Motley Crew in Matthew
August 12, 2009
The Questions
Matthew 4:1-11
1. Can you remember another time when Satan tried to trick someone with smooth and slick ideas?
2. What made the difference?
3. Did the devil give up on Jesus after this?
4. What does that mean for us?
5. What does Ephesians 6:16 teach us?
Matthew 4:12-25
6. How is Jesus and John’s message similar?
7. How do the Gospel writers differ and agree on their recording of the calling of the apostles?
8. What does it take to be a follower of Jesus?
9. Did John the Baptist do any miracles that are recorded?
10. How do we know that demon possession is real?
Motley Crew in Matthew
August 12, 2009
Some Answers
Matthew 4:1-11
1. Can you remember another time when Satan tried to trick someone with smooth and slick ideas?
In the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have
done?"
The woman said,
"The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
2. What made the difference?
The Word of God, and that Jesus was God.
3. Did the devil give up on Jesus after this?
No.
4. What does that mean for us?
The devil hasn't given up trying to deceive us, either. Satan always starts with a cloud of doubt, and then works hard to exploit this, creating fear.
Take
courage – I have conquered the world.
John 16:33
5. What does Ephesians 6:16 teach us?
Guard yourself by putting on the Shield of Faith. From Ephesians 6:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. [Emphasis added.]
Matthew 4:12-25
6. How is Jesus and John’s message similar?
The message is: repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. This is a continuing process … the Greek word for repentance is μετανοια (metanoia), which means to change your mind or thinking. John affirms the ministry of Jesus. They often used identical phrases (echoing Elijah).
Matthew 3:1-2. In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
After Jesus heard about the arrest of John, it is recorded: “From that time on Jesus began to preach, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.'" (Matt. 4:17)
The ministry of John affirms the prophesy in the Old Testament.
Matthew 3:3.
This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
"A
voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare
the way for the Lord,
make
straight paths for him.' “
Isaiah 40:3.
A voice of one calling:
"In
the desert prepare
the way
for the LORD ;
make straight
in the wilderness
a highway
for our God.
John's ministry affirms the ministry of Jesus.
Matthew 3:11-12. "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
7. How do the Gospel writers differ and agree on their recording of the calling of the apostles?
Matthew 4. 18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Mark 1. 14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.
19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
Luke 5. 1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2 he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."
5 Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Luke 5:27-8: After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
Luke 6. 12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
John 1. 35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they
followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and
asked, "What do you want?"
They
said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you
staying?"
39 "Come," he replied, "and you will see."
So they went and saw where he
was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth
hour.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the
two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The
first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him,
"We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42 And
he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus
looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be
called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
46 "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael
asked.
"Come and see,"
said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."
48 "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.
Jesus
answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree
before Philip called you."
49 Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
50 Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." 51 He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
8. What does it take to be a follower of Jesus?
Luke 5:11 “So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”
Matthew 19. 16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
17" Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
18 "Which ones?" the man inquired.
Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'"
20 "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"
26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
This parable is also recounted in Mark 10 and Luke 18.
9. Did John the Baptist do any miracles that are recorded?
Baptism is a miracle of repentance.
Matthew 3. 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
10. How do we know that demon possession is real?
The Bible listed demon possession separately from illness, blindness, paralysis, etc. In addition, demons recognized Jesus.
Matthew 10. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.
Mark 1:34. … and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
Matthew 8. 28 When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. 29 "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?"
30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."
32 He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.