SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/20/2023 10:53 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-3 “The Explanation”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: “Matthew
21:42
Message of the verse: “42 Jesus said to
them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "‘The stone the
builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is
marvellous in our eyes’? (NIV)
I want to begin with something that Peter wrote that
actually reiterates the same truth as this verse, found in 1 Peter 2:6-8) “6 Therefore it is also contained in the
Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him
will by no means be put to shame.” 7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is
precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders
rejected Has become the
chief cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.”
They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed”
(NKJV). Now we move to something that
Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:19-20 “19 So then you are no longer strangers and
aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s
household, 20 having been built on the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone.”
Now I want to look at the answer that the Jewish
leaders gave to Jesus in verse 41 “They
said to Him, "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent
out the vineyard to other vine-growers, who will pay him the proceeds at the proper
seasons."
I have mentioned that with this answer that these men gave that they
were actually judging themselves, and they did it in the same way that David
did after hearing a story from Nathan, but the difference is that David would
repent, but these men would not. The
answer that David gave to Nathan that condemned him is seen in 2 Samuel 12:5-7 “5
Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan,
"As the LORD lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. 6 “He
must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had
no compassion." 7 Nathan then said to David, "You are the man! Thus
says the LORD God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it
is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul.”
Just in case that you may have forgotten the story that Nathan told to
David it was about a man who had only one lamb, which he took great care of but
a rich man came and took the lamb from him and killed it, this only lamb that
he had. David took the wife of his great
friend and then went about and had him killed and that is why Nathan told this
story to David.
MacArthur
writes “Jesus, in effect, had said to the chief priests and elders, ‘You are
the men! You are the wretched vine-growers who, by your own declaration,
deserve a wretched end for beating and killing the vineyard owner’s servants
and then killing his son. Don’t you
realize that the owner is God, the vineyard is His kingdom, the servants were
His prophets, and I am His Son? You have
just judged yourselves guilty of condemning to death not only the prophets but
even God’s own Son.’”
Later
on in that day Jesus said something to the Jewish leaders in regard to killing
the prophets found in Matthew 23:29-31 “29 "Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the
monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the
days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding
the blood of the prophets.’ 31 “So you testify against yourselves, that you are
sons of those who murdered the prophets.”
John
MacArthur writes “God had prepared a place of great beauty and blessing and
then graciously given stewardship of it to His people Israel. It was a place of promise, hope, deliverance,
salvation, and security. But Israel
misappropriated all those blessing for herself, robbing God of the gratitude,
glory and honor due Him. She persecuted the prophets He patiently and lovingly
sent to call her to repentance and forgiveness.
Jewish tradition held that Isaiah had been sawed in two with a wooden
saw (cf. Heb. 11:37). From Scripture we
know that Jeremiah was thrown into a pit of slime, and tradition held that he
was eventually stoned to death. Ezekiel
was rejected, Elijah and Amos had to run for their lives, Micah was smashed in
the face by who refused to hear his message (1 Kings 22:24; cf. Matt.
23:25). Old Testament history bore
witness to their murderous hearts, whose wickedness would culminate in killing
the Son of God.” This is showing briefly
the history of God’s people, and it all got worse with the killing of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
In
telling this parable and its explanation Jesus presented one of His clearest
claims of divinity. This parable even alludes
to the detail of His being crucified outside the city of Jerusalem as can be
seen in Hebrews 13:12, “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people
through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.” Similarly in the parable the vine-owners son
was cast out of the vineyard before being murdered.
We can see from the parable that Jesus makes it
clear that the Jewish leaders who rejected Him were without excuse that, like
the evil vine-growers, they knew He was God’s Son bu refused to accept and
honor Him as such. They wanted Him dead
not because He was evil and ungodly but because what He was doing was
threatening their evil and ungodly control of the Temple and of the entire
Jewish religious system.
Here
is the final point to this parable, a point that if you have never accepted
Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, then please listen to this final quote
from MacArthur’s commentary. “Throughout
history, and still today, many people refuse to receive Jesus Christ as Savior
and Lord not because of lack of evidence but because they refuse to believe the
evidence. They do not believe simply
because they do not want to believe.” If
you realize that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and came to die for you, to take
your place on the cross, then confess to Him that you are a sinner because you
were born a sinner, and because of that you sin. Then realize that He died for you and invite
Him into to your life to save you and then to cause you to grow in grace
through the Word of God and the indwelling Spirit of God. You will never regret it.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I can see the same things that happened to
Israel happening to our once great country as wrong has become right and right
has become wrong. Good has become evil
and evil has become good. I believe that
we are very close to the second coming of Jesus Christ and that is what the
Bible foretells will happen before He comes.
My Steps of Faith for Today: To tell others through word of mouth and also
through the Spiritual Diaries that I write each day on how to truly become a
born-again believer so that when the Rapture comes that you will go to be with
the Lord forever.
7/20/2023 11:41 AM
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