Preparing for the End

 

Welcome to this study of Matthew's Gospel, a collaborative effort between Mary Barmore and Dr. Alice C. Linsley.

For 9 months Mary Barmore was too sick to leave her bed. During those months, she read the New Testament for the first time and took notes on each of the books. This dramatically changed Mary's life. Before you begin this unique study of Matthew, read Mary's Testimony.

For this study, we use Mary's study notes and Alice adds notes of historical and anthropological relevance.

To prepare for this week's study, read Matthew chapter 16. When you have finished, answer the 10 questions. Scroll to the bottom to check your answers.

Introduction

The Pharisees and Scribes became hostile to Jesus. They asked him for a sign. Jesus told them that no sign would be given them except the sign of Jonah. Then he and his disciples departed from them.

Jesus warned his disciples about the false teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

At Caesaria Philippi Jesus asked the disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of Man is?" Their responses reflect the speculation of the Jewish people about Jesus' identity. Jesus then made the question more personal: "Who do you say that I am?" Simon blurted out: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus then gave Simon a new name, Peter, and said that his church will be built upon the rock of Peter's confession of faith.

From this time, Jesus began to prepare his disciples for his impending arrest and death. He rebuked Peter when Peter said that this would never happen. Jesus went on to explain that the disciples can follow him only if they deny themselves and take up the cross.

The chapter closes with Jesus' statements about the coming judgement and the dawning of his kingdom. The message is clear: Jesus knew his time on earth was nearing an end and he wanted to prepare his disciples. His words serve as a warning to us also that we are to prepare for the end of this world.

Questions

1. Jesus noted that the Pharisees and Scribes recognized signs in nature, but not the signs of the times. Why are many people unable to see the signs of the times even today?

2. How does the story of Jonah relate to Jesus?

3. As usual, the disciples were preoccupied with food (bread). What message did Jesus deliver to redirect their focus?

4. How are false teachings like leaven?
 
5. Why did Jesus ask what people were saying about him?

6. What did Simon bar Jonah declare about Jesus?

7. What is the significance of the new name that Jesus gave to Simon?

8. How is the confession of faith in Jesus as the Christ (Messiah, Son of God) like a rock?

9. What did Peter not grasp about the Messiah?

10. How did Jesus describe his coming again, and what is meant by the claim that "there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man come into his kingdom"?

Answers

1. In Christian eschatology (theology of the end times), the phrase "signs of the times" refers to significant world events that biblical texts describe as signs of the fulfillment of Christ's mission on earth. Such signs encourage preparedness before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. People who do not read the Bible and do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God will not perceive the signs.

2. The story of Jonah relates to Jesus who was 3 days in the tomb before he rose from the grave. Likewise, Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for 3 days before God delivered him from the depths.

3. Jesus chastised the disciples for their preoccupation with food. He reminds them of how he miraculously fed the crowds. Then he redirected their thinking by warning them about the leaven (teachings) of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the 2 largest factions within Judaism at that time. The Pharisees taught strict adherence to the Law (legalism), and the Sadducees rejected belief in bodily resurrection. Yet the disciples were witnesses to 3 incidents of Jesus raising people from the dead: Jairus' daughter, the son of the widow of Nain, and Lazarus.

4. False teachings are like leaven because a small amount can spread and corrupt an entire group, just as a small amount of yeast makes a whole batch of dough rise. This analogy would have been familiar to the disciples because bread was the main staple of the daily diet for ordinary people. The Hebrew word for bread is lechem  לֶחֶם  and it essentially meant food.

5. Jesus asked what people were saying about him to challenge his disciples to move beyond popular opinion, and to prompt them to recognize his true identity as the Messiah and the Son of God.

6. Simon declared that Jesus is "the Christ, the son of the living God" and Jesus explained that this was revealed to Simon by the Holy Spirit.

7. In the Bible when a person's spiritual life reaches a turning point, God gives them a new name. Abram became Abraham. Jacob became Israel. Simon bar Jonah means that Peter was a son of a man named Jonah. It is the Hebrew patronymic for Simon Peter. A patronymic is a personal name based on the given name of one's father or a famous male ancestor. These names are identified by the Hebrew word bar or the Aramaic word ben, both meaning son or male descendant. In Numbers 13, Caleb is designated Kalev ben Jephunneh. 1 Chronicles 2:19 identifies Hur as a son (ben) of Kalev (Caleb). Patronymic names are common in the Bible. (See Hebrew Names and Titles.) Some believe that all who are in Christ receive a new name that is written in the Book of Life mentioned in Revelation 20:15.

