SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/5/2024 7:43 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-4 “The Attack of the Crowd”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Matthew 26:47
Message of the
verse: “47 While He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve,
came up accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came
from the chief priests and elders of the people.”
I
have been quoting from John MacArthur’s commentary and I ended up yesterday’s
SD by stating that today we will begin with a second point that he is making
about the crowd.
“Second, the multitude not only was
unjust but mindless. The majority of
them probably had little idea of what they were doing or of the reasons for
it. The Roman soldiers, of course, were
simply obeying orders as they were trained to do, without question the purpose
of propriety. Most of those in the
multitude had no personal grudge against Jesus, and some of them probably had
never heard of Him before. Yet they had
no compunction about participating in His arrest. In their spiritual darkness they had no
ability to recognize Jesus as the very source and incarnation of truth and
righteousness. In any case, they cared
little for truth, righteousness, or anything else of spiritual value, but only
for their personal welfare. Most of them
were hirelings who were indifferent to the justice of what they did as long as
they were paid and did not get into trouble with their superiors.
“That multitude has had counterparts in every age of the
church history. Countless millions had
been incited against the cause of Christ without having the least notion of who
He is or what He t aught. They become
willing victims of someone else’s ungodly prejudice and join in causes that are
patently unjust.
“A third characteristic of the multitude in the garden
was cowardice. Not only the leaders, but
probably the soldiers and Temple police as well, preferred to arrest Jesus in
this dark, isolated place rather than in the streets of Jerusalem in broad
daylight. A riotous mob can be
intimidating even to armed men. And despite
the advantages of darkness and isolation, the cowardly, apprehensive leaders
felt it necessary to bring a thousand men, including several hundred armed
soldiers, to arrest a dozen men who were known to be peaceful.
“A guilty conscience always produces cowardice. The wicked fear they may receive justice for
their injustice and therefore seek protection in numbers and in darkness. They are afraid of exposure and opposition,
and they take no public stand or action unless the odds are overwhelming in
their favor.
“The multitude was also profane. What an unbelievable
sacrilege was committed that night by the murderous, sinful men who dared to
lay hands on the sinless Son of God.
“The unbelieving world has always disdained the name of
God, the Word of God, and the things of God.
No pagan deity is so openly blasphemed by mankind as the Lord Jesus
Christ. Few evidences testify more
boldly that the world is now in the hands of Satan than the fact that it is the
true God who is most often blasphemed and mocked.”
The truth is just as MacArthur states that the same
things that happened during that night when Jesus was arrested and then put to
death, an innocent Man, still happens to His followers, and the reason is that
when man sinned Satan became in charge of the world, not totally in charge,
because God is always in charge as He has Satan on a lease so to speak. There comes a time, and I believe shortly
when at the end of the Tribulation Period, that seven year period which will
end the rule of man that the Lord Jesus will return to planet earth with His
angels, along with both Old and New Testament saints and for the next 1000
years He will be totally in charge, not man and not Satan who will be in
hell. Yes there will still be
unbelievers who will not accept the forgiveness that Jesus offers, but swift
punishment will prevail during that time for people who do not follow what the
Lord is doing.
6/5/2024 8:06 AM
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