiritual healing from Jesus.  To me this pictures what I can do to help friends of mine come to Jesus to receive spiritual healing through the new birth that can only come from the Lord Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Yes this man had wonderful friends who wanted their friend to receive healing from the Lord.  This is one of the goals of the Spiritual Diaries that I have, and that is to be used by the Holy Spirit to call unbelievers to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust that the Holy Spirit of God will use these Spiritual Diaries that I write to bring many people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ so that they can receive salvation from the Lord Jesus Christ as He suffered and died for them on the cross, and was then buried for three days to be then resurrected from the dead in order to pay for their sins as God was pleased with what His Son did in dying for them.

5/30/2026 11:59 AM

 

 

 

 

Pt-2 “The Context” (Luke 5:17-19)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/29/2026 9:52 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                Focus:  Pt-2 “The Context”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Luke 5:17-19

            Message of the verses:  ““17 One day He was teaching, and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. 18And some men were carrying a man on a stretcher who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. 19But when they did not find any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.”

            I continue looking at these verses from the fifth chapter of the gospel of Luke this evening.  It was a long day today, and I say the highlight of this day is that my wife had her first treatment from what is called homeopathic treatment, something different than normal treatment for her cancer which she had for a very long time and it helped actually nothing, and so after much prayer we decided to go a different route, and my hope in the Lord is that He will use that treatment to first of all  bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ, who we owe all things to because of His death on the cross to take away our sins.  Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane to His Father, “Not my will by Thine be done, and because of that prayer the Lord Jesus then went out to pay for our sins as He suffered and died on the cross, along with being raised from the dead three days later, spending time on planet earth before He was resurrected into heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father’s throne.  My point in all of this is that my prayer for my wife is that it is my desire for God’s will to be done, and yet I still pray that these treatments will be successful and that my wife through the prayers of the saints that God will bring glory to His name by allowing this treatment to be successful.

            John MacArthur continues to write “With the disappearance of the Sadducees after the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70 and the Zealots after the Bar Kochba revolt (A.D. 132-35) was crushed, the Pharisees became the dominant force in Judaism.  With the completion of the Mishnah (the written compilation of the oral, law, rituals, and traditions) in A.D. 200, and the Talmud (the combination of the Mishna and the Gemara [three centuries of rabbis’ commentary on the Mishnah]) in about A.D. 500, the Pharisees’ teaching became virtually synonymous with Judaism.

            “The Pharisees’ theology was in many respects faithful to the teaching of Scripture.  They believed in the resurrection (Acts  23:6-8), angels (Acts 23:8), demons, predestination, and human responsibility.  The looked for Messiah to come and establish an earthly kingdom, and were devoted to protecting and teaching the law of God.  Ironically, it was their zeal for the law that caused the Pharisees to become focused on rituals and externally keeping the law.  They abandoned true religion of the heart for mere outward behavior modification and ritual (cf. Matt. 15:3-6), leading Jesus to scathingly denounce their pseudospirituality: ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others’ (Matt. 23:23; cf. 6:1-5; 9:14; 12:2; Luke 11:38-39).  Even worse, the wide gap between their teaching and their practice led to gross hypocrisy, which both Jesus (e.g., Matt. 23:2-3) and, surprisingly, the Talmud (which lists seven classes of Pharisees, six of which were ‘blind guides of the blind’ (Matt. 15:14), who made their proselytes doubly worthy of the hell to which they themselves were headed (Matt. 23:15).  The complex set of man-made rules and regulations was a crushing, unbearable burden (Matt. 23:4; Acts 15:10).  In any case, keeping the law could never save anyone, ‘because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified’ (Rom. 3:20; cf. 3:28; Gal. 2:16; 3:11, 24; 5:4)—a truth that the zealous Pharisee
Saul of Tarsus eventually realized (Phil. 3:4-11).

            “Luke also notes the presence of teachers of the law. Also called lawyers (7:30; 10:25; 11:45, 46, 52; 14:3; Matt. 22:35) and most commonly scribes (sixty-three times in the New Testament), they were professional scholars specializing in the interpretation and application of the law.  They were commonly, but not exclusively, Pharisees (though distinguished from them by being mentioned separately; 5:21, 30; 6:7; 11:53; 15:2; Matt. 5:20; 12:38; 15:1; 23:2, 13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29; Mark 7:1, 5; John 8:3; Mark 2:16 refers to ‘the scribes of the Pharisees,’ and Acts 23:9 to ‘the scribes of the Pharisaic party’).  Such scribes were also honored by being called rabbis (‘great ones’), though others who taught the Word of God might also receive that title (cf. John 1:38, 49; 3:2; 6:25, where it is given to Jesus).”

5/29/2026 10:32 PM

 

 

“The Context” Luke 5:17-19)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/29/2026 11:22 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                        Focus:  “The Context”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Luke 5:17-19

            Message of the verses:  ““17 One day He was teaching, and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. 18And some men were carrying a man on a stretcher who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. 19But when they did not find any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.”

            This will be some verses that we will be looking at for a few days, and these verses will set the context of what Jesus will be doing, that is the healing of this paralyzed man, and how Jesus first saw him as his friends will put this man right in front of Jesus as He was teaching, as they take the tiles off the roof and send him down right in front of Jesus. 

            MacArthur writes “In keeping with the constant pattern of His ministry, the opening of this section finds Jesus teaching.  He was not in a synagogue, but in a house, undoubtedly a big one since it accommodated the large crowd that had gathered (cf. Mark 2:2).”

(cf. Mark 2:2)

“2  And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.”

            “Luke focused his attention in particular on the “Pharisees and teachers of the Law” who were sitting there in the crowd.  This is the first reference in Luke’s gospel to the Pharisees, one of the four main Jewish sects along with their archrivals the Sadducees (the wealth, elite priests), the Zealots (political revolutionaries who sought independence from Rome), and the Essenes (ascetic monastics).  Their name likely derives from a Hebrew verb meaning ‘to separate.’  The pharisees were the ‘separated ones’ in terms of their zeal for the Mosaic law (and their own traditions, which they added to it [cf. Matt. 15:2-6; Mark 7:8-13]).”

(cf. Matt. 15:2-6; Mark 7:8-13”

2  “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3  He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4  For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5  But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6  he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.

Mark 7:8-13

“8  You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." 9  And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10  For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11  But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban’” (that is, given to God)— 12  then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13  thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.’”

            “The Pharisees originated during the intertestamental period, likely as an offshoot of the Hasidim (the ‘pious ones,’ who opposed the Hellenizing of Jewish culture under the notoriously evil Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes).  Unlike the Sadducees, who tended to be wealthy priest or Levites, the Pharisees generally came from the middle class.  Therefore, although few in number (there were about 6,000 at the time of Herod the Great, according the first-century Jewish historian Josephus), their theology and tradition had great influence with the common people (who, ironically, the Pharisees often viewed with proud, self-righteous contempt [cf. John 7:49]).  Despite being the minority party in the Sanhedrin, their popularity with the people gave them significant influence (cf. Acts 5:34-40).”  Ok that is as far as I will go this morning, and Lord willing will pick up this evening to continue to look at this section.

(cf. John 7:49)

“49  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."”

(cf. Acts 5:34-40)

“34  But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. 35  And he said to them, "Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36  For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37  After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38  So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39  but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!" So they took his advice, 40  and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.”

Spiritual Meaning for my Life Today:  It is my desire not to be like these sects that I am going over this morning, but trust the Lord to cause me to continue to grow in grace so that I can learn and grow.

My Steps of Faith for Today: “¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much.” (James 5:16 NASB)

5/29/2026 12:21 PM