March 1, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Blindness and Light

March 1, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Blindness and Light

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.”

Blindness and Light

Matthew 20:29-34 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁹ “As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³¹ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³² Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³³ “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

³⁴ Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”

Where was Jesus leaving (verse 29)?

Who was beside the road shouting (verse 30)?

In your opinion, why did they say “Son of David” (verse 30)?

What did the crowd do (verse 31)?

How did they respond (verse 31)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask “What do you want me to do for you” (verse 32)?

What did the men want (verse 33)?

What emotion did Jesus have for them (verse 34)?

How did Jesus act toward them (verse 34)?

In your opinion, why did the men follow Jesus after they received their sight (verse 34)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 20:29-34 show us about the Great Commission?

2 Samuel 7:8-17 - New International Version (NIV)

⁸ “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. ¹⁰ And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹¹ and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: ¹² When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. ¹⁵ But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”

¹⁷ Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.”

Who was the Lord was speaking to, and who was he to tell the message to (verse 8)?

From where had the Lord taken David from (verse 8)?

What did the Lord appoint David to be (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why does the Lord say “I have been with you wherever you have gone” (verse 9)?

What is the Lord going to do with David’s name (verse 9)?

Why is the Lord going to plant the people of Israel (verse 10)?

Who will the people of Israel be given rest from (verse 11)?

What is the Lord going to establish for David (verse 11)?

Who will be raised up and have his kingdom established (verse 12)?

What will be built “for my Name” (verse 13)?

How will his wrong doing be punished (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does it mean when God says “my love will never be taken away from him” (verse 15)?

Whose throne will be established forever (verse 16)?

What did Nathan do with this revelation (verse 17)?

In your opinion, how does God revealing to David in 2 Samuel 7:8-17 that his “throne will be established forever” help us understand about what the blind men thought about Jesus in Matthew 20:29-34 when they shouted “Lord, Son of David”?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 2 Samuel show us about the Great Commission?

Acts 22:1-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”

² When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: ³ “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. ⁴ I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, ⁵ as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

⁸ “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁹ My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

¹⁰ “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ ¹¹ My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

¹² “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. ¹³ He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴ “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. ¹⁵ You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’”

What are the brothers and fathers to do (verse 1)?

Why did they become quiet (verse 2)?

Who did Paul study under (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why does Paul say that he “persecuted the followers of this Way” (verse 4)?

What did Paul obtain from the high priest and all the Council (verse 5)?

When did “a bright light from heaven” flash around Paul (verse 6)?

What did the voice ask Paul (verse 7)?

Whose voice was it (verse 8)?

How were Paul’s companions limited (verse 9)?

What was Paul to do (verse 10)?

How had the brilliance affected Paul (verse 11)?

Who came to see Paul (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why did he say “Brother Saul” (verse 13)?

Who had chosen Paul (verse 14)?

What is Paul to be (verse 15)?

What is Paul to do (verse 16)?

In your opinion, how is the story of David, being taken from tending the flock and being appointed as the ruler over Israel, in 2 Samuel 7:8-17 similar to the story of Paul, moving from persecuting the followers of “this Way” to being appointed a witness to “all people”, in Acts 22:1-16?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the two blind men in Matthew 20:29-34 who recognized Jesus and called out “Lord, Son of David” and Paul who not only did not recognize Jesus but persecuted those who followed him in Acts 22:1-16 all end up following Jesus?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Acts 22:1-16 show us about the Great Commission?

    

Ephesians 5:1-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷ Therefore do not be partners with them.

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

Whose example should be followed (verse 1)?

What did Christ who “loved us” do for us (verse 2)?

Why should there be not even “a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed” among the Ephesians or among us (verse 3)?

What should there be among us (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why is the “immoral, impure or greedy person” called an “idolater” (verse 5)?

What kind of words deceive (verse 6)?

How are those who “were once darkness” but are now “light in the Lord” supposed to live (verse 8)?

What does the fruit of the light consist of (verse 9)?

How should the deeds of darkness be treated (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why is it shameful to mention “what the disobedient do in secret” (verse 12)?

When do things become visible (verse 13)?

What are sleepers supposed to do (verse 14)?

What will Christ do to the sleepers (verse 14)?

In your opinion, is there anything to be learned from the fact that while Paul was persecuting followers of the Way a bright light from heaven flashed around him in Acts 22:1-16 and Paul says in Ephesians 5:1-14 that when sleepers wake and rise up from the dead that Christ will shine on them?

In your opinion, what can we learn about the kingdom of the offspring of David who was supposed to be flogged by men when He had done wrong according to 2 Samuel 7:8-17, but who Paul says in Ephesians 5:1-14 “gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”?

