June 28, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Diligent Humility

Diligent Humility

Numbers 12:1-15 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. ² “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.

³ (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

⁴ At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. ⁵ Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, ⁶ he said, “Listen to my words:

“When there is a prophet among you,
    I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions,
    I speak to them in dreams.
⁷ But this is not true of my servant Moses;
    he is faithful in all my house.
⁸ With him I speak face to face,
    clearly and not in riddles;
    he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
    to speak against my servant Moses?”

⁹ The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them.

¹⁰ When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam’s skin was leprous—it became as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease, ¹¹ and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. ¹² Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”

¹³ So Moses cried out to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!”

¹⁴ The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” ¹⁵ So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.

Why did Miriam and Aaron begin to “talk against Moses” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what do the questions “has the Lord spoken only through Moses” and “hasn’t he also spoken through us” reveal about their real complaint (verse 2)?

What was Moses (verse 3)?

Who called Moses, Aaron and Miriam to the tent of meeting (verse 4)?

Why did Aaron and Miriam step forward (verse 5)?

How did the Lord reveal Himself to a prophet (verse 6)?

How did the Lord reveal Himself to Moses (verses 7 and 8)?

What burned “against them” (verse 9)?

What was revealed “when the cloud lifted from above the tent” (verse 10)?

Who did Aaron ask “not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed” (verse 11)?

How did Moses respond (verse 13)?

Where was Miriam to be confined for seven days (verse 14)?

What did the people not do “till she was brought back” (verse 15)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about greatness “in the kingdom of heaven”?

Matthew 18:1-5 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

² He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. ³ And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore, whoever takes the lowly [humble] position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Who came to Jesus (verse 1)?

What did they want to know (verse 1)?

Where did Jesus place the little child (verse 2)?

What did Jesus say the disciples needed to do to “enter the kingdom of heaven” (verse 3)?

Who will be the “greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (verse 4)?

What does the one who “welcomes one such child in” Jesus’s name do (verse 5)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about greatness “in the kingdom of heaven”?

In your opinion, How does Jesus’s instruction to become like “little children” in Matthew 8:1-5 help us understand why the Lord’s anger “burned against” Miriam and Aaron in Numbers 12:1-15?

Romans 16:17-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. ¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. ¹⁹ Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Who does Paul want his Roman “brothers and sisters” to watch out for (verse 17)?

What are these people serving (verse 18)?

How are “the minds of naïve people” deceived (verse 18)?

What does Paul want them “to be wise” about (verse 19)?

What does Paul want them to be “innocent about” (verse 19)?

What does Paul want to be with them (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about greatness “in the kingdom of heaven”?

In your opinion, who are the people in Numbers 12:1-15 that Romans 16:17-20 urges us to “watch out for”?

In your opinion, what does Romans 16:17-20 help us understand about the question, “who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” in Matthew 18:1-5?

Hebrews 6:1-12 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, ² instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³ And God permitting, we will do so.

⁴ It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age ⁶ and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. ⁷ Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. ⁸ But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

⁹ Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. ¹⁰ God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. ¹¹ We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. ¹² We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

What are Christians to “be taken forward to” (verse 1)?

What are the “elementary teachings about Christ” (verses 1 and 2)?

Who cannot “be brought back to repentance” (verses 4, 5, and 6)?

What does “land that drinks in the rain” and produces a useful crop receive (verse 7)?

What is “land that produces thorns and thistles” in danger of (verse 8)?

What are the “better things” for the “dear friends” (verse 9)?

What will God not forget (verse 10)?

Why are Christians to continue to show “diligence to the very end” (verse 11)?

Who should Christians “imitate” (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about greatness “in the kingdom of heaven”?

In your opinion, what can we learn from Numbers 12:1-15 about the land that produces a “useful” crop and the land that produces “thorns and thistles” in Hebrews 6:1-12?

In your opinion, how do you reconcile the teaching of Jesus to become “like little children” in Matthew 18:1-5 with the instruction to be “taken forward to maturity” in Hebrews 6:1-12?

