Today’s passage: Matthew 19:1-12

Helpful thoughts:

• The Pharisees asked Jesus these questions about marriage and divorce to test Him.  They were hoping to catch Him in a fault.  Think about this: The Pharisees were excited to argue with Jesus about their supposed freedom to divorce people…
• John the Baptist had been arrested and eventually beheaded by Herod for calling him out for his divorce and remarriage.
• The Pharisees also utilized/abused the law to their own selfish advantage (?) and were known to be quick to divorce their wives, as if it were a necessary thing for righteousness.
• Jesus successfully upheld the law, then showed the Pharisees’ hearts to be hard and pointed out their own adultery.

Questions to consider:

1. What must the condition of marriage have been in the culture for the disciples to say, “It is better not to marry.”?
2. What did God intend for marriage to be?  The partners? The length of time? (Vs. 4-6)
3. Does a person have to be married to enjoy life and be useful for the kingdom of God?  In what way does Jesus show that singleness would even be preferable?
4. What was the source of the Pharisees’ questions?  When we ask what all we can get away with, what are we actually doing?  Where is our heart?

Today’s passage: Matthew 18:21-35

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus did not intend for you to count to seventy seven, or four hundred ninety.  We don’t count occurrences of forgiveness.
• Ten thousand talents would have taken two hundred thousand years to earn.  This debt was never going be repaid.
• One hundred denarii would have taken one hundred work days to earn.  This amount could have been repaid over time.
• When a person was thrown into debtors prison, they remained until the debt was paid.  Of course, if someone else didn’t pay your debt, and if you could not get out to work and make money, you were never going to get out.
• This parable was intended to be over the top.  It’s ridiculousness was part of the point Jesus was making.

Questions to consider:

1. Who is the master in this parable?
2. Who was Peter (and us) supposed to identify with? (Hint: It’s not the guy who only owed one hundred denarii…)
3. How much does someone’s sin against us compare to our sin against God?
4. How does your standing in Christ, having been forgiven by God, help you to forgive others?

Today’s passage: Matthew 18:15-20

Helpful thoughts:

• When a person is in sin:
  • Go to them and lovingly rebuke them privately
    • If they repent, praise the Lord!
  • If they continue in sin, take two or three others who are aware and confront them again.
    • If they repent, praise the Lord!
  • If they continue in sin, get the whole church involved and lovingly call on them to repent.
    • If they repent, praise the Lord!
  • If they continue in sin, they are to be seen as an unbeliever, and therefore removed from church membership.
• The purpose of this process (Church discipline) is repentance and reconciliation, not punishment.  It is to be exercised with care and compassion, not with anger and ridicule.  Often the reason why people have such a poor view of church discipline is because they have never seen it done in a biblical manner.
• The final verses of the paragraph (18-20) share God’s authoritative approval when the church follows His will.
  • So, when it says “when two or three are gathered together in my name” that doesn’t mean you are having “Church” whenever two or three people decide to meet together.  It means that God’s will and authority are being carried out when the church gathers together to pursue righteousness within its membership.

Questions to consider:

1. What is one reason why church membership is important given the content of this passage?  Is it good that you would be mutually accountable to a specific set of believers?
2. Why do you think discipline is so difficult?  Why do people struggle to pursue it?
3. How do followers of Jesus live?  What do they do?

Today’s passage: Matthew 18:7-14

Helpful thoughts:

• Please do not cut your hand off this morning…this principle Jesus explains in this passage has been referred to as radical amputation.  The idea is to be willing to do whatever it takes to avoid sin.
• In the first 14 verses of chapter 18, Jesus speaks about caring for other children of God, watching out for our own selves, and being eager and excited when God seeks out and returns a child who had gone astray.
•  It is not God’s will that any of His children should perish.  (See John 10:27-28)

Questions to consider:

1. How would you exercise radical amputation if you were continuing to struggle with sins like: Gluttony, gossip, pornography, laziness, etc.  What would be some things you could put into place or remove from your daily routine that would help you to defeat these sins.  Is there a sin that you need to defeat?  How could you go about it?
2. Why do you think we would ever be upset that another person repented?  What would that say about our view of grace and our own need of it?  How does this remind you of the parable of the Prodigal Son?
3.  Who does the finding of the sheep?  Who takes responsibility for our standing and security?  Why is this such a good thing?

Today’s passage: Matthew 18:1-6

Helpful thoughts:

• In Mark 9 and Luke 9, we learn that the disciples had argued which one of them was the greatest.  This was not a philosophical question. They wanted to know which one of them was best.
• The Greek word used for “child” in this passage refers to a very young child.  Probably a toddler.
• “Unless you turn”, refers to repentance/conversion.
• Remember for verses 5-6 that Jesus was using the toddler to represent the “child of God”.  This means the content of verses 5-6 can refer to any child of God, no matter how physically old they may be.

Questions to consider:

1. How much does a toddler expect to contribute to his/her own well being?  How is this a good picture of our salvation?  How does it help us to define and understand God’s grace?
2. How does child-like faith also help us to remain humble?
3. In what ways would seeing God as your father the same way a toddler would want to view their father help you to fight against sin (And fight for your brothers and sisters in Christ)?

Today’s passage: Matthew 17:22-27

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus again foretells what is to come in His death, burial and resurrection.  He was not hiding what was to come.  He spoke of His resurrection openly.
• The tax being taken in this passage is the Temple Tax.  This was not for Rome.
• Notice the collectors went to Peter specifically to ask/challenge the integrity of Jesus.  Peter didn’t even hesitate.  He knew that Jesus kept the laws.
• Even though Jesus certainly would have been the most legitimate person to be exempt from this tax, He paid it willingly.

Questions to consider:

1. Did Jesus have to ask Peter about the conversation he had with the collectors?  Which attribute of God is on display in this passage?
2. Given the context, what was wrong with the way the collectors asked Peter about Jesus’ payment?
3. How does Jesus’ desire to “not to give offense” help us to think about our duties and involvement today?

 

Today’s passage: Matthew 17:14-21

Helpful thoughts:

• You can read from Mark 9 and Luke 9 for parallel accounts of this narrative.
• This boy was demon-possessed.  Satan’s desire is to destroy.
• Remember that a mustard seed is small, but a large plant results from its growth.  The faith that starts out small as a mustard seed will grow and become powerful.

Questions to consider:

1. How does the context of this conversation help us to understand our own application?  To whom was Jesus talking?  What had He specifically gifted them and called them to do?  What was the purpose of the miracles they were doing?
2. How could this passage then rightly be applied in our prayer and walk with Christ?
3. When is the power/size of our faith revealed?

Today’s passage: Matthew 17:1-13

Helpful thoughts:

• The Greek word for transfigured is the word from which we get metamorphosis.
• In suggesting the building of tabernacles for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, Peter again mistakenly thinks there is a shortcut that avoids the cross.  But, let’s not be hard on him!  How bewildering and shocking would it be to see this?
• In 2 Peter 1, Peter rightly states that on this day they witnessed “Majestic Glory.”  And they were terrified.
• Jesus reaffirms that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of the prophecy in Malachi.

Questions to consider:

1. How bright would something have to shine before you compared it to the sun?
2. How do you think you would have responded if you were on that mountain that day?  How does Peter’s response and subsequent life and ministry encourage you?
3. Why do you think the disciples fell on their faces, terrified?  How might their view of God changed after this day?
4. Why is it helpful for us to remember the “bigness” of God and the “smallness” of man?