Opposition, Inside and Out
Ezra
4:1-7 - New International Version (NIV)
1 When the
enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple
for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they
came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you
build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him
since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”
3 But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families
of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God.
We alone will build it for the Lord,
the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”
4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of
Judah and make them afraid to go on building. 5 They
bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the
entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of
Persia.
6 At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, they lodged an
accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam,
Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes.
The letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language.
What
did the enemies of Judah and Benjamin hear (verse 1)?
Who did the enemies come to (verse 2)?
What did the enemies want to do (verse 2)?
How did “Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of
the heads of the families of Israel” answer the enemies (verse 3)?
What did the peoples around them “set out to”
do (verse 4)?
How did the try to discourage them and make
them afraid (verse 5)?
When did they lodge “an accusation against
the people of Judah and Jerusalem” (verse 6)?
How was the letter to Artaxerxes written (verse
7)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does this passage show the
world’s opposition to God’s people?
John 2:13-25 - New
International Version (NIV)
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went
up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people
selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging
money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all
from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the
money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those
who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s
house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered
that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show
us to prove your authority to do all this?”
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise
it again in three days.”
20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,
and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the
temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was
raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they
believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many
people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his
name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for
he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about
mankind, for he knew what was in each person.
When
did Jesus go “up to Jerusalem” (verse 13)?
What were people doing in the temple courts
(verse 14)?
How did Jesus respond to what people were
doing (verses 15 and 16)?
What did His disciples remember (verse 17)?
Who ask “what sign can you show us to
prove your authority to do all this” (verse 18)?
How did Jesus answer them (verse 19)?
In your opinion, why did the Jews not
understand what Jesus meant (verse 20)?
What had Jesus been talking about (verse 21)?
When did the disciples recall and believe
“the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken” (verse 22)?
What did “many people” do while
Jesus was in Jerusalem (verse 23)?
Why would Jesus not “entrust himself
to them” (verse 24)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
In your opinion, how
does this passage show the world’s opposition to God’s people?
1
John 2:15-19 –
New International Version (NIV)
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone
loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For
everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the
world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but
whoever does the will of God lives forever.
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard
that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have
come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They
went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had
belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that
none of them belonged to us.
What are Christians not to love (verse 15)?
When is “love for the Father” not in someone
(verse 15)?
Where does “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life” come from (verse 16)?
Who lives forever (verse 17)?
Who has come (verse 18)?
How do we know it is the last hour (verse 18)?
Where
did the antichrists not belong (verse 19)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does this passage show the
world’s opposition to God’s people?
Revelation
2:8-11 – New International Version (NIV)
8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of
him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I
know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the
slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of
Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to
suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test
you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be
faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your
victor’s crown.
11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the
churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second
death.
Who is John to write to (verse 8)?
Who are the words that John is to write from (verse 8)?
What is known (verse 9)?
Who is rich (verse 9)?
Who are those slanderers “who say they are Jews”
(verse 9)?
What are they not to be afraid of (verse 10)?
Who will receive “life as your victor’s crown”
(verse 10)?
Who is to hear (verse 11)?
Who will “not be hurt at all by the second death” (verse
11)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, how does this passage
show the world’s opposition to God’s people?
In your opinion, how does the opposition of “the
peoples around them” to the people rebuilding the temple in Ezra 4:1-8 and
the resistance of the Jews to Jesus in John 2:13-25 show ways that God’s work
can be impeded?
In your opinion, how is the conflict between the world and the kingdom of
God displayed in both Ezra 4:1-8 and in 1 John 2:15-19?
In your opinion, how do
the people around Jerusalem and their opposition to the building of the temple
in Ezra 4:1-8 compare to those who are a “synagogue of Satan” slandering
the church of Smyrna in Revelation 2:8-11 in attitude and in method?
In your opinion, how
does the zeal that Jesus had in the temple in John 2:13-25 help us understand
how to deal the “everything in the world” that John warns us of in 1
John 2:15-19?
In your opinion, what
is the difference between those who “believed in his name” but who Jesus
would not entrust himself to in John 2:13-25 and the “one who is victorious”
in Revelation 2:8-11?
In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezra,
John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about the source of opposition to God’s
people and their work?
In your opinion, how should Christians respond to
opposition from the outside?
In your opinion, how should Christians respond to
opposition from the inside?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
