January 2, 2022 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Be Like Stephen

 Be Like Stephen

Exodus 6:2-8 - New International Version (NIV)

² God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them. ⁴ I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. ⁵ Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.

⁶ “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. ⁷ I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. ⁸ And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”

What did God say to Moses (verse 2)?

By what name had God “appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob” (verse 3)?

By what name had God not made Himself “fully known to them” (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between God’s title of God Almighty and His title as the Lord (verse 3)?

What covenant had God established with them (verse 4)?

What has God heard (verse 5)?

How will God redeem the Israelites from the Egyptians (verse 6)?

What will God do for the Israelites (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does it mean when God says “I am the Lord your God” (verse 7)?

What is God giving to the Israelites (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why does God begin and end this statement with “I am the Lord” (verse 8)?

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

Mark 14:53-65 - New International Version (NIV)

⁵³ They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. ⁵⁴ Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.

⁵⁵ The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. ⁵⁶ Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.

⁵⁷ Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: ⁵⁸ “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” ⁵⁹ Yet even then their testimony did not agree.

⁶⁰ Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” ⁶¹ But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.

Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

⁶² “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³ The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. ⁶⁴ “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

They all condemned him as worthy of death. ⁶⁵ Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.

Who came together when they took Jesus to the high priest (verse 53)?

How did Peter follow Jesus (verse 54)?

What could the “chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin” not find (verse 55)?

Whose statements did not agree (verse 56)?

In your opinion, what was Jesus being accused of by those who said “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands’” (verses 57 and 58)?

Who said “are you not going to answer” (verse 60)?

How did Jesus respond (verse 61)?

Who said “are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One” (verse 61)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus answer with “I am” (verse 62)?

Where does Jesus say He will be seen (verse 62)?

What did the high priest do (verse 63)?

What did they do after the high priest said “you have heard the blasphemy” (verse 64)?

How did they treat Jesus (verse 65)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jesus’s calm and confident answer, “I am”, to the hostile chief priests and Sanhedrin in Mark 14:53-65 as majestic as the “I am” of God identifying Himself to Moses as “God Almighty” and “the Lord” in Exodus 6:2-8?    

Acts 9:8-15 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹ Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. ¹⁰ But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.

¹¹ Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”

¹² So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. ¹³ They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. ¹⁴ For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵ All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

What was Stephen full of (verse 8)?

Where did Stephen perform “great wonders and signs” (verse 8)?

Who were the opposition “who began to argue with Stephen” (verse 9)?

How did their arguments with Stephen go (verse 10)?

What did they do in secret (verse 11)?

Where did they bring Stephen (verse 12)?

Who said “this fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law” (verse 13)?

What was Stephen accused of saying that Jesus of Nazareth would do (verse 14)?

What did the Sanhedrin see when they “looked intently at Stephen” (verse 15)?

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

In your opinion, who, of all the people who were gathered in Acts 6:8-15, should know “the Lord” who revealed himself to Moses in Exodus 6:2-8?  What do their actions prove about their relationship with “the Lord”?

In your opinion, how could Jesus in Mark 14:53-65 and Stephen in Acts 6:8-15 both have been calm in the frantic storm of lies and hatred that was taking place around them and leading both of them to death?

Revelation 1:4-8 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶ and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

⁷ “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
    and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

In your opinion, who is John writing this letter to (verse 4)?

Who sends “grace and peace” (verses 4 and 5)?

How is Jesus Christ described (verse 5)?

What has Jesus done for us (verse 5)?

What has Jesus made us (verse 6)?

How is Jesus coming (verse 7)?

Who will mourn (verse 7)?

Who says “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, how is the revelation of God to Moses that “I am the Lord” in Exodus 6:2-8 expanded by the revelation of “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” to John?

In your opinion, how does the calm and truthful “I am” of Jesus to the high priest’s question, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” in Mark 14:53-65 establish Him as the “faithful witness” to all of Revelation 1:4-8? 

