Intro to Matt. 14:34-15:20

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/30/2022 11:47 AM

 

My Worship Time    Focus:  Intro to “Empty Worship: Confusing the Traditions of Men with the Doctrine of God”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                         Reference:  Matthew 14:34-15:20

 

            Message of the verses:  “34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick; 36 and they began to entreat Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were cured.

    “1 Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." 3 And He answered and said to them, "And why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 “For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF

FATHER OR MOTHER, LET HIM BE PUT TO DEATH.’ 5 “But you say, ‘Whoever shall say to his father or mother, "Anything of mine you might have been helped by has been given to God," 6 he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And thus you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 8 ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. 9 ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’"

 

    “10 And after He called the multitude to Him, He said to them, "Hear, and understand. 11 “Not what enters into the mouth defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man." 12 Then the disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?" 13 But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up. 14 “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." 15 And Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain the parable to us." 16 And He said, "Are you still lacking in understanding also? 17 “Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? 18 “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20 “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.’”

 

            I mentioned yesterday that this section of Scripture  which ends up chapter fourteen and then goes twenty verses into the fifteenth chapter of Matthew has some things in it that will take us a while to get through.  I listened to two sermons on this section, and as mentioned they had some things in them that will explain how it was that the Pharisees and other religious leaders around the time of Christ were actually teaching what some have called a cult. 

 

            I want to begin this introduction by talking about the meaning of Exodus 20:7 which is a part of the Ten Commandments:  “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”  I suppose that when you hear a person swear or cuss and use the name of the Lord then that may all of what this verse is talking about.  However there is more to this verse than that as we will see.  It also obviously prohibits flippant, irreverent use of His name.  However more than those which are obvious things, it also forbids any use of God’s name that is superficial, indifferent, insincere, or hypocritical.

 

            MacArthur writes:  “It has been said that God’s name is taken in vain more often inside the church than outside.  His name is taken in vain whenever it is mechanically used in repetitious prayers and liturgies, in singing His praise while having no thought of Him, and in praying thoughtlessly and without genuine devotion.  His name is taken in vain through empty worship perhaps more than in any other way.”

 

            One has only to do a casual study of the Old Testament to see that Hypocritical worship was among the worst offenses of ancient Israel.  Isaiah at the very beginning of his book writes “13  "Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies —  I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. 14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”  These are some very harsh words that the Lord is instructing Isaiah to write, and the problem is that they not only apply to that time in Israel’s history, but also all the way to the current way that Israel worships the Lord.  They were epically bad during the time that our Lord was on earth and that is what He will be dealing with as we study these verses.

 

             “16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow” (Isa. 1:16-17).  In these verses from Isaiah he is giving them some things that they were to do in order to be in a right relationship with God.

 

            MacArthur writes “Unless the heart of the worshiper is cleansed and purified, he cannot worship God acceptably, because he cannot worship God honestly and sincerely.  The person with a sinful heart is opposed to God and it is not possible for him to worship rightly.  Isaiah ends his prophecy with much the same warning as he begins it:  ‘"But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word. 3  "But he who kills an ox is like one who slays a man; He who sacrifices a lamb is like the one who breaks a dog’s neck; He who offers a grain offering is like one who offers swine’s blood; He who burns incense is like the one who blesses an idol. As they have chosen their own ways, And their soul delights in their abominations,’ (Isa. 66:2b-3).  As they went through the pretensions of offering sacrifices, the people were not better than criminals and pagans, because their hearts were not humble and contrite but proud and rebellious.”

 

            I will take the time to jest quote from Amos 5:21-24 and Malachi 1:6-7 as they wrote similar things.  “21 "I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. 22  "Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. 23  "Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. 24 “But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”  “6 "’A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ 7 “You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of the LORD is to be despised.’”  It is good to remember that Malachi was written after Judah returned to their land after being disciplined by the Lord 70 years in Babylon.

