SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/6/2023 10:53 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 “The
Request to Jesus”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Matthew 19:16
Message of the
verse: “16
And behold, one came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do
that I may obtain eternal life?’”
I mentioned in my last SD that I had listened to a
sermon by John MacArthur on this section of Matthew and said that in that
sermon MacArthur did not mention that the man that he meet on the plane turned
away from the Lord, but I was mistaken as I listened to that sermon on my walk
yesterday and he stated that the man did walk away from the Lord. I think that I have over 2600 sermons by John
MacArthur on my laptop and phone and so sometimes I get mixed up for I have
listened to many of these sermons.
Let
us take a look at verse 20 as we begin this SD “20 The young man said to Him,
"All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?’” Here we get a look at who it was who was
talking to Jesus, a young man who had a great deal of money as this section in
some Bible headings is called “The Rich Young Ruler.” Verse 22 speaks of his wealth. In the gospel of Luke (18:18) “A ruler
questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal
life?’” There is speculation that this
young man was a ruler in a synagogue which was an honored position for one who
is young. MacArthur writes “Behold
suggests how unusual and unexpected it was that he would admit he lacked
eternal life and come to Jesus to find it.”
Let
us look at several factors which are clear as we analyze this unique encounter
with our Lord. The first one is that
this young man came genuinely seeking eternal life, as he was motivated by his
sense of need for a true spiritual hope.
Once again remember it is thought that this young man was a ruler in a
synagogue. In the Scripture the term eternal life is found some fifty times,
and always refers primarily to quality rather than quantity. MacArthur adds “Although eternal life obviously
carries the idea of being an everlasting reality, it does not refer simply to
unending existence. Even ancient pagans
knew that mere unending existence would not necessarily be desirable. According to Greek mythology, Aurora, goddess
of the dawn, fell in love with a young mortal named Tithonus. When Zeus offered to provide anything she
wished for her human lover, she asked that he might never die. The wish was granted, but because she had not
asked that Tithonus remain forever young, he continued to grow older and more
decrepit. Instead of being blessed, he
was cursed to perpetual degeneration.”
When one things about what happened after Adam and Eve sinned, the Lord
put a guard over the garden so that they would not eat of the tree of life and
never die.
William
Hendriksen insightfully observes, “‘life’” means active response to one’s
environment,’ then eternal life must mean active response to that which is
eternal, namely God’s heavenly realm.”
MacArthur adds “Just as physical life is the ability to live and move
and respond to the physical world, eternal life is the ability to live and move
and respond in the heavenly world.”
The
following quotation from MacArthur’s commentary is something that makes a lot
of sense to me, something that I have to say did not fully understand before
listening to his sermon and then reading his commentary.
“Eternal
life is first of all a quality of existence, the divinely-endowed ability to be
alive to God and the things of God. The
Jews saw it as that which fills the heart with hope of life after death. The unsaved person is spiritually alive only
to sin. But when he receives Christ as
Lord and Savior, he becomes alive to God and to righteousness (Rom.
6:1-13). That is the essence of eternal
life, the life of God’s own Son dwelling within.”
Lord
willing we will go on and talk more about how this affected this young ruler in
our next SD.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Understanding that eternal life is a quality
of life here on earth and then in heaven because I belong to the Lord is
something that makes much more sense to me.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I desire to enjoy my eternal life here on
earth as I stay close to the Lord.
3/6/2023 11:26 AM
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