July 5, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Sheep Gone Astray

Sheep Gone Astray

1 Samuel 17:31-37 – New International Version (NIV)

³¹ What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.

³² David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

³³ Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

Who was “reported to Saul” (verse 31)?

What didn’t David want anyone to lose “on account of this Philistine” (verse 32)?

Why did Saul think David could not fight the Philistine (verse 33)?

What had David been doing (verse 34)?

Where did David rescue the sheep from (verse 35)?

What did David say the Philistine would be like (verse 36)?

Who will rescue David (verse 37)?

How did Saul send David off (verse 37)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the Lord being with us?

Matthew 18:6-14 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. ⁷ Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! ⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. 

¹² “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. ¹⁴ In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

How does Jesus explain who the “little ones” are (verse 6)?

Who does Jesus say has woe (verse 7)?

What should someone do if their hand or foot causes them to stumble (verse 8)?

What is entering “life with one eye” better than (verse 9)?

What do the angels of the little ones always see (verse 10)?

Where will the man leave the ninety-nine sheep (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why would he be happier with the one found sheep than the ninety-nine “that did not wander off” (verse 13)?

What is our Father not willing to allow (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the Lord being with us?

In your opinion, how does David’s discussion with King Saul in 1 Samuel 17:31-37 help us understand what it might mean for the shepherd in Matthew 18:6-14 to rescue the lost sheep?

1 Peter 2:21-25 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²² “He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” ²⁵ For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

In whose steps should Christians follow (verse 21)?

Where was “no deceit” found (verse 22)?

What did Christ do when He was insulted and when He suffered (verse 23)?

Why did He bear “our sins” (verse 24)?

How are we healed (verse 24)?

What were we like (verse 25)?

Who have we “returned to” (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the Lord being with us?

In your opinion, how are what Christ did for the sheep who had gone astray in 1 Peter 2:21-25 different from what David describes he did in 1 Samuel 17:31-37?  How are they the same?

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 2:21-25 help us understand about what must be cut off or gouged out to be saved as Jesus instructs in Matthew 18:6-14?

Revelation 7:13-17 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴ I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
    will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ ‘Never again will they hunger;
    never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
    nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb at the center of the throne
    will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
    ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

Who ask John about the people in the white robes (verse 13)?

Where had the people in the white robes come from (verse 14)?

What had they done (verse 14)?

How will they be sheltered (verse 15)?

When will they thirst (verse 16)?

What will the “Lamb at the center of the throne” be (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the Lord being with us?

In your opinion, how does the Lord rescuing David from the paw of the bear or the lion in 1 Samuel 17:31-37 help us understand about the rescue of those in the white robes from the “great tribulation” in Revelation 7:13-17?

In your opinion, how does Matthew 18:6-14 help us understand the Lamb who is the shepherd in Revelation 7:13-17?

In your opinion, how does 1 Peter 2:21-25 help us understand what it means to wash our robes as the people who escaped the great tribulation did in Revelation 7:13-17?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 1 Samuel, Matthew, 1 Peter, and Revelation teach us about the sacrifice the Great Shepherd has made on our behalf?

In your opinion, what is our job as shepherds in the world today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 25, 2017 – Psalm 23 – From the lives of David and Jesus – The Lord is my shepherd

-            The

“The Lord is my shepherd” KJV Psalm 23a

2 Samuel 5:1-5 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. ² In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”

³ When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.

⁴ David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. ⁵ In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.

Who came to David at Hebron (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why did they say “We are your own flesh and blood” (verse 1)?

What had the Lord said to David (verse 2)?

What did the King make with the elders of Israel at Hebron (verse 3)?

How old was David when he became king (verse 4)?

What area did David rule for seven years and six months with Hebron as the capital (verse 5)?

How long was David king over all Israel and Judah from Jerusalem (verse 5)?

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

John 10:11-18 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

What does Jesus claim the “good shepherd” will do (verse 11)?

How does the hired hand react when “he sees the wolf coming” (verse 12)?

How much does the hired hand care about the sheep (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus know His sheep and His sheep know Him (verse 14)?

What does Jesus do for the Sheep (verse 15)?

In your opinion, who are the “other sheep that are not of this sheep pen” (verse 16)?

What will the “other sheep” do (verse 16)?

How many flocks and shepherds will there be (verse 16)?

Why does the Father love Jesus (verse 17)?

Who takes Jesus life from Him (verse 18)?

What authority does Jesus have (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, how are the views about the duties of a shepherd held by “all the tribes of Israel” in 2 Samuel 5:1-5 different from the view of Jesus in John 10:11-18?

Hebrews 13:20-21 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹ equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

How did the “God of peace” bring “our Lord Jesus” from the dead (verse 20)?

How is Jesus described (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what does “equip you with everything good for doing his will” mean (verse 21)?

What is Paul asking that God do “in us” (verse 21)?

Who is to receive the “glory for ever and ever” (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, why does Paul in Hebrews 13:20-21 in calling Jesus “the great Shepherd of the sheep” amplify what Jesus said in John 10:11-18 when He said “the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”?

In your opinion, what are some of the differences between King David, who 2 Samuel 5:1-5 reveals shepherded the people of Israel, and Jesus Christ, who Paul in Hebrews 13:20-21 calls the “great Shepherd of the sheep”?

Revelation 7:13-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴ I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
    will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ ‘Never again will they hunger;
    never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
    nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb at the center of the throne
    will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
    ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

Who ask John about the people in the white robes (verse 13)?

What was revealed about the people in the white robes (verse 14)?

Who will shelter the people in the white robes (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why is it significant that they won’t hunger or thirst or suffer from the sun or scorching heat (verse 16)?

What will the relationship of “Lamb at the center of the throne” and those in the white robes be (verse 17)?

Where will the Lamb lead them (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, why is there a transition from Paul in his benediction of Hebrews 13:20-21 asking for the Shepherd to “equip you with everything good for doing his will” to the elder explaining to John in Revelation 7:13-17 that the Shepherd will “lead them to springs of living water” and what does that transition mean to us?

In your opinion, how are the ones that Jesus says in John 10:11-18 “will listen to my voice” and the ones that the elder in Revelation 7:13-17 “washed their robes and made the white in the blood of the Lamb” related?

In your opinion, why do both the people who approached David to ask him to be king in 2 Samuel 5:1-5 and the elder who describes the relationship of the people in the white robes to Jesus in Revelation 7:13-17 both use blood in their statements?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 2 Samuel, John, Hebrews and Revelation teach us about the passage that opens Psalm 23, “the Lord is my shepherd”?

In your opinion, how do these passages guide us in responding to the voice of the good Shepherd calling us today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)