Intro to Luke 1:15-17

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/27/2026 8:34 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus: Intro to Luke 1:15-17

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Luke 1:15-17

            Message of the verses:  “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.  And he will turn man of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.  It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

            This is the first SD written on the book of Luke in my Morning Spiritual Diaries as in the evening Spiritual Diaries I will continue looking at Luke from the point that I leave off in the morning SD on Luke.  I mentioned that Luke is the longest of the four gospels and so when I was studying the gospel of Matthew it took me five years to get through it, and that is one of the reasons that I am looking at Luke in both morning and evening Spiritual Diaries.  I now begin quoting from the introduction of John MacArthur’s introduction to this 3^rd chapter in his commentary on Luke.

            “Nothing typifies the world’s view of greatness better than the brash claim by former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, ‘I am the greatest..’  Ali’s repeated statement generated an enormous amount of public response, both pro and con, during the 1960’s and the 1970s.  His boast, which Ali often backed up by dominating his opponents in the ring, helped open the floodgates of tolerance for the blatant, arrogant egotism that prevails in sports and throughout contemporary society.

            “History has chronicled many truly great and honorable men, but in recent times it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish greatness from mere fame.  In today’s culture, famous people are most often celebrated for their wealth, success in business, athletic skills, acting ability, or musical talent.  Many are creations of the media; famous merely for being famous.

            “A more realistic, but less common, view of greatness measures it in terms of significant achievement.  It singles out those leave an indelible, positive mark on society, whether in war, education, science, medicine, the arts, or humanitarian causes.

            “But God’s standard of greatness transcends all human measure focusing on eternal heavenly realities, not ephemeral worldly ones.  It can best be seen by examining the life of someone whom God calls great.  Such a man was John the Baptist.

            “John’s life had none of the trappings the world associates with greatness.  He was born into a common family from the Judean hiss country (Luke 1:39, 65), not an upper-class family in Jerusalem.  There is no evidence that he had any formal education.  Instead of hobnobbing with the rich and famous, ‘he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel’ (Luke 1:80), far from the centers of commerce, culture, and power.  John’s camel’s hair garment and leather belt did not exactly make a fashion statement, nor was his diet of locusts and wild honey (Matt. 3:4) likely to start a culinary trend,  The fact that he disconnected from the styles of culture of his people, in the will of God, put on limits on his message or impact.  On the contrary, Matthew records that ‘Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan,’ being baptized and confessing their sins (Matt. 3:5-6).

            “John was not associated with any of the official institutions of his day.  He started no social or political movements, formed no organization, founded no religious cult.  In fact, he consciously downplayed his own importance in deference to Christ (Matt. 3:11; John 1:30), even directing his followers to Him (John 1:19-27), but soon grew to hate him for his blistering denunciation of their hypocrisy  (Matt. 3:7-12).  Nor did John fare any better with the political establishment.  Herod the tetrarch (Herod Antipas), embarrassed by John’s bold denunciation of his sinful relationship with his brother’s wife (Matt. 14:3-4), imprisoned him and eventually had him executed.  As far as the world was concerned, John ended his life as little more than an eccentric preacher, decapitated at the instigation of a seductive dancing girl and her vindictive mother (Matt. 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29). 

            “But the world’s evaluation of John completely missed the mark.  No less an authority than the Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate, testified that ‘among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!’ (Matt. 11:11).

            Three marks of John the Baptist’s greatness flow from this passage:  his personal character, his privileged calling, and his powerful contribution.”

            Lord willing in this evening’s SD we will begin to look at “John’s Personal Character” from Luke 1:15, but will then have to pick up that in tomorrow mornings SD.

Spiritual Meaning for my Life Today:  Now even though John the Baptist’s life is different than the life that I live he is a wonderful example of doing what the Lord has called me to do in my life.  John the Baptist was a man’s man!

My Steps of Faith for today:  Continue to get my arms around learning to have an effectual fervent prayer life as I continue to pray for my wife’s dealing with cancer.

2/27/2026 9:16 AM