April 11, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Shouting and Salvation

 

Shouting and Salvation

Joshua 6:6-16 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” ⁷ And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”

⁸ When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. ⁹ The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. ¹⁰ But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” ¹¹ So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.

¹² Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³ The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets kept sounding. ¹⁴ So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

¹⁵ On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. ¹⁶ The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! 

What are the priests to do (verse 6)?

Where is the army to march (verse 7)?

What went ahead of the ark (verse 8)?

When did the trumpets sound (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why was the army not to “give a war cry” or raise their voices or say a work (verse 10)?

How many times did the ark circle the city (verse 11)?

When did Joshua get up (verse 12)?

How many days did the ark circle the city once (verse 14)?

How many times did the ark circle the city on the seventh day (verse 15)?

What did Joshua command the army (verse 16)?

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

Mark 10:46-52 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁶ Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” ⁵⁰ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

⁵² “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

What was Bartimaeus doing as Jesus, his disciples, and a large crowd were leaving Jericho (verse 46)?

When did he begin to shout “Jesus, Son of David” have mercy on me” (verse 47)?

In your opinion, why did people rebuke him and tell him to be quiet (verse 48)?

How did Jesus respond (verse 49)?

What did Bartimaeus do (verse 50)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask “what do you want me to do for you” (verse 51)?

How did the blind man answer (verse 51)?

What did Jesus say (verse 52)?

What did Bartimaeus do after he received his sight (verse 52)?

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

In your opinion, how are the shouting of the army around Jericho in Joshua 6:6-16 and Bartimaeus shouting as Jesus was leaving Jericho in Mark 10:46-52 similar? 

Acts 23:6-11 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” ⁷ When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)

⁹ There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ¹⁰ The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹ The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

What did Paul know about the people (verse 6)?

Why did Paul say he was standing on trial (verse 6)?

What broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees (verse 7)?

Who believed “that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits” (verse 8)?

Who argued “we find nothing wrong with this man” (verse 9)? 

What was the commander afraid of (verse 10)?

Who told Paul to “take courage” (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what is similar between Joshua having the ark circle the city of Jericho in Joshua 6:6-16 and Paul shouting “I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead” in Acts 23:6-11?

In your opinion, how is Bartimaeus crying “Jesus, Son of David” in Mark 10:46-52 similar to Paul crying out about “the hope of the resurrection of the dead” in Acts 23:6-11? 

In your opinion, how is Bartimaeus following Jesus at the end of Mark 10:46-52 and Paul testifying about Jesus in Jerusalem and Rome alike?

Revelation 7:9-14 – 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. 

Who was in the “great multitude that no one could count” (verse 9)?

What did they cry “out in a loud voice” (verse 10)?

What did the angels standing around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures do (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what does the first Amen mean (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what does the second Amen mean (verse 12)?

Who ask, “these in white robes-who are they and where did they come from” (verse 13)?

How did John answer (verse 14)?

Who are “these in white robes” (verses 14 and 15)?

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

In your opinion, how are the shout of the army in Joshua 6:6-16 because “the Lord has given you the city” and the crying out with a loud voice that ““Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” by the people in white robes in Revelation 7:9-14 similar?

In your opinion, why would the call of Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-52 “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” have to proceed the call of those robed in white in Revelation 7:9-14 that “Salvation belongs to our God”? 

In your opinion, how might what Paul testified about the Lord in Jerusalem and in Rome according to Acts 23:6-11 and what the people in the white robes are testifying to in Revelation 7:9-14 be the same?  How might they be different?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts and Revelation teach us about testifying for the Lord?

In your opinion, how can we testify to Jesus today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 4, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Go and Tell

Go and Tell

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.

² Let Israel say:
    “His love endures forever.”

¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and my defense;
    he has become my salvation.

¹⁵ Shouts of joy and victory
    resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
¹⁶     The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
    the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
¹⁷ I will not die but live,
    and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
¹⁸ The Lord has chastened me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death.
¹⁹ Open for me the gates of the righteous;
    I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord
    through which the righteous may enter.
²¹ I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
    you have become my salvation.

²² The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
²³ the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ The Lord has done it this very day;
    let us rejoice today and be glad.

Why are we to “give thanks to the Lord” (verse 1)?

How long with His love endure (verse 2)?

What has the Lord become (verse 14)?

Where do “shouts of joy and victory” resound (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does “the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things” mean (verse 16)?

What will the Psalmist proclaim (verse 17)?

How has the Psalmist, and sometimes us, been chastened (verse 18)?

What gates need to be opened before the Psalmist, and we, can “enter and give thanks to the Lord” (verse 19)?

In your opinion, what do these words prophesy, “This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter” (verse 20)?

Why will the Psalmist, and we, give thanks (verse 21)?

What has become the cornerstone (verse 22)?

Who has done this that “is marvelous in our eyes” (verse 23)?

How should we respond to what the Lord has done (verse 24)?

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

Mark 16:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. ² Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³ and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

⁸ Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

What happened “when the Sabbath was over” (verse 1)?

When were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome “on their way to the tomb” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why did they ask “who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb” (verse 3)?

What did they see “when they looked up” (verse 4)?

Who “alarmed” them (verse 5)?

Why was “Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified” not there (verse 6)?

What were they to tell “his disciples and Peter” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why were the women “trembling and bewildered” (verse 8)?

Why did they say nothing to anyone (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what does Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 help us understand about how to respond to Mark 16:1-8’s account of Jesus’s tomb being empty? 

Acts 10:34-43 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵ but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. ³⁶ You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. ³⁷ You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

³⁹ “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, ⁴⁰ but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. ⁴¹ He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Who “began to speak” (verse 34)?

What does God not show (verse 34)?

