March 8, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Donkeys and Children

March 8, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Donkeys and Children

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.”

Donkeys and Children

Matthew 21:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵ “Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Where did Jesus come to (verse 1)?

What were the two disciples to find (verse 2)?

How were the disciples to respond if “anyone says anything to you” (verse 3)?

Why did this take place (verse 4)?

Who did the king come riding on a donkey to (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why did the disciples place their cloaks on the donkeys for Jesus to sit on (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why did the “very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road” (verse 8)?

Who did the crowds shout “Hosanna” to (verse 9)?

Who did the crowds say was “blessed” (verse 9)?

What did the city of Jerusalem ask (verse 10)?

How did the crowds answer (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 21:1-11 show us about the Great Commission?

Zechariah 9:9-12 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
    Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
    righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
¹⁰ I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
    and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
    and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
    His rule will extend from sea to sea
    and from the River to the ends of the earth.
¹¹ As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
    I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
¹² Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope;
    even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.”

Who is to rejoice (verse 9)?

Why are they to rejoice (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem” (verse 10)?

What will “He” proclaim to the nations (verse 10)?

Where will “His rule” extend (verse 10)?

Why will the prisoners be freed from the “waterless pit” (verse 11)?

What will be restored to the “prisoners of hope” (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what does reading Zechariah 9:9-12 allow us to understand about what the great crowds of Matthew 21:1-11 expected of Jesus?

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

Hebrews 9:11-28 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ “But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. ¹² He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. ¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ¹⁴ How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

¹⁵ For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

¹⁶ In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, ¹⁷ because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. ¹⁸ This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. ¹⁹ When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. ²⁰ He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” ²¹ In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. ²² In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

²³ It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. ²⁵ Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶ Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

What did Christ come as (verse 11)?

How did Christ enter the “greater and more perfect tabernacle” (verse 12)?

What kind of redemption did He obtain (verse 12)?

What effect does the “blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer” have on those who are ceremonially unclean (verse 13)?

What effect will “the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God” have (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why can Christ, who is “mediator of a new covenant” set those who are called “free from the sins committed under the first covenant” (verse 15)?

What is necessary “in the case of a will” (verse 16)?

When does a will become “in force” (verse 17)?

Who did Moses sprinkle with the blood of calves (verse 19)?

When is there no forgiveness (verse 22)?

In your opinion, why do heavenly things require better sacrifices than copies of heavenly things (verse 23)?

Where is Christ appearing for us (verse 24)?

Who did Christ appear for (verse 26)?

What are people destined to do after they die (verse 27)?

Why will Christ appear a second time (verse 28)?

In your opinion, how does the discussion of the blood of the covenant in Hebrews 9:11-28 help us to understand the complete prophecy of Zechariah 9:9-12 which refers not only to the king entering riding on a donkey, but also says “because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit”?

In your opinion, what is the difference in understanding about who Jesus is that the crowds outside of Jerusalem in Matthew 21:1-11 had in comparison with Paul in Hebrews 9:11-28?

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

 

1 John 3:1-3 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

What did the Father lavish on us (verse 1)?

Who shall we be called (verse 1)?

Why does the world not know us (verse 1)?

Who will we be like (verse 2)?

What do those who hope in him do (verse 3)?

In your opinion, how does the promise in 1 John 3:1-3 that we will be like Christ when He appears help us to understand what will happen when He appears a second time as promised in Hebrews 9:11-28?

In your opinion, how does it help us to understand the magnitude of the great the love the Father lavished according to John in 1 John 3:1-3 to understand that the blood of the covenant that Zechariah referred to in Zechariah 9:9-12 was the blood of the king who came riding in on the donkey, the Son of the Father?

In your opinion, how do you put into words your appreciation for Jesus for being the one who heard the “hosannas” as He entered Jerusalem on the donkey in Matthew 21:1-11, the “crucify him” cries a few days later, but still shed His blood so that we can be like Him when He appears a second time according to 1 John 3:1-3?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 1 John show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 21:12 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)