June 29, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – Following His Lead

Following His Lead

Isaiah 52:13-53:6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ See, my servant will act wisely;
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
¹⁴ Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
    his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness—
¹⁵ so he will sprinkle many nations,
    and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.

53 ¹ Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

Who “will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted” (verse 13)?

How did “many” react to the Lord’s servant (verse 14)?

What will kings understand (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what is the connection between the questions “who has believed our message” and “to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed” (verse 1)?

What did the servant not have (verse 2)?

How did “mankind” react to the servant (verse 3)?

What did the servant bear (verse 4)?

What did we consider him (verse 4)?

Where was the “punishment that brought us peace” (verse 5)?

How have “we all” been like sheep (verse 6)?

What did the Lord lay “on him” (verse 6)

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the way Jesus leads us?

Matthew 8:14-22 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

¹⁶ When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“He took up our infirmities
    and bore our diseases.”

¹⁸ When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹ Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

²¹ Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Who was “in bed with a fever” (verse 14)?

What happened when Jesus “touched her hand” (verse 15)?

How did Jesus drive out the spirits (verse 16)?

What did this fulfill (verse 17)?

When did Jesus give “orders to cross to the other side of the lake” (verse 18)?

Who said “teacher, I will follow you wherever you go” (verse 19)?

What did “the Son of Man” not have (verse 20)?

What did “another disciple” say to Jesus (verse 21)?

How did Jesus answer (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the way Jesus leads us?

In your opinion, how does reading Isaiah 52:13-53:6 add richness to the stories of healing that Matthew says were done to “fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah” in Matthew 8:14-22?

Acts 19:11-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, ¹² so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

¹³ Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” ¹⁴ Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. ¹⁵ One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” ¹⁶ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

¹⁷ When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. ¹⁸ Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. ¹⁹ A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. ²⁰ In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

What did God do “through Paul” (verse 11)?

What was done with the “handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched” Paul (verse 12)?

Who were some Jews saying “in the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out” over (verse 13)?

Who was Sceva, whose seven sons were doing this (verse 14)?

How did the evil spirit answer them (verse 15)?

What did the “man who had the evil spirit” do (verse 16)?

How did the “Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus” react when they heard about the seven sons of Sceva (verse 17)?

What did “many of those who believed” now do (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why is it significant that some “brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly” (verse 19)?

What happened to “the word of the Lord” (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the way Jesus leads us?

In your opinion, what does Isaiah 52:13-53:6 help us understand about why the seven sons of Sceva using the name of Jesus was not effective in Acts 19:11-20?

In your opinion, what is the difference between Paul in Acts 19:11-20 and the teacher of the law and the other disciple in Matthew 8:14-22?

Colossians 2:6-15 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. ¹¹ In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, ¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

How should those who have “received Christ Jesus as Lord” continue (verse 6)?

What should those who have “received Crist Jesus as Lord” overflow with (verse 7)?

What does “hollow and deceptive philosophy” depend on (verse 8)?

Where does “all the fullness of the Deity” live “in bodily form” (verse 9)?

How are Christians “brought to fullness” (verse 10)?

What is cut off when we are “circumcised by Christ” (verse 11)?

How are Christians raised after being buried with Christ “in baptism” (verse 12)?

What were we (Christians) before “God made you alive with Christ” (verse 13)?

What has God done with the “charge of our legal indebtedness” that He cancelled (verse 14)?

How did Christ triumph over the “powers and authorities” (verse 15)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the way Jesus leads us?

In your opinion, how do you explain the fact that Isaiah 52:13-53:6 says that the Lord’s servant will be “despised and rejected by mankind” yet Colossians 2:6-15 says in Christ “all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form”?

In your opinion, how does the healing of the sick and the driving out of demons by Jesus in Matthew 8:14-22 prepare us to accept God making us “alive with Christ” in Colossians 2:6-15?

In your opinion, how does Acts 19:11-20 make clear about what Colossians 2:6-15 is warning us of when it says “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy”?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Isaiah, Matthew, Acts, and Colossians teach us about what the Lord laid on Jesus for us?

In your opinion, how can we “follow” Jesus’s lead today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

February 23, 2020 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Walking Humbly

Walking Humbly


Daniel 4:28-37 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁸ All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, ³⁰ he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”

³¹ Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. ³² You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.”

³³ Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

³⁴ At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.

His dominion is an eternal dominion;
    his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
³⁵ All the peoples of the earth
    are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
    with the powers of heaven
    and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
    or say to him: “What have you done?”

