Grace Church Small Group Leader s Notes

Transcription

1 Grace Church Small Group Leader s Notes Why Radical Should Be Normal Matthew 11:7-19 Week of February 3, 2013 Leader, as a rule, questions in Getting Started should take no more than 10 minutes of group time. These warming up questions are designed to engage people in discussion. Feel free to use alternative questions of your choosing. Getting Started 1. What are characteristics of a great person? 2. Name an example of someone (not a person from the Bible) you consider great and why. Leader, questions in What You See are designed to provide an understanding of what happened in the passage. The answers are usually found in the passage's text, with little or no outside analysis required. If you prefer, you may select a few of the questions to answer, rather than discussing all of them. Also, feel free to add questions regarding the passage. What You See Read Matthew 11: What about John captured the attention of the people (Matthew 11:7-10)? John was bold and fearless in calling people to repent and prepare for the Messiah. He was the opposite of a reed swayed by the wind. His appearance was not like those in positions of authority. (See Matthew 3:4-5 for more detail.) He stood out from the crowd. John was a prophet. Israel hadn't had a prophet for 400 years.

2 4. What does Jesus declare about John's position in Matthew 11:11? John was the greatest human to be born up to that time. The least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. 5. What stops and starts with John according to Matthew 11:12-13? Leader note: Reading several different translations may help in answering this question, especially as it relates to verse 12. The Law and Prophets prophesied until John came. Then they stopped. The kingdom of heaven began its forceful advance with John's preaching. 6. What does Matthew 11:12 mean? (See also Luke 16:16) Leader Note: Again, as with the answer to question 4, reading several different translations may help in answering this question. There are three common interpretations of this verse, one is a negative interpretation and two are positive interpretations. Negative interpretation: Many commentators see this verse negatively. This position suggests that the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men assault it, meaning either that hindrances are placed in its way, or that it is forcibly introduced.... While Jesus does not specify who forces their way into or assaults the kingdom, the original audience might have understood it to refer to zealots or insurrectionists such as Barabbas. This view does make a lot of sense of the immediate context: Matthew 10 refers to opposition from outside, such as the opposition that landed John in prison.... Others have recently suggested that Jesus was using the word violence a bit more figuratively, referring to the religious leaders of his day who were trying to usher in the kingdom through their own efforts. 1 Positive interpretations: Interpreters have traditionally gone in one of two ways to see this verse as a positive statement: (1) The verb is in the passive voice, meaning, many are fighting their way in, [people are striving and struggling to enter the kingdom] or (2) The verb is in the middle voice, meaning, the kingdom is forcefully advancing. Often these two views are taken together. 2 Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church states, Personally, I lean towards understanding Matthew 11:12 as referring to those who press into the 1 Driscoll, Mark. Tough Text Thursday: Matthew 11:12 Pastor Mark Driscoll. 1 March Web. 27 January Driscoll, Mark. Tough Text Thursday: Matthew 11:12 Pastor Mark Driscoll. 1 March Web. 27 January

