Today’s passage: Matthew 5:13-16

Helpful thoughts:

• Every time Jesus says “you” or “your” in this passage, He is speaking in the plural form.  So, none of this saltiness or shining as a light is an individual endeavor.  We are responsible as church to collectively be salt and light.
• Salt is a preservative.  The world is given to corruption.
• Light dispels darkness.  When a person in the world is blinded by the darkness, they need to see light.
• The method of being salt and light.  Do good works that can be seen by the world.
  • The result is not for us to be praised.
  • The result is for them to begin praising God, giving glory to the Father.
    • People who are rejecting God do not give glory to the Father… (See question 1)

Questions to consider:

1. What will the result be when lost people see First Baptist Church being salt and light?  What will have to happen for them to go from being alienated from God, to giving Him glory and praise?
2. How should the fact that Jesus was speaking the in the plural form of “you” impact the way you interact with the church?  Are your efforts more powerful when they are apart from the church or when they are united with the church?
3. Compare and contrast Matthew 5:16 (“That they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”) and Matthew 6:3 (“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”).  What is the difference between these two passages that makes one good and one bad?  What is the motive behind the good works and being seen?

Today’s passage: Matthew 5:1-12

Helpful thoughts:

• Today, we start reading through “The Sermon on the Mount”.  It lasts through chapter 7.  The portion in verses 3-7 is called the “Beatitudes”.
• As we read through this sermon, remember the context of the whole gospel account.  Jesus is going to the cross at the end of this book!  The grace of God has come and the Messiah is going to save His people from their sins.  The things Jesus teaches here are true of Christians as they grow in sanctification.  They are NOT the things people must do in order to become Christians.
• The word translated as “blessed” repeatedly here in this passage means – happy, fortunate, blissful.
• Here are some helpful ideas that would be equated with the beatitudes listed in this passage:
  • Poor in spirit=Humble
  • Mourning=Godly sorrow over our sin
  • Meek=Gentle, submissive, tenderhearted
  • Hunger and thirst for righteousness=Intensely (As if starving and dehydrated) pursuing Christ-likeness
  • Merciful=Not giving people what you think they should deserve
  • Pure in heart=Sincerity, not religious for show
  • Peacemakers=Pointing people to Jesus to make and mature disciples (Where else could you find peace?)
  • Persecuted for righteousness sake=Persecution can include anything from physical abuse, verbal insults or even false accusation and injustice.
    • A person displaying the previous characteristics for the sake of Christ will share in Christ’s sufferings. (2 Timothy 3:12)
    • Getting into a political argument or being given a speeding ticket (When you really were speeding), etc. are not examples of persecution. (See list above…)

Questions to consider:

1. What does Jesus obviously want His followers to be?  What word was repeated several times in this passage?
2. When we get upset at consequences for sin in our lives, what are we not being?  Go through the list…
3. In what ways might these characteristics be perceived as not “manly”?  What might that tell us about the source of our definitions of manhood and womanhood?
4. Which characteristics do you see the least in your life?  You could ask a trusted person to help you identify a blind spot.
5. Is there a sin in your life that the Spirit has brought to your mind?  How could this list of characteristics help you to repent and have victory?

Today’s passage: Matthew 4:18-25

Helpful thoughts:

• When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, He was also calling them to leave (to abandon) their present lives.  There is a cost to being a disciple.
• Notice, the disciples were not convinced listeners who decided to accept Jesus.  They were compelled and committed followers.  This is the grace of God.
• Jesus’ ministry consisted of teaching, preaching and healing.  He was ministering in word and in deed.

Questions to consider:

1. What does it mean to be a fisher of men?
2. What did the disciples leave to follow Jesus?
3. How does the example given here of following Jesus compare to the idea that Jesus wants you “healthy and wealthy”?
4. When did the large crowds start following Jesus around?
5. Does this passage require all Christians everywhere to sell everything they have?  What are some other examples of Christians who remained in their houses and worked in their businesses that God used? What did those Christians still understand to be true of the things they possessed? (Think stewardship)
6. What are the dangers of using specific examples and turning them into universal commands?
7. How could you apply the principle of following Jesus in your life today?

