November 15, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Reactions to Christ

  

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.”

Reactions to Christ

Matthew 26:57-68 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵⁷ “Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. ⁵⁸ But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.

⁵⁹ The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. ⁶⁰ But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.

Finally two came forward ⁶¹ and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

⁶² Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” ⁶³ But Jesus remained silent.

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

⁶⁴ “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. ⁶⁶ What do you think?”

“He is worthy of death,” they answered.

⁶⁷ Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him ⁶⁸ and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”

Where did “those who had arrested Jesus” take Him (verse 57)?

Who did Peter sit down with to “see the outcome” (verse 58)?

Why were the “chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin” looking for false evidence against Jesus (verse 59)?

In your opinion, why could they not find any false evidence even “though many false witnesses came forward” (verse 60)?

What did the two false witnesses agree on (verse 61)?

How did Jesus respond to the testimony and the high priest’s question about it (verses 62 and 63)?

Who did the high priest ask Jesus if He was (verse 63)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus say “you have said so” (verse 64)?

What did Jesus say to “all of you” (verse 64)?

How did the high priest react to what Jesus said (verse 65)?

What did “they” say Jesus was worthy of (verse 66)?

Where did “they” spit (verse 67)?

What did “they” say after they slapped Jesus (verses 67 and 68)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Daniel 7:13-14 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

When did Daniel have this vision (verse 13)?

Who approached the “Ancient of Days” (verse 13)?

Who was “given authority, glory and sovereign power” (verse 13)?

Who worshiped Him (verse 13)?

When will His dominion end (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, if we assume that the high priest knew the prophecies of Danial and this passage in Daniel 7:13-14 then what does the high priest’s reaction in Matthew 26:57-68 of Jesus statement “From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” mean that he thought about Jesus?

Acts 9:1-19 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

¹⁰ In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

¹¹ The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

¹³ “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

¹⁷ Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹ and after taking some food, he regained his strength.”

What was Saul doing (verse 1)?

What did he ask the high priest for (verse 2)?

Where was he when “a light from heaven flashed around him” (verse 3)?

What question was he ask (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why did Saul ask “who are you, Lord” (verse 5)?

Who was speechless (verse 7)?

Why was Saul led “by the hand into Damascus” (verse 8)?

Who is Ananias (verse 10)?

What was Ananias told that “a man from Tarsus named Saul” was doing (verse 11)?

What had the “man from Tarsus named Saul” seen in a vision (verse 12)?

How did Ananias respond to the Lord (verses 13 and 14)?

Who does the Lord say that “this man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name” to (verse 15)?

What will the Lord show Saul (verse 16)?

How did Ananias address Saul (verse 17)?

Why did Ananias say he was sent to Saul (verse 17)?

What fell from “Saul’s eyes, and he could see again” (verse 18)?

What did Saul do after “he got up” (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what are the things in Acts 9:1-19 that show the “one like a son of man” from Daniel 7:13-14 exercising some of the “authority, glory and sovereign power” that He is given?

In your opinion, how are the meetings of Caiaphas and Jesus in Matthew 26:57-68 and Paul and Jesus in Acts 9:1-19 similar and how are they different?

1 Corinthians 2:6-16 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ “We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

¹⁰ these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. ¹⁴ The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶ for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.”

What kind “message of wisdom” does Paul not speak of (verse 6)?

What does Paul declare from “God’s wisdom” (verse 7)?

What would the “rulers of this age” have not done if they understood the message from “God’s wisdom” (verse 8)?

What does the quote “what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived-the thing God has prepared for those who love him” tell us about the ability of human wisdom to understand God’s wisdom, His love, or His actions (verse 9)?

Who reveals God’s wisdom (verse 10)?

In your opinion, how does Paul explain the Holy Spirit’s ability to reveal God’s wisdom, His love and His actions (verse 11)?

What spirits might we have received (verse 12)?

What wisdom does Paul claim not to speak by (verse 13)?

Who considers the “the things that come from the Spirit of God” foolishness (verse 14)?

Who has the “mind of Christ” (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does the actions of Saul in Acts 9:1-19 who went to the high priest for letters but then spent three days praying and fasting after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, then received the Holy Spirit when Ananias placed his hands on him illustrate the conflict between worldly wisdom and God’s wisdom that Paul (Saul) talks about in 1 Corinthians 2:6-16?

In your opinion, how does vision of Daniel in Daniel 7:13-14 who saw “one like the son of man” receiving “authority, glory and sovereign power” begin to anticipate Jesus, but still miss the amazing “things God has prepared for those who love him” as Paul quotes in 1 Corinthians 2:6-16?

In your opinion, what does the difference in the reaction of Ananias to Jesus in Matthew 26:57-68 illustrate acceptance of worldly wisdom and the reaction of Paul to Jesus in Acts 9:1-9 illustrate a rejection of worldly wisdom to accept God’s wisdom, both discussed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:6-16?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Daniel, Acts and 1 Corinthians show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 26:69 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)