November 15, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Reactions to Christ

  

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Reactions to Christ

Matthew 26:57-68 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵⁷ “Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. ⁵⁸ But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.

⁵⁹ The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. ⁶⁰ But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.

Finally two came forward ⁶¹ and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

⁶² Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” ⁶³ But Jesus remained silent.

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

⁶⁴ “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. ⁶⁶ What do you think?”

“He is worthy of death,” they answered.

⁶⁷ Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him ⁶⁸ and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”

Where did “those who had arrested Jesus” take Him (verse 57)?

Who did Peter sit down with to “see the outcome” (verse 58)?

Why were the “chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin” looking for false evidence against Jesus (verse 59)?

In your opinion, why could they not find any false evidence even “though many false witnesses came forward” (verse 60)?

What did the two false witnesses agree on (verse 61)?

How did Jesus respond to the testimony and the high priest’s question about it (verses 62 and 63)?

Who did the high priest ask Jesus if He was (verse 63)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus say “you have said so” (verse 64)?

What did Jesus say to “all of you” (verse 64)?

How did the high priest react to what Jesus said (verse 65)?

What did “they” say Jesus was worthy of (verse 66)?

Where did “they” spit (verse 67)?

What did “they” say after they slapped Jesus (verses 67 and 68)?

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

Daniel 7:13-14 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

When did Daniel have this vision (verse 13)?

Who approached the “Ancient of Days” (verse 13)?

Who was “given authority, glory and sovereign power” (verse 13)?

Who worshiped Him (verse 13)?

When will His dominion end (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, if we assume that the high priest knew the prophecies of Danial and this passage in Daniel 7:13-14 then what does the high priest’s reaction in Matthew 26:57-68 of Jesus statement “From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” mean that he thought about Jesus?

Acts 9:1-19 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

¹⁰ In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

¹¹ The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

¹³ “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

¹⁷ Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹ and after taking some food, he regained his strength.”

What was Saul doing (verse 1)?

What did he ask the high priest for (verse 2)?

Where was he when “a light from heaven flashed around him” (verse 3)?

What question was he ask (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why did Saul ask “who are you, Lord” (verse 5)?

Who was speechless (verse 7)?

Why was Saul led “by the hand into Damascus” (verse 8)?

Who is Ananias (verse 10)?

What was Ananias told that “a man from Tarsus named Saul” was doing (verse 11)?

What had the “man from Tarsus named Saul” seen in a vision (verse 12)?

How did Ananias respond to the Lord (verses 13 and 14)?

Who does the Lord say that “this man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name” to (verse 15)?

What will the Lord show Saul (verse 16)?

How did Ananias address Saul (verse 17)?

Why did Ananias say he was sent to Saul (verse 17)?

What fell from “Saul’s eyes, and he could see again” (verse 18)?

What did Saul do after “he got up” (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what are the things in Acts 9:1-19 that show the “one like a son of man” from Daniel 7:13-14 exercising some of the “authority, glory and sovereign power” that He is given?

In your opinion, how are the meetings of Caiaphas and Jesus in Matthew 26:57-68 and Paul and Jesus in Acts 9:1-19 similar and how are they different?

1 Corinthians 2:6-16 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ “We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

¹⁰ these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. ¹⁴ The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶ for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.”

What kind “message of wisdom” does Paul not speak of (verse 6)?

What does Paul declare from “God’s wisdom” (verse 7)?

What would the “rulers of this age” have not done if they understood the message from “God’s wisdom” (verse 8)?

What does the quote “what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived-the thing God has prepared for those who love him” tell us about the ability of human wisdom to understand God’s wisdom, His love, or His actions (verse 9)?

Who reveals God’s wisdom (verse 10)?

In your opinion, how does Paul explain the Holy Spirit’s ability to reveal God’s wisdom, His love and His actions (verse 11)?

What spirits might we have received (verse 12)?

What wisdom does Paul claim not to speak by (verse 13)?

Who considers the “the things that come from the Spirit of God” foolishness (verse 14)?

Who has the “mind of Christ” (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, how does the actions of Saul in Acts 9:1-19 who went to the high priest for letters but then spent three days praying and fasting after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, then received the Holy Spirit when Ananias placed his hands on him illustrate the conflict between worldly wisdom and God’s wisdom that Paul (Saul) talks about in 1 Corinthians 2:6-16?

