September 22, 2019 – Festivals and Foundations – Rivers of Living Water

Rivers of Living Water


Leviticus 23:33-36 - New International Version (NIV)

³³ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁴ “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. ³⁵ The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. ³⁶ For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.

Who spoke to Moses (verse 33)?

How long does the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles last (verse 34)?

What kind of work is forbidden on the first day of the celebration when they have “a sacred assembly” (verse 35)?

What is to happen on “the eighth day” (verse 36)?

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

Zechariah 12:10-13:1 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. ¹¹ On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. ¹² The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, ¹³ the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, ¹⁴ and all the rest of the clans and their wives. ¹ “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

What kind of spirit will God pour out on “the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (verse 10)?

Who will they “look on . . . mourn . . . and grieve” (verse 10)?

Where will there be great weeping “on that day” (verse 11)?

Who will mourn (verses 12, 13 and 14)?

What will the fountain that is opened on that day do (verse 1)?

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

In your opinion, how is the closing assembly of the Festival of Tabernacles in Leviticus 23:33-36 similar to the day when the “spirit of grace and supplication” is poured out and the fountain is opened to “cleanse them from sin and impurity” in Zechariah 12:10-13:1?

John 7:32-44 – New International Version (NIV)

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

³³ Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. ³⁴ You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

³⁵ The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? ³⁶ What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

⁴⁰ On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴² Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” ⁴³ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

When did the “chief priests and the Pharisees” send temple guards to arrest Jesus (verse 32)?

Where does Jesus say He is going (verse 33)?

What will the people not be able to do (verse 34)?

In your opinion, why could the Jews not understand where Jesus was going (verses 35 and 36)?

When did Jesus stand up and speak “in a loud voice” (verse 37)?

In your opinion, what did Jesus mean by “let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink” (verse 37)?

Where will “rivers of living waters” flow (verse 38)?

Why had the Spirit not been given “up to that time” (verse 39)?

What did some people say (verse 40)?

In your opinion, why did some people say “He is the Messiah” (verse 41)?

In your opinion, why did others ask “how can the Messiah come from Galilee” (verses 41 and 42)?

What effect did Jesus have on the people (verse 43)?

How many people “laid a hand” on Jesus (verse 44)?

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

In your opinion, why would Jesus use the day that Leviticus 23:33-36 called the “closing special assembly” to stand up in John 7:32-44 and say “let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink”?

In your opinion, how is Zechariah 12:10-13:1 where the prophecy is about mourning the one who was pierced and about the fountain that will cleanse related to John 7:32-44 where Jesus talks about going to where “you cannot come” and invites the thirsty to come to Him?

Revelation 22:1-5 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Who showed John “the river of the water of life” (verse 1)?

Where did the river flow from (verse 1)?

What stood on each side of the river (verse 2)?

What will there no longer be (verse 3)?

Where will the “throne of God and of the Lamb” be (verse 3)?

What will the servants of God and the Lamb see (verse 4)?

Why will there be no night or need for the “light of a lamp or the light of the sun” (verse 5)?

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

In your opinion, how is the “sacred assembly” that Leviticus 23:33-36 indicates is to occur on the eighth day related to the “servants” in Revelation 22:1-5 seeing the face of God and the Lamb?

In your opinion, how is the mourning for “the one they have pierced” of Zechariah 12:10-13:1 related to the “river of the water of life” in Revelation 22:1-5?

In your opinion, how is “river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb” of Revelation 22:1-5 related to the place that Jesus said He would be going in John 7:32-44?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Leviticus, Zechariah, John and Revelation show us about the relationship between mourning and salvation?

In your opinion, how can we who are thirsty able to not only drink of the “spirit of grace and supplication” but have the “rivers of living water flow from within”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

September 15, 2019 – Festivals and Foundations – Living in a Temporary Shelter

-                        The

Living in a Temporary Shelter


Leviticus 23:33-43 - New International Version (NIV)

³³ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁴ “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. ³⁵ The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. ³⁶ For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.

³⁷ (“‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. ³⁸ These offerings are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths and in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to the Lord.)

³⁹ “‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. ⁴⁰ On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹ Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴² Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters ⁴³ so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

What are the Israelites to celebrate “on the fifteenth day of the seventh month” (verse 34)?

What is the first day of the celebration (verse 35)?

When are the food offerings to be presented to the Lord (verse 36)?

Who appointed the “sacred assemblies” (verse 37)?

In your opinion, how do the “branches from luxuriant trees-from palms, willows and other leafy trees” aid in rejoicing before the Lord (verse 40)?

