Adult Bible Studies. Summer 2018 Vol. 26, No. 4. About the Cover. Kavala, Eastern Macedonia, Greece

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3 Adult Bible Studies Summer 2018 Vol. 26, No. 4 Editorial and Design Team Jan Turrentine, Editor Tonya Williams, Production Editor Ken Strickland, Designer Administrative Team Rev. Brian K. Milford, President and Publisher Marjorie M. Pon, Editor, Church School Publications Adult Bible Studiies (ISSN ): An official resource for The United Methodist Church approved by the General Board of Discipleship and published quarterly by Cokesbury, The United Methodist Publishing House, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., P. O. Box , Nashville, Tennessee Copyright 2018 by Cokesbury. Send address changes to Adult Bible Studies, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., P. O. Box , Nashville, Tennessee To order copies of this publication, call toll free: FAX your order to Telecommunications Device for the Deaf/Telex Telephone: Automated order system is available after office hours. Or order through Cokesbury.com. Use your Cokesbury account, American Express, Visa, Discover, or MasterCard. For permission to reproduce any material in this publication, call , or write to Permissions Office, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., P. O. Box , Nashville, Tennessee Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Common English Bible, copyright Used by permission. Lessons and Daily Bible Study are based on the International Sunday School Lessons for Christian Teaching, copyright 2015 by the Committee on the Uniform Series. Adult Bible Studies is designed to help adults understand the meaning and authority of the Bible for Christian life. Daily study helps are published in Daily Bible Study. Leadership helps are published in Adult Bible Studies Teacher, and at AdultBibleStudies.com. Cover photo: Shutterstock About the Cover Kavala, Eastern Macedonia, Greece Today, Macedonia is the largest and second most populous region in Greece and is located in the northern area. Thessaloniki is its capital. (Macedonia is also the name of a country in the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe, not to be confused with Macedonia, Greece.) Paul was summoned in a vision by a man from Macedonia to go there and help them (Acts 16:9), which Paul understood to mean God had called [them] to proclaim the good news to them (verse 10). Acts 16:10 17:15 records the history of Paul s first journey through Macedonia. His first convert in Europe was Lydia (Acts 16:13-15), who resided in Philippi, in the eastern division of Macedonia. Not far from Kavala, the Macedonian seaport featured on the cover, are the ruins of ancient Philippi and the remains of two early Christian basilicas. Adult Bible Studies is available to readers with visual challenges through BookShare.org. To use BookShare.org, persons must have certified disabilities and must become members of the site. Churches can purchase memberships on behalf of their member(s) who need the service. There is a small one-time setup fee, plus a modest annual membership fee. At the website, files are converted to computerized audio for download to CD or ipod, as well as to other audio devices (such as DAISY format). Braille is also available, as are other options. Once individuals have a membership, they have access to thousands of titles in addition to ABS. Live-narrated audio for persons with certified disabilities is available from AUDIOBOOK MINISTRIES at bookministries.org/. Copyright by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

4 Contents Features Editor s Perspective...2 Meet Our Writer: Randy Cross...3 Justice in the New Testament Unit 1 God Is Just and Merciful June 3 Justice and Sabbath Laws...4 Matthew 12:1-14 June 10 Parables of God s Just Kingdom...12 Matthew 13:24-33 June 17 Jesus Teaches About Justice...19 Matthew 15:1-9 June 24 Reaping God s Justice...26 Luke 16:19-31 Unit 2 Jesus Calls for Justice and Mercy July 1 Parable of the Unforgiving Servant...33 Matthew 18:21-35 July 8 Jesus Criticizes Unjust Leaders...41 Matthew 23:1-4, July 15 The Widow and the Unjust Judge...48 Luke 18:1-8 July 22 Entering God s Kingdom...55 Luke 13:22-30 July 29 Parable of the Great Dinner...62 Luke 14:15-24 Unit 3 August 5 August 12 August 19 August 26 Paul Teaches About New Life in Christ God s Justice...69 Romans 2:1-12 Global Economic Justice Corinthians 8:7-15 Loving and Just Behavior...83 Romans 12:9-21 Practicing Justice...90 Colossians 3:5-17 Copyright by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved. 1

