EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
5/4/2026 8:45 PM
My
Worship Time Focus: “The Start of Jesus’ Ministry”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: “Luke
3:23a”
Message
of the verses: “23 When He began
His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age,
I have to say that this will be one of the shortest SD’s I have ever
done, but I am trying to keep with the outline from John MacArthur’s
commentary. We see that Luke did not
give a specific age for the Lord Jesus Christ when He began His ministry but wrote
“Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age.”
Now except
for the incident at the temple when Jesus was twelve years old (2:41-51), Jesus
had spent His life up to this point in obscurity. We will look at these verses in order to
review them.
(2:41-51)
“41 ¶ Now his
parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went
up according to custom. 43 And when the
feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.
His parents did not know it, 44 but
supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began
to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned
to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the
teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his
understanding and his answers. 48 And
when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching
for you in great distress.” 49 And he
said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in
my Father’s house?” 50 And they did not
understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51
And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to
them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.”
MacArthur
writes “He grew up in the small village of Nazareth, living in subjection to
His parents and working with His father (cf. Matt. 13:55 with Mark 6:3).
(cf.
Matt. 13:55 with Mark 6:3)
“55 Is this the
carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James
and Joseph and Simon and Judas?”
“3 Is not this
the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and
Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at
him.”
“Jesus began His public ministry at His
baptism (cf. Acts 1:21-22; 10:37-38), at which point He was about thirty
years of age.”
(cf.
Acts 1:21-22; 10:37-38)
“21 So one of
the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in
and out among us, 22 beginning from the
baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men
must become with us a witness to his resurrection.’”
“37 you
yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee
after the baptism that John proclaimed: 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.”
“That was a customary age for men of God to begin their
ministries. Ezekiel began his prophetic
ministry at age thirty (Ezekiel 1:1).
Joseph was also thirty years old when he became the prime minister of
Egypt (Gen. 41:46), and David was thirty when he ascended to Israel’s throne (2
Sam. 5:4). Thirty was also the age at
which the priests began to serve (Num. 4:3, 35, 39, 43, 47; 1 Chron.
23:3). Jesus thus began His public
ministry at an age that people would consider appropriate.”
5/4/2026 9:03 PM
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