SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/28/2022 9:55 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 “The Tie With the Forerunner”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
17:10-13
Message of the verses: “10 And His
disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must
come first?" 11 And He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will
restore all things; 12 but I say to you, that Elijah already came, and they did
not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man
is going to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that
He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.”
Yesterday as my wife and I were listening to the
Bible we began listening to the gospel of Luke and I want to quote the verse
that was talking about John the Baptist as the Forerunner of the Messiah. "It is he who will go as a forerunner
before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS
BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so
as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:17).
We
will get to the prophecy of the forerunner found in the Old Testament book of
Malachi in a moment, as I promised to write about John the Baptist being prophesied
as the coming forerunner in the Old Testament in our last SD.
It
is a true statement that all teaching that is only based on Scripture, as the
Scribes and Pharisees liked to teach becomes misleading, and thus was the case
about having Elijah come before the Messiah.
Jesus responded to the question of His disciples by saying “Elijah is
coming and will restore all things.” He is saying that there is an Elijah who
is yet to come; and when he comes he will restore all things, just as Malachi prophesied. Jesus goes on to explain that Elijah already
came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So
also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the
disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.”
We
will again quote the passage from Malachi 4:5-6 “5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. 6 “He will restore
the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children
to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse"
(Mal. 4:5-6).
This is what Luke writes in Luke 1:17 as quoted above.
John
MacArthur explains: “The Elijah
prophesied by Malachi was not to be a reincarnation of the ancient
prophet. Rather, as the angel told
Zacharias regarding his son John the Baptist, the prophesied forerunner would
come ‘in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). John would not be the ancient prophet come
back to earth but would minister in much the same style and power as had
Elijah. In that way, as Jesus had told
the disciples at least once before [John] is Elijah, who was to come (Matt.
11:14).
“Why
then, some wonder, did John himself disclaim being Elijah? When the priests and Levites from Jerusalem asked
him, ‘Are you Elijah?’…he said, I am not’ (John 1:21). He denied being Elijah because, though he
knew of the prophecy of Luke 1, like Jesus he realized the question was about a
literal, reincarnated Elijah. And,
though John did not share Jesus’ omniscience, he doubtlessly also realized that
the questioning of the priests and Levites originated from unbelief, not
sincere faith. They were not interested
in learning the truth but of finding a way to discredit John, just as they
would later seek ways to discredit the One whose way he came to prepare.”
These
Jewish leaders were only out for not allowing any other person to step on their
territory even if it was in fulfillment of God’s written Word. They were phonies and when 70 A.D. came
around their false system of Judaism would be done with. I believe that it is fair to call what they
were teaching as being a cult. They did
not want to recognize that John was the one prophesied by Malachi because that
would mean that the real Messiah was on the way, and that would be trouble for
them. John the Baptist was treated cruely
and would eventually be killed, to which I have to believe made them
happy.
The
full wickedness of the Jewish leaders would come about when they rejected “the
Son of Man,” and would have Him killed as He would “suffer at their hands” as
Jesus tells His three disciples. MacArthur writes “Because they rejected the
restoration work of Messiah’s Elijah- like precursor and then rejected the
Messiah Himself, the messianic kingdom was postponed.”
I
have mentioned that in the book of Revelation that many believe, and me
included, that the Lord will send Elijah to the earth and at time He will bring
about the kingdom promised to the Jewish people.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I am thankful for having a better
understanding of this prophecy about John the Baptist, especially that the
Jewish leaders were doing what cult leaders have done and that is give half
truths.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I trust the Lord will continue to do a work
of revival in my heart.
10/28/2022 10:35 AM
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