The World is Upside Down Bible Study September 26, 2014
We need the teachings of Jesus to Turn Our Thinking Right-Side Up
We need the teachings of Jesus to Turn Our Thinking Right-Side Up
Living in God’s Kingdom
Remember: from last week, in Matthew,
1- A central message of Jesus and His ministry is Matthew 4:17
“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
Remember: from last week, in Matthew,
1- A central message of Jesus and His ministry is Matthew 4:17
“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
2- That ‘Kingdom’ for Matthew, is where God’s
will prevails. It is not the future, but
now, where we live in His will.
3- The Beatitudes in Chapter 5 3-10, gives us how we are to behave in the Kingdom, to live in God’s will.
The we come to more instruction on God’s will for our life. We will discuss some of those instructions of Jesus and how He applies it to our living our life.
These instructions in the Sermon on the Mount are an expansion of the Old Testament (OT) Law, a further explanation of the Law, a fulfillment of the OT Law.
3- The Beatitudes in Chapter 5 3-10, gives us how we are to behave in the Kingdom, to live in God’s will.
The we come to more instruction on God’s will for our life. We will discuss some of those instructions of Jesus and how He applies it to our living our life.
These instructions in the Sermon on the Mount are an expansion of the Old Testament (OT) Law, a further explanation of the Law, a fulfillment of the OT Law.
Matthew 5
The
Fulfillment of the Law
17"Do
not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come
to abolish them but to fulfill them.
18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Discussion:
1- “The Law of the Prophets” is the law that comes from the Old Testament. This includes the 10 Commandments and its interpretation found in Exodus and Leviticus.
2- The Law is here to stay, but Jesus is here to further explain the Law of the Prophets. The Law was revealed at a time when the Hebrews could understand it. It gave them a guide on their behavior. It was time to expand the law by further defining it in God’s will. It was time to change the way people think. The thought at the time was “I am saved by living the letter of the Law.” With Jesus’ expansion of the law, people (us, you and I) included) become more responsible for our salvation by believing and seeking God’s Kingdom for our lives.. It is not enough to live the law outwardly, now the Law must be taken into your heart just as Jesus taught and lived. Salvation still comes from God’s grace
3- “I tell you the truth…” “5:18 The phrase "truly I say to you" (NASB) or "I tell you the truth" (NIV) indicates that what follows is extremely important. This is the first occurrence in Matthew of this phrase, which appears 30 times in this Gospel, 13 times in Mark, six times in Luke, and 25 times in John. It always conveys His personal authority…”. It is like saying, “Listen good, this is important to know…” In Matthew, there are about 29 other times in the NIV where Jesus says, “I tell you…”.
4- “To fulfill” the Law in verse 17, this includes the interpretation that Jesus is meaning that He has come to more fully explain and expand the Law of the OT.
21 "You
have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to
judgment.'
22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, (meaning, to be angry with you)
24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
25 "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.
26 I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, (meaning, to be angry with you)
24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
25 "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.
26 I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
Discussion:
1. This is not an easy saying. Sometimes we like to be mad at people for
what they have done to us.
2. Jesus
never gave instructions that were not good for us, how is being on good terms
with others, how is forgiving others, and reconciling with others good for us?
3. Notice
the reoccurrence of “I tell you” and “I tell you the truth”.
4. In
this we see another of Jesus’ sayings, “You have heard that it was said to the
people long ago…”. Jesus uses this
phrase 19 times in Matthew, Luke, and John.
It is a teaching tool by Jesus.
He is taking what the people know and introducing greater meaning to
what they know. In like manner, it
should alert us to important living skills to be used in Seeking God’s Kingdom
for our lives.
5. “Raca”
–you stupid head, you idiot, you imbecile.
21:12-16pp -- Mk
11:15-18; Lk 19:45-47
12Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all
who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of
the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.
7- . It is possible for
humans to be angry and not sin (Eph.
4:26).
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Discussion:
1. Jesus clearly lived what He taught. Look at Luke 23: ‘34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them,
for they do not know what they are doing. And they divided up his clothes by
casting lots.’ As Jesus was being nailed
to the cross, hanging on the cross, His thoughts are thoughts on forgiving
others and loving others.
2.
.When we love others, especially our
enemies, can we expect them to immediately love us back or even accept our
forgiveness?
Matthew 6
1 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness'
before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no
reward from your Father in heaven.
2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Discussion
1.
People who brag about how
good they are at something become hard to be around, to be friends with, to
love.
2.
