SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/1/2022 9:45 AM
My Worship Time Focus: “The
Compassionate Healer”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
14:34-36
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.”
As we begin to look at this section of Scripture,
the last verses from chapter fourteen, there is one thing that I am thinking
of, and that is that Jesus must have been very tired because we have seen that
He had preached most of the previous day, feed the 5000 and then went on the
hill to pray, pray for His disciples, and then He walked to the boat His
disciples were in through a wind storm, got into the boat and as John tells us
was immediately transported to the other side of the lake. I wonder if He had enough time to take a
short nap or was it already day time when He and His disciples got there. I say this to show that Jesus was truly a man
and like all me He got tired and worn out, and remember we don’t see any of His
miracles done for Himself, only for those He was ministering to.
John
MacArthur writes the following about where they got out of the boat: “The land was Gennesaret, a small but very
beautiful plain located between Capernaum and Magdala. According to Josephus it was a lush and
extremely fertile area that produced a wide variety of crops. The fields and vineyards were irrigated from
no less than four large springs, enabling farmers to produce three crops a
year. Because the soil was so rich, it
was all devoted to farming, and the area contained no towns or villages. It was therefore a quiet, peaceful region,
inhabited by many kinds of birds and offering a good place for retreat and
rest.” I have to say that as we begin
looking at the section before the feeding of the 5000 that Jesus’ disciples had
just returned from a missionary trip and were tired and that was the idea for
them to get some rest, but that had not happened, and it doesn’t look like it
will soon happen for them, as Jesus was probably wanting to spend some time
with His disciples in this quiet place but again His plans were interrupted,
because when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent into all that
surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick. This was an area where Jesus had healed many,
many people, but it seems that there were still many more who were in need of
healing as they were sick with various afflictions.
The
people of that area where Jesus had spent much time had great confidence in
Jesus’ miraculous powers that He had established that they began to
entreat Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak. Perhaps these people had heard about the time
that the women with a blood hemorrhaging problem just touched the cloak of
Jesus’ garment and so they were doing the same thing with the same results
because as many as touched it were cured.”
We know that Jesus wanted to do more than just heal
their sick bodies, but heal their sin-diseased hearts, for that is why He came
to earth the first time. It was on that
same day He offered Himself to them as the Bread of Life that came down from
heaven, which to eat would cause them never to hunger or thirst again and would
give them eternal life as seen in John 6:33-35, 48-51. In that passage we see that when they
realized what it meant to eat that heavenly food and drink that heavenly drink,
many of the shallow followers were offered and left Him as seen in John 6:52-60
and 66. This is like so many people today who look to God only for what they
want and care nothing for what He wants, most of the multitude had little to do
with Jesus after they were healed by Him.
This really happened after Jesus had feed them their supper the night
before, for they were only looking for breakfast and not any spiritual food.
MacArthur
concludes this section which concludes chapter fourteen: “Although He did not withhold it from them,
Jesus was grieved that the people sought no more from Him than physical
healing. Because they did not ask for a
full meal, He did not refuel them a piece of bread. Because they did not ask for spiritual help,
He did not refuel them physical. In
spite of their superficiality, ingratitude, and self-centeredness, He
mercifully healed them in order to reveal the compassionate heart of God.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I must remember that Jesus healed me in a
spiritual way, causing me to become one of His children, and that is what I
desire to give more attention too.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I trust the Lord to be with me in the battles
that I am going through.
7/1/2022 10:21 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment