SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/6/2023 8:39 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-5 “The Confrontation”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Matthew 21:23
Message of the
verse: “23
When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came
to Him while He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing
these things, and who gave You this authority?’”
We continue to talk about the authority of Jesus’
ministry as we begin this SD. In John
1:12 we read “12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” This shows us that it was the authority of Jesus
to give those who received Him to give eternal life to. “And He gave Him authority to execute
judgment, because He is the Son of Man” (John 5:27). The “He” in this verse refers to the Father
who gave His Son authority to execute judgment.
Next John 17:2 “2 even as You
gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may
give eternal life.” This shows us that
the Father gave the Son authority over all mankind. One more from John and this one from 10:18
where we will see that He has authority over His own life “18 "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own
initiative. I have
authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This
commandment I received from My Father.’”
We have talked about what it was to become a Rabbi,
and in all the days of Jesus’ life on earth He never sought approval or support
from the recognized Jewish authorities, in fact He completely ignored their system
for ordaining rabbis and approving doctrines. There was no need to do this
because in the first place Jesus is God, and in the second place their system
was mostly unbiblical.
John MacArthur writes “Jesus had
both dunamis (power) and Exousia (authority). Dunamis refers to ability, and Exousia to right. Jesus not
only had great power but the right to exercise that power, because both His
power and His authority were from His heavenly Father. ‘Just as the Father raises the dead and gives
them life,’ Jesus said, ‘even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes,’
and ‘just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to
have life in Himself’ (John 5:21,26). ‘For
I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who
sent Me’ (6:38; cf. v. 44, 57; 7:16, 28; 8:18, 54).”
It was because Jesus had the Father’s
power and authority that He sought no human authority, accreditation,
ordination, or credentials. By doing so
Jesus pitted Himself against the Jewish religious system and incurred its
unrelenting wrath, wrath that would eventually take Him to the cross. The leaders of this system were appalled and
scandalized that Jesus not only failed consult the Sanhedrin and the Temple
authorities but He had the audacity to condemn them. These people had a great problem, a problem
that they not only had, but also caused the people of Israel to have and that
was their false religion.
MacArthur concludes this section by
writing “In asking Jesus to identify His authority, those leaders probably
hoped He would say as He had many times before, that He worked under the direct
power and authority of God, His heaven Father.
That would give them another opportunity to charge Him with blasphemy,
and perhaps to succeed in putting Him to death for it, as they had tried to do
before without success (John 5:18; 10:31).”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: This
whole section was about authority, Jesus’ authority, and I know and have been
reminded that Jesus has complete authority over everything, including me.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I trust the
Lord to have authority over me and my life, and to use me to bring glory to Him
each and every day of my life.
7/6/2023 9:11
AM
No comments:
Post a Comment