February 26, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Triumph Over the Tomb

Triumph Over the Tomb

Genesis 14:13-20 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶ He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

¹⁷ After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

¹⁸ Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, ¹⁹ and he blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
    Creator of heaven and earth.
²⁰ And praise be to God Most High,
    who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

What did the man who had escaped do (verse 13)?

Who was called “the Hebrew” (verse 13)?

How did Abram respond to the report that his relative had been taken captive (verse 14)?

When did Abram divide his men and attack (verse 15)?

How did the attack go (verse 15)?

What did Abram bring back (verse 16)?

Who came out to meet Abram in the Valley of Shaveh (verses 17 and 18)?

In what two ways was Melchizedek described (verse 18)?

How did Melchizedek describe God Most High when he blessed Abram (verse 19)?

Who did Melchizedek give credit to for Abram’s victory (verse 20)?

How did Abram respond to the blessing by Melchizedek (verse 20)?

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

John 11:32-44 - New International Version (NIV)

³² When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴ “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

³⁵ Jesus wept.

³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹ “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

⁴⁰ Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

⁴¹ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

⁴³ When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

What did Mary believe (verse 32)?

How did the weeping of Mary and the Jews who were with her effect Jesus (verse 33)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus weep (verse 35)?

What did the Jews think when they saw Jesus weeping (verse 36)?

In your opinion, what would saying “could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man kept this man from dying” done Jesus’ reputation (verse 37)?

What was the tomb (verse 38)?

Why was Martha worried about taking away the stone (verse 39)?

How did Jesus respond to Martha’s concerns (verse 40)?

Where did Jesus look when He said “Father, I thank you that you have heard me” (verse 41)?

Why did Jesus say this (verse 42)?

What did Jesus say “in a loud voice” (verse 43)?

Where were the strips of linen and the cloth (verse 44)?

What did Jesus say (verse)?

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

In your opinion, how is Abram’s bringing back Lot in Genesis 14:13-20 similar to Jesus going up to the cave with the stone laid across the entrance and calling for Lazarus to come out in John 11:32-44?

Hebrews 7:11-22 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? ¹² For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. ¹³ He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. ¹⁵ And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, ¹⁶ one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is declared:

“You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸ The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless ¹⁹ (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

²⁰ And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, ²¹ but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:

“The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind:
    ‘You are a priest forever.’”

²² Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.

In your opinion, what could not be attained through Levitical priesthood (verse 11)?

What must change when the priesthood is changed (verse 12)?

Where did “no one from that tribe” ever serve (verse 13)?

What tribe, that Moses said nothing about priests in, did our Lord descend from (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between one who becomes a priest on the basis of a regulation versus one who becomes a priest “on the basis of the power of an indestructible life” (verse 16)?

What is declared (verse 17)?

Why is the former regulation set aside (verse 18)?

How do we draw near to God (verse 19)?

How did others become priests (verse 20)?

Who made an oath that “you are a priest forever” (verse 21)?

What has Jesus become (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, how does the power and authority that Jesus demonstrated in John 11:32-44 when He called Lazarus from the dead demonstrate the better hope that Paul says in Hebrews 7:11-22 we can have in Jesus, the priest in the order of Melchizedek?

In your opinion, what are some of the similarities between King Melchizedek, who we meet in Genesis 14:13-20, and Jesus, who Paul talks about in Hebrews 7:11-22?

Revelation 5:1-5 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. ⁴ I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

What did John see in the “right hand of him who sat on the throne” (verse 1)?

Who ask the question “who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll” (verse 2)?

How many people “in heaven or on earth or under the earth” could open the scroll or look inside (verse 3)?

Why did John weep (verse 4)?

Who told John not to weep (verse 5)?

What has “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” done (verse 5)?

What can “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” do (verse 5)?

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

In your opinion, what does the “power of an indestructible life” that Paul describes in Hebrews 7:11-20 have in common with the triumph that Revelation 5:1-5 says that the “Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” has obtained?

In your opinion, how is Jesus weeping before calling Lazarus from the tomb in John 11:32-44 similar to John weeping because no one could be found to open the scroll in Revelation 5:1-5?

In your opinion, how does the uniqueness of Melchizedek, the priest of God, in Genesis 14:13-20, similar to the uniqueness of “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” in Revelation 5:1-5?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Hebrews and Revelation help us understand about Jesus triumph in His recovery of those captured by sin and death?

In your opinion, how do these passages help us to be priests, for Jesus, today?                                             

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)