Saturday, September 6, 2014

September 14, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Breaking Bread


  
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.”

Breaking Bread

Matthew 14:13-21 – New International Version (NIV)
13 “When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

Where did Jesus go when He heard that John the Baptist had been killed (verse 13)?

Who followed Him (verse 13)?

How did Jesus feel about the crowd that met Him when He landed (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why did the disciples ask Jesus to send the crowds away (verse 15)?

How did Jesus respond to the disciples’ request (verse 16)?

What limitation did the disciples indicate to Jesus (verse 17)?

Who did Jesus tell the disciples to bring their limited resources to (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus direct the people to sit down on the grass (verse 19)?

What did Jesus do when He took the five loaves and the two fish (verse 19)?

Who did Jesus give them to (verse 19)?

How did the people feel after they ate (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that the very limited resources at the beginning not only satisfied everyone, but that there were twelve basketfuls left over (verse 20)?

How many people were satisfied (verse 21)?
In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 14:13-21 show us about the Great Commission?

2 Kings 4:38-44 - New International Version (NIV)
38 “Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these prophets.”
39 One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine and picked as many of its gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. 40 The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.
41 Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He put it into the pot and said, “Serve it to the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
42 A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said.
43 “How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked.
But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” 44 Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.”
What was going on in the Gilgal when Elisha returned (verse 38)?
Who did Elisha instruct his servant to prepare a large pot of stew for (verse 38)?
What was found in the fields and cut up and added to the stew (verse 39)?
What did they realize when they began to eat the stew (verse 40)?
In your opinion, what did adding flour to the stew do (verse 41)?
How was the stew after the flour was added (verse 41)?
What did the man from Baal Shalishah bring (verse 42)?
In your opinion, was this a generous gift (verse 42)?
How did the servant respond to Elisha’s instruction to feed the people (verse 43)?
What was Elisha’s prophecy about the feeding of the people with the limited supply of food (verse 43)?
How accurate was the prophecy (verse 44)?
In your opinion, how is Jesus feeding the 5,000 in Matthew 14:13-21 foreshadowed by Elisha feeding the people in 2 Kings 4:38-44?
In your opinion, what does this passage from 2 Kings show us about the Great Commission?

Acts 20:7-12 – New International Version (NIV)
“On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” 11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.”
What did they come together to do (verse 7)?
Why did Paul keep talking until midnight (verse 7)?
Where was Eutychus sitting (verse 8)?
What did Eutyhus do (verse 9)?
In your opinion, why did Paul throw himself down on the young man (verse 10)?
What did Paul say about the young man (verse 10)?
When did they break bread and eat (verse 11)?
How long did Paul talk (verse 11)?
What comforted the people (verse 12)?
In your opinion, how does Paul gathering to break bread in Acts 20:7-12 compare to the prophet Elisha having his servant give the bread that was given to him to the people in 2 Kings 4:38-44?
In your opinion, how does Jesus feeding the five thousand in Matthew 14:13-21 foreshadow the fellowship that the believers shared in Acts 20:7-12, and how should we view this kind of fellowship today?
In your opinion, what does this passage from Acts show us about the Great Commission?   
 
Revelation 3:14-22 – New International Version (NIV)
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Who was the message that Jesus was giving to go to (verse 14)?
How does Jesus describe Himself (verse 14)?
What do the deeds of the people of the church in Laodicea show about them (verse 15)?
In your opinion, why does Jesus want to spit them out of His mouth (verse 16)?
In your opinion, why are the people poor when they think they are rich (verse 17)?
What kind of gold were they instructed to buy (verse 18)?
How does Jesus relate to those He loves (verse 19)?
Where does Jesus stand and knock (verse 20)?
What will He do with the person who hears His voice and opens the door (verse 20)?
Where will the person who is victorious have a right to sit (verse 21)?
Who is the person who has ears instructed to hear (verse 22)?
In your opinion, how is the fact that Eutychus was waiting to break bread with Paul when he fell asleep and then fell out the window to his death was given life again in Acts 20:7-12 related to the fact that Jesus (who is the source of eternal life) stands at the door and knocks, to enter and eat (break bread) with the person who hears and opens the door in Revelation 3:14-22?
In your opinion, how is Elisha adding the flour and removing the poison from the stew in 2 Kings 4:38-44 a foreshadowing of the counseling of Jesus to purchase “gold refined in the fire” in Revelation 3:4-22?
In your opinion, how does Jesus having compassion on the crowd and healing the sick in Matthew 14:13-21 help us to understand why Jesus would “stand at the door and knock” in Revelation 3:14-22?
In your opinion, what does this passage from Revelation show us about the Great Commission?


Next, back to Matthew 14:22 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

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