Additional questions

We can ask additional questions in chapter 11 before we dip forward into chapter 12 of Matthew's gospel:

1. Jesus rejoices that children can savvy what fancy bigshots cannot, v. 25. How did St. Paul echo this in his teaching
   1. about obedience, which he wrote about in his letter to the Romans, and
   2. about humility and wisdom in his first letter to the Corinthians?
2. The disciples were off preaching and healing in various towns of Israel, but they definitely learned about Jesus giving thanks to the Father for revealing the kingdom to little ones. How would this have affected their attitude toward preaching, to know that little kids could get it but fancy bigshot Pharisees could not?
3. Jesus declares that no man knows the Father other than the Son. Does that remind you of anything in John's gospel? (Hint)
4. Last week we spoke of the heavy burden of legislative regulation from the Pharisees and the relatively light yoke of simplicity of the Messiah's teaching about the two great commandments. Now dip backwards to figure out what Deuteronomy says -- what is God's meaning of rest?
5. Jesus challenges his disciples to forsake all earthly wealth and attachment and to carry a cross. How can that possibly be considered a light burden, to embrace foreclosure and tortuous death?

And what about chapter 12? Warm up your I.Q. level with a few more questions:

1. Jesus and his disciples walked through a field of grain on the Sabbath. What is one's main job on a Sabbath?
2. Is this healing the first time that the Pharisee's plot his death?
3. Was there any "Make my day" going on in this synagogue event?

We will consider these and other questions this Thursday morning and pray that God endues us with wisdom and insight.

Questions for this morning

We will finish up 1 John 5 this morning, then dive into 2 John, which has only one chapter. Here are some questions to consider:

1. Again, John enjoins his "little ones" to be wary of deceivers, the antichrists. What are the little ones supposed to hold onto?
2. Another reprise: John challenges the little ones to love, with obedience to the commandment, which is not new. Why does he keep writing about this?

Let's start with these questions today, and gaze once again into the Word, God's perfect law of freedom.

Unfinished business

We concluded last Thursday with a homework assignment: Where during Mass do we mention the saints of God, and why?

This is related to our unfinished question:

1. John mentions confidence again, in v. 11. How is this confidence different or related to the confidence John mentions in 1 John 2: 28 and 1 John 4:17?

Questions

When we study 1 John 5 on Thursday morning, we can start with some of these questions:

1. John mentions confidence again, in v. 11. How is this confidence different or related to the confidence John mentions in 1 John 2: 28 and 1 John 4:17?
2. Do you see anything notable in John's use of water, blood and the Spirit as witnesses? Are these three special in everyday life?
3. How does the Gospel describe water, blood and the Spirit in the crucifixion of the Messiah Jesus?

Let's take these three and look again into God's deep wisdom.

11th commandment and other notes

John frequently talks about keeping the commandments. One verse we focused on last week was 1 John 4:11:

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.

Len figured out that this is God's 11th commandment. Good.

In this regard, Deacon Al mentioned the mind of Christ, Philippians 2:5-11, as a good summary of the 11th commandment in action.

Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.

Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance,

he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Ken mentioned that Jesus Christ come in the flesh is a stumbling block to some. If you believe that Jesus is God but not that Jesus is also man, then you will not have the confidence or ability to love another person as God loves us. To John in this letter, it is a tragedy to live that way.

A few questions

Here are some questions for today.

1. What does it mean to confess Jesus?
2. Does God act based on our love or lack thereof?
3. How does on recognize the Holy Spirit has been given to someone?
4. How is fear cast out?

Today's questions

Questions

1. What is the meaning of "hell" that one can discern in 1 John 3?
2. What are signs of the power of the Holy Spirit?

Progression, confidence

During our discussion last Thursday, we talked about one question at length: Why should we be confident before the judgement of God?

And now, children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming. 1 John 2:28

Here is the progression of answers we came up with, each answer getting closer and closer to the center of the question.

1. Confident if we keep the commandments.
2. Confident if we acknowledge the Lamb.
3. Confident because it is nor a surprise -- it is something foretold.
4. Confident because of faith.
5. Confident because of the Messiah's sacrifice on the Cross.
6. Confident because it is based on God's love for us.

At that point, we could go no deeper into the matter: God's love for us is a sure and solid bedrock.

Or, as St. Paul said in the city of Athens, "in Him we live and move and have our being."

1 John 2 questions

To read through 1 John chapter 2, here are a few questions to get you thinking:

1. If Jesus is our advocate, our defense attorney before God the Father, then how is it that He is also the expiation of our sins? How many lawyers volunteer for that duty?
2. When you confess sins to God, does the power of the forgiveness depend on your personal power or skill?
3. Re-read Romans 8:26-32. Does this inspire confidence in God's power to forgive?
4. There is an unusual pair of sets of three questions in vv. 12-14. What do you make of them?
5. In v. 18, John mentions several antichrists. What are these antichrists attempting to do to John's flock?

These questions are only the beginning of our quest for God's wisdom and grace this Thursday morning.

Beginning

This week we start a study of John's first letter, A good set of starting questions is:

1. Re-read John's gospel, chapter 1. Does this chapter bear any resemblance to the concepts in Johns first letter, chapter 1?
2. Re-read John's gospel, chapter 15. Does this chapter bear any resemblance to the concepts in Johns first letter, chapter 1?
3. Re-read Revelation, chapter 22. Does this chapter bear any resemblance to the concepts in Johns first letter, chapter 1?

Every Thursday morning, we meditate on God's Word, and we pray for the Lord's wisdom to penetrate our minds. These questions will be a good start.

Torah and a flesh-and-blood person

From Ben16's recent book, Jesus of Nazareth, p. 148 and p. 169.

The Decalogue is not, as we have seen, some burden imposed upon man from the outside. It is a revelation of the essence of God himself... and hence it is an exegesis of the truth of our being.

...Jesus, who is himself God's living Torah.

This reminds me of John's gospel, chapter 1, which we read in mid-July.

Notes and results from July 16, Mark 1

Our section of study was Mark's gospel chapter 1.

To set this first chapter of Mark into perspective, we also read John's gospel, chapter 1. The men made comments about Mark 1 compared to John 1, a few of which were:

1. Both gospels use the word "beginning."
   
2. Baptism of Jesus is in both.
   
3. In both, Jesus calls the first few of the disciples.
   
4. Neither cover the birth of the Messiah like Matthew and Luke.
   
5. John does not mention any healings yet, but Mark mentions several, including leprosy.
   
6. Mark details how-what-where-when information, but John discusses the meaning of the Word, especially in the first 18 verses.
   

We discussed several Greek words in the original text.

1. εξομολογουμενοι, confessing, which contains Greek roots we might recognize
   
   
   1. εξ, ex-, meaning out of
      
   2. ομο, homo-, meaning same as
      
   3. λογο, logo, meaning word
   
   
2. σχιζομενουs, being rent: notice the fragment σχιζ, which stands out as the root of our English word schism.
   
3. φωνη, voice, which is a root for our English words phone, phonetic etc.
   

We also discussed the Greek word in Mark 1:41, σπλαγχνισθειs, which literally means intestines, but which translates as compassion. Some of the men did not enjoy thinking about intestines. :) However, this word is only translated as real intestines in one place in the New Testament, and all other times as compassion. Philippians 2:1 contains another famous use of the word. We compared it to the English word balls which means one thing anatomically, but in many contexts means courage or gumption.

As a result of Jesus having compassion on the leper, He was forced to head for the hills with his men. He could not go openly into cities but had to rest up out in the lonely, desert places. This invites comparison to David, who also had to escape several times to the wild, desert places like Adullam.