Where are the people to live for seven days (verse 42)?

Why are they to live there (verse 43)?

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

Genesis 23:1-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. ² She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

³ Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, ⁴ “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”

⁵ The Hittites replied to Abraham, ⁶ “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

⁷ Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. ⁸ He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf ⁹ so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”

¹⁰ Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. ¹¹ “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”

¹² Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land ¹³ and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”

¹⁴ Ephron answered Abraham, ¹⁵ “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”

¹⁶ Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.

¹⁷ So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded ¹⁸ to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. ¹⁹ Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.

How long did Sarah live (verse 1)?

Where did she die (verse 2)?

Who did Abraham speak to (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did Abraham say “I am a foreigner and stranger among you” (verse 4)?

What did the Hittites offer (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why did Abraham not take the Hittites offer but ask to buy the cave of Machpela (verses 7, 8 and 9)?

What did Ephron the Hittite offer (verses 10 and 11)?

How did Abraham respond to the offer (verses 12 and 13)?

How much was the land worth (verse 15)?

What did Abraham do (verse 16)?

What happened to “Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre” (verses 17 and 18)?

When was Sarah buried in the cave (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, how are the situations of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 23:1-20 and of the Israelite people during the time they were remembering that they lived in temporary housing during the festival appointed by the Lord in Leviticus 23:33-43 similar?

John 7:1-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. ² But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, ³ Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. ⁴ No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” ⁵ For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

⁶ Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. ⁸ You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” ⁹ After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

¹⁰ However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. ¹¹ Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?”

¹² Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”

Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” ¹³ But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.

¹⁴ Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. ¹⁵ The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”

¹⁶ Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. ¹⁷ Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ¹⁸ Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.

Why did Jesus not “want to go about in Judea” (verse 1)?

When did Jesus brothers say “leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do” (verses 2 and 3)?

Did Jesus “own brothers”  believe in Him (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why was Jesus’ time different than His brothers for whom “any time will do” (verse 6)?

Why does the world hate Jesus (verse 7)?

When did Jesus go to the festival secretly (verse 10)?

Who was at the festival “watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?” (verse 11)?

Where was the “widespread whispering” about Jesus (verse 12)?

Why would no one publicly say anything about Jesus (verse 13)?

When did Jesus go to the temple courts and begin to teach (verse 14)?

Why were the Jews amazed (verse 15)?

Where did Jesus teaching come from (verse 16)?

Who will find out “whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (verse 17)?

Who has nothing false about themselves (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, how was Jesus’ hesitation to go to the Festival of Tabernacles in John 7:1-18 because His time was not yet here, similar to the Israelites who Leviticus 23:33-43 says were to hold the Festival so their descendents would remember them living in temporary shelters as they were brought out of Egypt?

In your opinion, how was Sarah, who died in Genesis 23:1-20 without a place to be buried, similar to Jesus who says in John 7:1-18 that He was hated by the world?

1 Peter 1:1-9 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Who does Peter call “exiles” (verse 1)?

What have these “exiles” been chosen for (verse 2)?

In what had “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (verse 3)?

Where is our inheritance kept (verse 4)?

How long are we “through faith shielded by God’s power” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, how can we “greatly rejoice” in the midst of trials (verse 6)?

Why have trials come (verse 7)?

What fills those who believe in Jesus even though they don’t see Him (verse 8)?

What is the “end result” of faith (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, how are the Israelites living in temporary shelters in Leviticus 23:33-43 similar to the “exiles” scattered through the world with an inheritance in heaven that Peter refers to in 1 Peter 1:1-9?

In your opinion, how is what Abraham did by purchasing the cave where Sarah was buried in Genesis 23:1-20 similar to what Jesus does for those who believe by sprinkling them with His blood according to 1 Peter 1:1-9?

In your opinion, how do the crowds in John 7:1-18 whispering “he is a good man”  versus “no, he deceives the people” help us understand what it takes to become what Peter calls an “exile” in 1 Peter 1:1-9?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Leviticus, Genesis, John and 1 Peter teach us about living as Christians in todays world?

In your opinion, how can we have “grace and peace” in abundance in a world which hates Jesus?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

September 8, 2019 – Festivals and Foundations – Redeemed By the Blood

Redeemed by the Blood


Leviticus 23:26-32 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁷ “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the Lord. ²⁸ Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. ²⁹ Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people. ³⁰ I will destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day. ³¹ You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. ³² It is a day of sabbath rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”

Who did the Lord speak to (verse 26)?

What is to happen on the “tenth day of this seventh month” (verse 27)?

