February 13, 2022 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Hope for the Forsaken

 

Hope for the Forsaken

Psalm 22:1-11 - 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.

Who does the Psalmist say has “forsaken me” (verse 1)?

When does the Psalmist call out without an answer (verse 2)?

Who is God enthroned as (verse 3)?

Who trusted God (verse 4)?

When were they saved (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does the Psalmist mean by “but I am a worm and not a man” (verse 6)?

Who mocks the Psalmist (verse 7)?

Why do people say “let the Lord rescue him” (verse 8)?

What did God make the Psalmist do (verse 9)?

How long has the Psalmist worshipped God (verse 10)?

What is near (verse 11)?

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

Mark 15:33-41 - New International Version (NIV)

³³ At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ³⁴ And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

³⁵ When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”

³⁶ Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.

³⁷ With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

³⁸ The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰ Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. ⁴¹ In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

How long was darkness over the whole land (verse 33)?

When did Jesus cry out “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani” (verse 34)?

What does “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani” mean (verse 34)?

Who did they think Jesus was calling (verse 35)?

What did they offer Jesus to drink (verse 36)?

Why did they leave Jesus alone (verse 36)?

What did Jesus do “with a loud cry” (verse 37)?

What happened to the curtain in the temple (verse 38)?

Who said, “Surely this man was the Son of God” (verse 39)?

Who watched from a distance (verses 40 and 41)?

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

In your opinion, why was the first line of Psalm 22:1-11 the perfect thing for Jesus to cry right before He breathed His last in Mark 15:33-41?    

Acts 7:54-60 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵⁴ When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷ At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸ dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Who was furious and gnashed their teeth at Stephen (verse 54)?

Who filled Stephen (verse 55)?

What did Stephen see (verse 55)?

What did Stephen say (verse 56)?

Who covered their ears, yelled, and rushed Stephen (verse 57)?

Where did witnesses lay their coats while Stephen was being stoned (verse 58)?

What did Stephen pray (verse 59)?

What did Stephen cry out (verse 60)?

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

In your opinion, how was Stephen in Acts 7:54-60, for whom trouble was near like the Psalmist in Psalms 22:1-11, different from the Psalmist in not crying out that he was forsaken?

In your opinion, why did Jesus in Mark 15:33-41 cry out as one who was forsaken and Stephen in Acts 7:54-60 for those who were stoning him not to have their sins held against them?

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.

How do Christian brothers and sisters have “confidence to enter the Most Holy Place” (verse 19)?

What is the “new and living way opened for us through” (verse 20)?

Who do we have “over the house of God” (verse 21)?

What do we do “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” (verse 22)?

Why can we “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess” (verse 23)?

What should we consider (verse 24)?

What should we not give up (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, how is the trust of the Psalmist in God in spite of feeling forsaken in Psalms 22:1-11 fulfilled by what Hebrews 10:19-25 says that Jesus has done? 

In your opinion, what does Hebrews 10:19-25 show us that Jesus accomplished even though He was forsaken by the Father when He breathed His last breath in Mark 15:33-41?

In your opinion, how does Stephen in Acts 7:54-60 demonstrate the “confidence to enter the Most Holy Place” that Hebrews 10:19-25 says that the blood of Jesus can give us? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Psalms, Mark, Acts and Hebrews help us understand about what it means to be forsaken by God?

In your opinion, how are we, who were forsaken because of our sins but have had “our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience” by Jesus, to approach our days and the Day?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

February 6, 2022 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Praising the Same

 

Praising the Same

Numbers 15:32-36 - New International Version (NIV)

³² While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. ³³ Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, ³⁴ and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. ³⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” ³⁶ So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Where were the Israelites (verse 32)?

When was the man gathering wood (verse 32)?

Where did those who found the man take him (verse 33)?

Why did they keep him in custody (verse 34)?

Who told Moses “the man must die” (verse 35)?

In your opinion, why was the man to be stoned “outside the camp” (verse 35)?

