Saturday, January 4, 2020

January 12, 2020 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Appointed or Purified




Appointed or Purified


Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19 - New International Version (NIV)

The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
    before you were born I set you apart;
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

11 The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.

12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”

17 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Whose word came to Jeremiah (verse 4)?

When was Jeremiah appointed “as a prophet to the nations” (verse 5)?

What objection did Jeremiah raise to the Lord (verse 6)?

How did the Lord respond to Jeremiah’s objection (verse 7)?

Why is Jeremiah not to be afraid (verse 8)?

How did the Lord put words in Jeremiah’s mouth (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the Lord appointed Jeremiah “over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant” (verse 10)?

What did Jeremiah see (verse 11)?

How did the Lord interpret what Jeremiah saw (verse 12)?

What is Jeremiah to say (verse 17)?

Who is Jeremiah to stand against (verse 18)?

How will they respond to Jeremiah (verse 19)?

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

Mark 3:13-19 - New International Version (NIV)

13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Where did Jesus go (verse 13)?

Who came to Him (verse 13)?

Why did Jesus appoint the twelve (verse 14)?

What authority did the twelve have (verse 15)?

Who did Jesus give the name Peter (verse 16)?

How is Judas Iscariot described (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, why would the one who knew Jeremiah before He formed him in the womb, in Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19, have appointed “Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him” to be one of the twelve in Mark 3:13-19? 

Acts 1:12-26 – New International Version (NIV)

12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”

18 (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

20 “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:

“‘May his place be deserted;
    let there be no one to dwell in it,’

and,

“‘May another take his place of leadership.’

21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

Who returned to Jerusalem (verse 12)?

Who joined “constantly in prayer” (verse 14)?

How many believers were there (verse 15)?

What did Peter say had to be fulfulled (verse 16)?

How does Peter describe Judas (verses 16 and 17)?

What did Judas do with his payment (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why did Peter quote the Psalms in verse 20?

What criteria did Peter require of Judas’s replacement (verses 21 and 22)?

Who was nominated (verse 23)?

What did they pray (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what is an “apostolic ministry” (verse 25)?

In your opinion, how is the way Matthias became a member of the twelve and the way the other eleven became members different (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jeremiah, who God appointed as a prophet according to Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19 different from Judas who Jesus appointed as one of the twelve in Mark 3::13-19 and who fulfilled the Scripture which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David” according to Peter in Acts 1:12-26?

In your opinion, how could Judas, who was appointed by Jesus in Mark 3:13-19, have been the one who Peter said in Acts 1:12-26 “served as a guide for those who arrested Jesus”?

Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21 – New International Version (NIV)

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.



20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

How did God speak to the ancestors of the Jews (and us) in the past (verse 1)?

How did God speak to us “in these last days” (verse 2)?

Who is “appointed heir of all things” (verse 2)?

Through whom did God make the universe (verse 2)?

Who is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (verse 3)?

Who “provided purification for sins” (verse 3)?

Who “became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs” (verse 4)?

Who did the “God of peace” bring back through “the blood of the eternal covenant” (verse 20)?

What is Paul praying that his Christian readers will be equipped with (verse 21)?

What is Paul praying that God will do in his readers (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what is different about the word that God spoke to us through Jeremiah as outlined in Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19 and the message delivered “to us by his Son” in the last days according to Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21?


In your opinion, what is the difference between the twelve of Acts 1:12-26, of whom Paul includes himself with and says in Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21 “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” and those have received the “purification for sins” but who have not heard Jesus speak?  How are our responsibilities similar?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Jeremiah, Mark, Acts and Hebrews help us understand about the differences between those who are appointed, like Jeremiah and the twelve (including Judas) and those who have been purified from sins and whom God is working in today?

In your opinion, what can we who are purified from sins through Jesus learn about what God’s will for us today is by studying those who were appointed in today’s scriptures?


(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

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