February 20, 2022 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Blessed by Jesus

 Blessed by Jesus

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 - New International Version (NIV)

²² If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole, ²³ you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

What kind of offense calls for death (verse 22)?

When must the body not be left on the pole (verse 23)?

What should happen on “that same day” (verse 23)?

Who is under God’s curse (verse 23)?

What must not be desecrated (verse 23)?

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

Mark 15:42-47 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴² It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. ⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. ⁴⁵ When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

What day was it (verse 42)?

What time of the day was it (verse 42)?

Who was Joseph of Arimathea (verse 43)?

What was Joseph of Arimathea waiting for (verse 43)?

How did Joseph approach Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body (verse 43)?

In your opinion, why was Pilate surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead (verse 44)?

How did Pilate verify Jesus death (verse 44)?

When did Pilate give Jesus’ body to Joseph of Arimathea (verse 45)?

What did Joseph of Arimathea do with Jesus’s body (verse 46)?

Who saw where Jesus was laid (verse 47)?

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

In your opinion, what does Deuteronomy 21:22-23 help us understand about why Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate “as evening approached” in Mark 15:42-47?    

Acts 13:26-31 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁶ “Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. ²⁷ The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. ²⁸ Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. ²⁹ When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised him from the dead, ³¹ and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.

Who was “this message of salvation” sent to (verse 26)?

In your opinion, why did “the people of Jerusalem and their rulers” not recognize Jesus (verse 27)?

What was fulfilled by the condemnation of Jesus (verse 27)?

What did they ask to be done to Jesus even “though they found no proper ground” for it (verse 28)?

When did they take Jesus from the cross and lay Him in a tomb (verse 29)?

What did God do (verse 30)?

When was Jesus seen by “those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem” (verse 31)?

What did “those who had traveled with him” become (verse 31)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul indicate in Acts 13:26-31 that the “people of Jerusalem and their rulers” were in violation of the instructions they received from Deuteronomy 21:22-23?

In your opinion, how is the surprise of Jesus quick death in Mark 15:42-47 transformed into hope through Paul’s testimony in Acts 13:26-31?

Galatians 3:10-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” ¹¹ Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” ¹² The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” ¹⁴ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

What are those who “rely on the works of the law” under (verse 10)?

How will the righteous live (verse 11)?

What is the law not based on (verse 12)?

How did Christ redeem us “from the curse of the law” (verse 13)?

What is written (verse 13)?

How does “the blessing given to Abraham” come to the Gentiles (verse 14)?

How do we “receive the promise of the Spirit” (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, how does the inheritance that must not be desecrated in Deuteronomy 12:22-23 compare with the blessing promised in Galatians 3:10-14? 

In your opinion, how can the bold actions of Joseph of Arimathea, who was waiting for the kingdom of God in Mark 15:42-47, be an inspiration for everyone that Galatians 3:10-14 says is “under a curse”?

In your opinion, how are those that Galatians 3:10-14 says are redeemed following the example of Jesus as described by Paul in Acts 13:26-31? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, Mark, Acts and Galatians teach us about how the end of Jesus in the tomb was transformed into the beginning of Jesus and His people and now allows we who have been desecrated and cursed to move boldly into redemption and faith?

In your opinion, what does it mean to us to change from a people looking for an inheritance to a people blessed by Jesus and receiving the “promise of the Spirit”?