October 19, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – Hope in Jesus

Hope in Jesus

Isaiah 42:1-9 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
    and he will bring justice to the nations.
² He will not shout or cry out,
    or raise his voice in the streets.
³ A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
⁴     he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
    In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

⁵ This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
    who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
    who gives breath to its people,
    and life to those who walk on it:
⁶ “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
    I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people
    and a light for the Gentiles,
⁷ to open eyes that are blind,
    to free captives from prison
    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

⁸ “I am the Lord; that is my name!
    I will not yield my glory to another
    or my praise to idols.
⁹ See, the former things have taken place,
    and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
    I announce them to you.”

What will God’s servant bring “to the nations” (verse 1)?

Where will He not “raise his voice” (verse 2)?

What will God’s servant “not break” (verse 3)?

What will “the islands” put their hope in (verse 4)?

Who “gives breath” to the people of the earth (verse 5)?

What will the servant of the Lord be to the Gentiles (verse 6)?

What will He do for those in ”the dungeon” (verse 7)?

What will the Lord not yield “to idols” (verse 8)?

When will “new things” be announced (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about hope?

Matthew 12:15-29 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. ¹⁶ He warned them not to tell others about him. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁸ “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
    the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
    and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
¹⁹ He will not quarrel or cry out;
    no one will hear his voice in the streets.
²⁰ A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
²¹     In his name the nations will put their hope.”

²² Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. ²³ All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

²⁵ Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

²⁹ “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

Who did Jesus heal (verse 15)?

What did Jesus warn them (verse 16?

Whose words was this “to fulfill” (verse 17)?

What will the servant proclaim (verse 18)?

What will the servant not do (verse 19)?

When will the servant bring “through to victory” (verse 20)?

Where will the nations “put their hope” (verse 21)?

What could the “demon-possessed man who was blind and mute” do after Jesus healed him (verse 22)?

How did “all the people” respond to this healing (verse 23)?

Who said, “it is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons” (verse 24)?

What will happen to every kingdom that is “divided against itself” (verse 25)?

What has come upon them if Jesus was driving out demons “by the Spirit of God” (verse 28)?

When can someone plunder a strong man’s house (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about hope?

In your opinion, what does Matthew 12:15-29 teach us about the “new things” that Isaiah 42:1-9 declares?

1 John 3:7-15 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. ¹⁰ This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

¹¹ For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹² Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. ¹³ Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

Who should not “let anyone” lead them astray (verse 7)?

What is the “one who does what is right” (verse 7)?

Who is “the one who does what is sinful” of (verse 8)?

Why did the Son of God appear (verse 8)?

What remains in the “one who is born of God” (verse 9)?

Who is not a child of God (verse 10)?

What message have they “heard from the beginning” (verse 11)?

Why did Cain murder his brother (verse 12)?

What should not surprise Christians (verse 13)?

What have Christians passed from death to (verse 14)?

Who does not have eternal life “residing in him” (verse 15?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about hope?

In your opinion, how can the one that Isaiah 42:1-9 says won’t break “a bruised reed” also be the one who 1 John 3:7-15 says came to “destroy the devil’s work”?

In your opinion, how does 1 John 3:7-15 help us understand the “strong man” that Jesus is talking about in Matthew 12:15-29?

Revelation 20:7-15 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. ⁹ They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰ And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

What will Satan do after being “released from his prison” (verses 7 and 8)?

How many will Satan gather “for battle” (verse 8)?

How were the people who “surrounded the camp of God’s people” destroyed (verse 9)?

What happened to “the devil, who deceived them” (verse 10)?

What fled from the presence of the One seated on the “great white throne” (verse 11)?

How were the “dead” judged (verse 12)?

What gave “up the dead” (verse 13)?

What was “thrown into the lake of fire” (verse 14)?

Who was “thrown into the lake of fire” (verse 15)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about hope?

In your opinion, what “new things” about the servant spoken of in Isaiah 42:1-9 are revealed in Revelation 20:7-15?

In your opinion, what does Revelation 20:7-15 reveal about the “justice through to victory” that Matthew 12:15-29 proclaims Jesus will accomplish?