8. Rocks are hard and durable and they resist pressure. They provide solid foundations and stability to structures. The name Peter is derived from the Greek word petra, meaning stone or rock. The faith declared by Peter through the agency of the Holy Spirit is the solid foundation of the Church.

9. Even after all that Peter had seen and done, he still did not understand that the Son of God would have to die and rise in order to fulfill God's plan. Peter had seen Jesus deliver to him a great catch of fish (Luke 5). He had seen Jesus walk on water and even walked there himself. He had witnessed how Jesus miraculously fed great crowds. He had observed Jesus' power to heal every infirmity and his authority over demons. Even so, Peter did not understand that the Messiah, the Son of God, was to die and rise again to gain the ultimate victory over sin and death. His view of the Messiah was too small.

10. Jesus said he will come again in glory with his angels to repay every person for their deeds. He also said that some who heard him say this would not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. Since all who were there died before Jesus' return, this refers to Jesus' victory over sin and death through the cross and the resurrection. From the moment He rose from the dead, Jesus came into his kingdom. However, the day of judgement is yet to come.

If you are just now joining this study, welcome! Between 600 and 800 people have joined us. If you wish to catch up, you will find links to the previous lessons below.

Join us next week as we continue our study of Matthew's Gospel.

Why the Name Jesus?
Matthew Chapter 1: A Closer Look
Matthew Chapter 2: The Magi Worship the Christ and Defy Herod
Matthew Chapter 3: Jesus and John Fulfill All Righteousness
Matthew Chapter 4: Jesus Exposes the Devil's Tactics
Matthew Chapter 5: Jesus Teaches with Superior Authority
Matthew Chapter 6: True Kingdom Seekers
Matthew Chapter 7: Entering by the Narrow Gate
Matthew Chapter 8: The Uniqueness of Jesus
Matthew Chapter 9: Christ the Compassionate Lord
Matthew Chapter 10: The Apostles' High Calling
Matthew Chapter 11: The Messiah Brings Relief
Matthew Chapter 12: Greater Glory Resides in Jesus
Matthew Chapter 13: Perceive His Kingdom Coming
Matthew Chapter 14: Christ Rules Over Nature

Matthew Chapter 15: The Power of Persistent Faith

Greater Glory Resides in Jesus

 

Welcome to this study of Matthew's Gospel, a collaboration between Mary Barmore and Alice C. Linsley. Before you begin, read Matthew Chapter 12. When you have finished reading, answer the 10 questions. Check your answers by scrolling to the bottom.

Introduction

Matthew Chapter 12 addresses the authority of the Lord Jesus over the seen and the unseen world. This chapter also presents some of the accusations brought against Jesus by the Jewish religious leaders and provides his responses to their accusations. This chapter is the first place in Matthew's Gospel that we find the phrase "Kingdom of God". (See also Matthew 19:24, 21:31 and 43.) The Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of Christ whose glory surpasses all things.

Questions

1. What action of Jesus' disciples offended the Pharisees?

2. What story did Jesus use to justify his disciples' action of picking grain on the Sabbath?

3. What did Jesus mean when he said he is the "Lord of the Sabbath"?

4. How did people react when they witnessed Jesus' many miracles?

5. What was Jesus' response to the claim that his miracles were worked by demonic power? 

6. Jesus stated that every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven but one. Which will not be forgiven?

7. Some Scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus to see a sign. What was Jesus' response?

8. When Jesus speaks of faithless Israel as "adulterous", on what tradition is he drawing?

9. A house swept of evil is only good under what conditions?

10. What did Jesus mean when he referred to his disciples as his mother and brothers?

Answers

1. Jesus' hungry disciples picked heads of grain and ate them as they walked through a field on the way to the synagogue. Some Pharisees viewed this as a violation of the command not to work on the Sabbath in Exodus 20:8-11.

