December 17, 2017 – Moses and Jesus and Us – Transfigured

Transfigured

Exodus 20:1-21 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ And God spoke all these words:

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

³ “You shall have no other gods before me.

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷ “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹² “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³ “You shall not murder.

¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵ “You shall not steal.

¹⁶ “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

¹⁸ When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance ¹⁹ and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

²⁰ Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

²¹ The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

Who spoke (verse 1)?

Who brought the Israelites “out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why is it significant that the first commandment is “you shall have no other gods before me” (verse 3)?

What are the Israelites not to make (verse 4)?

Who is jealous (verse 5)?

Who will be shown God’s love (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to misuse God’s name (verse 7)?

How is the sabbath day to be remembered (verse 8)?

When shall the Israelites “labor and do all your work” (verse 9)?

Who shall not work on the seventh day (verse 10)?

What did the Lord do in six days (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the progression of the commands dealing with relating to God: first a command to not put any other god before God, second a command to not make an image of anything to put ahead of God, third is a command to not be inappropriate in the use of God’s name, and the fourth is a command to act like God (verses 3 through 11)?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the progression of the commands that deal with relating to other people: first a command to act that also has a promise with it, then two commands against physical acts against people, one command against physical acts against people’s possessions, then a command forbidding verbal acts against people, and the last is a command avoid a mental act  (verses 12 through 17)?

How did the people react to the presence of God as demonstrated by the thunder, lightning, trumpet and smoke (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why do you think the people choose to have Moses as an intermediary instead of hearing from God directly (verse 19)?

Why has God come to test the people (verse 20)?

Where did the people remain (verse 21)?

Where did Moses go (verse 21)?

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

Luke 9:28-36 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁸ About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. ²⁹ As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. ³⁰ Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. ³¹ They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. ³² Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. ³³ As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

³⁴ While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” ³⁶ When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

What did Jesus take Peter, John and James up onto the mountain to do (verse 28)?

How did Jesus change while He was praying (verse 29)?

Who appeared with Jesus (verse 30)?

What did they speak about (verse 31)?

Why did “Peter and his companions” become fully awake (verse 32)?

In your opinion, why did Peter speak if he did not know what he was saying (verse 33)?

What appeared while Peter was speaking (verse 34)?

How were Peter, John and James to respond to the One who the voice said “is my Son, whom I have chosen” (verse 35)?

What was Peter, John and James’s reaction to all they saw (verse 36)?

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

In your opinion, how are the instructions that God gave to the people of Israel in Exodus 20:1-21 similar to the instruction that God gave to Peter, John and James in Luke 9:28-36 “this is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him”?

Romans 8:1-4 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Who has “no condemnation” (verse 1)?

What has “the law of the Spirit who gives life” done through Christ Jesus (verse 2)?

Why was the law powerless (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that God sent His own Son “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (verse 3)?

What did God do to “sin in the flesh” (verse 3)?

Who fully meets the “righteous requirement of the law” (verse 4)?

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

While Jesus was on the mountain in Luke 9:28-36 he momentarily shed the “likeness of sinful flesh” that Paul in the Romans passage said He took on and became “bright as a flash of lightning”; in your opinion, how is that similar to the transformation of those who Romans 8:1-4 says have no condemnation but live according to the Spirit?

In your opinion, how is the reaction of the Israelites in Exodus 20:1-21 when they trembled with fear and stayed at a distance from the thunder, lightning and mountain in smoke a demonstration of the weakness of flesh that Paul says makes the law powerless to release us from condemnation in Romans 8:1-4?

2 Peter 1:3-19 – New International Version (NIV)

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹² So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. ¹³ I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, ¹⁴ because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. ¹⁵ And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

¹⁶ For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” ¹⁸ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

¹⁹ We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

What has Jesus’s “divine power” given us (verse 3)?

What causes the “corruption in the world” (verse 4)?

What does possessing faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love in increasing measure keep us from (verses 5-8)?

What have those who do not possess faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love in increasing measure forget (verses 5-9)?

Who should “make every effort to confirm your calling and election” (verse 10)?

Where will those who confirm their calling and election receive a rich welcome (verses 10 and 11)?

In your opinion, why would Peter remind people established in truth of things that they already know (verse 12)?

How long does Peter think it is right for him to refresh their memory (verse 13)?

What does Peter know he will soon put aside (verses 13 and 14)?

For how long does Peter want his readers to remember (verse 15)?

What was Peter an eyewitness of (verse 16)?

Who did Jesus receive honor and glory from when the voice said “this is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (verse 17)?

When did Peter hear the “voice that came from heaven” (verse 18)?

How should Peter’s readers react to the completely reliable prophetic message (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, how does Peter help us move away “from the law of sin and death” Paul writes of in Romans 8:1-4 and move toward the “godly life” he describes in 2 Peter 1:3-19?

In your opinion, what is significant about the change in Peter from the point on the mountain in Luke 9:28-36 when he talked about putting up three shelters to the point in 2 Peter 1:3-19 where he calls himself an eyewitness “of his majesty”?

In your opinion, what is the biggest difference between the ten commandments delivered to the people of Israel in Exodus 20:1-21 and the instruction from Peter in 2 Peter 1:3-19 to “add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Luke, Romans, and 2 Peter teach us about difference between the law of sin and death and the law of the Spirit?

In your opinion, how is the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain an example to those who have received life through Christ Jesus?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)