Who is atonement made for (verse 28)?

What will happen to “those who do not deny themselves” (verse 29)?

Who will be destroyed (verse 30)?

How much work can the Israelites do on this day (verse 31)?

When is the sabbath to be observed (verse 32)?

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

Leviticus 16:6-22 - New International Version (NIV)           

⁶ “Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. ⁷ Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁸ He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. ⁹ Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. ¹⁰ But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.

¹¹ “Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. ¹² He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. ¹³ He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die. ¹⁴ He is to take some of the bull’s blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.

¹⁵ “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. ¹⁶ In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the tent of meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. ¹⁷ No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.

¹⁸ “Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. ¹⁹ He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.

²⁰ “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. ²¹ He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. ²² The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

What is Aaron offering the bull for (verse 6)?

Where are the two goats to be presented (verse 7)?

What happens to the goat whose lot falls to the Lord (verse 9)?

What is the goat whose lot falls to the scapegoat used for (verse 10)?

Why is Aaron to slaughter the bull (verse 11)?

Why is Aaron to “take a censer full of burning coals from the alter before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain.  He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke from the incense will conceal the atonement cover” (verses 12 & 13)?

Where is the bull’s blood sprinkled (verse 14)?

Who is the goat a sin offering for (verse 15)?

Why is Aaron to make an atonement “for the Most Holy Place” (verse 16)?

Who is Aaron making atonement for (verse 17)?

How does Aaron make atonement for the alter that is before the Lord (verses 18 and 19)?

What does Aaron do with the live goat (verse 21)?

Where does the goat carry the sins (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, how does the purposes of the sacrifices revealed by Leviticus 16:6-22 help explain why Leviticus 23:26-32 says that people who don’t deny themselves on the Day of Atonement are to be cut off from their people?

Mark 14:12-26 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

¹³ So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴ Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

¹⁶ The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷ When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. ¹⁸ While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”

¹⁹ They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”

²⁰ “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. ²¹ The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

²² While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

²³ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴ “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. ²⁵ “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

When did Jesus disciples ask Him “where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover” (verse 12)?

Who were the disciples to meet (verse 13)?

Where were the disciples to make the preparation (verse 15)?

When did Jesus arrive with the twelve (verse 17)?

In your opinion, how is the one who Jesus says will betray Him in verse 18 like the person who works during the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 23:26-32?

What did the disciples say (verse 19)?

Who will betray Jesus (verse 20)?

What must “the Son of Man” do (verse 21)?

What did Jesus say to the disciples after He had taken the bread, broken it and given it to His disciples (verse 22)?

Who drank from the cup (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what did Jesus mean by “this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (verse 24)?

When will Jesus drink “again from the fruit of the vine” (verse 25)?

Where did they go (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, how does Jesus link the Day of Atonement that the Israelites are commanded to observe in Leviticus 23:26-32 to the Passover in Mark 14:12-26?

In your opinion, what parts of the atonement process that Aaron was to complete in Leviticus 16:6-22 does the celebration of the Passover in Mark 14:12-26 indicate that Jesus will fulfill?

Hebrews 9:11-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. ¹² He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. ¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ¹⁴ How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

¹⁵ For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

¹⁶ In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, ¹⁷ because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. ¹⁸ This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. ¹⁹ When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. ²⁰ He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” ²¹ In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. ²² In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Where did Christ, the “high priest of the good things that are now already here”, go through (verse 11)?

How did Jesus enter “the Most Holy Place once for all” (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the “blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the blood of Christ will “cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death” (verse 14)?

Why has Christ died (verse 15)?

What is necessary “in the case of a will” (verse 16)?

When does a will never take effect (verse 17)?

What did Moses do when he “had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people” (verse 19)?

What did Moses say (verse 20)?

What did Moses sprinkle with blood (verse 21)?

What can there not be without blood (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, what ceremonial step that is commanded in Leviticus 23:26-32 does Paul say in Hebrews 9:11-22 that Jesus completed perfectly?

In your opinion, what is different about the atonement that Aaron was commanded to perform in Leviticus 16:6-22 and the atonement that Jesus completed in Hebrews 9:11-22?

In your opinion, how do the words of Jesus in Mark 14:12-26 demonstrate that He understood that He would do the things just as Paul later  proclaimecd  He did in Hebrews 9:11-22?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Leviticus, Mark and Hebrews teach us about the sacrifice Jesus made so that sinful people would have the opportunity for eternal life?

In your opinion, how should our lives proclaim what Jesus did for us when He entered the heavenly Most Holy Place once for all?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)