 

            In our verses from Matthew we will see that Jesus preaches the same message as those prophets: hearts that are not right with God cannot worship Him. In this time period of our Lord’s time on earth he was in the ending of when He was very popular, after all He had just fed the 5000 and done many miracles to heal people, but the time is coming very shortly when He will not be popular and the things He is saying in these chapters will be what the Pharisees will use to have Him crucified as they don’t like it that He is going against their teachings, but not too long after the crucifixion of our Lord, some 27 years that Jerusalem will be destroyed, along with the Temple and over a million Jews will lose their lives and those left will offer themselves as slaves but there will be no one to buy them just as it was prophesied. 

 

            MacArthur writes in conclusion to his introduction:  “In the present passage Jesus confronts the Jewish religious system of His day head-on, showing , above all, the emptiness and worthlessness of its worship.  In doing so, He further crystallizes the irreconcilable conflict between His gospel and that system.  As the conflicts unfolds, Jesus is first seen as the compassionate Healer (14:34-36), then as the condemning Judge 15:1-9), and finally as the correcting Teacher (vv. 10-20).”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have to remember that in and of my own power that I can do nothing to please the Lord, as it has to come from the guiding of the Holy Spirit who lives in me.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Spirit of the Lord to lead me in doing what He has called me to do.

 

6/30/2022 12:51 PM

             

Proof of His Divine Power (Matt. 14:32)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/29/2022 9:12 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  “Proof of His Divine Power”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Matthew 14:32

 

            Message of the verses:  “32 And when they got into the boat, the wind stopped.”

 

            If we think back to the other time when the disciples were in a storm, the time when Jesus was sleeping in the boat while the storm was raging we then remember that Jesus spoke to the storm to make it stop.  That is not the case here as soon as Jesus got into the boat the storm stopped, stopped with Him saying a word.  The moment He and Peter got into the boat with the other disciples, the wind stopped.  It is as if the wind was simply waiting for the miracle to be finished; and when it had served its purpose, it stopped.

 

            Now I am coming to a portion in this miracle that I am not sure how to handle, and the reason is what is said in John 6:21 “So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” John MacArthur writes “They had been three or four miles out to the sea and storm was still raging as fiercely as ever, but in an instant it stopped and the boat was at its destination.  On the basis of normal human experience, it is hardly surprising that the disciples ‘were greatly astonished’ (Mar, 6:51).  But the disciples had been having astounding displays of Jesus’ miraculous power for two years, and for them these remarkable events should not have been astonishing.  We learn from Mark that their amazement resulted form their not having ‘gained any insight from the incident of the loaves’—or from Jesus’ earlier stilling of the storm or from any other great work He had done—because ‘their heart was hardened’ (Mark 6:52).”  Could one say that the disciples were getting use to Jesus miracles and so that is the reason they were not as astounded as they were when He began doing miracles in their sight?

 

            MacArthur seems to answer this question:  “Yet in that moment those same hearts were softened and those eyes opened as they had never been before, and those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’  They were now more than simply amazed, as the crowds and they themselves had always been.  They were taken past amazement to worship, which is what Jesus’ signs and miracles were intended to produce.  At last they were beginning to see Jesus as the One whom God highly exalted and on whom He bestowed the name which is above every name, and at whose name ‘every knee should bow of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’ (Phil. 2:9-11).”

 

            As I think about this miracle story I am thinking about the fact that Judas was in that boat and it seems that Judas was in agreement to the fact of who Jesus really was.  This seems to go along with what I am teaching in our Sunday school class about apostasy, as an apostate knows the truth that Jesus is God’s son, but will not go the next and most important step in inviting Him into his heart in order to receive salvation.  Judas was the worst apostate because he lived with Jesus for three years seeing all of His miracles, but Judas was looking for an earthly kingdom before Jesus would die on the cross in order to save people from their sins.

            We begin a new section in our next SD, a section that will finish up the 14^th chapter of Matthew and actually take us into the first twenty verses of chapter fifteen.  I listened to the two sermons that go along with this section and some of the things that I learned about different books that were used by the Jews, mostly after they had went into captivity, and when they returned back to the Promised Land.  These books were mostly what caused the Jewish religion to get so far off track.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To fight the good fight.