In your opinion, how are the blind men who received sight in Matthew 20:29-34 an example of living “as the children of light” that Paul calls for in Ephesians 5:1-14?

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

Next, back to Matthew 21:1 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

February 8, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Cups, Death and Life

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.”

Cups, Death and Life

Matthew 20:17-28 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ “Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, ¹⁸ “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death ¹⁹ and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

²¹ “What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

²² “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

²³ Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

²⁴ When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. ²⁵ Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Where was Jesus going (verse 17)?

Who did he take aside (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why would Jesus go to Jerusalem if He knew that he was going to be delivered to the chief priests and teachers of the law (verse 18)?

Why would the chief priests and teachers of the law hand Him over to the Gentiles (verse 19)?

What was going to happen on the third day (verse 19)?

Who came to Jesus and knelt down and  requested a favor (verse 20)?

What favor was requested (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why was this favor requested right after Jesus had described His capture and death (verse 21)?

Did the brothers think they could “drink the cup” (verse 22)?

Did Jesus think that they could drink from His cup (verse 23)?

Who do the places on the left and the right belong to (verse 23)?

In your opinion, why are the other disciples indignant (verse 24)?

What do the rulers of the Gentiles do (verse 25)?

How should the disciples who want to be great act (verse 26)?

Who should “be your slave” (verse 27)?

Who came to serve and to “give his life as a ransom for many” (verse 28)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 20:17-28 show us about the Great Commission?

Isaiah 51:17-22 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ “Awake, awake!
    Rise up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
    the cup of his wrath,
you who have drained to its dregs
    the goblet that makes people stagger.
¹⁸ Among all the children she bore
    there was none to guide her;
among all the children she reared
    there was none to take her by the hand.
¹⁹ These double calamities have come upon you—
    who can comfort you?—
ruin and destruction, famine and sword—
    who can console you?
²⁰ Your children have fainted;
    they lie at every street corner,
    like antelope caught in a net.
They are filled with the wrath of the Lord,
    with the rebuke of your God.

²¹ Therefore hear this, you afflicted one,
    made drunk, but not with wine.
²² This is what your Sovereign Lord says,
    your God, who defends his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
    the cup that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
    you will never drink again.”

What has Jerusalem drunk from (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why was there “none to guide her” and “none to take her by the hand” (verse 18)?

How many calamities have come (verse 19)?

Who has fainted (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what is it that has made them drunk “but not with wine” (verse 21)?

What has the Sovereign Lord, “who defends his people”, taken (verse 22)?

In your opinion, how does the statement that Jesus made in Matthew 20:17-28 that He has come “to give his life as a ransom for many” help us to understand how the Sovereign Lord “who defends his people” has taken the “cup of his wrath” from his people in Isaiah 51:17-22?

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

Philippians 1:27-30 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel ²⁸ without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. ²⁹ For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, ³⁰ since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.”

How are God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi to conduct themselves “whatever happens” (verse 27)?

How are they to stand (verse 27)?

What are they supposed to “strive together” for (verse 27)?

In your opinion, why is not “being frightened” a sign to “they that will be destroyed” (verse 28)?

What two things have been granted to the Philippians (verse 29)?

What is Paul going through (verse 30)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the cup that the people of Jerusalem drank from that is discussed in Isaiah 51:17-22 and the cup that (is not mentioned but that) God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi are drinking from in Philippians 1:27-30?

In your opinion, is the call that Jesus makes in Matthew 20:17-28 that “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” being filled by the Philippians who “believe in him, but also . . . suffer for him” in Philippians 1:27-30?

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

   

Revelation 1:9-20 – New International Version (NIV)

⁹ “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, ¹¹ which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

¹² I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴ The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. ¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

¹⁹ “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. ²⁰ The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

In what way is John a “brother and companion” (verse 9)?

Where was John (verse 9)?

When was John “in the Spirit” (verse 10)?

What was John supposed to do (verse 11)?

In your opinion, who is the one among the golden lampstands who is “dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest” (verse 13)?

What was His hair like (verse 14)?

Where was the “sharp, double-edged sword” (verse 16)?

How did John react (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what is meant by “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever” (verse 18)?

What is John to write (verse 19)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to us today that Paul, who in Philippians 1:27-30 indicated that he was suffering and that the Philippians were suffering, and that John, who in Revelation  1:9-20 indicates that he and the recipients of his letter are suffering?

In your opinion, what would it mean to the ones who “have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath” in Isaiah 51:17-22 that the Lord can now say “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades” in Revelation 1:9-20?

In your opinion, how does it give you hope that the one who said he would “give his life as a ransom for many” in Matthew 20:17-28 is now “alive for ever and ever” according to John in Revelation 1:9-20?

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

Next, back to Matthew 20:21 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

February 1, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Generosity and Salvation

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.”

