Sunday, May 18, 2014

May 25, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Sheep and Discipline

May 25, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Sheep and Discipline

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.”

Sheep and Discipline

Matthew 10:16-23 – New International Version (NIV)
16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
How did Jesus send the disciples our (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what did Jesus mean when he said “Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (verse 16)?

What was going to happen to the disciples (verse 17)?

Who are the disciples to witness to when they are “before governors and kings” (verse 18)?

What are the disciples not to worry about when they are arrested (verse 19)?

Who will be speaking when they are “before governors and kings” (verse 20)?
In your opinion, why will family members betray family members (verse 21)?
What will happen to the one who “stands firm to the end” (verse 22)?
What are the disciples to do when they are persecuted in one place (verse 23)?
When will the Son of Man come (verse 23)?
In your opinion, how do we understand the prophecy about when the Son of Man would come (verse 23)?
In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 10:16-23 show us about the Great Commission?

Jeremiah 17:5-14 – New International Version (NIV)
“This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
    who draws strength from mere flesh
    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
    they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
    in a salt land where no one lives.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.”
The heart is deceitful above all things
    and beyond cure.
    Who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart
    and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
    according to what their deeds deserve.”
11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
    are those who gain riches by unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
    and in the end they will prove to be fools.
12 A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning,
    is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, you are the hope of Israel;
    all who forsake you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust
    because they have forsaken the Lord,
    the spring of living water.
14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;
    save me and I will be saved,
    for you are the one I praise.”
Who is cursed (verse 5)?
In your opinion, is there a connection between “trusts in man” and “whose heart turns away from the Lord” (verse 5)?
How will that person be cursed (verse 6)?
Who will be blessed (verse 7)?
What will they be like (verse 8)?
In your opinion, what is the significance of the statement “It does not fear when heat comes” (verse 8)?
What is deceitful “above all things” (verse 9)?
Where does the Lord get His understanding of people so He knows how to reward them (verse 10)?
What will people “who gain riches by unjust means” prove to be in the end (verse 11)?
In the midst of a world that sometimes seems to reward those “who gain riches by unjust means” where is our sanctuary (verse 12)?
Why will those who have forsaken the Lord “be written in the dust” (verse 13)?
What does Jeremiah affirm about the Lord’s healing and salvation (verse 14)?
In your opinion, what does Jeremiah’s contrast of the results of trusting in man or in God help us to understand about being sent out “like sheep among wolves” that Jesus talks about in Matthew 10:16-23?
In your opinion, what does this passage from Jeremiah show us about the Great Commission?

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 urge the Roman Christians (and us) to watch out for (verse 17)?
How are we to behave toward those we are to watch out for (verse 17)?
What are they serving (verse 18)?
What do they use to “deceive the minds of naïve people” (verse 18)?
In your opinion, after Paul commended the Roman Christians for their obedience, why did he want them “to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil” (verse 19)?
Who will the God of peace soon crush “under your feet” (verse 20)?
What blessing does Paul ask for the Roman Christians (and us) (verse 20)?
In your opinion, how does Paul’s teaching that “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” from Romans 16:17-20 help us understand Jeremiah’s comment that those who trust in God will be “like a tree planted by the water” that “does not fear when the heat comes” of Jeremiah 17:5-14?
In your opinion, how does Paul’s teaching about avoiding those who cause division, and about being wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil help us to understand the teaching of Jesus that we should be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” from Matthew 10:16-23?
In your opinion, what does this passage from Romans show us about the Great Commission?

Hebrews 12:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)
1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Who are we surrounded by (verse 1)?

What are we to throw off (verse 1)?

How are we to run “the race marked out for us” (verse 1)?

Who should our eyes be fixed on (verse 2)?

What is the “joy set before” Jesus that allowed Him to endure the cross and scorn its shame (verse 2)?

In your opinion, how does considering Jesus, “who endured such opposition from sinners” help us “not grow weary and lose heart” (verse 3)?

What is the Hebrews (and our) struggle against (verse 4)?

How are we not to respond when the Lord rebukes or disciplines us (verse 5)?

Who does the Lord discipline (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why does Paul equate “hardship” with “discipline” (verse 7)?

What does discipline prove about our legitimacy as Christians (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why does Paul add the words “and live” after saying that we should submit to God’s discipline “How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!” (verse 9)?

Why does God discipline us (verse 10)?

How does discipline feel (verse 11)?

What does training by discipline produce (verse 11)?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s teaching in Hebrews 12:1-11 about discipline help us understand his instruction in Romans 16:17-20 to avoid those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Hebrews help us to understand about Jeremiah 17:5-14 and specifically Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.” or does Jeremiah help us understand Hebrews?

In your opinion, what does this Hebrews teaching about “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” help us to understand “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves” in Matthew 10:16-23?
In your opinion, what does this passage from Hebrews show us about the Great Commission?


Next, back to Matthew 10:24 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

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