EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
6/24/2026 10:04 PM
My
Worship Time
Focus: PT-2“James”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke 6:14
Message of the verse: “James”
I will continue quoting from John
MacArthur’s commentary in order to finish this section this evening: “A second incident reveals another side of
James’s personality. On this occasion
James and John added a new twist to the apostles’ ongoing debate over which of
them was the greatest (cf. Mark 9:33-34; Luke 22:24).”
(cf. Mark 9:33-34; Luke 22:24)
“33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was
in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had
argued with one another about who was the greatest.”
“24 A dispute also arose among them, as to which
of them was to be regarded as the greatest.”
“Seeking
the prominent places of honor beside Jesus in His glorious kingdom, the two
audaciously requested that the Lord grant them the privilege of sitting on His
right and left hand (Mark 10:37).”
(Mark 10:37)
“37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one
at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’”
“Moreover,
they brought their mother with them to make the initial request to Jesus. She was evidently the sister of Jesus’ mother
Mary (as a comparison of Matt. 27:55-56, Mark 15:40, and John 10:25 suggests),
making James and John Jesus’ cousins.”
(Matt. 27:55-56, Mark 15:40, and John 19:25)
“55 There were also many women there, looking on
from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him,
56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and
Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.”
“40 There were also women looking on from a
distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the
younger and of Joses, and Salome.”
“25 but
standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary
the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.”
“They were
thus shamelessly exploiting their family ties to Jesus for their own
self-aggrandizement—which understandably outraged the other ten apostles (Matt.
20:24).”
(Matt. 20:24)
“24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant
at the two brothers.”
“Like the scribes and Pharisees, who
‘love[d] the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues’
(Matt. 23:6) and Diotrephes, ‘who love[d] to be first’ (3 John 9), James and
John sought prestige, preeminence, and to be exalted above the rest of the
apostles. Needless to say, the Lord
rejected their self-serving request (Matt. 20:23) and then gave all the
disciples a much-needed lesson on the importance of humility (vv. 25-28).”
(Matthew 20:23; 25-28)
“23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but
to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for
those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’”
“25 But Jesus called them to him and said,
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their
great ones exercise authority over them. 26
It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must
be your servant, 27 and whoever would be
first among you must be your slave, 28
even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give
his life as a ransom for many.’”
“James sought power and prestige;
Jesus gave him servanthood. He sought a
crown of glory; Jesus gave him a cup of suffering. James was the first of the Twelve to die, and
the only one whose death is recorded in the New Testament. According to Acts 12:1-2, ‘Herod the king
laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. And he had James the brother of John put to
death with the sword.’ That Herod,
seeking to halt the growth of the church, seized and executed James instead of
Peter or John reveals that James had become a force for God. The erstwhile ‘Son of Thunder’ had been
mentored by Christ and molded by the Holy Spirit into a man whose zeal and
ambition were redirected toward God and His kingdom.
“Like Andrew, James led someone to
Christ in his death. According to
tradition, recorded by the early church historian Eusebuis,
“the man
who led [James] to the judgment seat, seeing him bearing his testimony to the
faith, and moved by the fact, confessed himself a Christian. Both therefore…were led away to die. On their way, he entreated James to be given
of him, and James considering a little, replied, ‘Peace to the,’ and kissed
him; and then both were beheaded at the same time. (Ecclesiastical History,
II. 99).
“The life
of James offers convincing testimony that a passionate individual, controlled
by love, can be a powerful instrument in the hands of God.”
6/24/2026
10:30 PM
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