In Jesus’ time, and for
some today, when some people gave to the “church” (the Temple, a synagogue,
etc) they would have people blowing horns to honor the person giving. Some places had a place to receive money that
made a loud noise as you put your coins into it.
3.
When we do something ‘good’
for others so that, for the purpose that others may see it, when they see it,
we have our reward.
4.
The best gift is a gift
done that others do not know about it.
5.
But, it is ok to give a
gift to someone so they know who it came from.
We just have to remember, their appreciation of us giving them the gift
is our reward.
6.
Notice that Jesus does not
tell us what our reward will be. But, to
receive the reward, it must be done according to God’s will, belief in Jesus,
and in our Seeking the Kingdom (God’s will) for our lives.
5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,
for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the
street corners to be seen by men. I
tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 "This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 "This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Discussion:
1.
Praying to be seen praying
is just like giving to the needy to be seen giving to the needy, we have our
reward for the prayer. Expect nothing
else.
2.
Do not think public prayer
goes without answer. When called upon,
pray in public, the key here is doing it “… to be seen by men.”
3.
Notice the phrase by Jesus
continues to be on His lips. Jesus speaks with authority, “I tell
you the Truth.” Truly, Jesus was, is,
and still is, The Authority on God’s will for our lives.
A writing, speaking, teaching technique used
in the Bible.
Parallelism - This is where in a verse, a phrase is used and a second phrase just after it amplifies, makes greater meaning of the first phrase. A current day example: “Billy makes good grades, and he does so all the time, and his learning skills helps him do a better job on the project.”
In this example the first phrase is- Billy makes good grades, the amplifying phrase is and he does so all the time. The amplifying phrase tells us more about Billy and his grades, thus it further defines the first phrase.
In verse 10 we have an example of parallelism
Parallelism - This is where in a verse, a phrase is used and a second phrase just after it amplifies, makes greater meaning of the first phrase. A current day example: “Billy makes good grades, and he does so all the time, and his learning skills helps him do a better job on the project.”
In this example the first phrase is- Billy makes good grades, the amplifying phrase is and he does so all the time. The amplifying phrase tells us more about Billy and his grades, thus it further defines the first phrase.
In verse 10 we have an example of parallelism
10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
This parallelism is explaining that God’s
Kingdom is where His will is Done.
The first phrase of the parallelism is ‘your kingdom come’, the second amplifying phrase is “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.
Truly, as Jesus command us in Matthew 4:17,
The first phrase of the parallelism is ‘your kingdom come’, the second amplifying phrase is “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.
Truly, as Jesus command us in Matthew 4:17,
His Kingdom is at hand when we repent of our sinfulness.
Another good example of this is found in Psalm
23.
Something to think about: It is through
Jesus’ obedience to what He taught and God’s verification of Jesus’ teaching
that we come to realize the truth of Jesus’ teaching and example of
living. God’s verification came through
raising Jesus from His death on the cross.
Accept Jesus, receive your faith as a Gift of God, and you come to
better understand the life and teachings of Jesus.
Thanks Be to God
Jesus’
implicit Claim of Deity (being God)
"Jesus implicitly
claimed deity in at least twelve ways.
He claimed three divine rights:
(1) to judge mankind,
(2) to forgive sins, and
(3) to grant eternal life.
He declared that
(4) his presence was God's presence as well as the presence of God's kingdom and that
(5) the attitude people took toward him would determine their eternal destiny. He
(6) identified his actions with God's actions,
(7) taught the truth on his own authority, and
Example: Matthew Ch 5,6,7 – Sermon on the Mount
(8) performed miracles on his own authority.
He (9) appeared to receive worship or obeisance.
He (10) assumed that his life was a pattern for others, a 'divinely authoritative form of life.'
He (11) applied to himself OT texts that describe God and
(12) in several parables indirectly identified himself with a father or king who represents God.
He claimed three divine rights:
(1) to judge mankind,
(2) to forgive sins, and
(3) to grant eternal life.
He declared that
(4) his presence was God's presence as well as the presence of God's kingdom and that
(5) the attitude people took toward him would determine their eternal destiny. He
(6) identified his actions with God's actions,
(7) taught the truth on his own authority, and
Example: Matthew Ch 5,6,7 – Sermon on the Mount
(8) performed miracles on his own authority.
He (9) appeared to receive worship or obeisance.
He (10) assumed that his life was a pattern for others, a 'divinely authoritative form of life.'
He (11) applied to himself OT texts that describe God and
(12) in several parables indirectly identified himself with a father or king who represents God.
Daniel Doriani, "The Deity of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 37:3 (September 1994):339-40.
