November 16, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Jesus and Witnesses

November 16, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Jesus and Witnesses

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.”

Jesus and Witnesses

Matthew 17:1-13 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ³ Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

¹⁰ The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.”

Who went with Jesus up a high mountain (verse 1)?

What happened to Jesus there that caused His face to shine like the sun and His clothes to become as white as light (verse 2)?

Who appeared before the disciples talking with Jesus (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did Peter suggest putting up three shelters (verse 4)?

What did the voice from the bright cloud say (verse 5)?

How did the disciples respond to the voice (verse 6)?

Who touched the disciples and comforted them (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what happened to Elijah and Moses (verse 8)?

When were the disciples to tell what they had seen (verse 9)?

Who said that Elijah must come first (verse 10)?

What did Jesus say Elijah was going to do when he came (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why was “Elijah” not recognized when he came (verse 12)?

What happened to Elijah (verse 12)?

What is going to happen to the “Son of Man” (verse 12)?

Who was Jesus talking about when He was talking about Elijah (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 17:1-13 show us about the Great Commission?

Malachi 4:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. ² But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. ³ Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.

⁴ “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

⁵ “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. ⁶ He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

What will the day burn like when it comes (verse 1)?

Who will be stubble that the “day that is coming” will set on fire (verse 1)?

Who will “frolic like well-fed calves” when “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays” (verse 2)?

What will the wicked be “on the day when” the Lord Almighty acts (verse 3)?

How is Moses identified (verse 4)?

What did the Lord Almighty give to Moses at Horeb (verse 4)?

When will the prophet Elijah be sent (verse 5)?

What will Elijah do (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of Moses and Elijah being mentioned in the last chapter in the Old Testament, Malachi 4:1-7, and also being a part of the transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17:1-13?

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

Acts 1:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach ² until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³ After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ⁴ On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵ For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶ Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰ They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Who was written about in the former book (verse 1)?

What did He give to the Holy Spirit to the apostles (verse 2)?

How many times did Jesus appear to the disciples (verse 3)?

Where were the disciples to stay until they received “the gift” (verse 4)?

How are the disciples to be baptized (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why did the disciples ask, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel” (verse 6)?

Who has set the “times or dates” (verse 7)?

When will the disciples receive power (verse 8)?

What will the disciples be when they receive power (verse 8)?

How did Jesus leave the disciples (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why were the disciples “looking intently up into the sky” (verse 10)?

What is the promise is given about Jesus (verse 11)?

In your opinion, how does the statement that Jesus “who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” in Acts 1:1-11 expand our understanding of “that great and dreadful day of the Lord” that is proclaimed in Malachi 4:1-6?

In your opinion, how is the transfiguration of Jesus that occurred in Matthew 17:1-13 a foreshadowing of Jesus being taken into heaven of Acts 1:1-11?

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

    

Revelation 11:1-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. ² But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. ³ And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” ⁴ They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” ⁵ If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. ⁶ They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

⁷ Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. ⁸ Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. ⁹ For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. ¹⁰ The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

¹¹ But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. ¹² Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.

¹³ At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.”

What was John given (verse 1)?

Why is the outer court not be measured (verse 2)?

How long are the two witnesses to prophesy (verse 3)?

Where do the two witnesses stand (verse 4)?

What happens to those who try to harm the two witnesses (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why are the powers to “shut up the heavens” and to “turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague” significant (verse 6)?

What happens when the testimony of the two witnesses is finished (verse 7)?

Where will the bodies lay (verse 8)?

Who will gaze on their bodies (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why will the inhabitants of earth gloat and send each other gifts (verse 10)?

What enters the bodies at the end of three and a half days (verse 11)?

Where did the voice come from (verse 12)?

How did they go to heaven (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why would the survivors give glory to God (verse 13)?

What has passed and what is coming (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of the fact that the two witnesses were taken to heaven in a cloud in Revelation 11:1-14 and that Jesus was taken up “before their very eyes” in Acts 1:1-11?

In your opinion, what can we deduce from the fact that the miracles that the two witnesses do in Revelation 11:1-14 were the miracles that Moses (calling the plagues) and Elijah (shutting up the heavens so that it does not rain) were known for, who are both mentioned in Malachi 4:1-6 which also discusses the “great and dreadful day of the Lord”?

In your opinion, how does the calling of the two witnesses to heaven, where Jesus was already raised to, in Revelation 11:1-14 complete a reunion of the three who were together at the transfiguration described in Matthew 17:1-13?

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

Next, back to Matthew 17:14 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)