Questions for Inauguration (summer, 26 AD) Sections 21-27
21. The ministry of John the Baptist (Mark 1:2-8; Matthew 3:1-12; Luke 3:1-18)
Sometime between AD 25-27, John begins his public ministry (Luke 3:1-2). All three of the synoptic writers mention his ministry, and that it’s a fulfillment of the words of Isaiah the prophet in Isaiah 40:3-5. Where does John conduct his ministry? (Luke 3:3)
Could you conjecture why he chooses to conduct his ministry there as opposed to within the city?
What is his mission as a herald of the Messiah? (Luke 3:3-5)
What are John’s dress and diet? (Mark 1:6)
Compare this passage to:2 Kings 1:8; Zechariah 13:4; Matthew 7:15; Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6
John’s ministry arouses tremendous response and curiosity (Matthew 3:7-10; Luke 3:7-14). In the midst of this, what is John’s great concern? (Luke 3:8)
How does John describe his point about the seriousness of one’s need to “bear fruit worthy of repentance”? (Luke 3:9)
For individual believers in Jesus Christ, what does the truth that Jesus will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire mean?
In a few sentences, recount when and how a Christian is baptized with the Holy Spirit. (consider Acts 2:38-39)
22. The baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:9-11; Matthew 3:13-17; Luke 3:21-22)
Now about 30 years old, Jesus steps from His “ordinary” life as a young Jewish carpenter to His destiny as Messiah. He chooses John’s baptism as the commissioning point for His messianic ministry (Matthew 3:13). The Jews used baptism to initiate converts, so John’s audience was familiar with the rite. He is baptized publicly in the Jordan River, One among many of John’s candidates (Luke 3:21). What is John’s reaction when Jesus comes for baptism? (Matthew 3:14)
Here baptism was used as a sign of repentance and forgiveness. Turning from sins implies a change in behavior, turning from sin toward God. What do you think baptism meant to the sinless Son of God?
What is Jesus’ reason for being baptized by John? (Matthew 3:15)
What happens when Jesus came up from the water? (Matthew 3:16)
If Jesus Christ, the Son of God, chose to be baptized, what does this say about the need for water baptism by individual believers?
The descending of the Sprit upon Him is in keeping with prophetic promise (Isaiah 11:2; 42:1; 61:1). The Spirit’s role in Jesus’ messianic mission becomes particularly important in Luke’s account of Jesus’ ministry. What two realities does “a voice…from heaven” affirm?
John had been explaining that Jesus’ baptism would be much greater than his, when suddenly Jesus came to him and asked to be baptized! How do you think John felt?
John’s work was going well, he was immensely popular and his ministry was growing. However, he knew that his only purpose was to prepare the way for the Messiah. When Jesus showed up asking to be baptized, John faced a great test of his integrity. Would he be able to turn his followers over to Him? We see John passing the test in John 3:30. What lesson do we learn from John?
Let’s check out other passages that speak of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Write a conclusion about that member of the Trinity next to each passage:
Matthew 28:19
John 15:26
1 Corinthians 12:4-13
2 Corinthians 13:14
Ephesians 2:18
1 Thessalonians 1:2-5
1 Peter 1:2
Read Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1 to see how Matthew 3:17 compares.
In many ways, Matthew presents Jesus as the ideal Son of God in comparison to Israel, the failed son of God. Just as Israel had gone down to Egypt, Jesus also went there and returned (Matthew 2:14-15, 19, 21). In Matthew 4, Jesus, like Israel of old, went into the desert – for forty days instead of forty years – and underwent a time of testing. However, where Israel failed all of its tests, Jesus succeeded in all of His.
We often hear people dismiss the implications of faith for day-to-day life with the retort, “You don’t understand! I live in the real world, where things are tough!” Today’s passage pictures Jesus successfully facing the pressures of the “real world.” Jesus faced every temptation during His entire life without yielding to one of them. Some people wrongly conclude that He never found out how hard it really is to struggle with sin because He never gave in. Why is it harder to resist every temptation than to give in to some of them?
