SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/10/2016 10:17 AM
My Worship Time
Focus: His Motivation Would be
Validated
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: John 14:31
Message of the verses: “but so that the world may know that I love
the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.”
The evil
world may believe that the death of Jesus Christ was a victory for them, but
far from that His death was the ultimate proof to the world of Christ’s love
for the Father. As we have mentioned in
earlier SD’s Jesus Christ came to earth to become a man because His Father gave
Him the work to pay the price for salvation and because He loves the Father
that is what He was about to accomplish even though it meant that He would be
not only separated from the Father as He poured out His wrath on Him in payment
for our sins, but it also meant that He would become sin for us. This is far different of being a sinner, for that
was impossible for Christ. Let us go
back to look at John 14:15 “"If you love Me, you will keep My
commandments.” Jesus is saying that the
proof of loving Him was obedience, and so His proof of loving His Father was
obeying Him, to do what He wanted Him to do.
Now as we
look at the last phrase here “Get up, let us go from her” we see that this
signals an obvious transition in the narrative, and also the place where the
next narrative will be given, as they would leave the upper room where they had
just celebrated the last Passover and also instituted the first Communion
service. John MacArthur noted in his
sermon that the Galilean Passover was celebrated the day before the Judean Passover
so Jesus could celebrate the Galilean Passover with His disciples and then die
on the Judean Passover at 3:00 PM the next day.
This had always been a mystery to me wondering how Jesus could celebrate
this last Passover with His disciples and then die the next day at the exact
time when the Passover lambs were to die.
Jesus and
His disciples were heading to the Garden of Gethsemane where He would continue
to teach His disciples things that they would need to know, but also where He
would pray to His Father. Now a very
long time ago as I was studying John chapter 15 I heard a sermon on that
chapter and the man preaching stated that perhaps as Jesus and His disciples
were walking they came upon some vines and thus He explained using that
illustration. Not sure that is true, but
it does make sense.
John
MacArthur writes “(John 18:1does not describe the Lord and the disciples
leaving the upper room, as some think.
It refers to their leaving the city of Jerusalem and crossing the Kidron
valley, east of the city. Gethsemane lay
across the valley on the slopes of the Mount of Olives.)”
Hebrews
12:2 sums up all that Jesus’ death meant to Him “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the
author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” John MacArthur quotes John Piper who writes “First
the agony of the cross, then the ecstasy of heaven. There was no other way…The passion of Christ
did not merely precede the crown; it was the price and the crown was the
prize. He died to have it.” (Fifty
Reasons Why Jesus came to Die)
MacArthur
concludes his thoughts in this final paragraph on this section which concludes
our study of chapter 14: “Having
triumphed over death; Jesus has returned to the glory that He had from all
eternity in heaven (Luke 24:26; John 13:31-32; 17:1, 5; Phil. 2:8-9; Heb. 2:9)
at the Father’s right hand (Rom. 8:34; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3; 8:1; 1
Peter 3:22). There He receives forever
the unceasing and undiminishing praise of the ‘living creatures and the elders’
(Rev. 5:11), who cry out ‘saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory
and blessing’’(v. 12).”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: In
order to understand what Christ went through to pay for my sin, and my sins
(the sin nature and the sins I commit), I have to understand how bad off I was
when I was born and also how bad off I am as I live my life. I have the following written on the inside of
one of my Bibles: “Total Depravity – Not
that we are as bad as we could be, but we are as bad off as we can be.” To understand this is to understand how much
the death of Christ means to me.
My Steps of Faith for
Today: To continually to be reminded
how much my sin cost Christ.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question: “Jesus” (Luke 6:9).
Today’s Bible question:
“Where did Rahab live?”
Answer in our next SD.
12/10/2016 11:05 AM
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