5 Editor s Perspective The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, declares attorney Atticus Finch in Harper Lee s classic 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. But people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box. 1 Atticus, the well-respected attorney in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, courageously defends a black man accused of sexually assaulting a white woman. He sees the American courtroom as the great equalizer, where everyone is treated equally. But in spite of overwhelming evidence and testimony, Atticus s innocent client, Tom Robinson, is denied justice. Lee s novel has spawned countless conversations around important issues such as racism, classism, and justice, conversations that continue today. Still, we struggle to make progress on these issues. Perhaps Wendell Berry helps explain why: We have lived by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world.... We have been wrong. We must change our lives, so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption that what is good for the world will be good for us. And that requires that we make the effort to know the world and to learn what is good for it. 2 Berry was originally talking about creation in more general terms, but as people are part of God s creation, we can certainly apply his conclusions to how we treat one another. And defining justice by what is right and fair only for ourselves falls far short of Jesus command that we love God with all we are and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. When we love others as we love ourselves, we define justice by what is right, fair, and good for everyone. But we don t stop there. Challenged by Jesus calls for justice and mercy, we respond to human need ahead of adhering to external religious obligations. We identify with the vulnerable. We serve compassionately, give generously, forgive lavishly, pray persistently, and open wide the doors of our hearts and our churches. We love as Christ loved. Our lessons this quarter, written by Randy Cross, challenge us to live into these goals and as God s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Colossians 3:12), emulating divine justice. Jan Turrentine AdultBibleStudies@cokesbury.com 1 From tokillamockingbirdquotes.org/. 2 From The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays, by Wendell Berry, quoted at goodreads.com. 2 Adult Bible Copyright Studies by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

6 Meet the Writer Randy Cross is the superintendent of the Prairie Hills District of The United Methodist Church in the Dakotas Annual Conference. He has previously served as the assistant general secretary for The United Methodist General Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville, Tennessee, and as a district superintendent for the Lower James River District in the Dakotas. He has written curriculum for United Methodist churches for over 25 years. Randy and his wife, Cheri, have two adult sons, Aaron and Adam. The Crosses make their home in Rapid City, South Dakota. You may contact Randy at randycross57@ gmail.com. Daily Bible Study May 28 David Eats the Bread of the Presence 1 Samuel 21:1-6 May 29 Lord Desires Mercy Not Sacrifice Hosea 6:1-6 May 30 Plucking Grain Leviticus 19:9-10; Deuteronomy 23:25 May 31 The Sabbath Is for Merciful Acts Luke 14:1-6 June 1 The Father and I Are Working John 5:9-18 June 2 Deliver Justice for the Oppressed Psalm 10:12-18 June 3 Meet Human Need on the Sabbath Matthew 12:1-14 Copyright by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved. Adult Bible Studies 3

7 June 3 Lesson 1 Unit 1: God Is Just and Merciful Justice and Sabbath Laws Purpose To discover how the Law enhances our lives as God s people Hearing the Word Matthew 12: At that time Jesus went through the wheat fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry so they were picking heads of wheat and eating them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, Look, your disciples are breaking the Sabbath law. 3 But he said to them, Haven t you read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? 4 He went into God s house and broke the law by eating the bread of the presence, which only the priests were allowed to eat. 5 Or haven t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple treat the Sabbath as any other day and are still innocent? 6 But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what this means, I want mercy and not sacrifice, you wouldn t have condemned the innocent. 8 The Human One is Lord of the Sabbath. 4 Adult Bible Copyright Studies by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