In your opinion, how do the instructions of Hebrews 6:1-12 help us avoid being the “naïve people” that Romans 16:17-20 warns will fall prey to smooth talk and flattery?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Numbers, Matthew, Romans, and Hebrews teach us about how our humility changes as we mature in our relationship with God?

In your opinion, how do we show diligence today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 21, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – The Cost of Atonement

The Cost of Atonement

Exodus 30:11-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹² “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. ¹³ Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives. ¹⁶ Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.”

Who instructed Moses (verse 11)?

What was each Israelite to pay “at the time he is counted” (verse 12)?

What would the payment prevent (verse 12)?

What is the “half shekel” (verse 13)?

Who is to give the offering (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why were the rich and the poor to give the same amount (verse 15)?

What is the atonement money to be used for (verse 16)?

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

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

Matthew 17:22-27 - New International Version (NIV)

²² When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. ²³ They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.

²⁴ After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

²⁵ “Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

²⁶ “From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. ²⁷ “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

Who would “be delivered into the hands of men” (verse 22)?

What filled the disciples (verse 23)?

Who asked Peter “doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax” (verse 24)?

How does Peter answer Jesus’s question “from whom do the kings of earth collect duty and taxes-from their own children or from others” (verses 25 and 26)?

Who did Jesus say was exempt (verse 27)?

What did Jesus not want to cause (verse 28)?

How was Peter supposed to get the money to pay the tax (verse 29)?

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

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

In your opinion, how are the half shekel of Exodus 30:11-16 and the temple tax of Matthew 17:22-27 different?

Romans 3:21-26 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Who testifies to the righteousness that is “apart from the law” (verse 21)?

How is the righteousness given (verse 22)?

Who is the righteousness given to (verse 22)?

What have “all” done (verse 23)?

How are “all” justified (verse 24)?

How did God present Christ (verse 25)?

What did God demonstrate (verse 26)?

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

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

In your opinion, how does the “atonement money” the Israelites paid in Exodus 30:11-16 prepare us for the “sacrifice of atonement” that Romans 3:21-26 says that Christ made?

In your opinion, how does Jesus being willing to pay the temple tax in Matthew 17:22-27 help us understand the way Christians are “justified freely by his grace” in Romans 3:21-26?

Ephesians 4:20-32 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ That, however, is not the way of life you learned ²¹ when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵ Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶ “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸ Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

What were the Ephesian Christians taught “in accordance with” (verses 20 and 21)?

How was the “old self” being corrupted (verse 22)?

Where are they to be made new” in (verse 23)?

How is the new self “created to be like God” (verse 24)?

What are we “all members of” (verse 25)?

What should we not do in our “anger” (verse 26)?

Who should we not give “a foothold” (verse 27)?

Why must those who have been stealing work (verse 28)?

What should come out of our mouths (verse 29)?

How were we “sealed for the day of redemption” (verse 30)?

What should we “get rid of” (verse 31)?

How should we forgive each other (verse 32)?

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

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

In your opinion, how does the Old Testament discussion about atonement in Exodus 30:11-16 help us understand the New Testament discussion in Ephesians 4:20-32 about atonement and old and new selves?

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s statement about the children being exempt in Matthew 17:22-27 lay the groundwork for putting on the new self in Ephesians 4:20-32?

In your opinion, how does the discussion of redemption in Romans 3:21-26 help us understand the way the “old self” in Ephesians 4:20-32 is “put off”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Matthew, Romans, and Ephesians teach us about how lost people are redeemed?

In your opinion, how should we, those who have accepted Christ’s atonement, respond to His grace today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 14, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Love in a Perverse World

Love in a Perverse World

Deuteronomy 32:15-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;
    filled with food, they became heavy and sleek.
They abandoned the God who made them
    and rejected the Rock their Savior.
¹⁶ They made him jealous with their foreign gods
    and angered him with their detestable idols.
¹⁷ They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God—
    gods they had not known,
    gods that recently appeared,
    gods your ancestors did not fear.
¹⁸ You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
    you forgot the God who gave you birth.

