SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/17/2020
11:35 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-3 “Intro to
Matt. 4:12-17”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
4:12-17
Message of the verse: “12 Now when He
heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; 13 and
leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the
region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was to fulfill what was spoken
through Isaiah the prophet, saying, 15 “THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF
NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES- 16
“THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND TO THOSE WHO
WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED." 17
From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand.’”
John
MacArthur writes “Jesus Christ came not only to make man sensitive again to
sin, but to restore the life and health that sin has destroyed. He came not only to reveal the darkness that
sin caused, but also to bring the light that overcomes the darkness. That is how Matthew introduces the active
ministry of Jesus: He is Himself the great light that has dawned upon
mankind. As the aged Simeon said of
Jesus as he held the infant Lord in his arms in the Temple, ‘My eyes have seen
Thy salvation, which Thou has prepared in the presence of all peoples, A light
of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel’ (Luke.
2:30-32; cf. Isa. 42:6; 49:6; 52:10).”
If
we would look at John 1:19-4:42 we would see that there is actually a year that
has transpired between Jesus’ wilderness experience and the events that take
place in verses 12-17 of Matthew chapter four.
John MacArthur believes that the reason that Matthew did not record
these events like John did was because they had nothing to do with Jesus being
King.
We
have already studied the gospel of John and learned that Jesus stayed around
John where he was baptizing and we can also see that Jesus did call some of His
apostles. These were important things
that He did after coming back from His wilderness experience.
We
have learned in the past that John the Baptist was a bridge between the Old
Testament and the New, and that bridge that John was is just about over after
He had baptized Jesus and He had said in John’s gospel “I must decrease but He
must increase.” During the first year of
Jesus’ ministry, John continued to preach, and their two ministries did
overlap. And as John had said as his
work began to phase out Jesus work began to build. Imagine what it would have been like to be
alive during that time when both John and Jesus were ministering to the people
of Israel.
MacArthur
finishes his introduction by writing “In 4:12-17, Matthew picks up the story of
that first year where the apostle John leaves off, giving three features of
Jesus’ early ministry that show God’s perfect work through His Son. It was at the right time; it was in the right
place; and it was the right proclamation.”
These are the three main points that we will be looking at as we work
our way through these different verses from the 4th chapter of
Matthew.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: One of the wonderful descriptions of Jesus is
that of being the Light of the World. In
my preparation for next week’s Sunday school lesson on the 27th
Psalm I have learned that in verse one “The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?”
this is the first time that the Word light is used to speak of God. When I think of light I think of power as
there can be no light without power. When the New Jerusalem is in place in the
eternal kingdom the only light that will be there will be from God, and that is
power, power that I need in my life every day.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Call on that Power to work in my life to continue
to teach me humility, and to continue to give me joy as I study His Word.
2/17/2020 12:29 PM
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