8 9 Jesus left that place and went into their synagogue. 10 A man with a withered hand was there. Wanting to bring charges against Jesus, they asked, Does the Law allow a person to heal on the Sabbath? 11 Jesus replied, Who among you has a sheep that falls into a pit on the Sabbath and will not take hold of it and pull it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! So the Law allows a person to do what is good on the Sabbath. 13 Then Jesus said to the man, Stretch out your hand. So he did and it was made healthy, just like the other one. 14 The Pharisees went out and met in order to find a way to destroy Jesus. Key Verse: If you had known what this means, I want mercy and not sacrifice, you wouldn t have condemned the innocent. (Matthew 12:7) Seeing the Need It s a shame when the first word a toddler learns is no. Don t throw that! Don t touch that! Don t hit! Don t scream! Don t run in the street! Don t, don t, don t! No! What well-meaning parents try to do, as they are saying No! all the time, is to create a framework of behavior for their little darlings/ angels/stinkers, in part to keep them safe in the world and in part to keep the world safe from them. We start with no, but we don t have to stay there. Sooner or later, the command not to do something begins to wear thin. Most humans want to exercise their own sense of freedom and desire to be the boss of themselves. For us to live fully as human beings, we need to move beyond the no. While it may appear that most of the Ten Commandments say no, actually, they are all invitations to live better than just how we feel or prefer to act at any given moment. Any and every law ought to show us the path to abundant life if we are willing to study the Law and think about what each one means for our own lives. Jesus taught that showing mercy and meeting human needs are more important than complying with rituals. Copyright by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved. June 3,

9 Living the Faith I am a middle child in my family, which means that the Law, however it is written, has always been pretty critical to my survival! Firstborn children sometimes have the reputation of believing they are the bosses of the world and that younger children in the family only come into being because the firstborn gave permission for that to happen. Lastborn children sometimes have the reputation of believing that their parents exist to take care of their needs and that born last, they deserve the biggest piece of the cake. We middle children, therefore, must depend on that external code, the Law, in order to keep the animallike tendencies of the older and the younger children in the family in check. So, it is a bit tough to swallow when Jesus takes the beloved Law and flips it on its head, so to speak. I mean, how do we make sense of all of that? Sabbath Work Growing up, when we came home from church on Sundays, we didn t then go shopping. In part, that was because nothing was open, and we couldn t imagine needing anything that afternoon that couldn t wait until Monday. That s not to say we didn t work. Often, we would do a cursory job of straightening up the living room and our bedrooms while Mom made the big Sunday dinner. Sunday was a time to stick close to home. My parents weren t rabid sabbath-keepers, but back then, that s what people did. Sunday was a different kind of day but not so rigid when all was said and done. So to read the first section of this week s Scripture, I feel myself taking Jesus side against those cranky Pharisees. Their shouts of Lawbreaker! seem a bit over the top when all the disciples were doing was stripping grain heads and eating them. Let s remember, though, that for the Jewish people, their faith depended on keeping the Law. They showed their loyalty to God by the way in which they kept intact the ordinances of Leviticus and the other Scriptures. Many Jewish Law scholars over the centuries have spent great amounts of time discussing when sundown actually happened. Was it when the sun could no longer be seen in the sky, when there seemed to be more shadow than light, when you could no longer distinguish the 6 Adult Bible Copyright Studies by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

10 facial features of someone you saw, or something else? It was critical, because that key weekly law of remember the Sabbath and keep it holy meant that you had to know when the sabbath precisely began so that you would change your behavior, especially concerning work. Even today in Jerusalem and other heavily Jewish-populated parts of Israel, elevators have sabbath switches so that on Saturdays people do not have to push any buttons. The elevators stop at each floor, and people get in and out without doing the work of pushing a button. It s serious business. It was also serious business for the Pharisees. They were the experts and the keepers of the Law for the community, and now they witnessed Jesus and his disciples ignore the Law by picking grain. It was unacceptable. It went against what they stood for. It broke down the community. They roundly criticized these Law-breakers, especially as they were breaking the precious sabbath law. Notice that the disciples were not criticized for stealing the grain, even though they were taking it from a field that was not their own. Deuteronomy 23:25 permitted plucking grain from a neighbor s field as long as it was done by hand. Apparently, what they were guilty of was harvesting the grain, separating it from the stalk, and separating it from the chaff on the sabbath. Jesus responded by recalling a time when David broke the law by eating the bread of the presence, which only the priests were allowed to eat (Matthew 12:4). He also reminded the Pharisees of the part of the Law that allowed priests to work, even on the sabbath: On the Sabbath the priests in the temple treat the Sabbath as any other day and are still innocent (verse 5). Since Jesus and his movement are greater than the temple (verse 6), Jesus claimed authority to override normal sabbath regulations. The Pharisees were doing all they could to prop up this important law, but Jesus challenged them to look beyond even the execution of the sabbath law to the purpose behind it. He was clear to state that there was something far more important going on here than not working. The sabbath law existed not as a way of making people sacrifice and do without but instead as a way to bring a greater and more merciful life to each person. Jesus implied that the sabbath exists for the human ( I want mercy and not sacrifice, verse 7) and not for the purpose of keeping some external law. Copyright by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved. June 3,

