April 13, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Blasphemy and Praise

April 13, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Blasphemy and Praise

 Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

“¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Blasphemy and Praise

Matthew 9:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

“Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. ² Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

³ At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”

⁴ Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? ⁵ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” ⁷ Then the man got up and went home. ⁸ When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.”

Where did Jesus go when he got into the boat (verse1)?

Who did the men bring to him (verse 2)?

What prompted Jesus to say “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why did the teachers of the law say that Jesus was blaspheming (verse 3)?

What did Jesus know about the teachers of the law (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus say that the thoughts of the teachers of the law were “evil” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask which is easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’ (verse)?

What did Jesus want them to know (verse 6)?

What is the next thing that Jesus said to the paralyzed man (verse 6)?

What did the paralyzed man do (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what filled the crowd with awe, the forgiveness of sin or the healing of the paralyzed man (verse 8)?

Why did they praise God (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 9:1-8 show us about the Great Commission?

Psalm 103 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The Lord works righteousness
    and justice for all the oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,
    his deeds to the people of Israel:
⁸ The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed,
    he remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵ The life of mortals is like grass,
    they flourish like a flower of the field;
¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone,
    and its place remembers it no more.
¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children—
¹⁸ with those who keep his covenant
    and remember to obey his precepts.

¹⁹ The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
    and his kingdom rules over all.

²⁰ Praise the Lord, you his angels,
    you mighty ones who do his bidding,
    who obey his word.
²¹ Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
    you his servants who do his will.
²² Praise the Lord, all his works
    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

What does David instruct his soul and all his inmost being to do (verse 1)?

Who provides the benefits of the forgiveness of all sins and healing from disease to David (verses 2 and 3)?

Who works for righteousness and justice for all the oppressed (verse 6)?

How is the Lord described in verse 8?

What will God not always do (verse 9)?

How is God’s treatment of us better than we deserve (verse 10)?

In your opinion, is there a better way to describe the tremendous love that God has “for those who fear him” than the way David does in verse 11?

In your opinion, is there a more vivid way to describe how God will removed our transgressions from us than David’s description in verse 12?

How does David illustrate God’s compassion (verse 13)?

What is it that the “wind blows over and it is gone” and “its place remembers it no more” (verses 15 and 16)?

How big is God’s love for those who fear Him and His righteousness for their children’s children who “keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts” (verses 17 and 18)?

Who does God’s kingdom rule over (verse 19)?

Who is to “Praise the Lord” (verse 20)?

Who is to “Praise the Lord” (verse 21)?

Who is to “Praise the Lord” (verse 22a)?

Who is to “Praise the Lord” (verse 22b)?

In your opinion, should we “Praise the Lord”?

In your opinion, how does David’s statements about forgiveness and praising God in Psalm103 compare or contrast with the teachers of the law accusing Jesus of blasphemy in Matthew 9:1-8?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Psalms show us about the Great Commission?

1 John 2:18-29 – New International Version (NIV)

^18 “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. ¹⁹ They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

²⁰ But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. ²¹ I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. ²² Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. ²³ No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

²⁴ As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is what he promised us—eternal life.

²⁶ I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. ²⁷ As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

²⁸ And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

²⁹ If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.”

When is the time of the letter to the “dear children” (verse 18)?

What have the “dear children” heard is coming that John confirms have already come (verse 18)?

What did their going “out from us” show (verse 19)?

Who has anointed the “dear children” so that they will know the truth (verse 20)?

Why did John write (verse 21)?

Who is the liar and the antichrist (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what is “what you have heard from the beginning” (verse 24)?

What has He promised us (verse 25)?

What teaches the “dear children” (verse27)?

What do we need to do to be “confident and unashamed before him at his coming” (verse 28)?

Where does “everyone who does right” come from (verse 29)?

In your opinion, how does John’s instruction about Jesus and the antichrists teach us about the response of the teachers of the law in Matthew 9:1-8?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 1 John show us about the Great Commission?

Revelation 13:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

“The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. ² The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. ³ One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. ⁴ People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

⁵ The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. ⁶ It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. ⁷ It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. ⁸ All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear.

¹⁰ “If anyone is to go into captivity
    into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
    with the sword they will be killed.”

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.”

Who stood on the shore of the sea (verse 1)?

What came up out of the sea (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what is the meaning of the ten horns and seven heads and ten crowns on the horns (verse 1)?

What did the dragon give the beast (verse 2)?

What caused the whole world to be filled with wonder (verse 3)?

Why did people worship the beast (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what does it show about the beast’s authority was limited to forty-two months (verse5)?

What did the beast do to God (verse 6)?

What authority did the beast have for the forth-two months (verse7)?

Who will worship the beast (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what is it about the Lamb’s book of life that keeps the people from worshiping the beast (verse 8)?

What calls for “patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does the contrast between praise in the Psalm and blasphemy in the Matthew 9 passage and the Revelation 13 passage show us?

In your opinion, what does this scripture from Revelation about the dragon and the beast show us about the teachers of the law and Jesus in Matthew 9:1-8?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Revelation show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 9:9 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)