Saturday, October 8, 2016

Matthew 21 Lwaaon

Hi Parents,

Today we covered Matthew 21 in 1st hour SS Class.   We will continue going through Matthew verse by verse. 
Below is a copy of the lesson page that we discussed today in class during 1st Hour.  Also….for those of you who don’t have a detailed study bible on your phone…and for those who want to be like the Bereans and dig deeper into theology…..GTY offers The Bible App w/ notes….we use this extensively in addition to other bible study tools to prepare for the lesson each week.  The $5.99 upgrade will give you access to all the bible study notes as well as sermons, blog posts, daily devotional, in-depth bible study guides ….all in one APP!  Just search on GTY Study bible in the iphone app store or from your windows device.

Matthew 21
Read vs. 1-11
What city was Jesus and His disciples headed towards?  Jerusalem
Why were they going there?  For the Jewish Passover
What animal did Jesus tell them to get?  A donkey  (which signified peace)
                                Jesus rode on the colt as a sign of choosing the lowliest animal (we discussed the symbolism of riding a donkey vs. riding a white horse – which signified war/judgement)
What did the crowd do when they saw Jesus entering the city? 
                                                Spread coats in the road (which was an ancient act of homage for royalty)
                                                Laid branches from the trees on the road (another sign of surrender and worship)
                                                Shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David….”  (quote from Ps. 118:25) translated “Save now”
Note:  the date of this entrance into Jerusalem was 483 years after the decree of Artaxerxes mentioned in Dan. 9:24-26 – which is the exact timeframe predicted from the book of Daniel.  Also…the Passover lamb was on the Monday before Passover…and this was the exact day that they chose the lamb….so the people are actually choosing their Passover Lamb!
Who did the crowds say He was?  The prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.
Matthew 21:5 is a quote from Zech. 9:9

Read vs. 12-16
What did Jesus do in the temple?  Drove out people who were buying and selling and overturned the tables and seats.
Jesus accused them of making his temple a what?   “robbers den”  (also in  Isa. 56:7 and Jer. 7:11)
This is 2nd time Jesus cleansed the temple…first time was early in His ministry and is recorded in John 2:14-16
Who came to Jesus to be healed?   The blind and lame
How did the chief priests and scribes respond?  They became indignant

Read vs. 17-22
What happened with the fig tree?
Fig trees often represent Israel in scripture (Hos. 9:10 and Joel 1:7….the barren fig tree symbolizes divine judgment on Israel because of their spiritual fruitlessness).

Read vs. 23-32
The Jewish leaders try to trap Jesus into saying He has the same authority as God.  He avoids the answer by sharing a parable of 2 sons.
Who do the 2 sons represent? 
Those who know they are sinners and repent (broken people with soft hearts)
those who think they are righteous and won’t repent (proud people with hard hearts)

Read vs. 33-46
Who is the landowner?  God
Who represents the vineyard?  The Jewish nation  (also in Isa. 5:2 vineyard is a common symbolic term)
Who represent the tenants that leased the vineyard?  The Jewish leaders
Who represents the servants?  The Old Testament prophets
Who represents the son?  Jesus
What did they do to the Son?  They killed Him
Who do you think would be the “other tenants or vine growers” ?  The Church 
The leadership role and responsibility of the Jewish nation to proclaim truth is taken away and given to the Church – who is to spread the “good news”.
Vs 42 speaks of Jesus being the Stone and the Chief Corner stone….which is a quote from Ps. 118:22
So the builders would be who?  The Jewish leaders
In vs. 43 Jesus again declares that the Kingdom of God will be taken from them and given to a people who produce fruit.

What is a definite sign that someone is a “true believer”?  The will produce fruit.  (we discussed what fruit looked like – answers from the kids:  hunger to read God’s Word and fellowship/praise, fruits of the Spirit, prayer, sharing the gospel)

What are some examples of fruit in your life? 


Matthew Henry Commentary also has some solid insight on Matthew 21……  http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/matthew/21.html


In today’s message in Church, Pastor Eric mentioned Struggles…… which coincidentally was in a blog post this week….“Daily Struggles” from Mike Fabarez of Compass Bible Church in Laguna Hills, CA who is the teacher on Focal Point Radio (which is aired on BOTT Radio and Oneplace.org each day)   http://focalpointministries.org/devotional/daily-struggle/ 

Daily Struggle

·         May 19, 2016

While we would all love to imagine a Christian life that is tranquil and calm, the truth is it’s not. The Bible is clear that this side of heaven every Christian has been drafted into battle. We are, after all, called to live for Christ in a world that is skeptical of our faith, disparaging of our values, and at enmity with our God. Add to that, we all must live for Christ in a physical body that is beset with a variety of selfish and sinful inclinations. Any hopes of tranquility will have to wait for a resurrected body and an address in the New Jerusalem. This, by the way, is why we find so much metaphorical use of military themes in the New Testament. When the Apostle Paul describes his fellow Christians and ministry colleagues he refers to them as “fellow soldiers” (Philippians 2:25; Phile.1:2; 2 Timothy 2:3). Near the end of his life lived for Christ, Paul looks back and writes, “I have fought the good fight” (2 Timothy 4:7). So if you are surprised by your daily struggle, don’t be. Let’s discover contentment as we accept the current forecast. Let’s grasp God’s promised peace amid the conflict. And whatever you do, don’t lose heart. God has promised us victory.


PLEASE NOTE:  We will continue through Matthew this Summer.  If your child is moving into 7th Grade, they have the option to transition in June.  The 1st hour 5th/6th Grade class will continue our teaching time through the entire summer.  The 7th-12th Grade Sunday School Ministry will only provide a 2nd hour summer class.  So for the summer, your “soon to be 7th Grader” has the option to attend church with you during 1st hour – or they can continue to attend the 1st hour 5th/6th Grade class and finish the book of Matthew with us!


Please be praying for Luke Humphrey (6th Grader) his Mom, Stefanie, and his 2 sisters ….we grieve with them and pray that the Lord surrounds this sweet family with His comfort/peace and gives them strength to endure each day.

May you all have a blessed week…. and we pray that the seeds planted today in the heart of your child will be watered and continue to grow.

Best regards,

Mike & Kim Armstrong

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