11 In a sense, we in 21st-century America have set the sabbath aside, but for the wrong reasons. We have not done so, as Jesus did, in order for the human being not to suffer under the hands of a law. Instead, we have simply ignored it and decided that we will and can work ourselves to death, with no time to pause or to stop to catch our breath and our life. The disciples were condemned for taking care of their basic human needs. We often use the sabbath today to take care of our least little want or desire but not in cooperation with God s desire for us to live abundant lives. We just stay busy. How different might it be if we were to treat the sabbath like the disciples and Jesus? What do you think it means to say that Jesus is Lord of the sabbath? What difference might that make in the way we act on the sabbath day? The Emergency Room Aaron, our oldest son, woke up one Christmas Day not feeling well. Nausea, no appetite, pain in his side. We figured he had had too much rich food the previous evening. He went to bed early that night. A few hours later, Cheri, my wife, woke me from a blissfully sound sleep saying something about Aaron and pain and hospital. I sorted it out to mean that I was going to take Aaron to the emergency room. Four hours later, Aaron was admitted to the hospital. A few hours after that, we were presented with the news of a pernicious appendix that, while not bursting, still managed to wreak havoc on Aaron s system. After several days, more visits, a second time to the emergency room in the middle of the night, and a week s convalescence, Aaron finally was declared healed. The next day the next day Cheri went into the hospital for kidney stones. In the midst of all of that, I wished Jesus would have come and just immediately fixed things, even on the sabbath! The Pharisees had moved into full-blown sabotage and trickery mode in terms of trying to catch Jesus in a trap concerning the Law. The same sabbath found Jesus in the synagogue and in the presence of a man whose hand was withered (Matthew 12:10). It could have been arthritis, a stroke, or some other injury or physical challenge; but it became the opportunity for the Pharisees to talk about healing work on the sabbath. 8 Adult Bible Copyright Studies by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

12 Does the Law allow a person to heal on the Sabbath? they asked Jesus, wanting to bring charges against him (verse 10). A simple and academic question, except for two important facts: First, the man was standing right before them, unable to use his hand, maybe in pain, but certainly not whole. Second, Jesus had the power to heal. The great and wonderful answer Jesus offered, after giving the example of taking care of a sheep that falls into a ditch on the sabbath, were the words, So the Law allows a person to do what is good on the Sabbath (verse 12). This answer changed everything! As in the first encounter, Jesus took the important (and for the Jews, defining) law of sabbath and placed it beneath the needs of those who are broken and the ability to do good by God s people. In our 21st-century life, we might be tempted to say, Of course! Why not? But we need to understand that Jesus words break wide open the whole understanding of what we may or may not do. Notice that Jesus did not say that humans can do whatever they like and just ignore the day of rest. Jesus didn t invite the Pharisees to act as we act, as we by and large ignore this law that is as important as not killing, stealing, or committing adultery. The sabbath law is critical for the identity and the holiness of God s people. However, nothing is more holy or more important and reflects God s love and intention more powerfully than to do good and to bring love and wholeness into the lives of others. Jesus healed the man s hand, but he could have waited until the next day to heal him. The withered hand was not life-threatening. There was no emergency. The man would have been at least all right for the next hours. Jesus wanted to make the point and to do so with power and to prove that he was beyond the specifics and minutiae of the sabbath law. The sabbath law itself, Jesus proclaimed, allows for it to be substituted by another act of good and love in order to heal and restore another life. Can you think of something that might forbid you from doing the good that you can? Is there something in your culture or your community practices that might indeed keep you from enhancing the lives of others? How do we learn to act as Jesus acted and use the law we follow for good? Copyright by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved. June 3,

