Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Intro to Matt. 27:45-53

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/21/2024 7:58 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                        Focus:  “Intro to Matt. 27:45-53”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 27:45-53

 

            Message of the verses:  45  Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?" 47 And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, "This man is calling for Elijah." 48 Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. 49 But the rest of them said, "Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him." 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.”

 

            I begin this introduction with a story that John MacArthur tells as he begins his introduction to the 21st chapter in his fourth commentary on the book of Matthew which he has entitled “God’s Miraculous Commentary on the Cross.”

 

            He writes “Some years ago as I was driving to a meeting on Good Friday morning, I heard a radio program on which the speaker was making an attempt to acknowledge it as a very special day.  It was a day, he said, when a certain man was prosecuted for crimes he did not commit and, although innocent, was sentenced to death.  The speaker was of course talking about the crucifixion of Christ.  He commented on the inspiration of that special Person and of all others like Him who stand unflinchingly for what they believe in, disregarding the consequences.

 

            “But as well-meaning as that speaker may have been, he utterly missed the true significance of Jesus’ death.  Like most people in Western society, he knew many of the bare facts of the crucifixion but had no grasp on its meaning apart from the obvious travesty of human justice. And from what was said on the program, Jesus’ resurrection was considered to be more myth and legend than history.  No divine purpose, activity, or accomplishment were so much as hinted at.”

 

            In an earlier SD I mentioned that by the time of Christ the Romans had crucified some 30,000 men from Palestine alone.  When you think about that number one must believe that there were more than one of these persons that were innocent of the charges against them.  MacArthur adds that “The majority of them were executed for insurrection and doubtlessly were sincere patriots who hoped to free their people from oppression.  They died nobly for a cause they believed in.  Why, then, we may ask, does history remember the name of only one of these men?

 

            I want to wait until tomorrow’s SD to answer this question and then complete this introduction to this 21st chapter of MacArthur’s fourth commentary on Matthew.  8/21/2024 8:17 AM

           

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