Today’s passage: Matthew 4:12-17

Helpful thoughts:

• The prophecy fulfilled by Jesus in this passage is from Isaiah 9:1-2ff (This is the 7th prophecy fulfilled so far in Matthew).
• In John 3:30, John the Baptist declared, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  This transition is happening in this passage.  John the baptist was arrested, he no longer had a public ministry alerting people to the coming kingdom.  Now Jesus begins preaching, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Questions to consider:

1. How did Jesus bring light to those living in darkness and in the shadow of death?
2. Read Isaiah 9:1-7.  Who is Matthew telling us Jesus is?  What time is this prophecy teaching about?
3. With the answer to question 2 in mind: What all was Jesus referring to when he said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand”?  How does this give you confidence as a Christ-follower?

Today’s passage: Matthew 4:1-11

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus, fully human, was able to be tempted.  Jesus, fully God, was and is without sin.
• Jesus responded to temptation with Scripture:
  • Satan offered another means for gratification – Deuteronomy 8:3 – God is the true giver of sustenance
  • Satan offered another means to publicly prove who Jesus was – Deuteronomy 6:16 – Do not test the Lord
  • Satan offered a short cut and counterfeit power in exchange for worship  – Deuteronomy 6:13 – Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only
• There is a spiritual battle going on. (Ephesians 6:12 – For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.)
  • When you think you are struggling with sin that only effects you, there is something much bigger going on.
  • Overcoming sin is not just about becoming a better you.  If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a member of a kingdom under attack.
  • Our enemy is like a lion, seeking to devour (1 Peter 5:8).
  • Our Savior has already won the war (Hebrews 2:14).

Questions to consider:

1. What happens when we sin?  How are the consequences greater than we want to admit?
2. What is our greatest tool to overcome temptation? (Ephesians 6:17 – The offensive weapon…)
3. What did Jesus (The second Adam) do that the first Adam failed to do?
4. What are ways that we are tempted to go after shortcuts to greatness here and now, when we have been promised to be joint-heirs with Christ? (Romans 8:17)  How could trusting in the promises of God help us to fight the temptation to seek a shortcut and counterfeit greatness in this world?

Today’s passage: Matthew 3:13-17

Helpful thoughts:

• Of all the people who did not need to be baptized for repentance, it was Jesus.  Here are some reasons why He did:
  • To identify with sinners – Isaiah 53:12 – “He was numbered with the transgressors.”
  • As a picture of His death and resurrection – Mark 10:38 – “Are you able…to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
• We see the Trinity in this passage:
  • The Father identifies and delights in His Son. (Psalm 2:7, Isaiah 42:1)
  • The Spirit identifies and anoints the Son for ministry.
  • The Son identifies with sinners and is baptized.

Questions to consider:

1. What is important about the different ways John the Baptist responded to the Pharisees/Sadducees and Jesus?  What does that tell us about John’s understanding of who Jesus is?
2. How does it make you feel when other people treat you as something less than you are? (i.e. at work, at school, in your home?)  How far did the Son of God have to go in order to be identified with sinners?
3. How should Christians think about social status?  Why would it be wrong to show partiality? (James 2)

Today’s Passage: Matthew 3:1-12

Helpful thoughts:

• John the Baptist fulfills prophecies from Malachi 4:5-6 and Isaiah 40:3, he even has an appearance similar to Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), and served the Lord humbly (Matthew 3:11, John 3:30)
• This baptism was unique, not the same as Christian baptism (But similar).
  • The only people who were baptized in the Old Testament would have been Gentiles who had decided to become followers of God.
  • This baptism symbolized an acknowledgement of being an outsider, repenting of their sin and proclaiming faith and total dependence on God.
  • The people who were getting baptized by John were Jewish people!
• The Pharisees and Sadducees had largely trusted in their Jewish heritage and stringent keeping of the Law. (Do you see the contrast here?)
  • This is why John the Baptist calls for their repentance.
  • This is why John the Baptist calls them a “brood of vipers” (The children of snakes).
• For the repentant, the coming of the King and His Kingdom is a time of salvation. (Jesus was coming to save his people from their sins)
• For those who would not repent, the coming of the King and His kingdom is a time of eternal judgment.

