March 1, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Blindness and Light

March 1, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Blindness and Light

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.”

Blindness and Light

Matthew 20:29-34 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁹ “As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³¹ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³² Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³³ “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

³⁴ Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”

Where was Jesus leaving (verse 29)?

Who was beside the road shouting (verse 30)?

In your opinion, why did they say “Son of David” (verse 30)?

What did the crowd do (verse 31)?

How did they respond (verse 31)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask “What do you want me to do for you” (verse 32)?

What did the men want (verse 33)?

What emotion did Jesus have for them (verse 34)?

How did Jesus act toward them (verse 34)?

In your opinion, why did the men follow Jesus after they received their sight (verse 34)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 20:29-34 show us about the Great Commission?

2 Samuel 7:8-17 - New International Version (NIV)

⁸ “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. ¹⁰ And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹¹ and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: ¹² When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. ¹⁵ But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”

¹⁷ Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.”

Who was the Lord was speaking to, and who was he to tell the message to (verse 8)?

From where had the Lord taken David from (verse 8)?

What did the Lord appoint David to be (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why does the Lord say “I have been with you wherever you have gone” (verse 9)?

What is the Lord going to do with David’s name (verse 9)?

Why is the Lord going to plant the people of Israel (verse 10)?

Who will the people of Israel be given rest from (verse 11)?

What is the Lord going to establish for David (verse 11)?

Who will be raised up and have his kingdom established (verse 12)?

What will be built “for my Name” (verse 13)?

How will his wrong doing be punished (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does it mean when God says “my love will never be taken away from him” (verse 15)?

Whose throne will be established forever (verse 16)?

What did Nathan do with this revelation (verse 17)?

In your opinion, how does God revealing to David in 2 Samuel 7:8-17 that his “throne will be established forever” help us understand about what the blind men thought about Jesus in Matthew 20:29-34 when they shouted “Lord, Son of David”?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 2 Samuel show us about the Great Commission?

Acts 22:1-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”

² When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: ³ “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. ⁴ I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, ⁵ as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

⁸ “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁹ My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

¹⁰ “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ ¹¹ My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

¹² “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. ¹³ He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴ “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. ¹⁵ You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’”

What are the brothers and fathers to do (verse 1)?

Why did they become quiet (verse 2)?

Who did Paul study under (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why does Paul say that he “persecuted the followers of this Way” (verse 4)?

What did Paul obtain from the high priest and all the Council (verse 5)?

When did “a bright light from heaven” flash around Paul (verse 6)?

What did the voice ask Paul (verse 7)?

Whose voice was it (verse 8)?

How were Paul’s companions limited (verse 9)?

What was Paul to do (verse 10)?

How had the brilliance affected Paul (verse 11)?

Who came to see Paul (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why did he say “Brother Saul” (verse 13)?

Who had chosen Paul (verse 14)?

What is Paul to be (verse 15)?

What is Paul to do (verse 16)?

In your opinion, how is the story of David, being taken from tending the flock and being appointed as the ruler over Israel, in 2 Samuel 7:8-17 similar to the story of Paul, moving from persecuting the followers of “this Way” to being appointed a witness to “all people”, in Acts 22:1-16?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the two blind men in Matthew 20:29-34 who recognized Jesus and called out “Lord, Son of David” and Paul who not only did not recognize Jesus but persecuted those who followed him in Acts 22:1-16 all end up following Jesus?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Acts 22:1-16 show us about the Great Commission?

    

Ephesians 5:1-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷ Therefore do not be partners with them.

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

Whose example should be followed (verse 1)?

What did Christ who “loved us” do for us (verse 2)?

Why should there be not even “a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed” among the Ephesians or among us (verse 3)?

What should there be among us (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why is the “immoral, impure or greedy person” called an “idolater” (verse 5)?

What kind of words deceive (verse 6)?

How are those who “were once darkness” but are now “light in the Lord” supposed to live (verse 8)?

What does the fruit of the light consist of (verse 9)?

How should the deeds of darkness be treated (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why is it shameful to mention “what the disobedient do in secret” (verse 12)?

When do things become visible (verse 13)?

What are sleepers supposed to do (verse 14)?

What will Christ do to the sleepers (verse 14)?

In your opinion, is there anything to be learned from the fact that while Paul was persecuting followers of the Way a bright light from heaven flashed around him in Acts 22:1-16 and Paul says in Ephesians 5:1-14 that when sleepers wake and rise up from the dead that Christ will shine on them?

In your opinion, what can we learn about the kingdom of the offspring of David who was supposed to be flogged by men when He had done wrong according to 2 Samuel 7:8-17, but who Paul says in Ephesians 5:1-14 “gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”?

In your opinion, how are the blind men who received sight in Matthew 20:29-34 an example of living “as the children of light” that Paul calls for in Ephesians 5:1-14?

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

Next, back to Matthew 21:1 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)