- 3:1-12 What was prophesied about John the Baptist? What did the people do as they were baptized? What was the purpose of John’s baptism? What would be different about the baptism of the One to come after him?
- 3:13-17 Why did Jesus insist on being baptized? What happened when He came up out of the water?
- 4:1-11 After you read these verses, compare them to Genesis 3:6 (Eve’s temptation) and 1 John 2:16. Do you see any similarities? How did Jesus overcome the temptations?
- 4:12-17 When Jesus began to preach, what was His message?
- 4:18-22 Whom did Jesus call to follow Him? How long did it take for them to decide?
- 4:23-25 What three things was Jesus doing as He traveled? What kinds of diseases did He cure?
For Discussion:
- 3:6 As they were baptized, they confessed their sins. How specific were these confessions? How specific should we be when we confess our sins to one another? (also James 5:16)
- 3:7 Wasn't John the Baptist pre-judging the Pharisees and Sadducees? After all, they were coming for baptism.
- 4:18-22 What kind of excuses could Peter, Andrew, James and John have made for not following Jesus? Doesn't it seem kind of irresponsible just to get up and leave their livelihoods? Didn't they have families to take care of?
- 4:23-25 After looking at a map, determine just how widespread Jesus' fame was.
There are more of these types of questions at my Bible reading blog,
Word Walk. Way back in 2008, when I took notes on Matthew, I put them in forms of questions I had as I read. Many of them probably cannot be answered.
Thursday Class Comments on Matthew 3-4
ReplyDelete5. Answers: It was prophesied of John the Baptist that he would be a "voice crying in the wilderness." People confessed their sins as they were baptized. The purpose of his baptism was for people to demonstrate their repentance. The One to follow John would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Discussion: The Holy Spirit seems to be a key element of difference between the two baptisms. In Acts 19:1-7, Paul encountered men who had been baptized with the baptism of John, knowing nothing of the Holy Spirit. His baptism was a baptism of preparation for the Christ. The men in Acts 19 were baptized (again) in the name of Jesus.
6. Answers: Jesus was baptized to "fulfill all righteousness." When He came up out of the water, the heavens opened, and the Spirit of God descended like a dove and "alighted" on him.
Discussion: Did the Holy Spirit just descend as a dove would, or did He look like a dove? According to Luke 3:21-23, He was in bodily form like a dove. There was also a question of who saw the dove -- only Jesus, or others? Matthew and Mark say Jesus saw it; the Luke says only that the Holy Spirit descended.
7. Answers: Satan tempted Jesus to: 1) make stones into bread to stave His hunger; 2) receive all the kingdoms of the earth He could see by falling down to worship Satan; 3) throw Himself from the temple to prove He was the Son of God.
Eve was tempted to eat the forbidden fruit because: 1) It was good for food; 2)it was pleasant to look at; 3) it would make her wise.
John warns us against 1) lust of the flesh; 2)lust of the eye; 3) the pride of life.
Jesus overcame these temptations with the use of scripture.
Discussion: Since these three types of temptation -- or combinations of them -- seem to encompass all the temptations to sin, the memorization of the same scriptures Jesus used would help us in times of temptation.
Matthew 3-4 Comments Cont'd
ReplyDelete8. When Jesus began to preach, His message was, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Class Comment: This was the same thing that John had been preaching, which shows they had the same purpose.
9. Jesus called Peter and Andrew his brother, James and John the sons of Zebedee. They "immediately" followed him.
Discussion: Was this irresponsible? It was the general conclusion of the class that just because they left the fishing, doesn't mean that the fishing didn't go on. It did mean that they already had enough faith in Jesus that they knew He would take care of them. They chose Him over secular work.
10. Jesus was teaching, preaching and healing as He traveled. He healed all kinds of sickness and disease. Specifically, they brought the demon-possessed, epileptics and paralytics. He healed them all.
How widespread was his fame? It appears from the map that they came from all over the map -- from the northern regions of Syria to Judea in the south and Decapolis to the east.
Thank you for posting comments from the class. It feels more like we're participating
ReplyDelete.
You're welcome, Yvonne.
ReplyDeleteAnd feel free to make comments before the home Bible study class meets, so I can share your thoughts with them. This week, for instance, we won't be discussing the Sermon on the Mount until Thursday. If you have a thought or question, I'll bring it up on Thursday.
[Reminds me of one of those radio talk shows, where the host says, "And now one of our listeners has a question." ;>)]
My hopes are that those who follow the blog will become a class of your own -- swapping comments and thoughts here.
Any ideas on how I can make that happen? Anyone?