Saturday, January 22, 2022

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)

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.
The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;
    I have not been rebellious,
    I have not turned away.
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.
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.
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!
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)

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