Friday, June 26, 2026

July 5, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Sheep Gone Astray

Sheep Gone Astray

1 Samuel 17:31-37 – New International Version (NIV)

31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.

32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

Who was “reported to Saul” (verse 31)?

What didn’t David want anyone to lose “on account of this Philistine” (verse 32)?

Why did Saul think David could not fight the Philistine (verse 33)?

What had David been doing (verse 34)?

Where did David rescue the sheep from (verse 35)?

What did David say the Philistine would be like (verse 36)?

Who will rescue David (verse 37)?

How did Saul send David off (verse 37)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the Lord being with us?

Matthew 18:6-14 - New International Version (NIV)

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. 

12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

How does Jesus explain who the “little ones” are (verse 6)?

Who does Jesus say has woe (verse 7)?

What should someone do if their hand or foot causes them to stumble (verse 8)?

What is entering “life with one eye” better than (verse 9)?

What do the angels of the little ones always see (verse 10)?

Where will the man leave the ninety-nine sheep (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why would he be happier with the one found sheep than the ninety-nine “that did not wander off” (verse 13)?

What is our Father not willing to allow (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the Lord being with us?

In your opinion, how does David’s discussion with King Saul in 1 Samuel 17:31-37 help us understand what it might mean for the shepherd in Matthew 18:6-14 to rescue the lost sheep?

1 Peter 2:21-25 - New International Version (NIV)

21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

22 “He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

In whose steps should Christians follow (verse 21)?

Where was “no deceit” found (verse 22)?

What did Christ do when He was insulted and when He suffered (verse 23)?

Why did He bear “our sins” (verse 24)?

How are we healed (verse 24)?

What were we like (verse 25)?

Who have we “returned to” (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the Lord being with us?

In your opinion, how are what Christ did for the sheep who had gone astray in 1 Peter 2:21-25 different from what David describes he did in 1 Samuel 17:31-37?  How are they the same?

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 2:21-25 help us understand about what must be cut off or gouged out to be saved as Jesus instructs in Matthew 18:6-14?

Revelation 7:13-17 - New International Version (NIV)

13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
    will shelter them with his presence.
16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
    never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
    nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne
    will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
    ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

Who ask John about the people in the white robes (verse 13)?

Where had the people in the white robes come from (verse 14)?

What had they done (verse 14)?

How will they be sheltered (verse 15)?

When will they thirst (verse 16)?

What will the “Lamb at the center of the throne” be (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the Lord being with us?

In your opinion, how does the Lord rescuing David from the paw of the bear or the lion in 1 Samuel 17:31-37 help us understand about the rescue of those in the white robes from the “great tribulation” in Revelation 7:13-17?

In your opinion, how does Matthew 18:6-14 help us understand the Lamb who is the shepherd in Revelation 7:13-17?

In your opinion, how does 1 Peter 2:21-25 help us understand what it means to wash our robes as the people who escaped the great tribulation did in Revelation 7:13-17?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 1 Samuel, Matthew, 1 Peter, and Revelation teach us about the sacrifice the Great Shepherd has made on our behalf?

In your opinion, what is our job as shepherds in the world today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

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