May 3, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – The Dead and the Living

  

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.”

The Dead and the Living

Matthew 22:23-33 – New International Version (NIV)

²³ “That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. ²⁴ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. ²⁷ Finally, the woman died. ²⁸ Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. ³⁰ At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. ³¹ But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

³³ When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.”

What do the Sadducees say (verse 23)?

Who do the Sadducees reference in asking Jesus their question (verse 24)?

Why is the brother of a man who dies without children supposed to marry his brother’s widow (verse 24)?

How many brothers was the widow in the question supposed to have married (verses 25 and 26)?

In your opinion, why did the Sadducees ask Jesus this question (verse 28)?

Why does Jesus say the Sadducees are in error (verse 29)?

Who will people be like at the resurrection (verse 30)?

Who said something about the “resurrection of the dead” (verse 31)?

In your opinion, why is Jesus able to say that God is “not the God of the dead but of the living” (verse 32)?

How did the crowds respond to the teaching of Jesus (verse 33)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 22:23-33 show us about the Great Commission?

Exodus 3:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. ⁸ So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁹ And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

Where was Moses tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law (verse 1)?

How did the angel of the Lord appear to Moses (verse 2)?

Why did Moses go over to the bush (verse 3)?

How did Moses reply when God called “Moses! Moses!” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why was the place where Moses was standing “holy ground” (verse 5)?

Why did Moses hide his face when God said “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” (verse 6)?

What had God seen (verse 7)?

Where was God moving “his people” to (verse 8)?

How were the Egyptians treating the Israelites (verse 9)?

Why was God sending Moses to the Pharaoh (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why did the Sadducees who were trying to trap Jesus in Matthew 22:23-33 not remember the words of God in Exodus 3:1-10, which must have been one of their favorite stories?

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

Philippians 3:15-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ “All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. ¹⁶ Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

¹⁷ Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. ¹⁸ For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

Who does Paul say should “take such a view of things” (verse 15)?

What will God do “if at some point you think differently” (verse 15)?

How should we live (verse 16)?

In your opinion, why should we follow Paul’s example and keep our “eyes on those who live as we do” (verse 17)?

Why does Paul have tears (verse 18)?

What is the destiny of the “enemies of the cross of Christ” (verse 19)?

In your opinion, why is the glory of the “enemies of the cross of Christ” “in their shame” (verse 19)?

Where is our citizenship (verse 20)?

How do we wait for “a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 20)?

What will Jesus do “by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control” (verse 21)?

In your opinion, how is knowledge that Jesus will “transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” from Philippians 3:15-21 help us to understand how God is able to be “the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” as it states in Exodus 3:1-10?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion about the “power that enables him to bring everything under his control” in Philippians 3:15-21 help us to not make the error of the Sadducees in Matthew 22:23-33 of not knowing “the Scriptures or the power of God”?

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

1 John 3:1-10 – 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.

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. ⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. ¹⁰ This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.”

What are we (verse 1)?

What will be “when Christ appears” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why do those “who have this hope in him purify themselves” (verse 3)?

Who breaks the law (verse 4)?

Why did Christ appear (verse 5)?

What does the “one who lives in him” not do (verse 6)?

What are we not to let anyone do (verse 7)?

Why did “the Son of God” appear (verse 8)?

Why does the “one who is born of God” not go on sinning (verse 9)?

How do we know who the “children of God are and who the children of the devil are” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what can we learn about our “citizenship” “in heaven” that Paul talks about in Philippians 3:15-21 from the discussion of John in 1 John 3:1-10 about the change to those “born of God” because “God’s seed remains in them”?

In your opinion, how is it reassuring to us today that the God who said “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” in Exodus 3:1-10 is also the one who 1 John 3:1-10 says children we are because Christ appeared to take away our sins?

In your opinion, how does it make you feel that the one who said in Matthew 22:23-33 “He is not the God of the dead but of the living” is also the one who when He appears “we shall be like him” according to 1 John 3:1-10?

