PT-1 "Intro to Matt. 8:16-22)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/1/2021 9:40 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-1 “Intro to Matt. 8:16-22

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matt. 8:16-22

 

            Message of the verses:  “16 When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES."

    “18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. 19 Then a scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." 20 Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." 21 Another of the disciples said to Him, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." 22 But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.’”

 

            We begin looking at what John MacArthur entitles “What Keeps Men from Christ,” which is his second chapter in his second commentary on the book of Matthew, and what we will find out in this section may become a complete surprise to those who will read these Spiritual Diaries over the next few days.  I listened to the sermon that goes along with this section yesterday while taking my walk and there were a few surprises for me as I listened to it.  We begin looking at what is the end of a long day for our Lord as He had come down the mountain after preaching the Sermon on the Mount and then healed three people that we looked at in our previous SD’s, the last being Peter’s mother-in-law.  Some believe that this all happened on the Sabbath, and as I look at the verses in this section I have to believe that is the case.  We are in a section of Scripture that happens at the beginning of our Lord’s earthly ministry which has different healings in it and those healings certainly have deep spiritual meanings.  John MacArthur stated that by the time of Jesus crucifixion, which we celebrate tomorrow, that He had cleansed all the illness in Judea, but as we read through the gospels we only see a very few of them, and as stated they have deep spiritual meanings.  John’s gospel is actually based on seven miracles and at the end of his gospel he writes “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25 the last verse in John’s gospel).

 

            John MacArthur begins this section writes the following paragraph:  “After Jesus had healed the leper, the centurion’s slave boy, and Peter’s mother-in-law, Matthew reports that the crowd brought Him countless other people to be healed.  Because these were brought to Him ‘when evening had come,’ it is possible that the first three healings had been done on the Sabbath, and since it ended at sundown, they now felt free to bring ‘many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.’”  I have to say that I like it when MacArthur agrees with what I have written before I even read what he has written.

 

            What we see Jesus doing here has happened at different times in His ministry, and that is He healed many people with different ailments without regard to individual faith or circumstances.  Jesus healed them all not matter what their physical or spiritual problems were.  Jesus was giving evidence of His deity and messiahship, and everyone who came for healing was healed. 

 

            We will continue looking at this introduction in our next SD, that is unless the Lord comes at the rapture and then we will be with Him, something I know that I am looking forward to very much.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Learning the more spiritual meanings of the healings that Jesus did that are found in the gospels is something I look forward to learning more about.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Thankful to the Lord that my wife’s surgery seemed to go very well, and praying that her hearing will continue to get better.  Praying everyday for revival in my life, our churches life, and also our country and around the world that the Holy Spirit of God will bring this revival and many millions of souls will be saved in order to bring glory to the Lord as He completes His church so that the rapture will come as He takes His bride to be with Him forever.

 

4/1/2021 10:19 AM