In your opinion, how does vision of Daniel in Daniel 7:13-14 who saw “one like the son of man” receiving “authority, glory and sovereign power” begin to anticipate Jesus, but still miss the amazing “things God has prepared for those who love him” as Paul quotes in 1 Corinthians 2:6-16?

In your opinion, what does the difference in the reaction of Ananias to Jesus in Matthew 26:57-68 illustrate acceptance of worldly wisdom and the reaction of Paul to Jesus in Acts 9:1-9 illustrate a rejection of worldly wisdom to accept God’s wisdom, both discussed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:6-16?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Daniel, Acts and 1 Corinthians show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 26:69 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

September 20, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Love and Judgment

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Love and Judgment

Matthew 25:31-46 – New International Version (NIV)

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Where will the Son of Man sit when He comes in His glory with all the angels (verse 31)?

How will the Son of Man separate the people (verse 32)?

To whom will the King say “come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (verses 33 and 34)?

What did the King say that these who are blessed by His Father had done (verses 35 and 36)?

How do the righteous respond to the King (verses 37, 38 and 39)?

In your opinion, why does the King say “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (verse 40)?

What did the Son of Man call “those on his left” (verse 41)?

Where were they to go (verse 41)?

In your opinion, why will they say “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you” (verse 44)?

How does the Son of Man answer (verse 45)?

Where do the righteous go (verse 46)?

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

Daniel 7:13-14 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

What was the one that Daniel saw in his vision like (verse 13)?

How was He coming (verse 13)?

Who did He approach (verse 13)?

What was He given (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why did “all nations and peoples of every language” worship Him (verse 14)?

When will His dominion end (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, how does it make you feel that the one “like a son of man” who is given “authority, glory and sovereign power” and who has a dominion that is everlasting and a kingdom that will never be destroyed is the one who tells the “sheep” on His right to “come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world”?

John 5:16-30 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ “So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. ¹⁷ In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” ¹⁸ For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

¹⁹ Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. ²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. ²² Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. ³⁰ By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”

Why did the Jewish leaders begin to persecute Jesus (verse 16)?

How did Jesus defend Himself (verse 17)?

Why did this cause the Jewish leaders to try “all the more to kill him” (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why can the Son “do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing” (verse 19)?

Why will the Father, who “loves the Son and shows him all he does” also show “him even greater works than these” (verse 20)?

Who does the Son give life to (verse 21)?

What has the Father “entrusted” to the Son (verse 22)?

In your opinion, why is it that “whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him” (verse 23)?

What will not happen to “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me” and has eternal life (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to have “crossed over from death to life” (verse 25)?

What has the Father, who has “life in himself” granted the Son (verse 26)?

Who has the “authority to judge” (verse 27)?

Who will “hear his voice” in a time that is coming (verse 28)?

What will those who “have done what is good” do (verse 29)?

What will those who “have done what is evil” do (verse 29)?

What can Jesus do by Himself (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, how is Daniel’s statement that the “one like a son of man” would have an “everlasting dominion that will not pass away” in Daniel 7:13-14 expanded on by what Jesus says in John 5:16-30 “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life”?

In your opinion, how should we reconcile what Jesus says in Matthew 25:31-46 about judgment “he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” with what He says in John 5:16-30 “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life”?

Jude 17-25 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ “But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. ¹⁸ They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” ¹⁹ These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

²⁰ But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

²² Be merciful to those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

²⁴ To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— ²⁵ to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”

What are the “dear friends” supposed to do with “what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold” (verse 17)?

Who will follow “their own ungodly desires” (verse 18)?

How are the “people who divide you” described (verse 19)?

In your opinion, how does “building yourself up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit” result in “keeping yourselves in God’s love” (verses 20 and 21)?

What is the “mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ” going to bring (verse 21)?

How should we treat “those who doubt” (verse 22)?

In your opinion, how do we “show mercy, mixed with fear” (verse 23)?

What is Savior able to do (verse 24)?

What is to “the only God” “through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore” (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, how does Jesus statement in John 5:16-30 that “those who hear will live” and the statement in Jude 17-25 that “scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires” help us to understand the sheep and the goats that Jesus talks about in Matthew 25:31-46?

In your opinion, how does it make you feel to know that the one “like a son of Man” who “approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence” in Daniel 7:13-14 is also able “keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior” according to Jude 17-25?

In your opinion, what does Jude 17-25 show us about the sheep and the goats that Jesus was talking about in Matthew 25:31-46?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Daniel, John and Jude show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 26:1 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)