What do you think Jesus learned about temptation from experiencing it that gives Him insight into the temptations you face every day?
The first temptation Jesus faced involved His physical needs and desires. How strong a temptation is sensuousness or desire in the world? In what forms does it sometimes come?
The second temptation of Jesus attacked His sense of personal importance or value. How strong is the strength of the appeal of various forms of pride? What shape do these attacks come in?
Jesus’ third wilderness temptation by the devil focused on His desire for power, wealth, and prestige. How does the devil tempt us with greed? Is it always about money? If not, what else can be a source of greed?
We all live in a materialistic culture, regardless of our nationality or economic status. It’s good to recognize that the desire for wealth and all that it symbolizes – prestige, power, luxury, authority – can be a powerful tool in Satan’s hands. How does money or things awaken greed or anxiety?
How does the issue of whom you are going to serve (Matthew 4:10) affect greed or anxiety?
If we want to be like Jesus, we must accept that the possibility of overcoming temptation is just as real as the temptation itself. What is the role of honesty in dealing with temptation?
How does honesty play in facing our moral guilt toward God?
How does honesty play in facing our need to repair damage with other people?
We all struggle with temptation. The specific temptations each of us faces differs from person to person, but none of us escapes all of them. Furthermore, whether or not we ask God to save us from it, it always returns. We seem never to be done with our evil desires.
What can we do about temptation? Centuries ago Martin Luther said, “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair!” Temptations, like birds in the air, will always be with us. However, we should not, nor do we have to, allow them to “roost.” We can resist.
Jesus faced temptation countless times. We can learn a great deal about how to resist from the way He resisted. We have one story of temptation He resisted just before His public ministry began. After fasting for forty days, the devil came personally and presented three temptations aimed right at Jesus’ human weaknesses. The way Jesus resisted can teach us how to keep sin from “roosting” in our lives.
What is Jesus’ relationship to the Holy Spirit at this important time in His ministry? (Luke 4:1)
Describe the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ time of temptation. (Matthew 3:13-17)
What is His purpose for being “led…into the wilderness”? (Luke 4:1)
The forty days are likely a microcosm of Israel’s forty years in the wilderness. They also recall the experience of Moses (Ex. 24:18) and Elijah (1 Kings 19:8, 15). Mark adds an interesting detail in 1:13. What is it?
The “wild beasts” (Mark 1:3) add to the fierceness of the experience; they are occasionally associated with evil (see Psalm 91; Ezekiel 34). What conclusions do you draw by comparing the following passages?
Isaiah 11:6-9
Isaiah 65:17-25
The First Temptation
Luke notes that the devil tempts Jesus during the entire forty days (Luke 4:2), and that he will continue to do so throughout His ministry (v. 13). Three of the temptations are mentioned in detail. What did Satan first tempt Jesus to do? (Matthew 4:3-4)
What would be tempting about suggesting that Jesus miraculously make bread?
Why would it have been wrong for Jesus to give in to Satan’s temptation?
“If” in the original Greek (ei) does not connote doubt; it could be translated “since”. Satan was not inviting Jesus to doubt His sonship but to reflect on its meaning. Sonship of the living God, he suggested, surely means Jesus has the power and right to satisfy His own needs. How did Jesus respond? (Matthew 4:4 cp. Philippians 2:6-9)
How can we imitate Jesus’ example of resisting temptation here?
The Second Temptation
What was the second temptation Jesus faced? (Matthew 4:5-7)
Why would it have been wrong for Jesus to give in to Satan’s temptation?
How did Jesus respond? (Matthew 4:7)
The Third Temptation
What was the third temptation Satan tried on Jesus? (Matthew 4:8-10)
What was the significance of this temptation?
How did Jesus respond? (Matthew 4:10)
What We Can Learn
What do we learn about Satan’s tactics from this story?
