SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/3/2016 12:42AM
My Worship Time Focus:
The Answer of the Father
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: John 12:28b-30
Message of the verses: “Then a voice came out of heaven: "I
have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." 29 So the crowd of
people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were
saying, "An angel has spoken to Him." 30 Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My
sake, but for your sakes.”
We have mentioned
that this is the third time that God the Father has spoken audibility to His
Son while He was ministering on the earth.
He first spoke at His baptism, then on the Mount of Transfiguration and
now here in this 28th verse of God’s gospel. God the Father is affirming that He approves
of the work that His Son is doing here on earth. I think that it was most beneficial for the
disciples of Jesus to hear this voice from the Father so that their hearts
would have calmness for what was about to happen, and also for the gospel
writers so they could make this a part of their writings. Perhaps the disciples would think that the
death of Jesus Christ was something that was done that God would have disapproved,
but He says that He has glorified His Son and would glorify Him again and that
has to be talking about His substitionary death for those who would call on Him
to be saved.
We
mentioned a part from His High Priestly Prayer in our last SD, but I want to
quote the first five verses of the 17th chapter of John here to
further show about His glory. “1 Jesus
spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father,
the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh,
that to all whom You have
given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 “This is eternal life, that they
may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 “I
glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me
to do. 5 “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with
You before the world was.”
I can’t
imagine what these people thought was happening when the Father spoke an answer
to His Son other than some though it was thunder, but others were probably
scratching their heads thinking that they heard something but not knowing what
it was. When one looks at the OT in
different places they will find that thunder often associated with the voice of
God and some examples are found in Ex. 19:16, 19; 2 Sam. 22:14; Job 37:2-5;
40:9; Ps. 18:13; 29:3). In the book of
Revelation we see examples in 4:5; 11:19; and 14:2. Now as far as an angel speaking we see this
in Gen. 19:1-22; 1 Kings 13:18; 19:5; Dan. 4:13-17; 10:4ff.’ Zech. 1:9; 14ff.
2:3; 3:1; and 4:1. However both of these
theories were not accurate as we see noted that this was the voice of God the
father.
As we have
seen in our studies of both the OT and NT people were hard hearted and were not
willing to hear the truth when it was even spoken to them from heaven. Let us look at a section from what Paul wrote
to the Corinthians for an example “3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is
veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has
blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of
the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:3-4).”
John
MacArthur writes the following about the statement Jesus made when He said that
“the voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.” “At first glance the Lord’s statement seems
puzzling. Since the voice came in response
to His prayer, ‘Father glorify You name,’ how could Jesus say that it was not
for His sake? In keeping with Semitic
idiom (cf. R. V. G. Tasker ‘the meaning appears to be that the voice did not
come exclusively for Jesus’ sake (since He did not need to hear the Father’s
audible voice to know that His prayer was answered [cf. 11:4 2]). The voice came to strengthen the faith of
those standing nearby (cf. similar expressions in v. 44; 4:21). In particular, ‘this miraculous reply was for
the disciples, that they might hear directly and with their own ears both that
the Father had, indeed, answered Jesus and what that answer was. It was another attestation of the Father, of
the clearest and strongest kind, that Jesus was his well-beloved Son. (R. C. H.
Lenske).’”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I have to say that there are times when it
would be nice to hear a voice from heaven from God, and yet that is not how it
works at this time as God speaks to His children through His Word, through the
preaching of His Word, and at times through circumstances, so with these ways I
will have to be listening.
My Steps of Faith for
Today: Trust that the Lord is
answering my prayer about revival in my life even though I am kind of like what
Habakkuk thought about when God answered Him the first time.
Memory verse for the week:
(Romans 6:13): “13 and do not go
on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of
unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead,
and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question: “A Parable.”
Today’s Bible question:
“What is the first of the Ten Commandments?”
Answer in our next SD.
10/3/2016 1:29 PM
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