February 7, 2016 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Deceivers and Truth

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.”

Deceivers and Truth

Matthew 27:62-66 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶² “The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ⁶³ “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ ⁶⁴ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

⁶⁵ “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.”

Who went to Pilate (verse 62)?

In your opinion, who is the one they were calling “that deceiver” (verse 63)?

What did they say that the “deceiver” said (verse 63)?

How long did they want Pilate to have the tomb “made secure” (verse 64)?

What did they think the disciples might do (verse 64)?

In your opinion, why would they think that “this last deception will be worse than the first” (verse 64)?

What did Pilate tell them to do (verse 65)?

How did they make the tomb secure (verse 66)?

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

Obadiah 1-4 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “The vision of Obadiah.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom—

We have heard a message from the Lord:
    An envoy was sent to the nations to say,
“Rise, let us go against her for battle”—

² “See, I will make you small among the nations;
    you will be utterly despised.
³ The pride of your heart has deceived you,
    you who live in the clefts of the rocks
    and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
    ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
⁴ Though you soar like the eagle
    and make your nest among the stars,
    from there I will bring you down,”
declares the Lord.”

Who did the Sovereign Lord give the vision about Edom to (verse 1)?

What was the envoy to the nations to say (verse 1)?

How was Edom to be viewed (verse 2)?

What has deceived the people of Edom (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why do they say “who can bring me down to the ground” (verse 3)?

Who will bring Edom down, even though they “soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars” (verse 4)?

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

In your opinion, do the people of Edom that were in Obadiah’s vision in Obadiah 1-4 have something in common with the chief priests and Pharisees who called Jesus the deceiver in Matthew 27:62-66?

Ephesians 4:17-25 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. ¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. ¹⁹ Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

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.

²⁵ Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”

How does Paul insist that the holy people in Ephesus “must no longer live as the Gentiles do” (verse 17)?

What is the source of the ignorance that separates the Gentiles “from the life of God” (verse 18)?

Why have the Gentiles “given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in very kind of impurity” (verse 19)?

What were the holy people in Ephesus taught “in him in accordance with” (verse 21)?

How was the old self, that is to be put off, being corrupted (verse 22)?

What is to be made new (verse 23)?

What is “the new self” created to be like (verse 24)?

What are “each of you” to put off (verse 25)?

Why should we “speak truthfully to your neighbor” (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, how might the “pride of your heart” of the Edomites that Obadiah was speaking to in Obadiah 1-4 be related to the Gentiles that Paul writes about in Ephesus 4:17-25 who are separated from God because of the “hardening of their hearts”?

In your opinion, had the chief priests and Pharisees of Matthew 27:62-66 had such hardening of their hearts and loss of sensitivity like Paul talked about in Ephesians 4:17-25 that they truly believed Jesus was a deceiver?

2 John 1-9 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “The elder,

To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— ² because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

³ Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.

⁴ It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. ⁵ And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. ⁶ And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

⁷ I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸ Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. ⁹ Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”

How does the elder feel about the “lady chosen by God” and her children (verse 1)?

Where is the truth (verse 2)?

How will the “grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son” be with us (verse 3)?

What has given the elder “great joy” (verse 4)?

How does John, the elder, describe the command that “we love one another” (verse 5)?

What is love (verse 6)?

Who does “not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh” (verse 7)?

Why should we watch out that we “do not lose what we have worked for” (verse 8)?

Who does not have God (verse 9)?

What does “whoever continues in the teaching” have (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, how does the command that John gives in 2 John 1-9 to “love one another” help us not live in the “futility of their thinking” that comes from a hardening of hearts and a loss of sensitivity as warned by Paul in Ephesians 4:17-25?

In your opinion, how does the pride of the Edomites who feel like they “soar like an eagle” in Obadiah 1-4 contrast with the love of some the lady’s children in 2 John 1-9 who are “walking in the truth”?

In your opinion, how are the chief priests and Pharisees of Matthew 27:62-66 who thought that the disciples might “steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead” similar to the deceivers of 2 John 1-9 who “do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh”?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Obadiah, Ephesians and 2 John show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 28:1 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com) 

January 31, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Tombs and Promised Lands

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.”

