Gospel of Matthew Week 12 March 25, 2018 JESUS DEATH, RESURRECTION AND PROMISED RETURN

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1 MATTHEW JESUS DEATH, RESURRECTION AND PROMISED RETURN HELPFUL HINT: This week, try to list 2-3 primary themes you see in the passage each week. A primary theme is the big idea, the central truth or command that the passage focuses on. Once we ve read the passages, write your themes as single words or short phrases in the margins. Identifying these themes will help you develop a good overall grasp of the passage. READ THE TEXT: Matthew MY OBSERVATIONS AND QUESTIONS: CHAPTER 26: Getting you started: The anointing of Jesus by the woman, Why this waste? (26:6-13) - A woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil: We know from John 12 that this woman was Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10:39), made this extravagant display of love and devotion to Jesus. - Morris on the alabaster flask: "It had no handles and was furnished with a long neck which was broken off when the contents were needed We may fairly deduce that this perfume was costly. Jewish ladies commonly wore a perfume flask suspended from a cord round the neck, and it was so much a part of them that they were allowed to wear it on the Sabbath." (Commentary on Luke) - "What they call waste, Jesus calls 'a beautiful thing.'" (Carson) - "Is anything wasted which is all for Jesus? It might rather seem as if all would be wasted which was not given to him." (Spurgeon) - "Judas could not breath freely amid the odors of the ointment and all it emblemed." (Bruce) Page 1 of 6

2 vv.1-16 vv vv vv Page 2 of 6

3 Chapter 27: Getting you started: Jesus questioned about His kingship, Are you the King of the Jews? - When they brought Him to Pilate, the Jewish leaders accused Jesus of promoting Himself as a king in defiance of Caesar (Luke 23:2). They wanted to make Jesus seem like a dangerous revolutionary against the Roman Empire. Therefore, Pilate asked Jesus this simple question. - "The question reveals the form in which the Sanhedrists presented their accusation." (Bruce) - Of course, we can only wonder what Pilate thought when he first set eyes on Jesus, when he saw this beaten and bloodied Man before him. Jesus didn't look especially regal or majestic as He stood before Pilate, so the Roman governor was probably sarcastic or ironic when he asked, "Are You the King of the Jews? - "Pilate was evidently not alarmed by the charge brought against Jesus. Why? Apparently at first glance he saw that the man before him was not likely to be a pretender to royalty in any sense that he need trouble himself about.... The [you] in an emphatic position in verse 11 suggests this = You the King of the Jews!" (Bruce) What is the significance of Barabbas? - If anyone knew what it meant that Jesus died in their place, it was Barabbas. He was a terrorist and a murderer, yet he was set free while Jesus was crucified. The cross Jesus hung on was probably originally intended for Barabbas. - People today still reject Jesus and choose another. Their Barabbas might be lust, it might be intoxication; it might be self and the comforts of life. "This mad choice is every day made, while men prefer the lusts of their flesh before the lives of their souls." (Trapp) - When the crowd chose Barabbas instead of Jesus, it reflected the fallen nature of all humanity. The name "Barabbas" sounds very much like son of the father. They chose a false, violent son of the father instead of the true Son of the Father. This prefigures the future embrace of the ultimate Barabbas - the one popularly called the Anti-christ. - "I impeach humanity again of the utmost possible folly; because, in crucifying Christ, it crucified its best friend. Jesus Christ was not only the friend of man, so as to take human nature upon himself, but he was the friend of sinners, so that he came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost." (Spurgeon) Page 3 of 6

4 Chapter 28: Ge7ng you started: Jesus resurrection is covered up. (Matthew 28:11-15) To believe this, we have to believe: - All the soldiers were asleep - all of them! - All the soldiers violated the strict law of the Roman military against sleeping on watch, punishable by death. - All the soldiers slept so deeply that none of them were awakened by the work, exertion and noise necessary to roll away the stone and carry out the body. - All the soldiers were so soundly asleep - yet they knew who it was who did this. x vv vv Page 4 of 6

5 INTERPRET - WHAT DOES IT MEAN: 1. If you could ask Matthew any question about these chapters, what would you ask him? 2. What ties these three chapters together? In other words, how is God s nature and character at work as the hinge to hold these final chapters together? 3. Step into the shoes of the disciples during Jesus last days. Why would the Great Commission been such hopeful and powerful words in spite of their own fear? IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES: List at least two principles from Matthew 28. A principle is simply a fact or command stated or implied in the passage that is relevant to your own life Page 5 of 6

6 APPLICATION: List out some personal character traits that make you unreliable. Do you see these traits in the disciples during Jesus last days? When Jesus says, I will be with you always IN SPITE of how unreliable the disciples were, what should that do to you in your current state of being unreliable? Why is it so important to know that Jesus will be with you always? What exactly will you do different as a result of these two chapters? Page 6 of 6