³⁶ At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Where was King Nebuchadnezzar when he said “is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty” (verses 28, 29 and 30)?

When did the voice come from heaven (verse 31)?

What has been taken away from King Nebuchadnezzar (verse 31)?

When was the prophecy of verse 32 fulfilled (verse 33)?

What happened when Nebuchadnezzar raised his “eyes toward heaven” (verse 34)?

Who did Nebuchadnezzar praise, honor and glorify (verse 34)?

Why was Nebuchadnezzar’s “honor and splendor” returned (verse 36)?

Who does Nebuchadnezzar “praise and exalt and glorify” (verse 37)?

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

Mark 5:1-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. ² When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. ³ This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. ⁴ For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

⁶ When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. ⁷ He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” ⁸ For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

⁹ Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

¹¹ A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. ¹² The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” ¹³ He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

¹⁴ Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. ¹⁵ When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. ¹⁷ Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

¹⁸ As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. ¹⁹ Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” ²⁰ So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

When did the man with the impure spirit come from the tombs and meet Jesus (verse 2)?

What happened when the man was “chained hand and foot” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why would the man “cry out and cut himself with stones” (verse 5)?

What did the man do “when he saw Jesus from a distance” (verse 6)?

How did he ask Jesus “What do you want with me, Jesus” (verse 7)?

What had Jesus said to him (verse 8)?

Why was the name Legion (verse 9)?

What did Legion beg for (verse 12)?

How many pigs “rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned” (verse 13)?

What did people come out to see (verse 14)?

Why were the people afraid (verse 15)?

What did people plead for Jesus to do (verse 17)?

What did the man who had been demon-possessed beg to do (verse 18)?

What did Jesus tell the man to do (verse 19)?

How did the people in the Decapolis respond to the man (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, how are Nebuchadnezzar’s actions in Daniel 4:28-37 when his sanity was restored and the actions of the man from the tombs in Mark 5:1-20 after the demons were sent away similar?

Acts 19:11-20 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, ¹² so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

¹³ Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” ¹⁴ Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. ¹⁵ One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” ¹⁶ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

¹⁷ When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. ¹⁸ Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. ¹⁹ A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. ²⁰ In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

Who “did extraordinary miracles” (verse 11)?

What effect did the handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched Paul have on the sick (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why did some of the Jews try to “invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed” (verse 13)?

What position did Sceva have (verse 14)?

How did the evil spirit answer the seven sons of Sceva (verse 15)?

Why did the seven sons of Sceva run “out of the house naked and bleeding” (verse 16)?

What happened “when this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus” (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why did “many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done” (verse 18)?

What was valued at fifty thousand drachmas (verse 19)?

What “spread widely and grew in power” (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, how is Nebuchadnezzar as he stood on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon and boasted in Daniel 4:28-37 similar to the seven sons of Sceva as they said “in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out” in Acts 19:11-20?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the different results of Jesus casting out the “Legion” of demons in Mark 5:1-20 and the seven sons of Sceva being overpowered and beaten by the man possessed by an evil spirit in Acts 19:11-20?

James 4:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

⁴ You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? ⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

What are the results of the “desires that battle within you” (verse 1)?

Why do Christians “quarrel and fight” (verse 2)?

What wrong motives cause Christians to ask God but not receive (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why is friendship with the world “enmity against God” (verse 4)?

What does Scripture say that God jealously longs for (verse 5)?

Who does God show favor to (verse 6)?

How should we respond to God (verse 7)?

What happens when we resist the devil (verse 7)?

When will God come near to us (verse 8)?

What are the double-minded to do (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why is it important to “grieve, mourn and wail” (verse 9)?

When will the Lord “lift you up” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how is the truth of James 4:1-10 shown by Nebuchadnezzar’s “friendship with the world” and humbling himself “before the Lord” in Daniel 4:28-37?

In your opinion, what does James 4:1-10 help us understand about the motives of the people who pled for Jesus to “leave their region” in Mark 5:1-20?  How were their motives similar to the motives of the “Legion” of impure spirits?

In your opinion, what does James’s discussion in James 4:1-10 help us understand about the difference in between Paul and the seven sons of Sceva in Acts 19:11-20?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Daniel, Mark, Acts and James reveal to us about the difference between being self reliant with pride and being humble while praising the King of heaven?

In your opinion, how do we walk humbly?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)