Tombs and Promised Lands

Matthew 27:57-61 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵⁷ “As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. ⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.”

How is Joseph described (verse 57)?

What had Joseph become (verse 57)?

Who did Joseph ask “for Jesus’ body” (verse 58)?

What did Joseph wrap Jesus body in (verse 59)?

Where did Joseph place Jesus body (verse 60)?

In your opinion, why did Joseph roll “a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb” (verse 60)?

Where were “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary” (verse 61)?

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

Genesis 50:22-26 - New International Version (NIV)

²² “Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years ²³ and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.

²⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” ²⁵ And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

²⁶ So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.”

Where did Joseph stay (verse 22)?

Who stayed along with Joseph (verse 22)?

How long did Joseph live (verse 22)?

Who did Joseph see (verse 23)?

In your opinion, why would “the children of Makir son of Manasseh” been placed at birth on Joseph’s knees (verse 23)?

Where did Joseph say that God would “take you up out of this land” to (verse 24)?

What oath did Joseph make the Israelites swear (verse 25)?

Where was Joseph placed “after they embalmed him” (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, what does Joseph being placed in a coffin after he was embalmed in Genesis 50:22-26 and Jesus placed in a tomb with a big stone rolled in front of it in Matthew 27:57-61 show about what was anticipated for the future by those who cared for them?

Romans 6:3-14 – New International Version (NIV)

³ “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

What are “all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus” baptized into (verse 3)?

Why were “we were therefore buried with him through baptism into death” (verse 4)?

What will we certainly also be “if we have been united with him in a death like his” (verse 5)?

Why was our old self “crucified with him” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why does Paul say “anyone who has died has been set free from sin” (verse 7)?

What do we believe if we believe “we died with Christ” (verse 8)?

Why does death have “no mastery over” Christ (verse 9)?

Who did Christ die the death He “died to sin once” for (verse 10)?

Who does Christ live the “life he lives” for (verse 11)?

What should we not let “reign in” our “mortal bodies” (verse 12)?

Who should we offer ourselves to “as those who have been brought from death to life” (verse 13)?

What part of ourselves should we offer “as an instrument of righteousness” (verse 13)?

Why is sin “no longer your master” (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, how is Joseph not being willing for his bones to stay in Egypt after his death in Genesis 50:22-26 an example of what Paul is talking about in Romans 6:3-14 when he says that we are to “count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus”?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s statement in Romans 6:3-14 that “all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death” change the way you look at the wrapping of the body of Jesus in a clean linen cloth, place in a tomb and having a big stone rolled in front of it in Matthew 27:57-61?

Revelation 7:9-17 – New International Version (NIV)

⁹ “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

¹¹ All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴ I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
    will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ ‘Never again will they hunger;
    never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
    nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb at the center of the throne
    will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
    ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

How many were before John (verse 9)?

Where were they from (verse 9)?

What were they wearing (verse 9)?

According to what was cried out, who does salvation belong to (verse 10)?

What did “all the angels” standing around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures do (verse 11)?

Who ask John “these in white robes-who are they, and where did they come from” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, who are the ones “who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb” (verse 14)?

Who will shelter those who “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (verses 14 and 15)?

What will the “Lamb at the center of the throne” be (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the Lamb will “lead them to springs of living water” (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, how is the promise of Paul in Romans 6:3-14 that those who “have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his” supported by the vision of John in Revelation 7:9-17 of the great multitude clothed in white robes?

In your opinion, how is the “land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” that Joseph looked forward to in Genesis 50:22-26 similar to area “before the throne and before the Lamb” that the great multitude clothed in white found themselves in Revelation 7:9-17?

In your opinion, do you think that Joseph of Arimathea in Matthew 27:57-61 had any idea that the tomb he placed Jesus in and rolled a big stone in front of would be temporary and that Jesus would be the Lamb that the great multitudes would worship and bow to in heaven in Revelation 7:9-17?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Genesis, Romans and Revelation show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 27:62 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 17, 2016 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Giving Up and Encouraging

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.”

