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.”
Rejected and
Chosen
Matthew 23:29-39 –
New International Version (NIV)
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you
hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the
righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our
ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the
prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are
the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go
ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being
condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and
sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will
flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so
upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from
the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you
murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you,
all this will come on this generation.
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone
those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as
a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look,
your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will
not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord.’”
What does Jesus
say that the teachers of the law and Pharisees are doing that is hypocritical (verse
29)?
Who do the
teachers of the law and Pharisees say shed the blood of the prophets (verse 30)?
In
your opinion, why does Jesus say that the teachers of the law and the Pharisees
“testify against yourselves that you are
the descendants of those who murdered the prophets” (verse 31)?
What does Jesus instruct the
teachers of the law and Pharisees to “go
ahead” and do (verse 32)?
In your opinion, how will the
teachers of the law and Pharisees “escape being condemned to hell” (verse 33)?
How will the “prophets and sages and teachers” that Jesus sends be treated
(verse 34)?
What will come upon the teachers of
the law and Pharisees (verse 35)?
Why has Jesus not gathered Jerusalem
“as a hen gathers her chicks under her
wings” (verse 37)?
How is their house left to them
(verse 38)?
When will they see Jesus again
(verse 39)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
Psalm 118:19-29 - New
International Version (NIV)
19 “Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
25 Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!
Lord, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good;
his love endures forever.”
his love endures forever.”
Why does the
Psalmist want the “gates of the
righteous” to be opened (verse 19)?
What is the “gate of the Lord” (verse 20)?
How did the Lord
answer the Psalmist, who is giving thanks (verse 21)?
In your opinion, what does it mean that “the stone the builders rejected has become
the cornerstone” (verse 22)?
Who has done this (verse 23)?
How should we respond (verse 24)?
What two pleas does the Psalmist make (verse
25)?
Who is blessed (verse 26)?
In your opinion, how has God “made his light shine on us” (verse 27)?
How will the Psalmist react to “my God” (verse 28)?
What endures forever (verse 29)?
In your opinion, what does it mean that in
His discussion of the way that Jerusalem is the one who will “kill the prophets and stone those
sent to you”
and that their house will be desolate because they will not see Him again until “you say,
‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’” Matthew 23:29-39
is a direct quote from Psalm 118:19-29 and that it follows the passage about “the stone the builders rejected” that
Peter claims for Jesus?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
Acts 7:51-60 –
New International Version (NIV)
51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still
uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy
Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not
persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous
One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who
have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were
furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of
the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus
standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see
heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of
their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the
city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the
feet of a young man named Saul.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out,
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.”
How does Stephen describe the high priest
and the Sanhedrin (verse 51)?
Who does he say they are like (verse 51)?
What does he say that they “always” do (verse 51)?
In your opinion, what does verse 52 do for
the statement of Jesus in Matthew 23:32 “Go ahead,
then, and complete what your ancestors started!”?
How does Stephen say that the high priest
and the Sanhedrin obeyed the law that had been given through angels (verse 53)?
What did the members of the Sanhedrin do
when the heard what Stephen said (verse 54)?
How was Stephen able to look up to heaven
and see Jesus standing at the right hand of God (verse 55)?
In your opinion, why did the members of
the Sanhedrin cover their ears when they heard Stephen say “Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand
of God” (verse 57)?
Where was Stephen dragged to (verse 58)?
Who did the witnesses lay their coats at
the feet of (verse 58)?
What did Stephen pray “while they were stoning him” (verse 59)?
When did Stephen fall asleep (verse 60)?
In your opinion, can we say that God
obeyed the request of Psalms 118:19-29 and opened the gates of the righteous
for Stephen when the Holy Spirit allowed him to look into heaven and see the “glory of God, and Jesus standing at the
right hand of God” in Acts 7:51-60?
In your opinion, how was the trial and
stoning of Stephen in Acts 7:51-60 anticipated by Jesus in Matthew 23:29-39 “Therefore I am sending you prophets
and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will
flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town”?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
1 Peter 2:4-10 –
New International Version (NIV)
4 “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but
chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living
stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood,
offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For
in Scripture it says:
“See,
I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those
who do not believe,
“The
stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”
has become the cornerstone,”
8 and,
“A
stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”
and a rock that makes them fall.”
They
stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined
for.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who
called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once
you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
How does Peter
describe the reaction of humans and God to Jesus, the living Stone (verse 4)?
What are God’s elect, who Peter was
writing to, also described as (verse 5)?
Why are God’s elect being built into a
spiritual house (verse 5)?
How do God’s elect offer “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God”
(verse 5)?
In your opinion, why will the one who
trusts in the chosen and precious cornerstone laid in Zion “never be put to shame” (verse 6)?
What is the stone to those who believe (verse 7)?
What is the stone to those who do not
believe (verse 7)?
Why does the stone cause people to stumble
(verse 8)?
Why are God’s elect “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special
possession” (verse 9)?
What have the “people of God” received (verse
10)?
In your opinion, how do the actions of the
Sanhedrin in Acts 7:51-60 in the covering their ears and stoning Stephen
illustrate the statement in 1 Peter 2:4-10 that the precious stone of Jesus is “a stone that causes people to stumble and a
rock that makes them fall”?
In your opinion, how does the Psalmist in
Psalms 118:19-29 in the combination of the request to “open for me the gates of the righteous” with the “the stone the builders rejected has become
the cornerstone” anticipate Peter’s claim in 1 Peter 2:4-10 that Jesus is
the living Stone and that Christians are “like
living stones” and are being “built
into a spiritual house”?
In your opinion, what
does it mean that Jesus in Matthew 23:29-39 says to the teachers of the law and
Pharisees that “your house is left to you
desolate” and that Peter in 1 Peter 2:4-10 says to God’s elect that they
are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, God’s special possession”?
In your opinion, what do these passages,
from Matthew, Psalms, Acts and 1 Peter, show us about the Great Commission?
Next, back to Matthew 24:1 –
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