Who does God accept “from every nation” (verse 35)?

What did the “message God sent to the people of Israel” announce (verse 36)?

How did God anoint Jesus (verse 38)?

What was Peter a witness of (verse 39)?

How was Jesus killed (verse 39)?

What did God do on the third day (verse 40)?

Who saw, ate, and drank with Jesus “after he rose from the dead” (verse 41)?

What were these people commanded to do (verse 42)?

Who “receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (verse 43)?

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

In your opinion, how do the prophecies in Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 apply to Jesus as described by Peter in Acts 10:34-43?  How do the prophecies apply to Peter, and us?

In your opinion, how is the worry of the women of Mark 16:1-8 about “who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb” transformed to the celebration in Acts 10:34-43?

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. ² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. ¹¹ Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

What does Paul want to remind the Corinthian Christians, and Christians today, of (verse 1)?

How are those who are being saved to hold to the word (verse 2)?

What is “of first importance” (verse 3, 4, and 5)?

 

How many people did the risen Jesus appear to at one time (verse 6)?

Who did Jesus appear to “last of all” (verse 8)?

Why did Paul say he was “the least of the apostles” (verse 9)?

How is Paul able to say “I am what I am” (verse 10)?

How was Paul able to say “I worked harder than all of them” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how does 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 fulfill the Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 statement that “he has become my salvation”?

In your opinion, what three words does the angel in Mark 16:1-8 say that is at the heart of the gospel (good news) that Paul shares in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11? 

In your opinion, how are the backgrounds of Peter (Cephas) in Acts 10:34-43 and Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 different in their association with Jesus?  If their backgrounds are so different then why is their good news (gospel) so similar?

In your opinion, how do these passages from Psalms, Mark, Acts and 1 Corinthians show us how the alarm and fear in Acts are transformed into the “shouts of joy and victory” and rejoicing of Psalms?

In your opinion, how should we celebrate our good news today?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 28, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – An Upside-Down World

An Upside-Down World

Isaiah 29:13-16 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ The Lord says:

“These people come near to me with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
    is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
¹⁴ Therefore once more I will astound these people
    with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
    the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”
¹⁵ Woe to those who go to great depths
    to hide their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
    “Who sees us? Who will know?”
¹⁶ You turn things upside down,
    as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,
    “You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,
    “You know nothing”?

Where are the hearts of the people (verse 13)?

What will perish (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why would people go to great depths to “hide their plans from the Lord” (verse 15)?

How do people turn things upside down (verse 16)?

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

Mark 10:32-45 - New International Version (NIV)

³² They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. ³³ “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “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 and will hand him over to the Gentiles, ³⁴ who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

³⁵ Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

³⁶ “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³⁷ They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

³⁸ “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

³⁹ “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, ⁴⁰ 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.”

⁴¹ When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ⁴³ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Who was leading “on their way up to Jerusalem” (verse 32)?

Who will be “delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law” (verse 33)?

What will happen three days after He is mocked, spit on flogged and killed (verse 34)?

Who wanted Jesus to “do for us whatever we ask” (verse 35)?

What did they want (verse 37)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask “can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with” (verse 38)?

How did they answer (verse 39)?

Who will sit at Jesus left or right (verse 40)?

In your opinion, why did the ten become indignant (verse 41)?

Who lords it over the Gentiles (verse 42)?

What does the disciple who wants to be great have to do (verse 43)?

Who “first must be slave of all” (verse 44)?

What did the Son of Man come to do (verse 45)?

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

In your opinion, who fulfills the statement of Isaiah 29:13-16 that “you turn things upside down” in the interaction of Jesus and the disciples in Mark 10:32-45?  What do you think is the most astounding thing that Jesus is saying He will do?

Acts 2:25-32 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ David said about him:

“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
    Because he is at my right hand,
    I will not be shaken.
²⁶ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest in hope,
²⁷ because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    you will not let your holy one see decay.
²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

²⁹ “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. ³⁰ But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹ Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. ³² God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.

Where did David see the Lord (verse 25)?

How does David react to seeing the Lord (verse 26)?

Where will the Lord not abandon David to (verse 27)?

What was made known to David (verse 28)?

What happened to David (verse 29)? 

Who did God promise David would be on his throne (verse 30)?

What did David speak of (verse 31)?

Who was not “abandoned to the realm of the dead” (verse 31)?

What has God done (verse 32)?

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

In your opinion, how does Peter show in Acts 2:25-32 that God fulfilled the promise of Isaiah 29:13-16 to “astound these people”?

In your opinion, how does Peter in Acts 2:25-32 show both the history of and the reality of Jesus rising from the dead as foretold in Mark 10:32-45?

1 Corinthians 1:18-25 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

What is “foolishness to those who are perishing” (verse 18)?

What is “the power of God” to those who are being saved (verse 18)?

What will God destroy (verse 19)?

In your opinion, “where is the wise person” (verse 20)?

What was God pleased to do through foolishness (verse 21)?

Who will “look for wisdom” (verse 22)?

What does Paul preach (verse 23)?

For whom is “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (verse 24)?

What is “wiser than human wisdom” (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, how do Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 echo the contrast of the worldly view and the Godly view that God shared in Isaiah 29:13-16? 

In your opinion, how do the contrasting views of Jesus and the disciples in Mark 10:32-45 illustrate the difference between the wisdom and intelligence of the world and that of God as Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25?

In your opinion, is the confidence David expresses because “the Lord is always before me” in Acts 2:25-32 an example of worldly wisdom or Godly wisdom as defined by 1 Corinthians 1:18-25?  Why?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Mark, Acts and 1 Corinthians teach us about how the world turns things upside down?

In your opinion, how do we turn ourselves right side up?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)