SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/18/2020
8:13 AM
My Worship Time Focus: “The Right
Time”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
4:12a
Message of the
verse: “Now when He heard that John
had been taken into custody.”
I want to once again quote the last paragraph in John
MacArthur’s introduction to Matthew 4:12-17 as we begin this SD. “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 the right time, it was in the right
place; and it was the right proclamation.”
MacArthur goes on to write “In Matthew’s presentation,
Jesus’ official ministry began when the herald of the King went off to
jail. The Son of God always worked on
His Father’s divine timetable. He had,
as it were, a divine clock ticking in His mind and heart that regulated
everything He said and did. Paul affirms
that ‘when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son’ (Gal.
4:4). Jesus spoke of His hour as not
having yet come (John 7:30; 8:20) and then of its having arrived (Matt. 26:45;
John 12:23; 17:1).”
When Jesus left heaven to be born as a baby he set aside
His supernatural powers to accomplish things that could be accomplished by
ordinary human means. Jesus submitted
Himself to human limitations and although He knew what was in every man’s heart
as seen in John 2:24-25, he learned of John’s imprisonment by common report,
just like everyone else did. Once he
heard of John’s imprisonment that He went back to Galilee.
The story of John’s arrest is seen in a number of places
in the gospel’s account. He was arrested
by Herod Antipas and was thrown into the dungeon at the palace at Machaerus,
which was on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea.
John was giving reproof to Herod for taking the wife of his half-brother
Philip. Herod did many other sinful
acts, but after arresting John we read that he liked to listen to him and so he
did not have him killed. The problem was
with his wife Herodias who was the woman who was vile even by Roman standards
as she would induce her daughter, Salome, to trick Herod into severing the head
of John the Baptist on a platter before his guests as a royal dinner as seen in
Matthew 14:6-11. It all had to do with
Herod’s pride as he enjoyed Salome’s dancing and therefore told her she could
have anything she wanted, and after getting with her evil mother she asked for
the head of John the Baptist.
John was a man who confronted evil and this is always
dangerous, but John was a fearless man.
His confronting this evil cost him his life.
John MacArthur concludes this section with the following paragraph: “John the Baptist’s imprisonment and death,
just as his heralding the King of kings, were in God’s divine plan and timetable. The end of the herald’s work signaled the
beginning of the King’s. Herod and
Herodias believed they freely controlled their province, and certainly the
destiny of the insignificant Jewish preacher who dared condemn them. It is amazing how the proud and arrogant
think they act in perfect freedom to accomplish their selfish ends, when in
truth their decisions and actions only trigger events that God scheduled before
the foundation of the world.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: Living in 21st
century America I get upset over what the demonic socialist democrats are
doing, and yet I do trust the Lord to bring about what is happening to be in
His perfect time table. I am certainly
opposed to the evil of these people who are similar to what Herod and his wife
did in their life time, and yet God was in charge then and in charge now and so
I must trust Him to work out His perfect plan.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
Trust the Lord to work out His will on
what is going on in our country; trust Him to continue to work in my life to
make me more like Jesus, and to give me joy as I study His Word.
2/18/2020 8:59 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment