PT-2 "The Exactness of Prophecy" (Matt. 21:1b-7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/31/2023 9:18 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                        Focus:  PT-2 “The Exactness of Prophecy”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Matthew 21:1b-7

 

            Message of the verses:  “then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them, and bring them to Me. 3 “And if anyone says something to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them." 4 Now this took place that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 5 "SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’" 6 And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had directed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid on them their garments, on which He sat.”

 

            I want to pick this up with verse four “Now this took place that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled,” Matthew explains.  As we look at the life of our Lord we can see two overriding purposes, and the first one is doing the will of the Father which can be seen in Matt. 26:39, 42; John 4:34; 5:30, and then the second overriding principle is to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah’s first coming as seen in Matthew 5:17; Luke 13:33; 24:25-27; and Acts 3:21).

 

            I have written about how the NASB uses capital letters when things come from the Old Testament, and I have also said that I am not really found of it.  In verse 5 we see “Say to the daughter of Zion,” and this refers to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, which was sometimes referred to as Zion, and the reason is because Mount Zion is the city’s highest and most prominent hill.  As we look at this prophecy in verse five it comes from the OT prophet Zachariah, who 500 years earlier had predicted that the people of Jerusalem would hail the Messiah as their King as He was coming into the city and that He would be gentle or we could say humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.  “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9).

 

            I have mentioned that John MacArthur entitles this chapter from Matthew 21:1-11 “The Humble Coronation of Christ,” and this certainly can be seen from the OT prophecy from Zechariah.  When one thinks of a coronation it certainly is not like this one, but that is how Matthew explains it, along with the other gospel writers.  Jesus came in humility in His first coming to planet earth in order to pay for the sins of the world, but that will not be what happens when He comes in the second time to planet earth.  He will come in the clouds to take His bride to heaven, before He sets His foot on the Mount of Olives the second time He comes to planet earth.  Revelation 19 talks about His second coming.  “11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS’” (Rev. 19:11-16). 

 

            I mentioned earlier in another SD that His actual coronation is seen in Revelation chapter five.  The thing that I want to say here is that Jesus first came as a humble servant in order to die in our place, and for those who do not accept this they will see the wrath of God, the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty as seen in Revelation 19:15. There is a huge difference, and so it is best to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord so that you don’t have to face the fierce wrath of God.

 

            Lord willing we will continue looking at these verses in our next SD.

 

5/31/2023 9:50 AM

PT-1 "The Exactness of Prophecy" (Matt. 21:1b-7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/30/2023 8:24 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                        Focus:  PT-1 “The Exactness of Prophecy”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Matthew 21:1b-7

 

            Message of the verses: “then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them, and bring them to Me. 3 “And if anyone says something to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them." 4 Now this took place that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 5 “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’" 6 And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had directed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid on them their garments, on which He sat.”

 

            I want to begin by writing about an earlier SD that I wrote a few years ago on the subject of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  I mentioned that Jesus Christ was totally in control of what was happening to Him, and what time it was happening to Him.  In the same vain we can see this in our text for today as Jesus was and always is in control of what was happening in His life while on planet earth.  Jesus initiated His own coronation when He sent two disciples to procure the two donkeys that He would ride into Jerusalem on.  He thereby set into motion a series of climactic events that would culminate in the voluntary gracious sacrifice of Himself on the cross that had been divinely planned from eternity past.  MacArthur writes “From beginning to end the gospels completely belie the contention of many liberal interpreters that Jesus was carried away by the enthusiasm of the mob and became caught up in a tragic web of religious and political intrigue that caught Him by surprise.  He was not a well-meaning moral teacher who went too far in rankling the Jewish leaders and was helplessly swept away to an untimely execution.”

 

            Let us look more closely at what Jesus told His two disciples to do: “Jesus sent two disciples to Go into the village opposite them, where they would immediately… find a donkey tied… and a colt with her.”  I believe that this village was nearby but far enough away that the disciples could not see the donkeys, for if they were very close then Jesus would have just pointed to them.  The mother donkey was brought along to help keep her colt to cooperate.  The young colt would probably not just come along without its mother.

 

            It was only in His omniscience that Jesus could have known that the donkey and her colt would at that moment have been where they were, waiting to be found by the two disciples.  The Lord would also have known that the disciples would be questioned about taking the two donkeys.  “Because He knew this He said to them “if anyone says something to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them."

 

            Now as we look at both Mark and Luke the disciples were asked about taking the donkeys, and so they told the bystanders that Jesus sent them and then it was okay for them to take them.  It seems to me that the owners had really given permission for the Lord to use the donkeys.

            Lord willing we will continue looking at these verses in our next SD.

 

5/30/2023 8:52 AM   

PT-2 "The End of the Pilgrimage" (Matt. 21:1a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/29/2023 9:46 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  PT-2 “The End of the Pilgrimage”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Matthew 21:1a

 

            Message of the verse:  “1 And when they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives,”

 

            I have been studying the gospel of Mathew since November 17, 2019 and in yesterday’s and today’s SD I have finally come to the end of the ministry, or as John MacArthur calls it “The End of the Pilgrimage” of my Lord Jesus Christ.  Now I am not nearly at the end of Matthew, but have come to a dividing point in the book.  Jesus Christ climbs the hill from Jericho to getting very close to Jerusalem as before he enters Jerusalem He will stop at the hamlet of Bethphage.  I have mentioned that not much is known about this little place, but it is famous because Jesus stopped there on the way to Jerusalem.

 

            In the gospel of John it can be seen that Jesus visited Mary and Martha, and also Lazarus which is in Bethany “six days before the Passover” (John 12:1-3).  This was probably Saturday, which was the Jewish Sabbath.  Jesus was about to face the most difficult week of His life and so it was good to stop and see the very dear friends of His to be comforted.

 

            John MacArthur writes “But even in that brief time of respite, the stabs of hell continued to afflict Him.  While Mary anointed His feet with costly perfume and wiped them with her hair, the traitor Judas, who was also a thief, made a hypocritical objection to that beautiful act by feigning concern for the poor.  No doubt with deep anguish of heart for Judas’ hardened unbelief, Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Let her alone, in order that she may keep it for the day of My burial.  For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have Me” (John 12:3-8).’”

 

            When it come to the last days of Jesus’ life I have heard some differences from different people that I have a lot of respect for as far as their knowledge of the Bible.  There are some who believe that Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday, and the reason is because of what Jesus said in talking about Jonah who He stated was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.  Others say that He was crucified on a Thursday, and I don’t remember why this was said.  Most people believe that He was crucified on Friday, and say that the Jewish people believe that partial days count as days, so if He was actually crucified on Friday, and thus died on Friday this counts as a day.  I am going to go with that as this is the way the John MacArthur teaches it in this section of Matthew.  The point is that He died, died for my sins and for the sins of the world.

 

            So if Jesus visited Mary, Martha and Lazarus on Saturday then the next day would be Sunday, the first day of the week.  Let me quote John 12:9 “The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead.”  This also happened during this time that we are talking about, which Matthew does not mention.

 

            MacArthur then writes “It was therefore probably on Monday, the next day after the crowd visited Him in Bethany (John 12:12), that Jesus came to Bethphage, and prepared to enter Jerusalem through the East Gate of the city.  According to this chronology, the triumphal entry was on Monday, rather than ‘Psalm Sunday,’ as Christian tradition has long maintained.”  I have mentioned that there are different ideas of how this last week of Christ’s life unfolds.

 

            MacArthur goes on “This chronology also eliminates the problem of what is often referred to as ‘silent Wednesday,’ so called because the gospel accounts would have no record of Jesus’ activities on Wednesday if the triumphal entry had been on Sunday.  In what was by far the most momentous week of Jesus ministry, such a gap is difficult to explain.

 

            “Additional support for a Monday triumphal entry is found in the Mosaic requirement that sacrificial lambs for Passover were to be selected on the tenth day of the first month (originally called Abib but after the Exile called Nisan) and kept in the household until sacrificed on the fourteenth (Ex. 12:2-6).

 

            “In the year Jesus was crucified (whether taken as A. D. 30 or 33), the tenth of Nisan was Monday of Passover week.  If Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphally on Monday, He was received into the hearts of the Jewish people as a nation much as a family received the sacrificial lamb into the home.  In so doing our Lord would have fulfilled the Passover symbolism even in that small detail, being received by His people on the tenth of Nisan.  Counting that perfect fulfillment, He was then crucified on Friday the fourteenth of Nisan, as the true Passover Lamb sacrificed for the sins of the world.”

 

            I have to be honest and that is I have never heard of all of this before.  I have heard that Jesus was crucified in the year 29 A. D.   My thoughts are that Jesus did die and was buried and was raised from the dead, and He did it for me and for all those who have trusted in Him for their salvation.

 

5/29/2023 10:26 AM

 

           

PT-1 "The End of the Pilgrimage" (Matt. 21:1a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/28/2023 9:44 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  PT-1 “The End of the Pilgrimage”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Matthew 21:1a

 

            Message of the verse:  “And when they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives”

 

            This takes place after Jesus had healed the two blind beggars, and then made His way up to Jerusalem from Jericho.  I realize that Matthew did not cover the salvation of Zaccheus, but that also happened in Jericho.  Now the truth of it is that as He approached Jerusalem this would be His final journey as He would be crucified a week later.  Therefore this would end His three year ministry, which had been preceded also by thirty years of obscurity, something we really don’t know a lot about.  Jesus was about to reach the final goal set before Him by His heavenly Father.  Now as the multitudes followed along with Him to celebrate the Passover, little did they know they were accompanying the Passover Lamb Himself.

 

            John MacArthur writes “During a census taken about ten years after this time, the number of sacrificial lambs slaughtered at the Passover was determined to be some 260,000.  Because one lamb was allowed to be offered up for up to the people, the worshipers in Jerusalem that week could have numbered over 2,000,000.  It is not likely that the number then would have been much higher than during this last Passover that Jesus celebrated, indicating that the city was teeming with people.”

 

            I will not make this SD very long as it is Sunday evening, and so I just am kind of tired as we had a rather full day.

 

            Now it was before Jesus and the Twelve entered Jerusalem they stopped at the little hamlet of Bethphage.  This town is close to the Mount of Olives and that is about all we know about it, as not much is written about it.  Let’s look at a couple of verses from Mark and Luke to help us out a little bit.  “As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples,” (Mark 11:1).  “When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples,” (Luke 19:29).  This is all we know about this small town close to Jerusalem, and near the Mount of Olives. 

 

5/28/2023 10:01 PM

Intro to Matthew 21:1-11

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/27/2023 10:35 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                    Focus:  “Intro to Matthew 21:1-11”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                      Reference:  Matt. 21:1-11

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 And when they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them, and bring them to Me. 3 "And if anyone says something to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them." 4 Now this took place that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 5 “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’" 6 And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had directed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid on them their garments, on which He sat. 8 And most of the multitude spread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees, and spreading them in the road. 9 And the multitudes going before Him, and those who followed after were crying out, saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!" 10 And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" 11 And the multitudes were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.’”

 

            It was November 17, 2019 that I began this study of the gospel of Matthew, and in today’s SD we come to what is the last week of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ on earth.  I suppose that it will take another year to get through these last eight chapters of Matthew.  The preaching is done with the crowds, and the moving around Israel is done, and now we begin to look at this last week of the Saviors life, and I promise that it will be exciting and worthwhile to study what goes on to the Lord, as in this last week one could say that it is the most important week in the history of the world, as in it we will see the Lord Jesus Christ paying for the sins of the world, and then be buried, and then be raised from the dead in order to make it possible for anyone who will come to Him will be saved.  I know that one also has to understand that they are a sinner, and in and of themselves cannot ever enter heaven, but by realizing that you are a sinner, confessing that you are a sinner, and believing in your heart that Jesus paid for your sins, and excepting this truth, inviting Christ to come into your life in order to save you, then you will be saved and become a new person.

 

            In this section that we are looking at this morning John MacArthur entitles it “The Humble Coronation of Christ.”  It was not long ago that the queen of England died and then her son took over as the new king, and all of this was plastered all over the world on TV.  This coronation that we will be looking at over the next week or so is very different, but much more important.  Revelation chapter five gives another coronation of Jesus Christ, and this one takes place in heaven, and will be much different than this one.

 

            John MacArthur writes “Matthew 21:1-11 portrays the most significant coronation the world has yet seen. It was a true coronation of a true King.  He was affirmed as King and was, in a sense, inaugurated into His kingship.  But there was no pomp, no splendor, and a nondescript sort of pageantry.

 

            “Traditionally, this coronation has been called Jesus’ triumphal entry.  It was His last major public appearance before His crucifixion and was an extremely important event in His divine ministry on earth, an event that is frequently dramatized but seldom studied carefully or understood for is true significance.”

 

            That will be our undertaking as we move through these eleven verses, learning things that perhaps some of us have not known before. 

 

5/27/2023 11:03 AM

 

 

           

pt-3 "The Supernatural Privilege" (Matt. 20:32-34)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/26/2023 10:15 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  PT-3 “The Supernatural Privilege”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 20:32-34

 

            Message of the verses:  “32 And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" 33 They said to Him, "Lord, we want our eyes to be opened." 34 And moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.”

 

            I have been talking about the spirituality of these blind men, and want to continue doing that as I begin this SD.  There is further evidence of the former blind men’s desire for spiritual as well as physical sight and that is the fact that, after Jesus restored their sight; they “followed Him.”  Now I think that it is good to remember that there was a large group following Jesus as seen in verse 29 “29 And as they were going out from Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.”  So I think that it is evident that there were not just the disciples who were following Jesus, but many others.  However the fact that Luke says Bartimaeus, and presumably his friend, not only followed Jesus but were “glorifying God” as seen in Luke 18:43, and this gives good reason to believe the men were restored spiritually as well as physically.

 

            Let us now look at Mark 10:52 “And Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.”  Now remember in Mark’s and Luke’s account only one of the blind men, Bartimaeus, was talked about, and so I think we can assume that his friend was following Jesus as well.  It just seems that Bartimaeus was the vocal one.  John MacArthur writes about “made well” in his commentary.  “Made…well is from sozo, which referred to any kind of rescue or deliverance, including deliverance from physical affliction or peril (see Matt. 8:25; Mark 13:20; Luke 23:35).  But it is also the most common New Testament term for salvation, the deliverance from sin through Christ, and that would seem to be its meaning in Jesus’ final words to these men.”

 

            I have mentioned that many of the people that Jesus healed were not believers, and so I think we can conclude that faith was not a requirement for Jesus’ healings.  Jesus healed many people at the request of someone else, as in the case of the centurion who pleaded for the healing of his paralyzed servant seen in Matthew 8:5-13.  It is true that the infants that Jesus healed along with those who He raised from the dead could not have exercised any kind of faith.  Now we must compare the healings that were done without faith with salvation which can only come by faith as seen in Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” MacArthur then writes “It therefore seems that inherent in Jesus’ declaration “your faith has made you well’ was His assurance of the men’s salvation.  He spoke exactly the same words to the single leper who glorified God for his healing and came back to give Jesus thanks (Luke 17:12-19).  All then lepers had been healed physically, but only this man was “made…well” because of his faith, strongly suggesting that, whereas his cleansing (v. 14) were physical, his being made well (v. 19) was spiritual.”  I think that MacArthur is making a very strong case that these two men did come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and then they followed Him, which is a picture of what all true believers do and have done since Jesus paid for their sins on the cross. 

 

            There are three features of Jesus’ healing of physical afflictions that become clear in this story.  The first is this powerful dramatic demonstration of God’s compassion for men was a proof of Jesus’ messiahship. Next, it was a preview of the millennial kingdom, when there will be a thousand-years of freedom from sickness, disease, and other physical afflictions.  Third, His healings were symbolic, and this is something that I have believed because as we look at the end of John’s gospel we see that he testifies that if all the things that Jesus did while on the earth could not be contained in all the books, and I think that there is some hyperbole there, but the point is that we don’t hear of all of His healings, and the ones we hear about are symbolic.  MacArthur concludes “His healing of blindness was a picture of His immeasurably more wonderful healing of spiritual blindness.  What He did for blind eyes was a vivid portrayal of what He desires to do for blind souls.”  With that said I think that those who may be reading this who realize that spiritually they are blind can be like these two physically and spiritual blind beggars and come to Christ, confessing their sins and then asking Jesus to come into their heart to forgive them, and then like these two blind beggars follow Him.

 

5/26/2023 11:07 AM   

PT-2 "The Supernatural Privilege" (Matt. 20:32-34)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/25/2023 10:58 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  PT-2 “The Supernatural Privilege”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 20:32-34

 

            Message of the verses:  “32 And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" 33 They said to Him, "Lord, we want our eyes to be opened." 34 And moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.”

 

            I mentioned that we would begin to talk about spiritual blindness in today’s SD, and spiritual blindness is a very important thing to know about.  Spiritual blindness is certainly more common than physical blindness as all people who do not come to Christ for salvation are suffering from spiritual blindness. 

 

            As we look at these two blind beggars I think that they were looking for both kinds of healings from the Lord, healing from their spiritual blindness and their physical blindness. 

 

            The Lord Jesus Christ was born into a world of people who, with few exceptions, were totally blind spiritually.  I want to now look at two different Scriptural references to make this point.  “9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him” (John 1:9-11).  “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life’” (John 8:12).  It is true that men are just as blind today as in the days when Jesus walked on the earth.  The problem is that people do not want to see God’s truth.  Jesus said the following to Nicodemus:  “19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God’” (John 3:19-21).

 

            In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said the following:  “22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23).  There is another problem men face other than their natural spiritual blindness and that is that Satan adds his own, found in 2 Cor. 4:4.  “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  To this double blindness God may add still more.  MacArthur writes “When men persistently refuse to hear His Word and believe in Him, God may choose to judicially reinforce their willing hardness of heart.  To Isaiah, the Lord gave the unenviable task of telling his fellow Israelites,  ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; keep on looking, but do not understand.’  He was, in fact, told to ‘render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their hearts, and return and be healed’ (Isa. 6:9-10).

 

            “The minds of unbelieving Jews were blinded to the full meaning of God’s Word because ‘their minds were hardened; for until this very day,’ Paul said, ‘at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ’ (2 Cor. 3:14; cf. Rom. 11:25).  The epitome of the spiritually blind were the hypocritical, unbelieving scribes and Pharisees, the leading religionists of Israel whom Jesus called ‘blind guides’ (Matt. 23:16, 24).”

 

            It is my desire to finish this section in our next SD as we continue looking at spiritual blindness.

 

5/25/2023 11:31 AM

 

           

PT-1 "The Supernatural Privilege" (Matt. 20:32-34)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/24/2023 9:09 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-1 “Their Supernatural Privilege”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 20:32-34

 

            Message of the verses:  “32 And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" 33 They said to Him, "Lord, we want our eyes to be opened." 34 And moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.”

 

            The first thing that I want to write about this morning is that these two blind beggars had to call Jesus two times, and I wonder why Jesus let them call Him those two times when I know that Jesus heard them the first time.  I can’t answer this question, but I can only guess at why He had them call Him those two times.  Perhaps Jesus wanted to test their faith.  Perhaps it had something to do with the crowd.  Those are only guesses on my part.

 

            Once they cried out a second time we read that “Jesus stopped and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  In the gospel of Mark’s account we read that Jesus had first sent someone else to tell them, saying, “Take courage, arise!  He is calling you.”  In verse fifty we see that Bartimaeus was so elated at hearing those words that “Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus.”  Perhaps he was so sure that he was going to receive his sight that he then would be able to come back and get his coat.

 

            Next we see in verse 32 that the men answered Jesus’ question of "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.”  I have to believe that because of how long they had been blind that they desired to be able to see again.  We then see that “34 And moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight.’”  John MacArthur writes “As the creator of the universe reached out to those men, He suspended the natural laws which He Himself had made.  Moved with infinite divine compassion, the Son of Man, who was also the Son of God, bestowed the mercy on the physical needs for which they pleaded.”

 

            Now I have mentioned that these men were able to see at one point in their lives, and the reason is of what Matthew says in verse 34 “and immediately they regained their sight.”  This is using the same verb Bartimaeus had used in his request as seen in Mark 10:51b “And the blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!’”  Now if these men were able to see before, but then lost their sight, they knew exactly what they were missing, rather than if they had never been able to see before.

 

            As one goes through the gospels and sees the different times that Jesus healed people from different ailments it can be seen that Jesus used many different ways to perform His healing miracles.  Like in the case of these two blind beggars Jesus just spoke a word and they were healed and were instantly able to see.  There were other times when the person that Jesus was healing was asked by Jesus to do something.  I can think of the man born blind in John chapter nine who was told by Jesus to go and wash off his eyes of the “mud” that Jesus had put on his eyes and he did and was then healed.  We can also see that Jesus sometimes put his fingers into a person’s deaf ears in order to heal them.  In this case that we are looking at today Jesus came and touched their eyes and they were then instantly they were able to see again.  As already mentioned this defied natural laws and natural explanation.

 

            I have talked about healings before in some of my SD’s.  I have said that while Jesus was on earth that there were many, many healings that He performed, as John says at the end of His gospel “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.”  Now after Jesus was raised from the dead and after He then went into heaven we see that there were healings done by the Apostles, but as we go through the early church age when the Apostles were on earth we can see that the healings began to get less and less of them.  Paul writes about the gift of healing, but I believe that this was a gift that went away after the church was established, and after the whole New Testament was completed.  We call them “sing gifts” and healings was only one of them.  I don’t believe that anyone has that gift of healing today, and that people today are mistaken to think that this gift is still around.  I think a lot of times that these so-called healers do their so-called healings it is for money.  Think about that if they were legitimate why would they not go into hospitals and do healings, and have you ever heard of a healing done to a person who is blind?  I am not saying that God does not heal people today, but not through healers.  I have mentioned that a friend of mine, the man who taught me things right after I was saved told me that God heals you every time but the last time and then you, if you are a believer go to be with the Lord in heaven.  I think that is the ultimate healing, and I look forward to being with the Lord in heaven, hoping that it will be the rapture that will transport me into His presence.  Like my older pastor said “I’m looking for the Uppertaker and not the undertaker.

 

5/24/2023 9:56 AM

PT-3 "The Persistent Plea" (Matt. 20:29-31)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/23/2023 9:34 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-3 “Their Persistent Plea”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 20:29-31

 

            Message of the verse:  “29 And as they were going out from Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" 31 And the multitude sternly told them to be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!’”

 

            I want to begin this SD by looking at a part of verse 30 “hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!"  I have to say that my vocabulary is not as good as my wife’s as she is a walking dictionary, and so when I come across a word that I have never heard before I have to look it up to see what it means.  With that said I want to quote from MacArthur’s commentary which has a word in it that I don’t believe I have heard of before.  “Krazo, from which cried out it taken, is an onomatopoetic word that was used for any sort of screaming or anguished shout.  It was used of the rantings of insane people and of a woman’s cries at child birth.  It was used of the Canaanite woman near Tyre and Sidon who cried out for Jesus to heal hear daughter (Matt. 15:22), of the crowd’s shouting for Jesus’ crucifixion (Mark 15:13-14), and even of Jesus’ crying out from the cross (Matt. 27:50).” 

 

            Onomatopoetic is a word that when it is used it is like the sound of the word’s meaning.  A cuckoo bird is an example of it.  Hope that helps, so at any rate we get the picture that these men were really crying out so loud in order to get the Lord’s attention, and they did this because they were absolutely desperate, as the realized that this would be their last hope of ever seeing again.

 

            I mentioned in our last SD that I wanted to talk about spiritual blindness, and when we look at these two blind beggars we can get the idea that they had spiritual sight, as this was uncommon while blind people was common during that time period.  Physically they could see nothing, but spiritually they saw a great deal.

 

            Why would I say that?  Well look at what they were calling Jesus, as they called Him “Son of David!"  They knew who He was, that is the greater son of David, the promised Messiah.  Son of David, clearly shows their recognition of who He was.  Let us look at Luke 1:32 “"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.” 

 

            John MacArthur writes “But the blind men’s knowledge of Christ and their great determination were tempered by humility.  In asking for healing they acknowledged their unworthiness of help and there themselves entirely on Jesus’ mercy.  Their actions were necessarily over the din of the multitude.  But their hearts were right, because despite their great need, they knew they deserved nothing from the Son of David and that only His grace could help them.  One cannot be dogmatic about the extent of their faith at this point, but they clearly recognized Jesus’ messiahship and His supernatural power to heal.”

 

            There is one thing that I want to say about Jesus’ healing, and that is not all of the people that He healed, and we don’t really know how man He did heal, but certainly not all of them became believers.  Think for instance about the ten lepers that He healed, and only one of them came back to thank Him, and he was a Samaritan who became a believer.

 

            I would like at this time to quote from a SD that I did back in April of 2018, which has to do with salvation.  The section that I was looking at on this April 18^th of 2018 SD had to do with the salvation of Lydia.

 

 John MacArthur writes “Remembering God’s sovereignty in salvation is the foundation of a proper perspective on evangelism.  Salvation does not depend on clever evangelistic strategies, or the skill of the preacher, or a masterful presentation.  It is not a human work at all; it is God’s work.  ‘I planted,’ Paul wrote to the Corinthians, ‘Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.  So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.’  (1 Cor. 3:6-7).

            “In 1 Corinthians 2:1-4, Paul described his evangelistic approach to the Corinthians:

‘1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.’”

            Paul would later say that he was all things to all people, and even though he was an accomplished scholar, Paul adapted to who his audience was in handling the Scriptures to be able to tell others about Christ.  I just received a letter from a missionary friend of mine who talked about going up into the hill country of the nation that he lives in to talk to a certain tribe about the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  The letter began rather humorous as he states that he had the use “the Moses rod,” in order to help him get up the hills as they were rather steep and he is getting older.  He then goes on to tell of the leader of these people who he states was very much against Christianity.  My friend asked the man if he would just come and hear him speak a couple of times and after hearing him speak this leader came up to him and told him that he wanted to be saved and wanted to be baptized.  The story did bring tears to my heart reading about this man who wanted nothing to do with Christ, and yet God opened up his cold hard heart to receive Christ as his Savior.  Yes God is the One who opens hearts to receive the message of the gospel, and all we have to do is to be willing to tell the message of the gospel and then allow God to do His work through His Holy Spirit.

            We will conclude this SD by giving a quote from A. W. Tozer that comes from John MacArthur’s commentary as he talks about the fact that in our day there are many who foolishly act as though God were wholly dependent on them to reach the lost.

“Probably the hardest thought of all for our natural egotism to entertain is that God does not need our help.  We commonly represent Him as a busy, eager, somewhat frustrated Father hurrying about seeking help to carry out His benevolent plan to bring peace and salvation to the world; but as said the Lady Julian, ‘I saw truly that God doeth all-things, be it never so little.’  The God who worketh all things surely needs no help and no helpers.

