March 16, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – The Choice for Salvation

The Choice for Salvation

Zechariah 11:4-13 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter. ⁵ Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them. ⁶ For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”

⁷ So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. ⁸ In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.

The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them ⁹ and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”

¹⁰ Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. ¹¹ It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.

¹² I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.

¹³ And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.

Which flock is Zechariah to shepherd (verse 4)?

Who does “not spare them” (verse 5)?

What will the Lord no longer have “on the people of the land” (verse 6)?

Which members of the flock did Zechariah “particularly” shepherd (verse 7)?

What were the names of the two staffs that Zechariah took (verse 7)?

How did the flock react to Zechariah (verse 8)?

What was going to happen to the “perishing” (verse 9)?

What was revoked with the breaking of the staff called Favor (verse 10)?

Who “knew it was the word of the Lord” (verse 11)?

How much was Zechariah paid (verse 12)?

What did Zechariah do with what he was paid (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about the choice for salvation?

Matthew 27:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. ² So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

³ When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. ⁴ “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”

⁵ So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

⁶ The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷ So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. ⁸ That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹ Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, ¹⁰ and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”

When did “all the chief priests and the elders of the people” make their plans (verse 1)?

What did the chief priests and elders do (verse 2)?

How did Judas react when he saw Jesus was condemned (verse 3)?

How did the chief priests and elders respond when Judas said “I have betrayed innocent blood” (verse 4)?

Where did Judas throw the money (verse 5)?

What did Judas do next (verse 5)?

Why was it against the law to put the money “into the treasury” (verse 6)?

What did they decide to do with the money (verse 7)?

What has the field been called (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about the choice for salvation?

In your opinion, how do the reactions of the chief priests and elders to Jesus in Matthew 27:1-10 and the flock the Zechariah to Zechariah 11:4-13 compare?

Acts 22:1-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”

² When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: ³ “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. ⁴ I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, ⁵ as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

⁸ “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁹ My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

¹⁰ “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ ¹¹ My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

¹² “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. ¹³ He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴ “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. ¹⁵ You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’

Who did Paul want to listen to his defense (verse 1)?

How zealous was Paul (verse 3)?

Who did Paul persecute “to their deaths” (verse 4)?

What did the voice say to Paul (verse 7)?

Whose voice was it (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why is Paul’s question, “what shall I do, Lord” crucial (verse 10)?

How did Paul get to Damascus (verse 11)?

What did Ananias say as he stood beside Paul (verse 13)?

What did Ananias tell Paul to do (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about the choice for salvation?

In your opinion, how would the flock who detested Zechariah in Zechariah 11:4-13 have been transformed by asking the questions that Paul did in Acts 22:1-16, “who are you” and “what shall I do”?

In your opinion, why did Judas, who “betrayed innocent blood” in Matthew 27:1-10, have such a different outcome than Paul, who admitted to persecuting “followers of this Way to their death”, did in Acts 28:1-16?

Romans 10:11-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

¹⁶ But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” ¹⁷ Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. 

Who “will never be put to shame” (verse 11)?

Who does the Lord “richly” bless (verse 12)?

Who will be saved (verse 13)?

Who has beautiful feet (verse 15)?

What did not all the Israelites accept (verse 16)?

How is the message heard (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about the choice for salvation?

In your opinion, why would the flock, and especially the oppressed of the flock, detest Zechariah in Zechariah 11:4-13 and likewise some of those who heard the message of salvation not accept it in Romans 10:11-17?

In your opinion, what do the “how” questions of Romans 10:11-17 reveal to us about the closeness of Judas to salvation in Matthew 27:1-10?

In your opinion, how does the salvation of Paul in Acts 22:1-16 serve to illustrate the salvation process outlined by the “how” questions of Romans 10:11-17? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Zechariah, Matthew, Acts and Romans teach us the difference between being saved and remaining lost?

In your opinion, how is the teamwork of Jesus and Ananias in the salvation of Paul an example for us today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 9, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – The Testimony of Love

The Testimony of Love

Leviticus 24:13-23 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses: ¹⁴ “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. ¹⁵ Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who curses their God will be held responsible; ¹⁶ anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death.

¹⁷ “‘Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death. ¹⁸ Anyone who takes the life of someone’s animal must make restitution—life for life. ¹⁹ Anyone who injures their neighbor is to be injured in the same manner: ²⁰ fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury. ²¹ Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a human being is to be put to death. ²² You are to have the same law for the foreigner and the native-born. I am the Lord your God.’”

²³ Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him. The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses.

Who spoke to Moses (verse 13)?

What are “all those who heard him” to do (verse 14)?

Who will “be held responsible” (verse 15)?

What must the “entire assembly” do to the one who blasphemes (verse 16)?

How should the person who “takes the life of a human being” be treated (verse 17)?

What should happen to someone who “injures their neighbor” (verse 19)?

What is the person who kills an animal to do (verse 21)?

How are the laws different “for the foreigner and the native-born” (verse 22)?

Who took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the difference between reacting to evil and reacting to one another?

Matthew 5:38-48 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. ⁴¹ If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. ⁴² Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

What “have you heard” was said (verse 38)?

Who does Jesus say not to resist (verse 39)?

What should be given to the one who “wants to sue you” (verse 40)?

How far should the one who is forced to “go one mile” go (verse 41)?

Who should not be turned away (verse 42)?

What else “have you heard that it was said” (verse 43)?

Who does Jesus instruct prayer for (verse 44)?

Who does our Father in heaven send rain on (verse 45)?

What do the tax collectors do (verse 46)?

Who is perfect that we should be like (verse 48)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the difference between reacting to evil and reacting to one another?

In your opinion, why are the instructions in Matthew 5:38-48 so different from the instructions to Moses in Leviticus 24:13-23?

