May 31, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Following Jesus

Following Jesus

Isaiah 53:7-12 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.
⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

Where will God’s servant be led (verse 7)?

Why was He punished (verse 8)?

What was He assigned (verse 9)?

What does the Lord make His life (verse 10)?

When will He “be satisfied” (verse 11)?

Where will He be given “a portion” (verse 12)?

Who did He make “intercession for” (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being children of God?

Matthew 16:21-28 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. ²⁶ What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

²⁸ “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

What did Jesus explain to His disciples (verse 21)?

Who rebuked Jesus (verse 22)?

What kind of concerns did Jesus say Peter had (verse 23)?

Who must “deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (verse 24)?

What will those who lose their life for Jesus find (verse 25)?

In your opinion, “what can anyone give in exchange for their soul” (verse 26)?

How will each person be rewarded (verse 27)?

What will some not taste before “they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being children of God?

In your opinion, how does Isaiah 53:7-12 help us understand what the “concerns of God” are that Jesus mentioned in Matthew 16:21-28?

Romans 8:5-17 - New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

¹² Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Who has their minds set on, “what the Spirit desires” (verse 5)?

What is “the mind governed by the flesh” (verse 6)?

What does the “mind governed by the flesh” not do (verse 7)?

Who “cannot please God” (verse 8)?

What realm are the people who “the Spirit of God lives in” in (verse 9)?

Who “gives life because of righteousness” (verse 10)?

What will “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead” do if He is living in you (verse 11)?

What do “brothers and sisters” hot have an obligation to (verse 12)?

How do Christians “put to death the misdeeds of the body” (verse 13)?

Who are children of God” (verse 14)?

What has the Spirit “brought about” in those who receive Him (verse 15)?

Who does the Spirit testify with (verse 16)?

What do we share with Christ “in order that we may also share in his glory” (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being children of God?

In your opinion, how does the servant in Isaiah 53:7-12 display the “mind governed by the Spirit” described in Romans 8:5-17?

In your opinion, how does Romans 8:5-17 help us better understand the disagreement between Peter and Jesus in Matthew 16:21-28?

1 Peter 4:7-11 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. ⁸ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹ Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. ¹¹ If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

What is near (verse 7)?

How should Christians prepare to pray (verse 7)?

What “covers a multitude of sins” (verse 8)?

What should not accompany hospitality (verse 9)?

Who should “use whatever gift you have received to serve others” (verse 10)?

How should the one who speaks speak (verse 11)?

How should the one who serves serve (verse 11)?

How should God be praised (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being children of God?

In your opinion, how does the servant in Isaiah 53:7-12 fulfill the instructions in 1 Peter 4:7-11?

In your opinion, how does 1 Peter 4:7-11 help us understand how to follow Jesus’s instructions about being a disciple in Matthew 16:21-28?

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 4:7-11 teach us about how to be children of God as instructed by Romans 8:5-17?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Matthew, Romans, and 1 Peter teach us about following Jesus?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be led by the Spirit today?

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