SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/16/2020
9:59 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The
Religious Context
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matt. 5:1-2
Message of the verses: “1 And when He saw
the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His
disciples came to Him. 2 And opening His mouth He began to teach them,
saying,”
Jesus
grew up in a very religious society with for primary groups which were the
Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, and the Zealots. We will talk briefly about these groups now
but in more detail later on as we move through Matthew’s gospel.
The
Pharisees believed in the Mosaic Law and also in traditions, something that for
the most part was not good to believe in.
Some traditions are good, but in the end they are only traditions. They focused on adhering to the laws of the
past.
The
Sadducees on the other hand focused on the present as they were the religious
liberals who discounted most things supernatural and they modified both
Scripture and tradition in order to fit their own religious philosophy.
The
Essenes were ascetics and they believed that the right religion mean a
separation from society. They pretty
much lived near the Dead Sea, and if I remember they were the ones responsible for
hiding some scrolls in caves near the Dead Sea that were found in 1948.
The
Zealots were fanatical nationalists who taught that religion centered in
radical political activism. They looked
down on fellow Jews who would not take up arms against the Romans.
MacArthur
writes “In essence, the Pharisees said, ‘Go back’; the Sadducees said, ‘Go
ahead’; the Essenes said ‘Go away’; and the Zealots said, ‘Go against.’ The Pharisees were traditionalists; the
Sadducees were modernists; the Essenes were separatists; and the Zealots were
activists. They represented the same
primary types of religious factions that are common today.”
We
know that Jesus was not any of those and He said to the Pharisees that true
spirituality is internal and not external.
Then to the Sadducees He said that it is God’s way, and not man’s
way. He said to the Essenes it is a
matter of the heart and not the body. To
the Zealots He said that it is a matter of worship and not a matter of
revolution. MacArthur adds “The central
thrust of His message to every group and every person, of whatever persuasion
or inclination, was that the way of His kingdom is the first and above all a
matter of the inside—the soul. That is
the central focus of the Sermon on the Mount. True religion in God’s kingdom is
not a question of ritual, of philosophy, of location, or of military might—but of
right attitude toward God and toward other people. The Lord summed it up in the words ‘I say to
you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven’ (5:20).
“The
dominant message of the Sermon on the Mount is that one must not find comfort
merely in right theology, much less in cotemporary philosophy, geographical
separation, or military and political activism.
Right theology is essential; so are being contemporary in the right way,
separating ourselves from worldliness, and taking stands on moral issues. But those external things must flow from
right internal life and attitudes if they are to serve and please God. That has always been God’s way. He told Samuel, ‘God sees not as man sees,
for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’ (1
Sam. 16:7). In proverbs, wisdom says, ‘Watch
over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life’ (Pr.
4:23).”
There
was an incident that Jesus had when eating with some Pharisees which we will
close with from Luke 11:39-41 in a translation called the Williams. “Now you Pharisees have the habit of cleaning
the outside of your cups and dishes, but inside you yourselves are full of
greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the
inside too? But dedicate once for all
your inner self, and at once you will have everything clean.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I don’t want to drift into any of the
ways of those that we talked about today, but have my life be pleasing to the
Lord at all times.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I still desire the same things to work on and
that would be humility and also joy in studying the Word of God each day. In talking with my sister yesterday she
mentioned a good way to remember what we are to give to the Lord each day as
she said “BMW,” and I have always been a Ford man BMW is a good way to remember
that I am to give my body, mind, and will to the Lord each day.
From the “Strategy of Satan” for today: “When God called Moses to go to Egypt to
deliver Israel, Moses argued with God.
He protested that he was slow of speech and could not do the job. Was this humility on Moses’ part? Of course not! It was pride; in fact, it was the worst kind
of pride: false humility. The person who
is truly humble has these characteristics:
(1) he knows himself; (2) he accepts himself; (3) he yields himself to
God; (4) he seeks to better himself that he might serve God better. The humble man realizes that all that he has
comes from God and must be given back to God.
John the Baptist said ‘A man can receive nothing unless it has been
given him from heaven.’ (John 3:27).”
3/16/2020 10:40 AM
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