2. To justify his disciples' action of picking grain on the Sabbath, Jesus reminded the Pharisees of the time when David and his men came to the Tabernacle seeking food. The only food the priest Ahimelech had was the bread of the Presence (Shewbread) which only priests were permitted to eat (Lev. 24:5-9). David and his men were fleeing from King Saul who wanted to kill them. Their desperate hunger was satisfied when Ahimelech gave them the holy bread off the altar. That action cost Ahimelech his life. Saul put Ahimelech and his fellow priests to death, as well as the citizens of the town of Nob (1 Sam. 22:16–19).

3. As the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus has the authority to do whatever pleases him on that day. His concern about his disciples' hunger was of greater importance to him than the rigidity of the Jewish Sabbath laws. He said that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath (v. 12). He explained that he is greater even than the Temple which the Jews regarded as their most holy possession.

4. Some people wondered if Jesus was the "Son of David", meaning the Messiah. The Pharisees claimed that Jesus worked miracles by the power of Beelzebul, the "prince of demons" (v. 24). The word Be'el zebub means “Lord of dung” and is also translated Ba'al Zebuwb which means “lord of the flies” because fresh dung attracts flies. Baal or Beel is derived from the Ancient Akkadian word bel, meaning "lord of..." and the word for dung in the Ancient Akkadian is ze. Akkadian is the oldest known Semitic language. The name became a synonym for Satan in late Jewish theology. 

5. In verses 25-27, Jesus reasoned that any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste. He added that "if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself". How then will his kingdom stand? Jesus states that a kingdom divided against itself is laid waste in three of the Gospels (Luke 11:17; Mark 3:25; Matthew 12:25). All three instances are in response to the Pharisees’ blasphemous accusation that Jesus was healing and casting out demons by the power of Satan. Essentially, the Jewish leaders were accusing Jesus of working miracles by Satan's power.

6. The sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not forgiven. Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin—for they had said, 'He has an unclean spirit. '" (Mark 3:28–30).

7. Jesus declared them to be an "evil and adultery generation" to which no sign would be given except the sign of Jonah who was 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the whale (vv. 38-40). He also declared that the "Queen of the South" would rise up in judgement against them (v. 42). Here Jesus foretold his third day resurrection. He asserted his identity as Messiah, saying that Queen of Sheba heard about Solomon's wisdom and the splendor of his rule and traveled a great distance to witness it (1 Kgs 10:1–29). Those who were questioning Jesus were witnessing something greater than the Temple and greater than Solomon in all his glory.

8. The Old Testament prophets often used the metaphor of adultery to describe Israel's failure to love and obey God. Just as a spouse might be unfaithful in marriage, Israel was spiritually unfaithful to God. (See what these prophets said: Jer. 3:8, Ezek. 23:37, Hos. 2:2-10.) However, though faithless Israel strays from God, the Lord remains faithful to his vows.

9. Speaking of this "evil generation" Jesus described a house swept clean. Though the evil is temporarily expelled, it returns unless the house has been filled with good. An evil generation needs more than spiritual cleansing. It must be filled with the Holy Spirit, or its later condition will be worse than the first condition.

10. Jesus declared that anyone who does the will of His Father in heaven is his brother and sister and mother, meaning that those who follow Christ and do God's will are connected like family. Note that there were women among his disciples. From the beginning, Jesus' disciples included women. Luke 8:1-3 names these women specifically: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna. They accompanied Jesus during his ministry and supported him out of their private resources. The brothers of Jesus are also mentioned in John Chapter 7 where we are told that his brothers did not believe in him. These were not Mary's sons. They were the sons of Joseph by his other marriage.

Related reading:

Why the Name Jesus?

Matthew Chapter 1: A Closer Look

Matthew Chapter 2: The Magi Worship the Christ and Defy Herod

Matthew Chapter 3: Jesus and John Fulfill All Righteousness

Matthew Chapter 4: Jesus Exposes the Devil's Tactics

Matthew Chapter 5: Jesus Teaches with Superior Authority

Matthew Chapter 6: True Kingdom Seekers

Matthew Chapter 7: Entering by the Narrow Gate

Matthew Chapter 8: The Uniqueness of Jesus

Matthew Chapter 9: Christ the Compassionate Lord

Matthew Chapter 10: The Apostles' High Calling

Matthew Chapter 11: The Messiah Brings Relief

Matthew Chapter 12: Perceive His Kingdom Coming

Matthew Chapter 13: Perceive His Kingdom Coming

Matthew Chapter 14: Christ Rules Over Nature