3 kingdom of heaven violently (the middle voice of biazō). Not that people were or should use violence as a means of advancing or entering into the kingdom of heaven, but rather that the kingdom of heaven is violently advancing, in a figurative sense, against the kingdom of darkness and those who enter it through faith in Jesus exercise a sort of holy violence. 3 In sum, no one casually strolls through gates of heaven. Entrance requires confession of sin and pleading for forgiveness from God. The kingdom is obtained through doing battle with sin and self. We must give ourselves up to him as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) and put to death the misdeeds of the body (Romans 8:13). 7. In Matthew 11:16-19, Jesus compares his current generation to a group of children at play. What was the implication of this comparison to the ministry styles of John and Jesus? Dr. Lewis Johnson writes, It s like little children who say, let s play like at weddings, and I ll be the groom and you be the wife, and you be the preacher, and so on. And then there were two or three others who said, no, we don t want to play that. We don t like to play those happy games. All right, let s play at funerals then. And I ll be the funeral director, and you be the corpse, and so on. [Laughter] And they say, no, we don t want to play that, either. That s what he s saying. [Jesus is saying in Matthew 11:16] You re just like that. John the Baptist came, and he came with a solemn message of repentance, calling upon you to be sorry for your sin, to recognize that you have sinned against God, to turn from you sin. He called for repentance, and you said, He s got a demon. And so the Lord Jesus comes, and he comes with an entirely different kind of message. His message appears to be a message of sociability and joy and happiness and grace. [And]... you refused that. So you object to John, and you object to Jesus. Your trouble is, your hearts are wrong. And [Jesus] adds, Wisdom is justified of her children. The fact that the messages of John and Jesus were correct is shown by the results. John had a fruitful ministry, and of course, our Lord has, too....in verse 19b, very simply, Jesus words convey the thought that The way of doing things is justified by the results it achieves. 4 3 Driscoll, Mark. Tough Text Thursday: Matthew 11:12 Pastor Mark Driscoll. 1 March Web. 27 January Johnson, S. Lewis. John s Doubts About Jesus Messiahship, Matthew 11:1-19. The SLJ Institute. n.d. Web. 27 January

4 Leader, questions in What You Think will have your members think more deeply about certain themes of the passage. Oftentimes, questions will bring in additional passages for comparison or analysis. Feel free to discuss just a few of these questions or add additional questions, as the time and needs of your group allow. What You Think 8. What may be reasons behind the radical (against social norms) way in which John the Baptist lived and worked, and what can we learn from his example? The ministry of John the Baptist was, of course, to point the way to Christ, the coming Messiah and King. Many Jews were of the idea that their coming King would be arrayed as worldly Kings and even greater. They envisioned him as the conquering hero who would singlehandedly lead them in an overthrow of Rome. They envisioned riches and lands beyond imagination. John s appearance was one of humility and poverty in the world s eyes. You might remember when Jesus asked his two disciples in Mathew 11:8, But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings houses. He was intimating to them that John s ministry was a spiritual one, just as his, and had no interest in the trappings of this world. (Matthew 6:21: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ) John also ate the things that he did to be in strong contrast to the emphasis that the world put on food and other pleasures. Paul wrote in Romans 14:17, For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. In Leviticus 11, amidst the dietary restrictions placed on the Jews is verse 22: Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. John indeed was the humble forerunner of Christ and as such, his dress, his diet, his demeanor, and everything else about him was for that very purpose. Once Christ appeared John said in John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease. As Christians, we are to take instruction from John as far as our priorities. Nothing else should be as important to us as our relationship with Christ. The Bible says that we must die to ourselves and allow Christ to be in control. John truly was a perfect example of a servant of Christ How can the least in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 11:11) be greater than John? John's ministry was the culmination of the old covenant and marked the dividing line between the old and the new. But the old covenant is eclipsed by the new covenant of the gospel. Those of the new covenant are rescued, redeemed (Colossians 1:13-14), and even adopted as sons of God (Ephesians 1:5). The fullness of the intimacy we enjoy now stands in contrast to the relative separation from God of the old covenant that John represented. 5 Radvansky, William. Bible Studies/John the Baptist All Experts. 14 December Web. 27 January

5 10. Matthew 11:12 indicates that God s kingdom advances aggressively. How have you seen people aggressively advancing the kingdom, and what other methods and strategies have you seen used to effectively advance the kingdom? Answers will vary. 11. Being a follower of Christ, at times, requires a radical stand for Him. How do the following verses give you courage to stand firm? Psalm 27:1-3, Hebrews 12:1-3, I Peter 5:6-10. Answers will vary. Leader, questions in What You Do are generally intended for individual application after small group time, they can be discussed during group time, if desired. What You Do 12. What will you do to advance the kingdom of heaven this week? 13. Read Ephesians 2:1-10 everyday this week, meditating on and memorizing Ephesians 2:10. 5