13 Important to Realize! Anytime we seek to act decisively and with a vision for our life or the life of our family or group, someone will be there to sabotage our work. The reason is simple. Any group will naturally try to maintain its own balance and inertia; they just keep things the way they are. Change always brings some kind of threat, which makes people want to respond to restore order and sameness. When someone steps up to change that, somewhere there will also arise some force or voice or person to try to keep things as they were. Jesus changed the status quo over and over again, didn t he? We are often quick to criticize the Pharisees for attacking Jesus and plotting against him, but their role was simply to keep the Law intact, to keep change from occurring, and to help people stay holy by keeping the Jewish law. If you wanted to know the answer to part of the Law, you consulted a Pharisee. It was a helpful and good way to keep the culture the way it always had been. Then Jesus came and turned everything upside down. He said that the sabbath was not meant to be the master, but he was the master of the sabbath. He said the Law was meant to bring blessing to others, not to keep others in line. Jesus shook up the norm. In part, that is why so many people followed him and believed that he was the one to speak with authority, because he brought a new way of thinking and living. Jesus offered a new and radical way of viewing the world, of viewing our relationship with God, and of viewing our own place in God s world. No wonder it threatened the Pharisees, and no wonder they tried to find a way to destroy Jesus. They believed Jesus was the one who was destroying and attacking their way of keeping order and consistency in the Jewish society. There was no way they could peacefully coexist, given the teachings and the holy power this man from Nazareth possessed. In the end, only one side could survive. We are thankful to God for sending Jesus Christ. But it s important to understand and realize that with Jesus coming, the world turned upside down and has never been the same. Do you read the Scripture from this perspective? Can you see the threat that Jesus brought, even though we know he was right? How would you have responded to Jesus if you had been a Pharisee? Are there areas of your life where Jesus words threaten your way of life 10 Adult Bible Copyright Studies by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

14 in terms of your relationships, your treatment of others, your possessions, your lifestyle? How willing are you to change and to grow and to replace normal ways of thinking with the teachings and call of Jesus? Our Lord, grant us the desire to follow you, even when it is difficult, and grant us the willingness to let go of our own important notions, so that we might hear your Word for us each day; in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Daily Bible Study June 4 Rehearse the Deeds of the Lord Psalm 78:1-8 June 5 God s Tree of Justice for All Ezekiel 17:22-24 June 6 Jesus Affirmed as Son of Man Matthew 16:13-20 June 7 Jesus Not Believed in His Hometown Matthew 13:54-58 June 8 Will the Son of Man Find Faith? Luke 18:1-8 June 9 Jesus Explains Parable of the Weeds Matthew 13:34-43 June 10 Defer Judgment Until the Final Day Matthew 13:24-33 Copyright by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved. June 3,

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16 GET READY FOR A NEW RESOURCE IN THE FAMILY! KAVALA, THE PRINCIPAL SEAPORT OF EASTERN MACEDONIA, GREECE, OVERLOOKING THE AEGEAN SEA Each quarter: Adult Bible Studies Each week a host will provide biblical context, then tie that to personal stories and daily living. Fall hosts: Brian Sigmon Samantha McGlothlin Stephen Handy COMING THIS FALL! RELIGION/Christian Education/Adult $10.99US ISBN-13: _CVR_CV1.indd All Pages Summer 2018 Justice in the New Testament FREE PDF Daily Bible Study PDF details on inside back cover 1/17/18 11:31 AM