January 27 - The Lord's Ministry All According to Plan - Devotional

GracetoYou.org ^ | 2008 | John MacArthur, Grace Community Church

[metmom]

“He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea” (Matthew 4:12-13).

Nothing was accidental or happenstance about Jesus’ earthly ministry. He did not go from Judea to Galilee because Herod or the Jewish leaders forced Him to or because He had nowhere else to go. He left Judea because His work there was finished for the time being. And He came to Galilee because that was the next place, according to the Father’s plan, for Him to minister.

Humanly speaking, Jesus left the lower Jordan region for Galilee because of the Jewish leaders (cf. John 4:1, 3). His close association with John the Baptist as well as His growing number of followers had caused the scribes and Pharisees to hate Jesus as much or more than they hated John. Jesus was not afraid of their hatred but removed Himself from the leaders’ immediate influence because it was not yet time for them to fully turn their wrath on Him.

The Lord by no means avoided the Jewish leaders permanently, for at the appropriate, foreordained time, He faced them without flinching and denounced them far more harshly than John the Baptist ever did (cf. Matt. 23:1–36). Jesus was simply forever safe from wicked human schemes and devices. He knew He would die, but it would be according to the will of His Father, not that of His earthly enemies (cf. John 10:17–18). He also knew He would rise from the dead, all according to the divine plan.

Ask Yourself

Can Christians live with the same kind of bold assurance that Jesus did, fearlessly walking through life at the Spirit’s direction? If the worst that could happen would only put us that much closer to Jesus, what reason do we have for fear? Why not resolve to follow Jesus’ example?

From Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1, John MacArthur. Copyright © 2008. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL 60610, www.moodypublishers.com.

[metmom]

Studying God’s Word ping

[Bob434]

[[Can Christians live with the same kind of bold assurance that Jesus did, fearlessly walking through life at the Spirit’s direction?]]

“If we are sure that He will be there, and if we delight in Him, then we can afford to say, ‘As for all the rest, let it be as He wills, it will be well.’”

however

“I have no business, for instance, to expect God to save me from the natural consequences of my own worldliness or folly. If I have taken up a course from eager desires for earthly good, or from obedience to any inclination of my own without due regard to His will, I have no right, when things begin to go awry, to turn round to God and say, ‘Lord! I wait upon Thee to save me.’”

If we do wait upon him- we

Then rest in the Lord, and ‘judge nothing before the time.’ We cannot criticise the Great Artist when we stand before His unfinished masterpiece, and see dim outlines here, a patch of crude colour there”

Maclaren

[Mean Daddy]

I’ve read some interesting articles on the wise men actually being a significant group of travelers who had battled the Jews in the past and not the traditional three as normally depicted. The gifts while done in homage were resources for the families flight from Herod’s murder of the innocents.

[metmom]

I have heard about the gifts financing their flight to Egypt as well.

I didn’t hear the rest of it though about who the wise men could have been.

[Mean Daddy]

I’ll see if I can find the article but it speculated that the wise men were an entourage of scholars with a small army that caused Herod concern that they may have come to do battle but instead pay homage to new born king.