September 27, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – The Way of Righteousness

The Way of Righteousness

Jonah 2:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

 ¹ From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. ² He said:

“In my distress I called to the Lord,
    and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
    and you listened to my cry.
³ You hurled me into the depths,
    into the very heart of the seas,
    and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
    swept over me.
⁴ I said, ‘I have been banished
    from your sight;
yet I will look again
    toward your holy temple.’
⁵ The engulfing waters threatened me,
    the deep surrounded me;
    seaweed was wrapped around my head.
⁶ To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
    the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
    brought my life up from the pit.

⁷ “When my life was ebbing away,
    I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
    to your holy temple.

⁸ “Those who cling to worthless idols
    turn away from God’s love for them.
⁹ But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
    will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
    I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”

¹⁰ And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Where was Jonah when he prayed (verse 1)?

What did he do in his “distress” (verse 2)?

Where had he been “hurled” (verse 3)?

What had he been “banished from” (verse 4)?

What “threatened” him (verse 5)?

Who removed him from the pit (verse 6)?

What was happening to Jonah when he prayed (verse 7)?

Who “turns away from God’s love for them” (verse 8)?

What will Jonah say (verse 9)?

Why did the fish vomit “Jonah onto dry land” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about repentance?

Matthew 21:23-32 - New International Version (NIV)

²³ Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

²⁸ “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

²⁹ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

³¹ “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Who asked, “by what authority are you doing these things” (verse 23)?

How was Jesus’s question about the source of John’s baptism related to that question (verses 24 and 25)?

Why was the answer to Jesus’s question “We don’t know” (verses 25 - 27)?

How did Jesus respond to that answer (verse 27)?

What did the first son do after telling his father, “I will not” (verses 28 and 29)?

What did the other son do after telling his father, “I will, sir” (verse 30)?

Which son “did what his father wanted” (verse 31)?

Who is “entering the kingdom of God” ahead of the chief priests and the elders (verse 31)?

What had the chief priests and elders not done (verse 32)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about repentance?

In your opinion, how are the tax collectors and prostitutes in Matthew 21:23-32 and Jonah in Jonah 2:1-10 different from the chief priests and elders who were questioning Jesus?

Acts 13:38-41 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁸ “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. ³⁹ Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:

⁴¹ “‘Look, you scoffers,
    wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
    that you would never believe,
    even if someone told you.’”

How is the forgiveness of sins proclaimed (verse 38)?

What could not be obtained through the law of Moses (verse 39)?

What are they to “take care” about (verse 40)?

Who is to “wonder and perish” (verse 41)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about repentance?

In your opinion, what does Jonah’s prayer in Jonah 2:1-10 help us understand about the difference between Paul’s friends and the scoffers in Acts 13:38-41?

In your opinion, how are the two sons in Matthew 21:23-32’s parable like Paul’s friends and the scoffers in Acts 13:38-41?

2 Peter 1:3-11 - New International Version (NIV)

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

What has God’s divine power given us (verse 3)?

What do “his very great and precious promises” allow us to participate in (verse 4)?

For what reason should we “make every effort” to add goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love (verses 5-8)?

What is someone who does not have these qualities (verse 9)?

What can keep Christians from stumbling (verse 10)?

What kind of welcome “into the eternal kingdom” will a Christian who keeps adding these things receive (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about repentance?

In your opinion, how could Jonah, after ending up on the beach in Jonah 2:1-10, have benefited from the instruction of 2 Peter 1:3-11?

In your opinion, how were the tax collectors and prostitutes in Mattew 21:23-32 able to receive a “rich welcome” into the kingdom of 2 Peter 1:3-11?

In your opinion, how would following the instructions in 2 Peter 1:3-11 help people not to become a scoffer in Acts 13:38-41?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Jonah, Matthew, Acts, and 2 Peter teach us about the way of righteousness?

In your opinion, how do we confirm our calling today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)