Romans 12:9-21 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

What must love be (verse 9)?

How should Christians “be devoted to one another” (verse 10)?

What should Christians do with “spiritual fervor” (verse 11)?

Who should Christians “share with” (verse 13)?

Who should Christians “bless and do not curse” (verse 14)?

What should the Christian do “with those who mourn” (verse 15)?

Who should Christians live in harmony with (verse 16)?

How should evil not be repaid (verse 17)?

What should Christians do “as far as it depends on you” (verse 18)?

What should we “leave room for” (verse 19)?

How should Christians overcome evil (verse 21)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the difference between reacting to evil and reacting to one another?

In your opinion, how does the instruction in Romans 12:9-21 to “leave room for God’s wrath” reveal a change from the instructions of Leviticus 24:13-23?

In your opinion, how are the instructions in Romans 12:9-21 a logical outcome of Jesus instructions in Matthew 5:38-48 to “be children of your Father in heaven”?

1 John 4:11-21- New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Why should Christians “love one another” (verse 11)?

When does God live in us and have His love “made complete in us” (verse 12)?

How do we know “that we live in him and he in us” (verse 13)?

What has John seen that he testifies to (verse 14)?

Who does God live in “and they in God” (verse 15)?

What is God (verse 16)?

What are Christians like “in this world” (verse 17)?

What does perfect love drive out (verse 18)?

Why do Christians love (verse 19)?

Who is a liar (verse 20)?

What is God’s command (verse 21)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the difference between reacting to evil and reacting to one another?

In your opinion, how is the contrast between starting with blaspheming God and starting with loving God shown in Leviticus 24:13-23 and 1 John 4:11-21?

In your opinion, how does 1 John 4:11-21 help us understand how it’s possible to follow the command of Jesus in Matthew 5:38-48 to “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”?

In your opinion, how does 1 John 4:11-21 help us to follow the instruction of Paul in Romans 12:9-21 to “do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Leviticus, Matthew, Romans and 1 John teach us about what it takes to hate “what is evil” and yet being able to love our “enemies and pray for those who persecute” us?

In your opinion, in what ways can we in love “testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 2, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – Fickle or Faithful

Fickle or Faithful

Deuteronomy 23:21–24:5 – New International Version (NIV)

²¹ If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. ²² But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. ²³ Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.

²⁴ If you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket. ²⁵ If you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing grain.

¹ If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, ² and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, ³ and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, ⁴ then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

⁵ If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.

What should you not do if “you make a vow to the Lord your God” (verse 21)?

When will you “not be guilty” (verse 22)?

What must you “be sure to do” (verse 23)?

How many of your neighbor’s grapes can you eat (verse 24)?

How many of your neighbor’s grapes can you put “in your basket” (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between picking grain kernels by hand and using a sickle (verse 25)?

What is actually being forbidden in verses 1 through 4?

How long is a newly married man to be exempt from being “sent to war” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about selfish assumptions?

Matthew 5:31-37 - New International Version (NIV)

³¹ “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

³³ “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ ³⁴ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. ³⁶ And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ³⁷ All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

What “has been said” (verse 31)?

Who makes the faithful wife “the victim of adultery” (verse 32)?

What “was said to the people long ago” (verse 33)?

What command does Jesus give about oaths (verse 34)?

Why should we not swear by our head (verse 36)?

What “comes from the evil one” (verse 37)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about selfish assumptions?

In your opinion, how are the guidelines that Moses gave in Deuteronomy 23:24-24:5 changed by Jesus in Matthew 5:31-37?

2 Corinthians 1:17-24 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?

¹⁸ But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” ¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” ²⁰ For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. ²¹ Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, ²² set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

²³ I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. ²⁴ Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.

What manner would allow Paul in same breath to “say both “Yes,yes” and “No, no” (verse 17)?

In whom has it “always been “Yes”” (verse 19)?

Where are the promises God has made always “Yes” (verse 20)?

Who makes “both us and you stand firm in Christ” (verse 21)?

How does God provide us a guarantee (verse 22)?

Who does Paul call as his witness (verse 23)?

How do the Corinthian Christians “stand firm” (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about selfish assumptions?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion about fickleness in 2 Corinthians 1:1-24 relate to the reason for the commands of Deuteronomy 23:24-24:5?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s description of Jesus as the “Yes” in 2 Corinthians 1:17-24 help us begin to understand why Jesus is adamant in Matthew 5:31-37 that we should not “swear an oath”?

James 4:7-17- New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

¹¹ Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. ¹² There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

¹³ Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

Who should we submit ourselves to (verse 7)?

What will happen when Christians “Resist the devil” (verse 7)?

Who is to “purify your hearts” (verse 8)?

When will the Lord “lift you up” (verse 10)?

Who “speaks against the law and judges it” (verse 11)?

Who is the “one Lawgiver and Judge” (verse 12)?

What are we (verse 14)?

What should we say (verse 15)?

When is boasting evil (verse 16)?

What is the knowing of a good that ought to be done and not doing it (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about selfish assumptions?

In your opinion, how is making a vow to the Lord that is discouraged in Deuteronomy 23:24-24:5 different from submitting to God that is encouraged in James 4:7-17?

In your opinion, how much is the fact that we who are human have the ability that James 4:7-17 points out to be double-minded a part of the reason for Jesus to discourage oath taking in Matthew 5:31-37?

In your opinion, how often does our inability to know the future as James points out in James 4:7-17 cause us to look “fickle” as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 1:17-24 when he made plans but was unable to honor them?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Deuteronomy, Matthew, 2 Corinthians, and James teach us about the importance of considering how our view of ourselves guides our making vows, dealing with neighbors and spouses, and our attitude before God?

In your opinion, how might making living in the Lord’s will shape our words and actions?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)