May
11, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – The Lost and the
Harvest
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.”
The Lost and the
Harvest
Matthew 9:18-38
– New International Version (NIV)
18 “While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt
before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on
her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and
so did his disciples.
20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for
twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She
said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said,
“your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the
noisy crowd and people playing pipes, 24 he said, “Go away. The
girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After
the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and
she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region.
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him,
calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he
asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
“Yes,
Lord,” they replied.
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your
faith let it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored.
Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But
they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.
32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and
could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was
driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said,
“Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that
he drives out demons.”
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in
their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every
disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had
compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without
a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is
plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the
harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Who
came to Jesus (verse 18)?
What
did he ask Jesus to do (verse 18)?
How did Jesus respond (verse 19)?
Who came up to Jesus and touched His
cloak (verse 20)?
What had she said to herself (verse 21)?
In your opinion, what did the
prestigious synagogue leader and the unclean woman have in common?
What
happened to the unclean woman (verse 22)?
In
your opinion, how did it feel at the synagogue leader’s house (verses 23 and
24)?
Who
responded to Jesus touch at the synagogue leader’s house (verse 25)?
Who
followed out to Jesus when He left the synagogue leader’s house (verse 27)?
In
your opinion, how would they have felt when called out to Him and He did not
stop for a while (verse 28)?
What
did they say when Jesus ask them “Do you believe
that I am able to do this?” (verse 28)?
In
your opinion, why did Jesus say “According
to your faith let it be done to you” (verse 29)?
After
they were healed who was brought to Jesus (verse 32)?
What
did Jesus do for him (verse 33)?
How
did the crowd respond (verse 33)?
In
your opinion, why did the Pharisees say “It
is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons” (verse 34)?
What
did Jesus do as He went through the towns and villages (verse 35)?
Why
did Jesus have compassion on the crowds (verse 36)?
In
your opinion, would the Matthew have given the description of the specific
healings to help us understand the crowds and Jesus compassion?
In
your opinion, why did Jesus say that “The
harvest is plentiful but the workers are few” (verse 37)?
What
instruction did Jesus give His disciples (verse38)?
In your opinion, what does this passage
from Matthew 9:18-38 show us about the Great Commission?
Ezekiel 34:1-24
– New International Version (NIV)
1 “The word of the Lord
came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of
Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of
Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the
flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and
slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You
have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You
have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them
harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there
was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild
animals. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on
every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched
or looked for them.
7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As surely as I
live, declares the Sovereign Lord,
because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food
for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock
but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore,
you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
10 This is what the Sovereign Lord
says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I
will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer
feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no
longer be food for them.
11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after
them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he
is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the
places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I
will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I
will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of
Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I
will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be
their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there
they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I
myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will search
for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and
strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will
shepherd the flock with justice.
17 “‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will judge between one
sheep and another, and between rams and goats. 18 Is it not
enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of
your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water?
Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19 Must my flock
feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?
20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: See, I myself will
judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you
shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until
you have driven them away, 22 I will save my flock, and they
will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 I
will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he
will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the Lord will be their God, and my servant
David will be prince among them. I the Lord
have spoken.”
Whose word came to Ezekiel (verse 1)?
Who was Ezekiel to prophesy to (verse 2)?
Who are the shepherds of Israel caring
for, and who are they not caring for (verses 2, 3 and 4)
What happened to the sheep (verses 5 and
6)?
Why is the Lord against the shepherds
(verses 7 and 8)?
In your opinion, why does the Sovereign
Lord say that He will “rescue my flock
from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them” (verse 10)?
Who will look and care for the sheep
(verses 11-16)?
How will the flock be shepherded (verse
16)?
In your opinion, why will the flock be
judged (verses 17-22)?
In your opinion, why would the Lord tell
Ezekiel that David will be placed over them when King David has been dead for
more the 400 years (verses 23 and 24)?
In your opinion, how is the flock
described in Ezekiel 34 similar to the people that Jesus was helping and seeing
in Matthew 9:18-38?
In your opinion, what does this passage
from Ezekiel show us about the Great Commission?
2 Timothy 2:15-26
– New International Version (NIV)
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a
worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of
truth. 16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in
it will become more and more ungodly. 17 Their teaching will
spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who
have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken
place, and they destroy the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless,
God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord
knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord
must turn away from wickedness.”
20 “In a large house there are articles not only of gold and
silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for
common use. 21 Those who cleanse themselves from the latter
will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and
prepared to do any good work.
22 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness,
faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure
heart. 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid
arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24 And the
Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to
teach, not resentful. 25 Opponents must be gently instructed,
in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of
the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and
escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”
What are we to “Do your best to present yourself to God as” (verse 15)?
What are we to avoid (verse 16)?
In your opinion, why would the teaching
of one who indulges in godless chatter “spread
like gangrene” (verses 16 and 17)?
How have Hymenaeus and Philetus departed
from the truth (verses 17 and 18)?
How does “God’s solid foundation” stand (verse 19)?
What are the differences in usage among
the articles in a large house (verse 20)?
In your opinion, what will “Those who cleanse themselves from the
latter” be cleansing themselves from (verses 20 and 21)?
What will “those who cleanse themselves” and are made into “instruments for special purposes, made
holy, useful to the Master” be prepared for (verse 21)?
What should we flee (verse 22)?
What should we pursue “along with those who call on the Lord out
of a pure heart” (verse 22)?
In your opinion, how do “foolish and stupid arguments” produce
quarrels (verse 23)?
How should the Lord’s servant be (verse 24)?
What is hoped to gain from gently
instructing an opponent (verse 25 and 26)?
In your opinion, how does this teaching
of Paul to Timothy help us understand the behaviors we should avoid and pursue
in the flock that is God’s flock as described in Ezekiel 34?
In your opinion, how does Paul’s teaching
about gently instructing opponents help us to understand the harvest that Jesus
mentioned in Matthew 9:18-38?
In your opinion, what does this passage
from 2 Timothy show us about the Great Commission?
Revelation 14:13-20
– New International Version (NIV)
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed
are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,”
says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow
them.”
14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated
on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a
sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the
temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take
your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the
earth is ripe.” 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his
sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too
had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of
the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the
sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from
the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 19 The angel
swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the
great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 They were trampled in the
winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high
as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
Who will be blessed “from
now on” (verse 13)?
Why will the “rest
from their labor” (verse 13)?
What was in the hand of the one on the white cloud “like a son of man with a crown of gold on
his head” (verse 14)?
What did the angel call out from the one “like a son of man” on the white cloud
to do (verse 15)?
How did the one “like
a son of man” respond (verse 16)?
In your opinion, who is the one “like a son of man”?
What does the angel who comes out of the temple in heaven
have (verse 17)?
What is done with the grapes
harvested by this angel with a sharp sickle (verse 19)?
In your opinion, what do these
clusters of grapes represent (verses 18 and 19)?
In your opinion, how does this
teaching about the harvest by the “one
like a son of man” and by the angel with the sharp sickle teach us about Paul’s
instruction in 2 Timothy about being an approved worker?
In your opinion, what does this
passage from Revelation help us to understand about Ezekiel 34 and its teaching
about the flock?
In your opinion, what does this Revelation
teaching about the harvests help us understand about Jesus command to ask the
Lord of the harvest to send out more workers Matthew 9:18-38?
In your opinion,
what does this passage from Revelation show us about the Great Commission?
Next, back to
Matthew 10:1 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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