What did the assembly do (verse 36)?

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

Mark 15:21-32 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. ²² They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ²³ Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. ²⁴ And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

²⁵ It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶ The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.

²⁷ They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left.  ²⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, ³⁰ come down from the cross and save yourself!” ³¹ In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! ³² Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

Who was forced to carry the cross (verse 21)?

Where did they bring Jesus (verse 22)?

What did they offer Jesus (verse 23)?

How did they divide Jesus’ clothes (verse 24)?

When did they crucify Jesus (verse 25)?

What did the written notice of the charge say (verse 26)?

Who was crucified with Jesus (verse 27)?

In your opinion, what is the irony of the insult “you who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself” (verses 29 and 30)?

How did the chief priests and teacher of the law mock Jesus (verse 31)?

What did the two being crucified with Jesus do (verse 32)?

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

In your opinion, why did the people who ended up stoning the man who was gathering wood on the Sabbath in Numbers 15:32-36 seem reluctant; but the people who crucified Jesus, felt the need to add insult to injury in Mark 15:21-32?    

Acts 7:44-53 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁴ “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. ⁴⁵ After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, ⁴⁶ who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. ⁴⁷ But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

⁴⁸ “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:

⁴⁹ “‘Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me?
says the Lord.
    Or where will my resting place be?
⁵⁰ Has not my hand made all these things?’

⁵¹ “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! ⁵² Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— ⁵³ you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

Where did “our ancestors” have “the tabernacle of the covenant law” (verse 44)?

Who brought the tabernacle “when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them” (verse 45)?

What did David ask God (verses 45 and 46)?

Who built a house for the “God of Jacob” (verse 47)?

Where does “the Most High” not live (verse 48)?

What has the hand of God made (verses 49 and 50)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “always resist the Holy Spirit” (verse 51)?

Who had the ancestors killed (verse 52)?

How had the members of the Sanhedrin, who are listening to Stephen, treated the “law that was given through angels” (verse 53)?

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

In your opinion, who, in Acts 7:44-50 is most like the man who was gathering wood on the Sabbath in Numbers 48:32-36?

In your opinion, how do those who are insulting Jesus in Mark 15:21-32 view the house of God compared to Stephen in his criticism of the Sanhedrin in Acts 7:44-50?

Hebrews 13:8-16 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

⁹ Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. ¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

¹¹ The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. ¹² And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. ¹³ Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. ¹⁴ For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

¹⁵ Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. ¹⁶ And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Who is the “same yesterday and today and forever” (verse 8)?

What should we not allow to carry us away (verse 9)?

What is good for our hearts (verse 9)?

Where do those “who minister at the tabernacle” not have a right to eat (verse 10)?

Where are the bodies of the animals whose blood is carried “into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering” get burned (verse 11)?

Why did Jesus suffer “outside the city gate” (verse12)?

What should we bear to Jesus “outside the camp” (verse 13)?

Where is the city “we are looking for” (verse 14)?

How should we “continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise” (verse 15)?

What sacrifices please God (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, how are we who obey Paul’s command from Hebrews 13:8-16 and go to Christ “outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore” looking for salvation, similar to the man who gathered wood on the Sabbath in Numbers 15:32-36? 

In your opinion, what does Paul in Hebrews 13:8-16 help us understand about the reason that Jesus went through everything that is described in Mark 15:21-32?

In your opinion, in what way are the “stiff-necked people” that Stephen was talking to in Acts 7:44-50 different from the people Paul is writing to in Hebrews 13:8-16 who have “hearts strengthened by grace”? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Numbers, Mark, Acts and Hebrews help us understand about how Jesus is the same through all the different situations? 

In your opinion, how can we, who are not the same “yesterday and today and forever” throw off the burdens of yesterday, be holy today, and anticipate the “forever”?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 30, 2022 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Dare All the More

Dare All the More

Isaiah 50:4-9 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,
    to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
    wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
⁵ The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;
    I have not been rebellious,
    I have not turned away.
⁶ I offered my back to those who beat me,
    my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
    from mocking and spitting.
⁷ Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
    I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
    and I know I will not be put to shame.
⁸ He who vindicates me is near.
    Who then will bring charges against me?
    Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser?
    Let him confront me!
⁹ It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.
    Who will condemn me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
    the moths will eat them up.