 

6/29/2022 9:39 AM

PT-3 "Proof of His Divine Love" (Matt 14:28-31)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/28/2022 9:22 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                           Focus:  PT-3 “Proof of His Divine Love”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  Matt 14:28-31

 

            Message of the verses:  “28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”

 

            We have been talking about Peter as he is walking on the water and have stated that this was not something prideful that Peter was doing, and I think that this is verified due to the answer that the Lord gave to Peter as seen in verse 29 where He says “Come.”  Jesus in this answer confirms that Peter had right motives as He never invites, much less commands, a person to do anything sinful.  Jesus would not be a party to pride or presumption.  It was with the greatest compassion, that Jesus told Peter to come, and was highly pleased that he wanted to be with his Lord.

 

            I think that our Lord chose Peter to be the leader of the Twelve because of his great love that Peter had for the Lord, as seen that his name is always first in any of the lists of the disciples that are listed in the gospels.  By the way Judas is always listed last.  Peter appears to have been the closest to Christ, even though at times he seems to get himself in trouble.  We know that the Lord never rejects weak faith but accepts it and builds on it, He also will never reject weak and imperfect love.  It was with His great patience and care, that He takes the love of His children and, through trials and hardships as well as successes and victories, He builds that love into greater conformity to His own love.

 

            It was in an act of love He declared, that our Lord told Peter to come.  MacArthur writes ‘We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us.’ “In fact, he goes on to say, “God is love” (1 John 4:16; cf. v. 8).  It is God’s nature to be loving, just as it is water’s nature to wet and the sun’s to be bright and hot.  He loves His own with an infinite, uninfluenced, unqualified, unchanging, unending, and perfect love.

 

            “Christians most perfectly reflect their heavenly Father when they are loving especially to each other.  ‘If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar,’ John continues to explain, ‘for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen’ (1 John 4:20).”

 

            I  think that as we look what Peter wanted to do in walking on the water we can see that he was sincere, however he did not comprehend the reality or the extremity of what he was asking to do.  He was in the relative safety of the boat but it seems that the feat did not seem so terrifying; but once Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus, the situation appeared radically different, which is understandable.  We read that Peter temporarily took his eyes off the Lord and, seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” The faith that Peter had was enough to get him out of the boat, but it was not enough to carry him across the water.

 

            MacArthur writes:  “Faith is strengthened by its being taken to extremes it has never faced before.  Such strengthening is basic to Christian growth and maturity.  ‘Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial,’ James says, ‘for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him’ (James 1:12).  The Lord takes us as far as our faith will go, and when it ends we begin to sink.  It is then that we call out to Him and He again demonstrates His faithfulness and His power, and our faith learns to extend that much further.  As we trust God in the faith we have, we discover its limitations, but we also discover what it can yet become.”

 

            Peter was probably fully clothed when he began to walk on the water, and then began to sink, and so that would have made it much more difficult to just swim back to the boat as the waves were very high at this point.  In the fright that Peter was experiencing because he began to sink he could think of nothing but drowning.  However as soon as he cried out...Lord save me.” He was safe, because immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him.

 

            MacArthur continues “When Jesus rebuked him, saying, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? Peter must have wondered at the question.  The reason for his doubt seemed obvious.  He was bone weary from rowing most of the night, scared to death by the storm and then by what he thought was a ghost, and now it seemed he was about to drown before he could reach the Lord.  He had never been in such a situation before, and it may be that his actually walking a few feet on the water added to his shock.”

 

            Now as we think about this we can come to the conclusion that Peter’s weak faith was better than no faith; and, as in the courtyard when he denied the Lord, at least he was there and not holding back like the rest, which is similar to the eleven disciples still in the boat.  Peter at least started toward Jesus, and when he faltered, the Lord took him the rest of the way.