In your opinion, how is Stephen in Acts 6:8-15 an example of those freed from sins being a “kingdom and priests” as Revelation 1:4-8 says? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Mark, Acts and Revelation reveal to us about the different aspects of the One who says “I am”? 

In your opinion, how can we, to whom God has been revealed by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses, Jesus and John become more like Stephen in a world of hostility and anger?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

October 25, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Disowning and Redemption

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.”

Disowning and Redemption

Matthew 26:31-35 – New International Version (NIV)

³¹ “Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

³² But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

³³ Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

³⁴ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

³⁵ But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.”

When did Jesus say the disciples would “fall away” (verse 31)?

What will cause the “sheep of the flock” to be scattered (verse 31)?

When will Jesus  go ahead into Galilee (verse 32)?

What was Peter’s reply (verse 33)?

Before what event did Jesus say as that Peter would “disown me three times” (verse 34)?

In your opinion, why did Peter and the other disciples say “even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you” (verse 35)?

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

Zechariah 13:7-9 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “Awake, sword, against my shepherd,
    against the man who is close to me!”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered,
    and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
⁸ In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
    “two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
    yet one-third will be left in it.
⁹ This third I will put into the fire;
    I will refine them like silver
    and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
    and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”

How does the Lord Almighty describe the shepherd that He commands “awake, sword, against my shepherd” (verse 7)?

Who will be scattered when the shepherd is stricken (verse 7)?

What will be turned against “the little ones” (verse 7)?

How many will be left “in the whole land” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why will the remnant be “put into the fire” and refined like silver and tested like gold (verse 9)?

What will the remnant call on (verse 9)?

Who will answer them when they call (verse 9)?

What will the Lord Almighty call the remnant (verse 9)?

How will the remnant respond to the Lord Almighty (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, what can reading Zechariah 13:7-9, the context of the verse that Jesus quotes in Matthew 26:31-35, help us understand about why Jesus is saying that the disciples will disown him in the Matthew passage?

Galatians 3:7-14 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. ⁸ Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” ⁹ So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

¹⁰ For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” ¹¹ Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” ¹² The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” ¹⁴ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”

Who are children of Abraham (verse 7)?

What foresaw that “God would justify the Gentiles by faith” (verse 8)?

Who was the gospel “all nations will be blessed through you” announced in advance to (verse 8)?

Who is blessed with Abraham (verse 9)?

Who is under a curse (verse 10)?

What is written about them (verse 10)?

How will “the righteous” live (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why is the law not based on faith (verse 12)?

How did Christ redeem us “from the curse of the law” (verse 13)?

What blessing “might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus” (verse 14)?

How do we receive “the promise of the Spirit” (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, how does the message of Paul in Galatians 3:7-14 help us to understand about the way the “shepherd”, the “man who is close to me”, from Zechariah 13:7-9 will be stricken?

In your opinion, what does the passage from Galatians 3:7-14 help us to understand about why Jesus said “the shepherd”, who He understood was Himself, must be struck and the sheep scattered according to Matthew 26:31-35?

Revelation 1:4-8 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ “John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶ and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

⁷ “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
    and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Who is this message to (verse 4)?

What blessing is given to those who receive the message (verse 4)?

In your opinion, who is “him who is, and who was, and who is to come” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, who is “the seven spirits before his throne” (verse 4)?

How is Jesus Christ described (verse 5)?

In your opinion, who is “him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (verse 5)?

What are we to do as “a kingdom and priests” (verse 6)?

Who “is coming with the clouds” (verse 7)?

What will “all peoples on earth” do (verse 7)?

How does “the Lord God” describe Himself (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, how does Revelation 1:4-8 show what the redemption that Paul talks about in Galatians 3:7-14 allows us to become and to do?

In your opinion, how does Revelation 1:4-8 show that those who Zechariah 13:7-9 says “call on my name” and who say “the Lord is our God” will relate to God in heaven?

