EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/16/2026
7:25 PM
My
Worship Time Focus PT-3 Intro to “Life’s Most
Important Question”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke
9:18-22
Bible
Reading & Meditation “And it happened that while He was
praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying,
“Who do the people say that I am?” They
answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that
one of the prophets of old has risen again.”
And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered
and said, “The Christ of God.” But He
warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, since, “The Son of
Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”
I should have done this section this
morning but there was a lot of trouble with my internet and I was running all
around trying to get it fixed. It is
fixed for now and so I want to take this opportunity to finish this
introduction to these verses above.
“As the scene opened, Jesus was
praying (cf. vv. 28-29; 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 11:1; 22:41-45).”
(cf. vv. 28-29; 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 11:1;
22:41-45)
“28 ¶ Now about eight days after these sayings he
took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
29 And as he was praying, the appearance
of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.”
“21 ¶ Now when all the people were baptized, and
when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened,”
“16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and
pray.”
“12 ¶ In these days he went out to the mountain to
pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.”
“1 ¶ Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and
when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as
John taught his disciples.”
“41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s
throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying,
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my
will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there
appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more
earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the
ground. 45 And when he rose from prayer,
he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow,”
“It is
instructive and challenging to note that the God-man always made communion with
the Father a priority in the face of the constant difficulties and demands
people made on Him.
“Though the Lord was praying alone,
the disciples were nearby. By this
time they had been with Him nearly two and a half years, observing His life and
ministry, and being taught and discipled by Him. They had witnessed His power over demons,
disease, nature, and death. They had
seen overwhelming evidence that He is God, possessing divine power, knowledge,
insight, and giving divine revelation.
After all that they had seen and heard, the Lord’s question to them in
this passage amounted to their final exam.
“The setting for this incident was
Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16:13; Mark 8:27), located north of the Sea of Galilee
on the slopes of Mt. Hermon, about forty to fifty miles southwest of
Damascus. It was near the extreme
northern boundary of Old Testament Israel, not far from the city of Dan.”
(Matt. 16:13; Mark 8:27)
“13 ¶ Now when Jesus came into the district of
Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of
Man is?”
“27 ¶ And Jesus went on with his disciples to the
villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do
people say that I am?”
“It was originally
named Panion, after the god Pan, whom Greek settlers, who entered the region
after the death of Alexander the Great, worshiped in a nearby cave. Herod the Great built a temple there, and
dedicated it to Rome and Augustus Caesar.
Herod’s son Philip the Tetrarch renamed the city Caesarea and appended
his own name to it to distinguish it from the other Caesarea on the
Mediterranean coast. At more than one
thousand feet in elevation, this scenic region offered Jesus and the apostles
some relief from the crowds in the lowlands.
It was also farther from Jerusalem and the hostility of the Jewish
leaders, and the threat of Herod Antipas.
“The apostles’ ‘final exam’
consisted of two questions. The answer
to the second one expressed divine revelation of His true identity.
10/16/2026
7:46 PM
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