Questions to consider:

1. Why did the Pharisees, Sadducees and the Jewish people need repentance?  What were they placing their faith in?
2. What are some ways we can still make those same mistakes today in the church?  What might a child of faithful Christians believe is the reason for their salvation?  What might a person who has been in church for decades begin to think their salvation is based on?
3. Why does it make sense to see confession as a part of repentance? What news do you need to hear, and acknowledge, before you hear the good news?
4. If the Pharisees and Sadducees already thought they were right with God, what do you think they would have expected the Messiah, or a prophet like John the Baptist, to say about them?
5. What ways is John’s baptism the same as Christian baptism?
6. Why would genuine repentance result in good fruit?  Where might you need to repent and see a change in the fruit you are producing?

Today’s passage: Matthew 2:13-23

Helpful information:

• Three prophecies were fulfilled in this passage.
  • “Out of Egypt I called my son.” – Hosea 11:1 – This first prophecy is set in the context of the exodus, God freeing His people from slavery.  Jesus brings about a new exodus.
  • “Rachel is weeping for her children…” – Jeremiah 31:15 – This second prophecy set in the context of the Babylonian exile.  In the following verses in Jeremiah 31, God promises to return the people to the land and that there was hope coming in the future.  Jesus brings about a new return from exile.
  • “He would be called a Nazarene.” – This one seems tricky.  There is no place in the Old Testament where these words are directly spoken/written.  So, what people think Matthew would have been referring to is something like Isaiah 53:3, “He was despised and rejected by men…”  Being called a Nazarene was not a good thing.  The Jews despised and rejected Nazarenes.  When Nathanael heard of Jesus’ hometown in John 1:46, he asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”  The answer to that question is, YES!  For, “He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” (Is. 53:4) “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities.; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Is. 53:5)

Questions to consider:

1. What kind of freedom does Jesus provide?  Freedom from what?
2. From what kind of exile does Jesus return us?  From what/From whom are we alienated?
3. What did Jesus come to do?

 

Today’s passage: Matthew 2:1-12

Helpful information:

• These Gentile wise men (It never says how many there were…) came from the East and were prominent, high-ranking officials.
• In Numbers 24:16-17, Balaam prophecies of a star coming from Jacob.  In Isaiah 60:1-6, it was prophesied that the nations would come to the light of the people of God.  The Jewish people saw these as Messianic prophecies.
  • The first recorded worshipers of Jesus Christ in the New Testament were Gentiles.
• Herod obviously was concerned that there would be a threat to his power and reign.
• The religious leaders who were summoned by Herod could tell him where the Messiah was to be born (Micah 5:2).  But, they never went to Jerusalem to investigate the report of His birth.
• It is believed the gifts from the wise men carried special significance. (We need to be very careful when finding figurative meaning in the Scriptures.  But these pictures are in keeping with the theme of Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus Christ thus far.)
  • Royalty: Gold was a fitting gift for a King.
  • Divinity: Frankincense was stored in the chamber of the sanctuary and was used in worship of God.
  • Humanity: Myrrh was used and an ointment for many things.  Jesus was given the gift as a child, at the cross (Mark 15:23) and was anointed with it for His burial (John 19:38-42).

Questions to consider:

1. What was different about the responses of the people who heard about the coming of the Christ? (The Wise Men, Herod, the Jewish religious leaders)
2. What might have been the motivations for the responses of Herod and the religious leaders?
3. What is the right response?  What is the only right thing to do when we learn about Jesus? Why?