Wednesday, June 5, 2024

PT-4 "The Attack of the Crowd" (Matt. 26:47)

 

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

No comments:

Post a Comment