In your opinion, what is the significance of the fact that Jesus, who in Matthew 26:31-35 said “this very night you all will fall away on account of me” is the one who is described in Revelation 1:4-8 as “the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth”?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Zechariah, Galatians and Revelation show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 26:36 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 5, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Repentance and Freedom

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.”

Repentance and Freedom

Matthew 21:28-32 – New International Version (NIV)

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.”

What did the man say to the first son (verse 28)?

How did the son answer (verse 29)?

What happened later (verse 29)?

How did the other son respond when the man ask him the same question (verse 30)?

What did the other son do (verse 30)?

Which of the two sons did what the father wanted (verse 31)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus tell the chief priests and the elders that “the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you” (verse 31)?

Who believed John about the “way of righteousness” (verse 32)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 21:28-32 show us about the Great Commission?

Jeremiah 31:27-34 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. ²⁸ Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord. ²⁹ “In those days people will no longer say,

‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,
    and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’

³⁰ Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.

³¹ “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
³² It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
    though I was a husband to them,”
declares the Lord.
³³ “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
    after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
    and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
³⁴ No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.”

What will happen in the days to come (verse 27)?

In your opinion, why did the Lord say that “just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down” “so I will watch over them to build and to plant” (verse 28)?

Why are the children’s teeth on edge (verse 29)?

What will happen “instead” (verse 30)?

Who will the Lord make a “new covenant” with (verse 31)?

Why won’t it be like “the covenant I made with their ancestors” (verse 32)?

Where will the Lord put the law (verse 33)?

In your opinion, what is it like to have a relationship where “I will be their God, and they will be my people” (verse 33)?

Why won’t “they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord’” (verse 34)?

What will the Lord forgive (verse 34)?

When will the Lord “remember their sins” (verse 34)?

In your opinion, how does the Lord’s statement about the new covenant in Jeremiah 31:27-34 that “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” help in understanding the statement that Jesus made in Matthew 21:28-32 about the “way of righteousness” that John came to show and that the tax collectors and prostitutes believed?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Jeremiah show us about the Great Commission?

Colossians 1:15-23 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. ²² But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— ²³ if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”

Who is “the image of the invisible God” (verse 15)?

What has “been created through him and for him” (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what is the connection between the “beginning and the firstborn from among the dead” and having supremacy in everything (verse 18)?

What is God pleased to “reconcile to himself” in Him (verse 20)?

Why were we alienated from God (verse 21)?

How is God “reconciled” to us (verse 22)?

In your opinion, why are we “holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (verse 22)?

What “has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven” (verse 23)?

In your opinion, how does the breaking of the covenant and then the forgiving from wickedness and the remembering sin no more of Jeremiah 31:27-34 foreshadow the statement from Paul that “once you were alienated from God . . . but now he has reconciled you” in Colossians 1:15-23?

In your opinion, how does the son saying that he would not go work in the vineyard and then changing his mind in Matthew 21:28-32 provide an example of being “enemies in your minds” and then not moving “from the hope held out in the gospel” in Colossians 1:15-23?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Colossians show us about the Great Commission?

Revelation 1:4-8 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ “John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶ and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

⁷ “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
    and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Who does John bless the seven churches with “grace and peace” from (verses 4 and 5)?

In your opinion, why is Jesus Christ described as being “the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth” (verse 5)?

How has Jesus freed us from our sins (verse 5)?

What has Jesus made us into (verse 6)?

How is Jesus coming (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why will people “mourn because of him” (verse 7)?

How does God describe Himself (verse 8)?

In your opinion, how does the reconciliation that Paul talks about in Colossians 1:15-23 find a fulfillment in the “kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father” of Revelation 1:4-8?

In your opinion, how does the promise of Jeremiah 31:27-34 that “I will be their God, and they will be my people” fulfilled by the relationship of the “him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness” and the “kingdom and priests” of Revelation 1:4-8?

In your opinion, how does the discussion of Jesus about repentance and belief in Matthew 21:28-32 become complete when we have Jesus described as “the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth” in Revelation 1:4-8?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Revelation show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 21:33 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)