 

            Now remember what our Lord was doing before He came to them walking on the water, and that was He was interceding for them in prayer.  Now He came directly to their aid in the midst of the storm.  The Lord goes before us and He goes with us and that is, when you think about that is great encouragement.  There are times when we get frustrated, anxious, bewildered, and frightened, then Satan tempts us to wonder why God allows such things to happen to us, His children.  And if then we keep our attention on those things, we will begin to sink just as surely as Peter did.  But if we cry out to the Lord for help, our Lord will come to our rescue just as surely as He did to Peter’s rescue.

 

            MacArthur concludes by writing “Peter would one day write, ‘In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter 1:6-7).”

6/28/2022 10:08 AM

PT-2 "Proof of His Divine Love" (Matt. 14:28-31)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/27/2022 8:19 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                           Focus:  PT-2 “Proof of His Divine Love”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Matt. 14:28-31

 

            Message of the verses:  “28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”

 

            In his commentary on Matthew John MacArthur writes the following insightful paragraph on Peter, and I have to say that I do agree with all of it but perhaps one point and I will explain that after I quote this paragraph.  “Peter did many things for which he can be faulted.  But he is sometimes faulted for things that reflect love, courage, and faith as much as brashness or cowardice.  For instance, although he denied the Lord while in the courtyard during Jesus’ trial, he was nevertheless there, as close to Him as he could get.  The rest of the disciples were nowhere to be found.  On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter’s suggestion was unwise but it was prompted by sincere devotion:  ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah’ (Matt. 17:4).  He genuinely loved Jesus and sincerely wanted to serve and please Him.  Peter did not resist Jesus’ washing his feet because of pride, but because, in his deep humility, he could not conceive of His Lord washing the feet of anyone so unworthy.  And when Jesus explained the significance of what He was doing, Peter said, ‘Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head’(John 13:9).”

 

            Now as far as “unwise” statement that Peter made on the Mount of Transfiguration, a while back I was reading historical novels.  The wife would pretty much do the writing, and the husband the research for the novels.  Brook and Bodie Tannae are the author’s names and they have written many wonderful books that all have to do with the Bible characters.  At any rate in one of their books they depict what happened on the Mount of Transfiguration and they thought was that the time they were all up there was the time of the “Feast of the Booths” and so Peter was simply saying that he would make these booths for all who was up there.  I guess you can take that or leave it alone.

 

            As we study the different gospels, and this is the third one that I have studied recently and one of the things you find is that Peter is continually in the Lord’s shadow and footsteps.  Now if we can read between the lines of these gospel accounts, it is not too difficult to imagine that Peter sometimes followed so closely behind Jesus that he would bump into Him when Jesus stopped. (I would say that is following pretty close.)  Peter sensed in Jesus’ presence a wonderful safety and comfort, and that is where Peter now wanted to be.  It was safer to be with Jesus on the water than to be without Him in the boat.

 

            I get the sense that in many ways that Peter is kind of like me, in that his love for Jesus was not at all perfect, but was weak.  I can surely understand that, and the reason for me is that by becoming a believer near the age of 27 that I had a lot of sinful living done in those first 26+ years of my life, and perhaps Peter’s life before Christ was like that too.  Remember when Jesus did the miracle of catching a great many fish in Peter’s boat that Peter told Him to get away from him because he was a sinner?  I know that feeling very well too.  In the end of the gospel of John Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him three times, and each time Peter responded affirmatively.  Jesus did not contradict Peter’s answer but He reminded him of his obligation to care for his Master’s sheep and warned him the great cost his love would demand found in John 21:15-18.  I suppose many of my readers will remember that tradition says that Peter was crucified upside down because he did not feel worthy of being crucified the way His Lord was crucified.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I know that some of the things that Peter did reminds me of myself, like not having enough patience and other things, but one thing is for sure that it is my desire to love the Lord like Peter did, and His love for the Lord grew a great deal after Pentecost as it was after that that he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To love the Lord more fully.

