What is the great danger of grumbling against God and His servants because of perceived injustices to us, especially in regard to envy? See Exo 17:3, Num 11:1, 14:26-30, 1Co 10:10-11; cf. Luk 15:29, Rom 9:30-32, 10:19-21, 11:7-11. Why is it always wrong to grumble against God supposing He is treating us unfairly? See Rom…
For what had the first laborers agreed with the landowner to work? What was a denarius, and what does it represent in the parable? See NAS text note, and cf. Mat 19:27. What made them suppose that they would receive more than they had agreed to? See Mat 20:9. How does their expectation reflect the…
Who does the landowner in the parable represent, and does the vineyard represent the whole world, or what? Cf. Isa 5:1-7, Mat 21:33-41. How does the vineyard and work to which God calls His laborers differ from the field and work to which the god of this age calls laborers? Contrast Joh 15:1-6 and Luk…
Consider again the context of Jesus’ ministry: facing opposition from the religious authorities for His denunciation of their religious hypocrisy (Mat 12:22-45), His popularity among even His supporters had also begun to decline due to the perceived difficulty of His teachings (see Joh 6:60,66). As a result, He began to withdraw with His remaining disciples,…
With what other reward does Jesus encourage His disciples who have left everything to follow Him? See Mat 19:29. Does this promise refer only, or even primarily, to a future age in heaven? See Luke 18:29-30. In what sense do those who have left home and family to follow Jesus receive “a hundred times as…
What does Jesus mean by the regeneration (Mat 19:28)? Notice that the Greek word used (palingenesia) means literally a re-birth and occurs only twice in the Bible; it was used by the Hellenistic Jews to refer to a state of renewal, such as after the flood or the return of the Jewish exiles from captivity. …
Which disciple responded to Jesus’ words about the impossibility of men being saved apart from God? See Mat 19:27. How did Peter contrast himself and the other disciples with the rich young ruler? See Mar 10:28, Luk 18:28; cf. Mat 4:18-22, Luk 5:11. What question did he then ask? Consider Peter’s question: they had left…
What do Matthew and Mark say the man did in response to his grief and sorrow at Jesus’ reply? See Mat 19:22, Mar 10:22. What does his response indicate that he ultimately loved more: God or his worldly wealth? In what way is that like so many today who in the same way “go away”,…
What did Jesus tell the rich young ruler to do with the proceeds of selling his possessions? How does that compare with what an average church today might direct him to do with the money? See the chart below and think: did Jesus say that he should deposit the proceeds into the temple treasury, or…
We have seen that the purpose of the law is to expose our sin nature and as a tutor to lead us to Christ, wherein we may be justified by faith. As we are clothed with Christ’s righteousness, does that mean that our own righteousness doesn’t matter, that our sins ultimately don’t matter, and that…