What has the Sovereign Lord given His servant (verse 4)?

How is the servant’s ear wakened (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between having ears wakened (verse 4) and having ears opened (verse 5)?

What has the servant offered to “those who beat me” (verse 6)?

Why will the servant not be disgraced (verse 7)?

Who is near (verse 8)?

In your opinion, who will condemn the one the Sovereign Lord helps (verse 9)?

What will happen to those who condemn the one the Sovereign Lord helps (verse 9)?

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

Mark 15:16-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. ¹⁸ And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” ¹⁹ Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. ²⁰ And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

Where did the soldiers lead Jesus (verse 16)?

Who was called together (verse 16)?

In your opinion, why did they twist “together a crown of thorns and set it on him” (verse 17)?

What did they “call out to him” (verse 18)?

Where did they strike Jesus with the staff (verse 19)?

What did they do when they fell on their knees (verse 19)?

When did they take off the purple robe (verse 20)?

What did they do after they “put his own clothes on him” (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, why was Jesus, who fits the Isaiah 50:4-9 definition of someone who has “not been rebellious” and therefore should receive the promises of not being “disgraced” and not being “put to shame”, mocked, crowned with thorns, beaten, and spit on as told in Mark 15:16-20?    

Acts 16:35-40 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁵ When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” ³⁶ The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”

³⁷ But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

³⁸ The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. ³⁹ They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. ⁴⁰ After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.

When did the magistrates send their order to the jailer (verse 35)?

What did the order say (verse 35)?

Who was going to be released (verse 36)?

In your opinion, why did Paul tell the jailer “we are Roman citizens” (verse 37)?

What did Paul want the magistrates to do (verse 37)?

How did the magistrates react when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens (verse 38)?

What did the magistrates do (verse 39)?

Why did Paul and Silas go to Lydia’s house (verse 40)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the vindication that Paul and Silas received after being “beaten publicly without a trial” in Acts 16:35-40 different from the vindication that Isaiah was anticipating when he said “He who vindicates me is near” in Isaiah 50:4-9?  How are they similar?

In your opinion, is the vindication that Jesus will receive for the way He was treated in Mark 15:16-20 the same as or different from the vindication that Paul and Silas received in Acts 16:35-40?

Philippians 1:12-19 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. ¹³ As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴ And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

¹⁵ It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. ¹⁶ The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. ¹⁸ But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.

What does Paul want the “brothers and sisters” to know (verse 12)?

Who is it clear to that Paul was “in chains for Christ” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, how could Paul being “in chains for Christ” make most of the brothers and sisters “confident in the Lord” (verses 13 and 14)?

What do the brothers and sisters do because they are “confident in the Lord” (verse 14)?

In what two ways do people preach Christ (verse 15)?

Who preaches Christ “out of love” (verse16)?

What do the ones who “preach Christ out of selfish ambition” want to do (verse 17)?

What is important (verse 18)?

What does Paul know will happen “through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, how is Paul’s confidence in “God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” while he was in chains in Philippians 1:12-19 an example of someone beaten, mocked, and spit on but not disgraced or put to shame as in Isaiah 50:4-9? 

In your opinion, what are the similarities of situations and outcomes of Jesus being in the custody of the Roman soldiers in Mark 15:16-20 and Paul being in the custody of the palace guard in Philippians 1:12-19?

In your opinion, how does the reliance of Paul on his citizenship in Roman in Acts 16:35-40 compare to his anticipation of “God’s provision” in Philippians 1:12-19? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Mark, Acts and Philippians reveal about how we should respond to the conflict caused by following the “Sovereign Lord”? 

In your opinion, how can we grow in confidence and “dare all the more” today?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)