Scattered and Saved
Zechariah
13:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)
1 “On that day a fountain will be opened to
the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from
sin and impurity.
2 “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the
land, and they will be remembered no more,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both
the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. 3 And
if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born,
will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents
will stab the one who prophesies.
4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic
vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to
deceive. 5 Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a
farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.’ 6 If
someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body?’ they will answer, ‘The
wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’
7 “Awake, sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who is close to me!”
declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered,
and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
“two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
yet one-third will be left in it.
9 This third I will put into the fire;
I will refine them like silver
and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
What will the fountain that opens “on that day” do for the
house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem (verse 1)?
What will not be remembered anymore (verse 2)?
Who will “stab the one who prophesies” (verse
3)?
What will prophets not put on “in order to
deceive” (verse 4)?
In your opinion, where would the wounds have
come from (verse 6)?
When will the sheep be scattered (verse 7)?
How many will be left in the land (verse
8)?
Who will the ones who are left call on (verse
9)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
Mark 14:27-31 - New
International Version (NIV)
27 “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is
written:
“‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’
28 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you
into Galilee.”
29 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
30 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes,
tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three
times.”
31 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with
you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.
How many will fall away (verse 27)?
Where will Jesus go “ahead of you” (verse
28)?
Who said “even if all fall away, I
will not” (verse 29)?
What does Jesus say will happen “before
the rooster crows twice” (verse 30)?
Who said “even if I have to die with
you, I will never disown you” (verse 31)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
In your opinion, what is the difference between Peter
and the other disciples denying Jesus in Mark 14:27-31 and the prophets denying
being a prophet in Zechariah 13:1-9?
Acts
21:7-16 –
New International Version (NIV)
7 We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais,
where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a
day. 8 Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and
stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. 9 He
had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.
10 After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named
Agabus came down from Judea. 11 Coming over to us, he
took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy
Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will
bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”
12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not
to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you
weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to
die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 When
he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
15 After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem. 16 Some
of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home
of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the
early disciples.
Where did Paul and his companions land (verse 7)?
Who did they stay with (verse 7)?
How was Philip described (verse 8)?
What did his four daughters do (verse 9)?
Where
did Agabus the prophet come from (verse 10)?
Why
did Agabus take Paul’s belt and tie his own hands and feet with it (verse
11)?
In
your opinion, why did they plead for Paul not to go up to Jerusalem (verse
12)?
What
was Paul ready for (verse 13)?
When
did the people say “the Lord’s will be done” (verse 14)?
Where
did they start to go (verse 15)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In
your opinion, what is the difference between Peter and the other disciples who
had confidence in Mark 14:27-31 but then did fall away and disown Jesus; and
Paul who had confidence in Acts 21:7-16 but then walked the walk all the way to
jail?
2 Timothy
2:8-13 – New International Version (NIV)
8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from
David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am
suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But
God’s word is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure
everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the
salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
11 Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
12 if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
13 if we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
What does Paul tell Timothy to remember (verse 8)?
Why was Paul suffering (verses 8 and 9)?
How is Paul chained (verse 9)?
In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “but
God’s word is not chained” (verse 9)?
Why does Paul endure everything (verse 10)?
What will happen if we die with Jesus Christ (verse 11)?
When will Jesus Christ “disown us” (verse 12)?
Why will Jesus remain faithful (verse 13)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, what
is the difference between the prophetic vision of Zechariah 13:1-9 that the
prophets are ashamed of and the gospel that Paul is proclaiming in 2 Timothy
2:8-13 even though he is suffering because of his enthusiasm?
In your opinion, what can we learn about
Paul’s teaching of Jesus Christ remaining faithful in 2 Timothy 2:8-13 from the
fact that Jesus knew in Mark 14:27-31 that the disciples would disown him, but
still promised to “go ahead of you into Galilee”?
In your opinion, what do these passages from Zechariah,
Mark, Acts and 2 Timothy teach us about the fountain that Zechariah said would
be opened “on that day” and how it cleanses from sin and impurity?
In your
opinion, how can the sheep who have been scattered and who disowned Jesus become
those who live through Jesus Christ?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