 

6/27/2022 8:54 AM 

PT-1 "Proof of His Divine Love" (Matt. 14:28-31)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/26/2022 7:56 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                          Focus:  PT-1 “Proof of His Divine Love”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  Matt 14:28-31

 

            Message of the verses:  “28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind stopped.”

 

            In today’s SD we begin to look at the fourth proof of Jesus’ deity and it is His demonstration of divine love.  Although Mark and John report Jesus’ walking on the water, only Matthew tells of this incident concerning Peter. 

 

            Let us take a look at the word if as that is what we see Peter asking, and MacArthur writes that this word “if did not reflect doubt that it was actually his Lord, because going out onto the water to join an unidentified ghost was the last thing Peter would have done.  He was naturally impetuous and brash, and more than once his overconfidence got him into trouble—including trouble with the Lord.   But it would have taken more than brashness for this lifelong fisherman to have ventured out on the water without benefit of a boat, because no one on board better knew the dangers of Galilee storms than Peter.  He had probably been thrown into the water at times by high winds or waves and had seen others experience the same trauma.  He was no fool, and it is highly unlikely that impetuosity would have so easily overridden his reason and instinctive caution.”

 

            So the question is why did Peter ask Jesus if he could come to Him on the water?  Probably Peter was so overjoyed to see Jesus because of all the trouble that they were going through with this very bad storm that he just wanted to come to Him and was not concerned about his safety because His Lord was out there walking on the water.  Peter doubtless knew better than to just jump out of the boat and come to Jesus, so he must ask Him if he could come to Him on the water as he said, Command me to come to You on the water.  Peter knew that Jesus had the power to enable him to walk on the water, but he did not presume to attempt the feat without His express instruction.  MacArthur adds “Peter’s request was an act of affection built on confident faith.  He did not ask to walk on water for the sake of doing something spectacular but because it was the way to get to Jesus.”  I have to say that this logic kind of puts a different perspective on this story than what my thoughts before were. 

 

            Well it is Sunday morning and so my SD’s are shorter because of all that I do on Sunday morning and so we will have to continue looking at what Peter did and how the Lord saved him in our next SD.

 

6/26/2022 8:20 AM

PT-2 "Proof of His Divine Protection" (Matt. 14:26-27)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/25/2022 8:39 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                   Focus:  PT-2 “Proof of His Divine Protection”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 14:26-27

 

            Message of the verses:  “26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the

sea, they were frightened, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’”

 

            In our last SD we ended up by talking about what “liberals” have to say about this passage, and I for one really get sick and tired of those who are not true believers and then comment on what the Bible has to say.  It is like reading a book in a foreign language that you can’t read of speak the language and then comment on it.  A true believer actually is indwelt with the Author of the Word of God and so this makes it much easier to understand what is found in it.  Yes true believers have their differences on certain passages, but the important things, the really important things like being born-again I have to say that if you are a true believer in Jesus Christ you will understand how you became a believer which is the most important thing that any person can ever do as being born-again changes your eternal destination.

 

            John MacArthur now writes some truthful things about what probably happened out there on the water that eventual night:  “Because of the darkness, the mist from the wind and waves, the fatigue from rowing, and the fear that already gripped them because of the storm, they did not recognize Jesus when He appeared to them.  Mark reports that ‘they all saw Him’ (Mark 6:50), but none of them suspected it was Jesus.  And their fear instantly turned into abject terror as they beheld the form they thought was a ghost come to add to their torment.  In the dark before the dawn, hopelessness turned to utter horror and despair.  In their panic they could not help but cry out for fear.”

 

            Jesus Christ knows everything, and he certainly knew what was going on in the lives of His disciples.  Jesus was testing their faith, and then He calmed their fear by just simply saying Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.  In spite of the raging winds, the waves battering against the boat, and their fear-stricken minds, they immediately recognized their Master’s voice. 

 

            This was not really the time for an explanation of why He was there, or of what He planned to do next, or of why He had not come sooner, and I am sure that after they knew it was Jesus that they really were wondering why He did not come sooner.  But this was time to give His disciples courage, it was time for Him to still the storm that was raging within the disciples, even doing that before actually calming the storm itself.