“Too many missionary appeals are based upon this fancied frustration of Almighty God.  An effective speaker can easily excite pity in his hearers, not only for the heathen but for the God who has tried so hard and so long to save them and has failed for want of support.  I fear that thousands of young persons enter Christian service from no higher motive than to help deliver God from the embarrassing situation His love has gotten Him into and His limited abilities seem unable to get Him out of. (The Knowledge of the Holy [New York: Harper & Row, 1975], 41)’”

 

            I conclude this SD for today by talking about how the people around these blind men did not want them to talk to Jesus, but the determination of these two blind men caused them to keep crying out.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for Jan. 26, 1974 which was the day that the Lord opened my ears and my eyes to hear and to see the gospel as His Holy Spirit gave me an effectual call I could not say no to.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust that the Holy Spirit will fill me and keep me filled this entire day, and do it each and every day so that the things that I do will bring glory to the Lord.

 

5/23/2023 10:29 AM

 

           

 

 

                       

 

 

PT-2 "The Persistent Plea" (Matt. 20:29-31)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/22/2023 9:55 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                   Focus:  PT-2 “Their Persistent Plea”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 20:29-31

 

            Message of the verses:  “29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. 30 And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" 31 The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!’”

 

            It is because that Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man that I think that it is possible that when Jesus walked into Jericho that He may have been thinking about His human ancestry for when the children of Israel came in to conquer the land they first came to Jericho.  Israel sent two spies into the land and they ended up in the presence of Rahab the harlot.  I guess that if you were looking for some information that this would be the place where you could get it as many men may have come to see Rahab.  Rahab’s story is an amazing one as according to Matthew 1:5 we read “Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.”  “The gospel of Matthew opens with Jesus' family tree and affirms for its Jewish audience that Jesus is the promised Messiah in the line of David. But the gospel writer does something out of the ordinary—he includes five women in Jesus' genealogy: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Uriah's wife (Bathsheba), and Mary.”  This quote came from Google.  Another thing that Jesus may have been thinking about was it was probably near Jericho that Jesus fasted for forty days before He began His ministry.  I have mentioned in earlier SD’s that it is my belief that Jesus did drink water while fasting for those forty days.  It would have been supernatural for him to be without food or water for that long, something that did happen to Moses while on Mt. Sinai. 

 

            I have chosen to use the NASB95 version today, but let us look at verse 30 in the NASB which says “30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!’”  The difference that I want to point out is in the NASB we see the word behold in it and not in the NASB95.  John MacArthur writes “Behold was used to call special attention to something or someone, in this case two blind men who ordinarily would have gone unnoticed.  Blind people were extremely common in the Near East, espically in the cities.  Because none of them could work and few had families who could or would support them, the majority of blind people were beggars, as were these two (see Mark 10:46).  Like most other beggars, they congregated outside the city gates to take advantage of travelers, who were more likely to be carrying money than the average person on the street.”

 

            It was in Jericho that a special balsam bush grew from which a medicine was made to treat blindness.  It was because of this that Jericho had had many blind people there as they came for the cure.  I have to say that from what I learned that there was little to be done for a blind person in those days.  Many people were born blind because of a gonorrheal infection of the eyes, contracted from the mother during birth.  MacArthur writes “Many women carried the bacterium, although most of them were not affected by it themselves.  Today with our modern medicine there is something put into the eyes of newborns that prevent this problem.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today: In this section so far I have been talking about physical blindness, but spiritual blindness is caused by the original sin that began back in the garden as seen in Gen. chapter three.  I once was blind, but now I see are lyrics to a Christian song and this was certainly true of me.  I am thankful that the Holy Spirit of God gave me an effectual call in order for my spiritual eyes to be opened.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  It is my desire to tell others about their spiritual blindness so that they can come to realize their need for the Savior so their eyes will be opened.

 

5/22/2023 10:29 AM