Giving Up and Encouraging

Matthew 27:50-56 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵⁰ “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.”

When did Jesus give “up his spirit” (verse 50)?

What happened in the temple at the moment that Jesus “gave up his spirit” (verse 51)?

Whose bodies were “raised to life” (verse 52)?

Why did “the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus” exclaim “surely he was the Son of God” (verse 54)?

In your opinion, why did “many women” watch from a distance (verse 55)?

Why had the women, including “Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of Zebedee’s sons” followed Jesus (verses 55 and 56)?

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

Leviticus 16:1-4 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord. ² The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

³ “This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place: He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. ⁴ He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on.”

When did the Lord speak to Moses (verse 1)?

What were the sons of Aaron doing when they died (verse 1)?

What was Moses to tell Aaron (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of the curtain and the Most Holy Place (verse 2)?

Where will the Lord appear (verse 2)?

What is the first thing that Aaron is to do when he is preparing to enter the Most Holy Place (verse 3)?

How is the clothing that Aaron is to wear described (verse 4)?

What is Aaron to do before putting the clothing on (verse 4)?

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

In your opinion, how does the death of Aaron’s sons and the actions that Aaron is to take before going through the curtain to the Most Holy Place in Leviticus 16:1-4 help us to understand about the significance to the tearing of the curtain at the death of Jesus in Matthew 27:50-56?

Hebrews 10:19-25 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Why do we have “confidence to enter the Most Holy Place” (verse 19)?

How is the “way opened for us through the curtain” described (verse 20)?

What is the “way opened for us through the curtain” (verse 20)?

Who has a “great priest over the house of God” (verse 21)?

How should we “draw near to God” (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to have “our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us” and “having our bodies washed with pure water” (verse 22)?

What should we “hold unswervingly to” (verse 23)?

Who should we “spur” on “toward love and good deeds” (verse 24)?

What should we not give up (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, what has changed that would allow Paul to tell us that we “have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place” in Hebrews 10:19-25 in comparison to Aaron losing two sons and then needing to offer sacrifices and bath himself and wear special clothes in Leviticus 16:1-4?

In your opinion, at what moment described in the passage of Matthew 27:50-56 do you think that the “new and living way” that Paul talked about in Hebrews 10:19-25 was opened for us through the curtain?

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, ² for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

⁴ But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. ⁵ You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. ⁶ So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

What does Paul not need to write about (verse 1)?

How will the “day of the Lord” come (verse 2)?

What will people be saying when “destruction will come on them suddenly” (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why is the impossibility of escaping the upcoming destruction described as “labor pains on a pregnant woman” (verse 3)?

Why should “brothers and sisters” not be surprised (verse 4)?

What are the brothers and sisters children of (verse 5)?

How should we be (verse 6)?

When do “those who sleep” sleep and get drunk (verse 7)?

What should we do with faith and love (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to put “the hope of salvation” on as a helmet (verse 8)?

What did God appoint for us (verse 9)?

Why did Jesus die for us (verse 10)?

What should we do for each other (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, how is Paul’s discussion in Hebrews 10:19-25 about having “confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus” then instructing us to encourage one another “all the more as you see the Day approaching” expanded on by his discussion in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” followed by the statement that “He died for us so that . . . we may live together with him” and instruction to “encourage one another and build each other up”?

In your opinion, how would you describe the difference in God’s relationship with people prior to Jesus dying on the cross as shown by Aaron and his sons in Leviticus 16:1-4 and after Jesus dying on the cross by Paul’s instruction to put “on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet” when he is discussing the coming “day of the Lord” in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11?

In your opinion, what does 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 show us about why Jesus “gave up his spirit” in Matthew 27:50-56?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Leviticus, Hebrews and 1 Thessalonians show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 27:57 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 10, 2016 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Forsaken and Entrusting

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.”

Forsaken and Entrusting

Matthew 27:45-49 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁵ “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

⁴⁷ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

When did the darkness come “over all the land” (verse 45)?

Who cried out “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani” (verse 46)?

What does “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani” mean (verse 46)?