 

            MacArthur writes “Jesus did not walk on the water to teach the disciples how to do it.  Peter tried and failed, and there is no record of any of the others ever doing it at all.  The Lord’s purpose was to demonstrate His loving willingness to do whatever is necessary to rescue His children.  He did not have to walk on the water to save them, but His doing so gave them an unforgettable reminder of the power and extent of His divine protection.  It was not to teach them to walk on water but to teach them that God can and will act on behalf of His own.”

            This teaches us that we will never find ourselves in a place where Christ cannot find us, and no storm is too severe for Him to save us from it.  We can be sure that He can protect His very own, and we who are His very own know that He will never fail or forsake us.  “"No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you” (Josh. 1:5).  “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5 NKJV).  The very same lesson for the disciples is for us:  There is no reason for God’s people to fear.  “There is no reason for anxiety, no matter how hopeless and threatening our problems seem to be.  Life is often stormy and painful, often threatening and frightening.  Some believers suffer more than others, but all suffer at some time and in some way.  In spite of that, the storm is never so severe, the night never so black, and the boat never so frail that we risk danger beyond our Father’s care.” (John MacArthur)

 

            Perhaps most of know the story found in the 27^th chapter of the book of Acts when Paul was to be taken to Rome to appear before Caesar, and the ship was in a very terrible storm, and all the people on this ship were very afraid, thinking that all would die.  Paul received a vision from the Lord and after that he reported the following to the men on that ship “"Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God, that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.”

 

            In conclusion to this section from Matthew chapter 14 MacArthur writes “So the disciples who were reluctant to leave Jesus and go to Capernaum obeyed by rowing out into the storm they knew was coming, and Jesus honored their faithfulness.  When believers are in the place of obedience, they are in the place of safety, no matter what the circumstances.  The place of security is not the place of favorable circumstance but the place of obedience to God’s will.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Whenever I lack patience then fear has the opportunity to control me.  I know that in times of trouble that God is teaching me patience, and I am to trust Him in the storms of life and to learn trust and patience from He who knows everything about me, including what will happen to me.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord in the storms of life.

 

6/25/2022 9:19 AM

PT-1 "Proof of His Divine Protection" (Matt. 14:26-27)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/24/2022 10:11 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                   Focus:  PT-1 “Proof of His Divine Protection”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matt. 14:26-27

 

            Message of the verses:  “26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the

sea, they were frightened, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’”

 

            In my SD today I will begin looking at the third proof of Jesus’ deity as it was manifested in His protection of the disciples as can be seen in our verses for today.  I truly can’t imagine being in that boat and then seeing Jesus come walking across the water during this violent wind storm with the waves high enough to probably sink their boat.  I have to agree with what they said or what they thought they were seeing as being some kind of a ghost and then they began to cry out in fear.  Now remember who we are talking about as these were men who were strong as most of them were a fisherman which is a very difficult job to be able to handle the large nets and to take care of their boats and their catch of fish.  They were strong men, and were becoming stronger in their faith in the Lord as they continued to be around Jesus.  John MacArthur comments on this section “And they cried out for fear.  Theoreo (from which saw is derived) means to look intently, indicating that the disciples’ gaze was transfixed on the apparition before them.  At first Jesus did not walk directly toward the boat but appeared to be passing by (Mark 6:48), but that made little difference to the disciples.  For a ghost to be anywhere near them frightened almost out of their senses.  The term ghost is the Greek phantasma, which refers to an apparition, a creature of the imagination, and is the word from which come the English phantom and phantasm.”

