MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/11/2026
10:14 AM
My
Worship Time Focus: “The Setting”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke
4:14-15
Message of the verses: “And Jesus returned to Galilee in the
power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding
district. And He began teaching in their
synagogues and was praised by all.
John MacArthur uses the following colorful language to
begin this section in his commentary: “Like
a small door that leads into a vast art gallery, verses 14 and 15 are the
entrance to a new section of portraits of Jesus in Luke’s gospel.” Yes we are beginning a new section that Luke
has written in his gospel, and this section begins the preaching and teaching
of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, and Luke begins looking at Jesus’
teaching in the region of Galilee, which is the northern part of Israel, which
the Lord would be engaged in for about a year and a half, which when you think
about it was one half of the time that Jesus had left before He would go to the
cross to die for the sins of the world. Now
let us focus in on the phrase “in the power of the Spirit” from verse
14. MacArthur brings the following
verses to help us better understand this statement: “(cf. Acts 10:38 and the discussion of 3:22
in chapter 20 and 4:1 in chapter 22 of this volume).”
(cf. Acts 10:38)
“38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with
power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by
the devil, for God was with him.”
Now as far
as the discussion of Luke 3:22 you can go back to my Spiritual Diary’s dated
May 1-May 2nd of this year as there are three Spiritual Diaries
written on verse 3:22. The SD on 4:1 was
written on May 6th.
Now “[there were 240 cities and
villages in Galilee according to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus (Life]
to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God’ (8:1).”
(8:1)
“1 ¶ Soon afterward he went on through cities and
villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the
twelve were with him,”
MacArthur continues “Jesus’ powerful
preaching and the miracles He performed created a huge sensation, so that news
about Him spread through all the surrounding district (cf. 5:15), and even
south into Judea (7:17).”
(cf. 5:15)
“15 But now even more the report about him went
abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their
infirmities.”
(7:17)
“17 And this report about him spread through the
whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.”
“At this
early stage in His ministry Jesus was praised by all. Galilee was not a large region, and Jesus
would have thoroughly blanketed it in the year and a half of His ministry
there. Perhaps that is why, as some have
speculated, the Lord’s commission of the apostles in Acts 1:8 refers to Judea
and Samaria, but not to Galilee. The
Galilean ministry will be the focus of Luke’s gospel from verse 14 through
verse 50 of chapter 9 (cf. Matthew 4:13-18:35; Mark 1:14-9:50).
“It might appear from reading Luke’s
account, as well as the parallel histories of Matthew (4:12) and Mark (1:14),
that the Lord’s ministry in Galilee began immediately after His baptism. That was not the case, however. There was an interval of about a year between
Jesus’ baptism and the beginning of His Galilean ministry. While the Synoptic Gospels are silent about
that year, which Jesus spent ministering in Judea, the gospel of John describes
in in detail (chapters 1-4).”
MacArthur then goes on to write
about John’s gospel in a fairly long paragraph which I will quote as I finish
this morning’s SD.
“In keeping with John’s purpose in
writing his gospel (John 20:31), his account of Jesus’ Judean ministry focuses
on revelations that Jesus is God.”
(John 20:31)
“31 but these are written so that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have
life in his name.”
“After His
baptism and temptation, Jesus returned to the vicinity of the Jordan where John
was continuing his baptizing ministry.
When he saw Jesus, John exclaimed, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world!’ (1:29). On
the following day John pointed out Jesus to two of his disciples (Andrew and
John) and repeated his declaration, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ (v. 36). ‘Two disciples heard him speak, and they
followed Jesus’ (v. 37). Later in that
same section Philip introduced Nathanael to Jesus. Nathanael was startled by His greeting, ‘Behold,
an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!’ (v. 47).
To Nathanael’s question, ‘How do You know me?” Jesus gave an even more
astonishing reply, one that revealed His omniscience: ‘Before Philip called you, when you were
under the fig tree, I saw you’ (v. 48).
Overwhelmed by Jesus’ supernatural of him, ‘Nathanael answered Him, ‘Rabbi,
You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel’’(v. 49).”
Spiritual
Meaning for my life today: Knowing that Jesus is God, and
knows everything it gives me confidence that He is leading my life to do the
things that pleases Him.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: I am trusting the Lord to show my
wife where He wants her to go to receive better cancer treatment as things are
getting worse by the day.
5/11/2026
11:25 AM
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