Generosity and Salvation

Matthew 20:1-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³ “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. ⁶ About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

⁷ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹² ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

¹³ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

¹⁶ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

What is like the “landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard” (verse 1)?

How much did he agree to pay the workers (verse 2)?

When did the landowner go back to the marketplace (verse 3)?

How much did he agree to pay the workers this time (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why did he go back to the marketplace at noon and at three and at five (verses 5 and 6)?

In your opinion, what can you learn from the workers who were there at five, based on the answer “because no one has hired us” (verse 7)?

Who did the vineyard owner ask to call the workers (verse 8)?

How much did the workers who came at five receive (verse 9)?

How much did the first workers who came to the vineyard receive (verse 10)?

What did those first workers begin to do (verse 11)?

In your opinion, how justified is their comment (verse 12)?

Is the vineyard owner correct that they agreed “to work for a denarius” (verse 13)?

What did the vineyard owner want to do (verse 14)?

In your opinion, how do you think the workers who were there first responded to the question “or are you envious because I am generous” (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what can we learn by comparing Matthew 19:30 “but many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first” with Matthew 20:16 “so the last will be first, and the first will be last”?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 20:1-16 show us about the Great Commission?

Isaiah 5:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “I will sing for the one I love
    a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard
    on a fertile hillside.
² He dug it up and cleared it of stones
    and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it
    and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
    but it yielded only bad fruit.

³ “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.
⁴ What more could have been done for my vineyard
    than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes,
    why did it yield only bad?
⁵ Now I will tell you
    what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
    and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall,
    and it will be trampled.
⁶ I will make it a wasteland,
    neither pruned nor cultivated,
    and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain on it.”

⁷ The vineyard of the Lord Almighty
    is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
    are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
    for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

⁸ Woe to you who add house to house
    and join field to field
till no space is left
    and you live alone in the land.”

What does “my loved one” have (verse 1)?

In your opinion, was the preparation of “my loved one” adequate (verse 2)?

What kind of crop was yielded after all the preparations (verse 2)?

Who are the “dwellers in Jerusalem and the people of Judah” supposed to judge between (verse 3)?

What is going to happen to the vineyard (verse 5)?

How will the clouds be commanded to act (verse 6)?

Who is the vineyard (verse 7)?

What did the Lord Almighty look for (verse 7)?

What did the Lord Almighty find (verse 7)?

Who is the “woe” to (verse 8)?

In your opinion, how does the discussion of the vineyard of the Lord and its judgment in Isaiah 5:1-8 bring a greater focus to the generosity of the vineyard owner that Jesus talked about in Matthew 20:1-16?

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

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

¹ “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? ² If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. ³ What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

⁴ Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. ⁵ However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. ⁶ David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁷ “Blessed are those
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.
⁸ Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”

Who is Abraham in relation to Paul and the Christians in Rome that the letter was addressed to (verse 1)?

When would Abraham have something “to boast about” (verse 2)?

What does the Scripture say (verse 3)?

Who are wages “an obligation” to (verse 4)?

To whom is “their faith is credited as righteousness” (verse 5)?

Who is blessed in verse 7?

Who is blessed inverse 8?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the vineyard that God received bad fruit from in Isaiah 5:1-8 and the people that David indicates are blessed in Romans 4:1-8?

In your opinion, how does the “kingdom of heaven” being like the vineyard owner who was generous in Matthew 20:1-16 help us understand the “one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly” in Romans 4:1-8?

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

   

Revelation 7:9-17 – New International Version (NIV)

^9 “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

¹¹ All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

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 was standing “before the throne and before the Lamb” (verse 9)?

What were they wearing (verse 9)?

Who does “Salvation” belong to (verse 10)?

How did the angels behave (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why do the angels say “praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever” (verse 12)?

Who are the ones in the white robes (verses 13 and 14)?

What do the ones in the white robes do (verse 15)?

Where does “he who sits on the throne” shelter them (verse 15)?

What will the ones in white be sheltered from (verse 16)?

Where will the Lamb lead them  (verse 17)?

Who will wipe away their every tear (verse 17)?

In your opinion, does the discussion about “one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness”  in Romans 4:1-8 help to understand more about the ones who have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” in Revelation 7:9-17?

In your opinion, how is the fact that the same God who says “I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled”  in Isaiah 5:1-8 also is the one who will “shelter them with his presence” and “wipe away every tear from their eyes” in Revelation 7:9-17 change your view about why the hedge will be taken away and the wall  will be broken down?

In your opinion, how would Jesus talking about the generosity of the vineyard owner in Matthew 20:1-16 help us to understand why a great multitude in white robes would shout “salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” in Revelation 7:9-17?

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

 Next, back to Matthew 20:17 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)