What do these verses teach about the reality of a future judgment? Cf. Acts 17:31. As a rule, do people today believe in and live their lives as if there will be a future judgment? What effect does an understanding of future judgment have upon people’s lives? Think: did Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc… believe in…
What do Jesus’ words in Mat 12:40 teach us about the common notion that He was crucified on Friday? Think: how many nights are there from Friday until the first day of the week (Sunday) on which he was raised (Mat 28:1)? What day must He then have been crucified on, and how do we…
Considering that Gideon had asked for three signs to be sure it was God who was speaking to him and to discern His will (Jdg 6:17,36-40), and was given even yet another sign (Jdg 7:10-11), why was the request by the scribes and Pharisees for a sign rebuffed by Jesus? See Mat 12:22-24. Were they…
What “fruit” did Jesus have in mind in Mat 12:33? See Mat 12:34, 36-37. What is the implication of Jesus’ words in Mat 12:33 as to why the Pharisees could not speak what is good? See Mat 12:34. What sort of tree did Jesus consider them to be? By referring to them as a “brood…
In reviewing Mat 12:25-30 observe Jesus’ increasing invective against the Pharisees as he answers their charge that He cast out demons by the prince of demons; what conclusion does He now draw concerning them in these verses for their hardness of heart? Cf. Mat 23:33. What was the unpardonable sin that they had committed, and…
Mat 12:27-28 What example do we have in Scripture of Jewish exorcists who also cast out demons? See Act 19:13-14 and cf. Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews 8:45-49[1]. Was the deliverance ministry of Jesus in any regard less than that of others whom the Pharisees would have acknowledged as having been from God? …
Mat 12:22-24 In what way was the demon possessed man whom Jesus healed afflicted? What does Mat 12:22 teach us about the ability of evil spirits to afflict people physically? Cf. Luk 11:14-15. By what means did Jesus heal the man? See Mat 12:24. What does this teach us about the relationship between physical healing…
Mat 12:9-14 Who was it that questioned Jesus in Mat 12:10? See Mat 12:2. What question did they ask Him? What did they believe was the correct answer to their question, and what did they expect Jesus to answer? For what purpose then did they ask Him? How is that like many religious people…
Mat 12:1-8 What is the key word in Mat 12:1 that was at the center of the controversy described in these verses? See also Mat 12:10. What was the importance of the Sabbath to the Jews? See Gen 2:2-3, Exo 20:8-11, 31:12-17, Deut 5:12-15. Observe that the verb “to rest” used in Gen 2:2-3 is…
Mat 11:25-27 For what does Jesus give praise (lit. confess openly and freely with thanksgiving) to God in Mat 11:25? What are “these things” to which He refers that God has hidden from the wise and intelligent but revealed to babes? See Mat 11:11-15 for the superlative nature of God’s heavenly kingdom and how one…