What resource does Jesus use to win victory over temptation? (Luke 4:4, 8)
What can we learn about resisting temptation from Jesus’ example?
If Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was tempted by Satan, what can we as modern-day disciples of Jesus Christ expect?
How does the knowledge that we can expect temptation as we seek to follow God help to prepare us? (1 Cor. 10:13)
Jesus’ primary defense against Satan’s temptation was God’s rightly divided word from Deuteronomy 6-8, which was obviously hidden in His heart. How would you evaluate your knowledge of God’s word?
How well do you understand and have committed to memory key biblical truths, such as how to deal with temptation and how to make yourself fully available to God to live daily life so that He is pleased?
In what areas or circumstances of your life do you feel the tug of temptation most strongly?
What help does Psalm 119:11 offer you in your struggle with temptation and against sin?
24. The testimony of John the Baptist (John 1:19-28)
What was the difference between priests and Levites?
What lesson can we learn from John flatly denying that he was the Messiah, the answer to their problems?
Who was Elias?
Why was he expected to reappear?
Who was meant by “that prophet?”
What do you make of the fact that they were willing to consider John to be the Messiah when they fought against the idea that Jesus was the Messiah?
What do you think it means to “prepare a straight pathway for the Lord’s coming?”
Why did John call Jesus the “Lamb of God?”
What further proof of the freeness of the gospel is there in John 1:29?
John the Baptist drew tremendous crowds with his baptism of repentance and his message. What can you learn for yourself from John’s boldness to proclaim the message of God?
25. John the Baptist identifies Jesus the Lamb (John 1:29-34)
This incident happened the very following day after John had faithfully and humbly explained his role as the precursor to the Messiah. Do you think that was an accident? What does this teach us?
Jesus was John’s cousin. This was certainly not the first time John had seen Jesus. What do you think happened that caused him to suddenly identify his cousin as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”?
John was related to Jesus and was older than Jesus. The fact that he declared Jesus to be so far greater than himself that he was not even worthy to unloose or carry Jesus’ sandals and that Jesus preexisted him tells us what about John?
John recognized that his ministry’s sole purpose was to reveal Jesus to Israel. How can we apply this to our lives and ministries?
How does this change our approach or attitudes about our ministries, jobs, or lives in general?
John stated that he recognized that Jesus was the Messiah when he saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven on Jesus. He further stated that God had told him specifically that he would be able to identify the Messiah as the one on whom the Spirit descended and rested? What is the significance of that little detail?
Why is it that the people held John in such high esteem that they even considered the possibility that he might be Elijah or the Messiah Himself, and yet even though they heard John’s testimony concerning Jesus they struggled with doubt?
John was very clear on the fact that Jesus was the Chosen One of God, the Redeemer of Mankind, the Lamb Who takes away the sin of the world. Why do you think that pluralism (the idea that all religions are equally valid) has developed such a following in today’s world?
27. Jesus' first miracle: water into wine (John 2:1-12)
Think of the most memorable wedding you have attended. What made it so memorable?
Does it seem unusual to you that Jesus would attend a wedding? Why or why not?
Why do you think Jesus chose to attend this wedding?
For whose benefit did Jesus do this miracle?
What characteristic of Jesus did this miracle reveal?
How did this miracle affect the lives of the people around Jesus?
Have you ever seen God provide in a miraculous way? Explain.
What prevents us from acknowledging God’s provisions?
List some ways God has met your needs. How does remembering God’s provision in the past encourage you to trust Him with your present needs?
What reasons do you have to celebrate?
What simple pleasures bring you a sense of joy or fulfillment?
What sometimes holds you back from enjoying life? Why?
How do you think your Christian witness is affected when you don’t take time to enjoy life?
For more Bible passages on enjoying life see Deuteronomy 6:1-2; Psalm 91:15-16; Ecclesiastes 2:24-26; 3:22; 11:8-10; Romans 15:13; Ephesians 6:1-3; 1 Timothy 6:17.