In your opinion, why did some of the people standing there think that Jesus was calling Elijah (verse 47)?

What did they offer Jesus to drink (verse 48)?

Why were they going to leave Jesus alone (verse 49)?

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

Psalms 22 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.
⁴ In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
    since he delights in him.”

⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ From birth I was cast on you;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me,
    for trouble is near
    and there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;
    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
¹³ Roaring lions that tear their prey
    open their mouths wide against me.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
    it has melted within me.
¹⁵ My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
    you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶ Dogs surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ All my bones are on display;
    people stare and gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.

¹⁹ But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
    You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
²⁰ Deliver me from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dogs.
²¹ Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²² I will declare your name to my people;
    in the assembly I will praise you.
²³ You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
    Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or scorned
    the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
    but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
    before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him—
    may your hearts live forever!

²⁷ All the ends of the earth
    will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    will bow down before him,
²⁸ for dominion belongs to the Lord
    and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
    all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
    those who cannot keep themselves alive.
³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
    future generations will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness,
    declaring to a people yet unborn:
    He has done it!”

In your opinion, how are David in the Psalm and Jesus from the cross similar (verse 1 and Matthew 27:46)?

What question does the Psalm begin with (verse 1)?

When does David, the Psalmist, cry out (verse 2)?

How does David view change beginning in verse 3?

Who trusted in God (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why does David say “they cried out and were saved” (verse 5)?

How does David perceive himself (verse 6)?

In your opinion, could Jesus have had the same view of Himself from the cross (verse 6)?

What do the people who see David, or his descendant Jesus, do (verse 7)?

Who did the mockers say should rescue David, or later Jesus (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why was it important for David, and later Jesus, to affirm that God brought them from their mother’s womb and trust in God (verse 9)?

What plea does the writer of the Psalm, and later Jesus, make (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why are verses 14 through 18 excellent descriptions of Jesus’s crucifixion?

How does David, and later Jesus, identify the Lord (verse 19)?

What plea is made (verses 20 and 21)?

What promise is made (verse 22)?

In your opinion, why is it important for David, Jesus and even us today to remember “For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help” (verse 24)?

Who will praise the Lord (verse 26)?

What will “all the families of the nations” do (verse 27)?

Who does “dominion” belong to (verse 28)?

What will serve the Lord (verse 30)?

Who will “his righteousness” be proclaimed to (verse 31)?

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

In your opinion, what does reading Psalm 22 help us to understand about what Jesus was thinking and what hope He was clinging to as He hung on the cross in Matthew 27:45-49?

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

What has come for anyone who “is in Christ” (verse 17)?

Who “reconciled us to himself through Christ” (verse 18)?

How is God able to not count “people’s sins against them” (verse 19)?

What does Paul implore “on Christ’s behalf” (verse 20)?

What did God make “him who had no sin” (verse 21)?

How do we “become the righteousness of God” (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 how does knowing that “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us” help us understand in Psalm 22 why Jesus might want to cry with David “but I am a worm and not a man”?

In your opinion, how is the despair of Jesus in Matthew 27:45-49 related to the new creation that Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21?

1 Peter 2:21-25 – New International Version (NIV)

²¹ “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²² “He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” ²⁵ For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

Who did Christ suffer for (verse 21)?

What example did Christ set (verses 21 and 22)?

How did Jesus not respond to insults and suffering (verse 23)?

Who did Jesus entrust Himself to (verse 23)?

Why did Jesus bear our sins “in his body on the cross” (verse 24)?

What did Jesus wounds do (verse 24)?

Who was “like sheep going astray” but now have been “returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, how does Peter saying “but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” in 1 Peter 2:21-25 help us to understand about why Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 that “The old is gone, the new is here! All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ”?

In your opinion, how does Psalm 22 help us to understand about the wounds that Peters says in 1 Peter 2:21-25 healed us?

In your opinion, how was it possible for Jesus, who cried “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” in Matthew 27:45-49 to entrust “himself to him who judges justly” according to 1 Peter 2:21-25?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Psalm, 2 Corinthians and 1 Peter show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 27:50 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)