¹⁹ The Lord saw this and rejected them
    because he was angered by his sons and daughters.
²⁰ “I will hide my face from them,” he said,
    “and see what their end will be;
for they are a perverse generation,
    children who are unfaithful.
²¹ They made me jealous by what is no god
    and angered me with their worthless idols.
I will make them envious by those who are not a people;
    I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.

Who “abandoned the God who made them” (verse 15)?

How did they make God jealous (verse 16)?

Who did they sacrifice to (verse 17)?

What did they do to “the God who gave” them birth (verse 18)?

What did the Lord do when He “saw this” (verse 19)?

How is the generation described (verse 20)?

What will the Lord do “by those who are not a people” (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about following God in a perverse world?

Matthew 17:14-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. ¹⁵ “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

¹⁷ “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” ¹⁸ Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁰ He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

What did the man who approached Jesus do (verse 14)?

Who did the man want Jesus to “have mercy on” (verse 15)?

What could the disciples not do (verse 16)?

How does Jesus describe the generation (verse 17)?

What happened when “Jesus rebuked the demon” (verse 18)?

Where did the disciples ask Jesus why couldn’t we drive it out” (verse 19)?

How much faith does it take to move a mountain (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about following God in a perverse world?

In your opinion, what does Jesus in Matthew 17:14-20 help us understand about what it takes to remove ourselves from the perverse generation described in Deuteronomy 32:15-21, the one that He was talking to, and the one that we live in?

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

What makes a person who can “speak in the tongues of men or of angels” into a resounding gong (verse 1)?

What is someone who has “a faith that can move mountains” but not love (verse 2)?

How much does someone gain if they give everything but “do not have love” (verse 3)?

What is patient and kind (verse 4)?

In your opinion, how can love not keep a record of wrongs (verse 5)?

What does love rejoice with (verse 6)?

How long does love persevere (verse 7)?

How is love different from prophecies, tongues and knowledge (verse 8)?

What do we do “in part” (verse 9)?

When are the ways of childhood put behind (verse 11)?

How are we known (by God) (verse 12)?

What is the greatest of “faith, hope and love” (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about following God in a perverse world?

In your opinion, what does 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 help us understand about how the relationship with God of the descendants of those listening to Moses’s song in Deuteronomy 32:15-21 could and abandon God?

In your opinion, how does our understanding of what the disciples lacked change when we read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 after reading Jesus’s accurate emphasis on the lack of their faith in Matthew 17:14-20?

Philippians 2:12-18 - New International Version (NIV)

¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and :trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good -purpose.

¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky ¹⁶ as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. ¹⁷ But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. ¹⁸ So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

What does Paul want the Philippian Christians to “work out” (verse 12)?

Who works in Christians “to fulfill his good purpose” (verse 13)?

How does Paul instruct the Philippians Christians to do “everything” (verse 14)?

What does Paul recognize about the generation they are living in (verse 15)?

What should they “hold firmly to” as they shine in that generation (verses 15 and 16)?

How does Paul feel, even as he is “being poured out like a drink offering” (verse 17)?

How should the Philippian Christians respond to Paul (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about following God in a perverse world?

In your opinion, what does Moses anticipating the Israelite people abandoning God in Deuteronomy 32:15-21 help us understand why Paul would instruct in Philippians 2:12-18 to “continue to work out your salvation”?

In your opinion, how are the generation that Jesus is talking to in Matthew 17:14-20 and the generation that Christians are living among in Philippians 2:12-18 connected?

In your opinion, what does 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 help us understand about what we need to work on to follow the instructions of Philippians 2:12-18 to “work out your salvation”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, Matthew, 1 Corinthians, and Philippians teach us about not being people of the world?

In your opinion, how do we grow our faith among a people who have abandoned God today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)