“The Claim” (Luke 5:20)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/30/2026 9:28 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                         Focus:  “The Claim”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                       Reference:  Luke 5:20

            Message of the verse:  “Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”

            I have to say that this verse has the greatest message in it “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”  This is the best news that anyone can ever hear, and one has to think about this, both those who have been saved, and those who need this saving grace offered to you from the Lord Jesus Christ.  One can have great trouble in their life as they live on planet earth after the fall found in Genesis chapter three when our earthly parents Adam, and Eve decided to fall prey to Satan’s temptation as this put the entire world from then on in the power of the evil one.  When Jesus came to earth born of a virgin fathered by the Holy Spirit then the time was put on hold for Satan and his evil demons, as Jesus would grow up under the leadership of Joseph and Mary until the time came when He would begin His public ministry, which began when Jesus was Baptized by John the Baptist. 

Matthew’s Account of Jesus’ Baptism (Matthew 3:13–17)

In Matthew 3:13–17, Jesus’ baptism is presented as the opening event of His public ministry, marking a pivotal moment of divine revelation.

The Scene
Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist. John, recognizing Jesus’ sinlessness, tries to deter Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replies, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:14–15). John consents, and Jesus is baptized Bible Gateway.

The Divine Confirmation
As Jesus emerges from the water, heaven opens, the Spirit of God descends like a dove and rests upon Him, and a voice from heaven declares, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16–17) Bible Gateway. This Trinitarian moment—Father’s voice, Son’s obedience, and Spirit’s descent—affirms Jesus’ identity as the Messiah.

Let us now look at Matthew 3:13-17: 

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³ Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?” ¹⁵ But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. ¹⁶ After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him, ¹⁷ and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

            Now this was the very beginning of our Lord’s ministry and the entire trinity was seen or heard as seen in verse seventeen above.  After that our Lord would then go out into the wilderness in order to be tempted by Satan.  We have earlier gone over this and have seen that Jesus in his weak condition from fasting for 40 days in the wilderness still would not fall into the temptations of Satan, and this would not be the first time that Satan would tempt him.  Jesus, the second Adam would not fall to Satan’s temptations and then would go on to begin His ministry as He would begin to add His disciples and for the next three years go out and preach and teach all throughout Israel.  At the end of this He would then go to the cross and suffer and die, and while there on the cross for three hours, when the whole world would be in darkness as the Father would take all the sins of the world out on His Son, and after that was over we know that Jesus had at that time finished His ministry as He would state “It is finished.” 

Meaning of “It Is Finished” in John 19:30

In John 19:30, Jesus said, “It is finished” (Greek: tetelestai), after receiving the sour wine offered to Him on the cross. This statement is one of His last words recorded in the Gospels and carries deep theological significance.

The Greek Word Tetelestai

Tetelestai is the perfect passive indicative of the verb teleō, meaning “to bring to an end, complete, accomplish, or fulfill” scriptureriver.com. The perfect tense indicates a completed action with ongoing results, and the passive voice shows that the subject (the work, task, or debt) was completed for the subject. In first-century Greek, tetelestai was used in three common contexts:

What Was “Finished”?

Three key things are completed by His death:

1. The mission of redemption — Jesus has fulfilled the work the Father sent Him to do, including revealing the Father, teaching, performing signs, and offering Himself as the Lamb of God www.pastorjasonelder.com.
2. The atonement for sin — The cross satisfies the penalty for sin, as Hebrews 10:12 teaches that Christ offered a single sacrifice for sins, “sitting down at the right hand of God” www.pastorjasonelder.com.
3. The victory over death and Satan — Death is disarmed, and Satan’s grip on humanity is broken www.pastorjasonelder.com.

            When a person was in prison in the days when Christ was on earth, and after he had finished his sentence the word tetelestai would be stamped on his papers as he would leave prison.  This meant that his sentence was finished as it was paid in full.  This is what Jesus did while on the cross, as He paid for our debt of sin, and all a person has to do to receive the salvation He paid for is to first of all confess that you are a sinner, and then after that believe in your heart that Jesus paid for your sins while on the cross.  Thank Him for doing that and invite Him into your heart to live there in the person of the Holy Spirit and you will be saved.

            Sometimes when I am writing my Spiritual Diaries it seems to me that the Spirit of God is prompting me to write something that really does not go along with the planed SD for that time, and this was one of those times.  It is my prayer that the Spirit of God will use this SD, as really all that I write to bring glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Lord willing I will pick up in writing from this section in tomorrow morning’s SD.

5/30/2026 10:10 PM