 

            I suppose that I need to talk about the liberal interpreters who are always right in their own minds as they try their best to discredit the Word of God all of the time.  Perhaps they should get a real job!  They think that because the disciples were so tired that they really only thought that they saw Jesus walking on the water, as their tiered minds played tricks on them.  However it would have been quite impossible for all twelve of them to simultaneous experience the same imagined apparition, but of course they didn’t think about that.  There is then the section we will be looking at later that tells us that Jesus got into the boat, and oh by the way stopped the storm.  I have to tell you of a preacher that was in the church I went to as a child.  He stated about the feeding of the 5,000 that all of the people just brought a lunch to eat and thus Jesus did not do a miracle to feed some 25,000 people, making food from nothing.  He is the guy that wrote a book with the same title that Hitler had on his book Mein Kampf.  This man is dead now and I don’t really want to think about where he went after he died. 

 

            We will continue to look at this section in our next SD, Lord willing as my wife has some heavy duty lifting jobs for me to do as we are about to get some of our carpet cleaned.

 

6/24/2022 10:33 AM

PT-2 "Proof of His Divine Knowledge" (Matt. 14:24-25)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/23/2022 9:52 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                 Focus:  PT-2 “Proof of His Divine Knowledge”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Matt. 14:24-25

 

            Message of the verses:  “24 But the boat was already many stadia away from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.”

 

            We have been looking at the different time periods that have been talked about in this section of Matthew’s gospel and we can see that Jesus waited a fairly long time before He came to rescue His disciples in the boat.  One thing for sure I don’t think that they were thinking about what their role would be if Jesus were made King as the crowd wanted Him to be.  Think about another time when Jesus seemed to wait a very long time before performing a great miracle, that of raising Lazarus from the dead as He waited several days before He came to Bethany.  It would have been that in both instances that Jesus could have taken care of the problem much sooner than He did, and in both of these instances He could have performed the ensuing miracle without even being present which we have already looked at an example of this in Matthew 8:13 as He had healed the centurion’s servant from a distance.  Speaking of these two instances of Lazarus and also the disciples on the sea in a storm we can see that in our Lord’s infinite wisdom He purposely allowed Mary and Martha and the disciples to reach the extremity of need before He intervened.  Jesus knew everything about all of them, and had known it since before they were even born, and so He knew infinitely better than they did what was best for their welfare and for God’s glory.  Waiting for something very important has always been a problem for me, but waiting teaches me patience, something that I still need to learn more of.

 

            John MacArthur writes the following:  “The disciples should have been rejoicing with David that, ‘If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there.  If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Thy hand will lead Me, and Thy right hand will lay hold of me’ (Ps. 139:8-10).  The Twelve should have remembered that ‘the Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble’ (Ps. 9:9), that the Lord was their rock of refuge (Ps. 18:2), and that He would keep them safe even as they walked ‘through the valley of the shadow of death’ (Ps. 23:4).  They should have remembered God’s word to Moses out of the burning bush: ‘I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings’ (Ex. 3:7).  They should have remembered that, just before Abraham would have plunged the knife into Isaac’s heart, the Lord provided a ram to take Isaac’s place (Gen. 22:13).”

 

            Now I have never been out on a lake or a sea in the circumstances that the Twelve were that night, but I don’t think that I can blame them for not being reassured from the Scriptures that MacArthur just mentioned.  They forgot these promises because of what they were going through that night and they forgot the Lord’s power as they had seen Him do many wonderful powerful miracles.  The truth is that they had little confidence that the Lord, who had known all about the suffering of His people in Egypt and did not forsake them was relevant in that storm writes MacArthur.  He goes on “They saw no relation between their plight and the fact that God had provided a substitute for Isaac when he faced death.

 

            “The disciples had even forgotten Jesus’ own assurance that their heavenly Father knew all their needs before they asked Him (Matt. 6:32) and that not even a single sparrow ‘will fall to the ground apart from your Father’ and that ‘the very hairs on your head are all numbered’ (10:29-30).  All they could think of was their danger and all they could feel was fear.”