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

Next, back to Matthew 22:34 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 26, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Taxes and Submission

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.”

Taxes and Submission

Matthew 22:15-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ “Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. ¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. ¹⁷ Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸ But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, ²⁰ and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

²¹ “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

²² When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.”

Who made plans to trap Jesus (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why did they partner with the Herodians in their attempt (verse 16)?

How did they begin their attempt (verse 16)?

In your opinion, why did they ask “is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not” (verse 17)?

What was their intent (verse 18)?

What coin did they bring Jesus (verse 19)?

What did Jesus ask them about the coin (verse 20)?

How did they reply (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why is Jesus answer the perfect answer to their question (verse 21)?

How did they respond to the answer (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 22:15-22 show us about the Great Commission?

Proverbs 3:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “My son, do not forget my teaching,
    but keep my commands in your heart,
² for they will prolong your life many years
    and bring you peace and prosperity.

³ Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
    bind them around your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ Then you will win favor and a good name
    in the sight of God and man.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.^”

Where were the commands of Solomon the author of Proverbs to be kept (verse 1)?

What will they bring (verse 2)?

Where should “love and faithfulness” be bound (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did Solomon indicate that living in “love and faithfulness” would enable you to “win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man” (verse 4)?

How should we “trust in the Lord” (verse 5)?

What should we not lean on (verse 5)?

Where should we submit to God (verse 6)?

In your opinion, how does Solomon saying to trust in the Lord with all our heart in Proverbs 3:1-6 foreshadow Jesus saying to the Pharisees and the Herodians in Matthew 22:15-22 to “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s”?

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

1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. ¹³ Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. ¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not treat prophecies with contempt ²¹ but test them all; hold on to what is good, ²² reject every kind of evil.

²³ May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.”

Who are the “brothers and sisters” to acknowledge (verse 12)?

Why should we “hold them in the highest regard in love” (verse 13)?

How should we live with each other (verse 13)?

Who should we warn (verse 14)?

How should we relate to the disheartened (verse 14)?

What do we do for the weak (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why should we be patient with everyone (verse 14)?

What should we strive for (verse 15)?

When should we rejoice (verse 16)?

When should we pray (verse 17)?

When should we give thanks (verse 18)?

In your opinion, how do we “quench the Spirit” (verse19)?

What should we avoid with prophecies (verse 20)?

In your opinion, how do we test all prophecies so that we know which to hold on to and which to reject (verses 20, 21 and 22)?

What does the blessing ask for the “God of peace” to do for us “through and through” (verse 23)?

How is the “one who calls you” described (verse 24)?

In your opinion, how is the command to “in all your ways submit to him” in Proverbs 3:1-6 expanded by the command in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 to “rejoice always, pray continually,  give thanks in all circumstances”?

In your opinion, is the command in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 to “do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil” a different way of expressing the command that Jesus gives in Matthew 22:15-22 to “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s”?

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

1 Peter 2:11-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. ¹² Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

¹³ Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, ¹⁴ or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. ¹⁵ For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. ¹⁶ Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. ¹⁷ Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”

How does Peter describe his Christian friends that he is writing to (verse 11)?

What do “sinful desires” wage war against (verse 11)?

What can we do to help pagans “glorify God on the day he visits us” (verse 12)?

Why should we submit to “every human authority” (verses 14 and 15)?

How do we “silence the ignorant talk of foolish people” (verse 16)?

What should our freedom not be (verse 16)?

Who should we “show proper respect” to (verse 17)?

Who should we “love” (verse 17)?

Who should we “fear” (verse 17)?

Who should we “honor” (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what is the connection between Paul’s blessing in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through” and Peter’s naming those he is writing to “foreigners and exiles” in 1 Peter 2:11-17?

In your opinion, how is Solomon’s discussion about “love and faithfulness” helping to “win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man” in Proverbs 3:1-6 similar to Peter’s statement that “by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people” in 1 Peter 2:11-17?