In your opinion, what can we learn from 1 John 3:7-15 about those who are listed in the “book of life” mentioned in Revelation 20:7-15?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Isaiah, Matthew, 1 John and Revelation teach us about Jesus’s power?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “hope” in Jesus today?  And what will tomorrow bring for those who “hope” in Him today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

October 12, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – Being Restored

 

Being Restored

1 Kings 12:28-13:6 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁸ After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” ²⁹ One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. ³⁰ And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.

³¹ Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. ³² He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. ³³ On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.

13 ¹ By the word of the Lord a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. ² By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” ³ That same day the man of God gave a sign: “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

⁴ When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. ⁵ Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.

⁶ Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.

How did the king justify making the two golden calves (verse 28)?

Where did the king put the two golden calves (verse 29)?

What did the setting up of the golden calves become (verse 30)?

What did the king, Jeroboam, build on the high places (verse 31)?

What did Jeroboam do on the fifteenth day of the eight month (verse 32)?

Where did the king offer sacrifices (verse 33)?

What was Jeroboam doing when the “man of God” came to him (verse 1)?

What does the “man of God” say will be sacrificed on the alter (verse 2)?

What is the “sign the Lord has declared” (verse 3)?

When did king Jeroboham’s hand shrivel up (verse 4)?

What happened to the alter (verse 5)?

How did things change when the “man of God” interceded with the Lord (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about restoration?

Matthew 12:9-14 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, ¹⁰ and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

¹¹ He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

¹³ Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

Where did Jesus go (verse 9)?

Who was there (verse 10?

Why did they say, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” (verse 10)?

What did Jesus ask them (verse 11)?

What is more valuable than a sheep (verse 12)?

When does Jesus say it “is lawful to do good” (verse 12)?

What happened when the man stretched out his hand (verse 13)?

How did the Pharisees react to this (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about restoration?

In your opinion, how are the Pharisees in Matthew 12:9-14 like the king who had just established two alters to false gods and wanted the prophet of God seized in 1 Kings 12:28-13:6?

1 Peter 5:6-11 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

¹⁰ And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. ¹¹ To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Where should Christians humble themselves (verse 6)?

When will God lift Christians up (verse 6)?

Why should Christians “cast all your anxiety” on God (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “be alert and of sober mind” (verse 8)?

Who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (verse 8)?

What is “the whole family of believers throughout the world” undergoing (verse 9)?

When will the “God of all grace . . . restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about restoration?

In your opinion, how is a Christian humbling themselves “under God’s mighty hand” as commanded by 1 Peter 5:6-11 a contrast to King Jeroboam asking the prophet to “intercede” for him in 1 Kings 12:28-13:6?

In your opinion, where in Matthew 12:9-14 do you see the devil “looking for someone to devour” as Peter warns in 1 Peter 5:6-11?

Galatians 6:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. ² Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. ³ If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. ⁴ Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, ⁵ for each one should carry their own load. ⁶ Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.

⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

What should a brother or sister do for someone “caught in a sin” (verse 1)?

How can Christians “fulfill the law of Christ” (verse 2)?

When do people “deceive themselves” (verse 3)?

What should each Christian “test” (verse 4)?

What should each Christian “carry” (verse 5)?

Who “cannot be mocked” (verse 7)?

What does a man reap (verse 7)?

Who will “reap eternal life” (verse 8)?

What will Christians reap if they “do not give up” (verse 9)?

What should Christians do if they “have the opportunity” to (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about restoration?

In your opinion, how is the truth “a man reaps what he sows” in Galatians 6:1-10 demonstrated in 1 Kings 12:28-13:6?

In your opinion, who in Matthew 12:9-14 could be an example of the people that Galatians 6:1-10 say may think “they are something when they are not”?  Who is an example of one that carries “each other’s burdens”?

In your opinion, how does Galatians 6:1-10 help us know how to respond when another Christian falls prey to the roaring lion that 1 Peter 5:6-11 talks about?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from 1 Kings, Matthew, 1 Peter and Galatians teach us about what to do when we need restoration?

In your opinion, how can we ‘pay forward’ the restoration they have received?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)