What is a stumbling block? Note: the Greek word used is skandalon from which we get our scandal; in the LXX it is used for a noose or snare, and is properly the baited trap-stick, the moveable stick or trigger of a trap; see Jos 23:13, Jdg 2:3, 8:27, 1Sa 18:21, Psa 106:36, 140:5, 141:9. …
Read Mark 9:33-37 where Mark describes the conversation that took place in the context of the argument (Luk 9:46) that had arisen among the disciples as to which of them was the greatest (Mar 9:34). What did John say in response to Jesus’ correcting their faulty understanding of what it means to be great in…
Recall that Jesus’ disciples believed the establishment of Christ’s kingdom was imminent and that they as His followers would occupy positions of prominence in it after the manner of the worldly kingdoms with which they were only familiar. As a result, an argument had arisen among them as to which of them was or would…
In light of the disciples’ perceptions of the imminence of Christ’s kingdom appearing after the manner of the kingdoms of the world, what would their thoughts have been about the privilege and prestige of its chief officers and leaders? Who would they have supposed those leaders to be? What had recently happened that would seem…
Mat 17:24-27 What was the two-drachma tax for that those who collected it were asking if Jesus had paid it? See Exo 30:11-16, 38:25-26, and cf. the NIV “temple tax”. What indication is there that this tax was perhaps voluntary or that some may have been considered exempt from paying it? Considering that this…
In spite of Matthew’s description of the boy’s affliction as an illness, how does he say in Mat 17:18 that Jesus cured him? How does Mark describe the healing in Mar 9:25? What is the importance of Jesus’ command to the unclean spirit to not enter again into the boy? See Mat 12:43-45. How does…
Recall from our previous discussion on Matthew 16:4 that a “generation” is characterized by certain assumptions and beliefs, and in Biblical usage it is not necessarily to be understood in a temporal, linear sense in the way we think of the generations of “depression-era”, “baby boomers”, “x-ers”, and “millenials”. Remember too that true salvation is…
When Jesus, Peter, James and John returned to the other disciples from the Mount of Transfiguration who met them? See Luk 9:37. Why had such a large crowd been gathered together around the other disciples? See Luk 9:38-40. Besides the spectacle of the demon-possessed boy, how might the inability of the disciples’ to cast it…
When does Luke say Jesus descended with the disciples from the Mount of Transfiguration? See Luk 9:37. What do his words indicate about how long it took them to descend, and hence how far they must have gone? What did Jesus command them on the way down the mountain? See Mat 17:9. Why did He…
How does Matthew describe the cloud that overshadowed them? Cf. Luk 11:34,36 where the same word is translated “full of light” and “illumined”. What is the significance that it was a “bright” cloud? Think: How does this cloud contrast with the cloud that came down on Sinai at the giving of the law? See Ex…