June 7, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Witnesses

Witnesses

Exodus 33:12-23 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ ¹³ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

¹⁴ The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

¹⁵ Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. ¹⁶ How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

¹⁹ And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. ²⁰ But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

²¹ Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. ²² When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

What doesn’t Moses know (verse 12)?

What did Moses want the Lord to do if He “was pleased” with him (verse 13)?

How did the Lord reply to Moses (verse 14)?

When did Moses not want the Lord to send them (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why does Moses want people to know God is pleased with them (verse 16)?

Why will the Lord do what Moses has asked (verse 17)?

What did Moses want to see (verse 18)?

Who will the Lord have mercy on (verse 19)?

What can no one see and live (verse 20)?

Where can Moses stand (verse 21)?

What will the Lord do for Moses when His “glory passes by” (verse 22)?

What will Moses be allowed to see (verse 23)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s glory?

Matthew 17:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ³ Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

¹⁰ The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

Where did Jesus take Peter, James and John (verse 1)?

How is He described when He is “transfigured” (verse 2)?

Who appeared and talked with Jesus (verse 3)?

What was Peter ready to do (verse 4)?

What did the voice from the cloud say (verse 5)?

How did Peter, James and John react to the voice (verse 6)?

What did Jesus tell them (verse 7)?

When could Peter, James and John tell what they had seen (verse 9)?

Who did the “teachers of the law” say must come first (verse 10)?

What would the one who comes first do (verse 11)?

What is the “Son of Man” going to do “at their hands” (verse 12)?

Who had Jesus been talking about (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s glory?

In your opinion, how is the experience of being in God’s presence different for Moses in Exodus 33:12-23 than for Peter, James and John in Matthew 17:1-17?

2 Corinthians 3:7-18 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, ⁸ will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? ⁹ If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! ¹⁰ For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. ¹¹ And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

¹² Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. ¹³ We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. ¹⁴ But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵ Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. ¹⁶ But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

What did the “ministry that brought death” come with (verse 7)?

What will be more glorious than “the ministry that brought condemnation” (verse 9)?

What does “what was glorious” not have “in comparison with the surpassing glory” (verse 10)?

What will have greater glory than “what was transitory” (verse 11)?

Why are we “very bold” (verse 12)?

What did Moses do (verse 13)?

How can the veil be taken away (verse 14)?

What happens “when Moses is read” (verse 15)?

When is the veil taken away (verse 16)?

Where is “freedom” (verse 17)?

Who are “being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory” (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s glory?

In your opinion, how do you explain the difference between God protecting Moses until His glory had passed by in Exodus 33:12-23 and Christians being able to be transformed by the “Lord’s glory” in 2 Corinthians 3:7-18?

In your opinion, how is the way Jesus was transfigured in Matthew 17:1-13 related to the way Christians are “transformed into his image” in 2 Corinthians 3:7-18?

2 Peter 1:16-18 - New International Version (NIV)

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.

When did Peter not “follow cleverly devised stories” (verse 16)?

What was Peter an eyewitness of (verse 16)?

Whose voice said, “this is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (verse 17)?

Where was Peter when he heard that voice (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s glory?

In your opinion, how is what Moses witnessed on the mountain in Exodus 33:12-23 different from what Peter and the others witnessed on the mountain in 2 Peter 1:16-18?

In your opinion, how does 2 Peter 1:16-18 help us understand what happened on the mountain in Matthew 17:1-13?

In your opinion, how is Peter in 2 Peter 1:16-18 an example of those who “are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory” in 2 Corinthians 3:7-18?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Matthew, 2 Corinthians, and 2 Peter teach us teach us about God’s mercy?

In your opinion, how can we be witnesses for Jesus today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)