In your opinion, do you think that Jesus saying to “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” in Matthew 22:15-22 was part of Peter’s background that helped him to understand that Christians are the “foreigners and exiles” he was writing to in 1 Peter 2:11-17?

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

Next, back to Matthew 22:23 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 19, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Weddings and Wedding Clothes

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.”

Weddings and Wedding Clothes

Matthew 22:1-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

How did Jesus speak to them (verse 1)?

What is the kingdom of heaven like (verse 2)?

Who did the king send his servants to (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did the king send more servants (verse 4)?

How did the people respond to the servants (verses 5 & 6)?

Why did the king send his army to destroy the murderers and burn their city (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did those who the king had invited “not deserve to come” (verse 8)?

Who did the king instruct his servants to bring in (verse 9)?

Did the servants only bring in the good people that they found (verse 10)?

What did the king see when he came in to see the guests (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of the “wedding clothes” (verses 11 and 12)?

What is the punishment for the man who was not wearing wedding clothes (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus say “for many are invited, but few are chosen” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 22:1-14 show us about the Great Commission?

Zechariah 3:1-5 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. ² The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

³ Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. ⁴ The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.”

Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.”

⁵ Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.”

Where was Joshua, the high priest, standing (verse 1)?

Why was Satan standing at his right side (verse 1)?

What did the Lord say to Satan (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why did the Lord describe Joshua as a “burning stick snatched from the fire” (verse 2)?

How was Joshua dressed (verse 3)?

What did the angel say to Joshua after telling others to “take off his filthy clothes” (verse 4)?

What did Zechariah say (verse 5)?

Who stood by while they put a clean turban on Joshua’s head and clothed him (verse 5)?

In your opinion, how does the Lord not letting Satan accuse Joshua whom He snatched from the burning fire, removed sin from and clothed in clean clothing in Zechariah 3:1-5 similar to the king in Jesus parable bringing in “the bad as well as the good” and then requiring that everyone at the wedding feast be in the proper attire in Matthew 22:1-14?

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

Ephesians 4:20-24 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ “That, however, is not the way of life you learned ²¹ when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

What is Paul talking to the Ephesians about (verse 20)?

Who did the Ephesians hear about and were taught about (verse 21)?

Why is the old self to be put off (verse 22)?

Where are we to be made new (verse 23)?

Who is the new self created to be like (verse 24)?

In your opinion, how does the statement of Paul in Ephesians 4:20-24 about putting off the old self and putting on the new self a continuation of the statement in Zechariah 3:1-5 about Joshua’s sin being taken away and the clothing of Joshua in fine garments?

In your opinion, how does knowing that the new self in Ephesians 4:20-24 is “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” help understand why the king in Matthew 22:1-14 had the guest that was not in wedding clothes tied up and thrown outside “into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”?

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

Revelation 19:6-9 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

“Hallelujah!
    For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
⁷ Let us rejoice and be glad
    and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
    and his bride has made herself ready.
⁸ Fine linen, bright and clean,
    was given her to wear.”

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

⁹ Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

How does John describe what a great multitude sounds like (verse 6)?

Why does the great multitude say “hallelujah” (verse 6)?

Why should we “rejoice and be glad and give him glory” for (verse 7)?

What does the fine linen that was given to the bride to wear stand for (verse 8)?

Who is blessed (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does in mean that Paul in Ephesians 4:20-24 says that we are to put on “the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” and that John says in Revelation 19:6-9 that the bride of the Lamb is given fine linen, which stands for “the righteous acts of God’s holy people”?

In your opinion, how is it a completion of the “snatching” of Joshua like a burning stick from a fire and refusing to let Satan accuse him in Zechariah 3:1-5 a wonderful example of the ways “our Lord God Almighty reigns” as claimed by John in Revelation 19:6-9?

In your opinion, do you think that Jesus was anticipating the wedding feast of Revelation 19:6-9 when he described the king in Matthew 22:1-1-14 gathering in “the bad as well as the good” and being dressed in the proper wedding clothes?

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

Next, back to Matthew 22:15 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)