 

            Now as we continue to think about these two verses one thing is for sure that Jesus had not forgotten the disciples, and came to them through the very danger that threatened to destroy them, walking on the sea.  Jesus actually used the trial as His footpath.  Physically Jesus could not really see them from the mountain that He was praying on or through the stormy darkness, but He knew exactly where they were.  Now think about that as the Sea of Galilee was a pretty large body of water and Jesus knew exactly where to walk to on it to find the troubled disciples.  Conclusion is that God’s vision is not like ours because “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).  Then Hebrews 4:13 tells us that “There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that far too many times that I forget the power and the promises of the Lord from His Word in the troubles that I am facing, and it is because of His great love for me that He has reminded of these things in my study of this section of Matthew 14.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to come to me on the waters of my trial and to take care of it like He did for His disciples.

 

6/23/2022 10:29 AM

PT-1 "Proof of His Divine Knowledge" (Matt. 14:24-25)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/22/2022 9:33 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                 Focus:  PT-1 “Proof of His Divine Knowledge”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 14:24-25

 

            Message of the verses:  “24 But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.”

 

            Today we begin looking at the second proof of Jesus’ deity and this was His demonstration of divine knowledge as we can see in verses 24 and 25.  We talked about and even wondered how hard it was for His disciples to obey Him after the people wanted to make Him King, wondering if they perhaps argued with Him about leaving, but leave they did as this is what the Lord wanted them to do.  I suppose that it was easier to obey the Lord whenever you were looking at Him and walking with Him as the disciples did.  So in obedience to His command the Twelve had entered the boat and they headed for the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  It was soon after they left that a violent wind erupted, and so they were caught a long distance from the land.  In the NASB the word “stadia” was used and in the NASB95 it says a long distance, and so the definition of “stadia” was about an eight of a mile, and in John’s account he states that they were many stadia’s away from the land.  So let us just say that they were between three and four miles away from land.

 

            In a normal trip across the northern end of the Sea of Galilee the boat would not have traveled more than a mile or two from shore, but this trip was anything but normal as we see from our verses for no one walks on water except our Lord, and I guess Peter too did it for a few steps.  So it was the storm that caused them to be on a much different course than the “normal” cruse across the northern end of the Sea of Galilee.  We see at the end of verse 24 these words about what the storm was doing to the boat as it was battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary.  This contrary storm was pushing them a ways away from their destination, and closer and closer to disaster.  Now Mark tells us that the men were “straining at the oars” (Mark 6:48) as they were straining for their lives.

 

            John MacArthur notes that “The disciples were already confused, frustrated, disillusioned, and disappointed that Jesus had sent them away.  Though they must hav wondered why He sent them to certain death, the Twelve are to be admired for their obedience and perseverance.  Although the night was dark, the sea stormy, and the situation apparently hopeless, they were doing their best to do what the Lord commanded.  The worst part was that Jesus was not with them.  During a similar storm, they had awakened Him and He ‘rebuked the winds and the sea; and it became perfectly calm’ (Matt. 8:26).  But now He was miles away.  He probably heard the storm and was aware of their plight, but there seemed no way He could get to them.  If all the disciples together could not row against the wind and waves, one man could never do it.”

 

            Now on thing is for sure and that is that Jesus knew of their situation long before it even happened, after all He sent them out into this storm, and Jesus did not have to rush away from prayer in order to be on time to help.  I have said before that Jesus was always on time, but He never wore a watch.  This storm and His disciples were equally in His hands, and He knew in advance exactly what He would do with both.

 

            We spoke briefly about how the night was divided, as it was divided into four watches, or we could call it shifts.  The first was from six to nine, the second from nine to twelve, and the third from twelve to three, and the fourth from three to six.  The fourth watch of the night, therefore included the time just before dawn, indicating the disciples had been at sea for at least nine hours, most of the time battling this windstorm, and so even though most of them were seasoned fishermen they had to be very weary battling this storm.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have been battling a different kind of storm off and on during my walk with the Lord, and I can learn things from this section of Scripture that I have never really noticed before to which I am thankful.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to continue to teach me things from the storm that I am battling, and will come walking to me so it will be over.

 

6/22/2022 10:06 AM