Learning Jesus | Week 6
Learning Jesus Week 6
Soul Author-ity
Key Word – Authority >> Central Passages Matt 8:2-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16
Day 1 Luke 5:1-11
Background Information – In Romans 1, Paul argues that even those who do not know God can see His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, through creation. In Romans 2, Paul argues that even those who do not know God do know of God. Their conscience convicts them that their Creator is holy, and they are not. Although understanding the existence of the powerful holy God is enough to condemn us of our sin, this understanding cannot cover or remove our sin. In today’s story consider why Peter is convicted of his sinful state when Jesus demonstrates power over creation.
1. Peter obeys and catches a boatload of fish and then realizes he’s a sinner. How do these events connect to each other?
2. How does Jesus respond to Peter’s declaration? Consider what he does NOT do.
3. Given what Peter has just realized about Jesus and himself, why is it logical that he would want to leave all in order to declare the kingdom is at hand with Jesus?
Day 2 Genesis 3:15-17 and 21-22; Genesis 4:3-5; Genesis 22:7-13
Background Information – This week we are focusing on Jesus’ authority to cover and to remove sin. Today we are going back to the book of Genesis, the book of beginnings, so we can better understand God’s plan for our salvation after the fall.
Throughout Scripture God wove this scarlet thread -- only through the shedding of blood could sin be forgiven (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:19-22). The shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins is an example of Progressive Revelation, revelation God gave us over time in Scripture.
Read Genesis 3:15-17 and 21-22 first; then continue to read background information.
In this story we saw that God shed the first blood Himself. He provided animal skins to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness. His provision foreshadowed the Law’s requirements for animal sacrifices and modeled atonement principles Christ’s death later fulfilled -- sin results in death for an innocent substitute to cover the shame of the guilty (Leviticus 17:11; Romans 5:9).
Perhaps you have heard theological words like “atonement” before but cannot remember exactly what they mean. If so, you are in good company! But God is a better teacher than we often are. When Adam and Eve bit the forbidden fruit, He did not provide them with a glossary defining the big terms of our salvation; instead, He initiated by showing them a bit of what salvation would look like.
Adam and Eve tried to cover their shame with fig leaves. Picture them creating this clothing and moving around in it. Clearly it was insufficient, but it was insufficient for greater reasons than practicality. The consequence for sin is death. The fig tree suffered no loss of life. It could not shed blood. Its leaves were an insufficient sacrifice. So, God took one with the breath of life, an innocent animal. Given the pattern of later sacrifices in Scripture, including Jesus’, we can assume He took the animal before them. Adam would know that animal. He had named it. The animal had lived in perfect harmony with him. Its heart beat steadily without fear before him. Then God’s hand and will, spilled its blood and removed its skin in order to cover Adam and Eve’s most intimate parts.
Genesis 3:15-17 and 21-22
1. How does seeing God be the first to shed blood help you understand why the shedding of blood is necessary for the forgiveness of sins? Consider humanity’s nature after the fall and God’s unchanging nature in your answer.
Genesis 4:3-5
2. Why was Cain’s sacrifice unacceptable and Abel’s sacrifice pleasing to God? You may wish to read the complete story in Genesis 4 to help you process this more.
Background Information – Isaac was Abraham’s promised son, the one through whom the bloodline would find its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus. Had God not spared Isaac, then He would have been obligated to fulfill His promise to Abraham by resurrecting Isaac. This last story foreshadows Christ, the greater Promised Son, who would shed His perfect blood on the cross and be raised on the third day. As you read, consider why God would call Abraham to enact this little parable and include it in His Word, the progressive revelation of His plan for our salvation.
Genesis 22:7-13
3. Abraham passed his test. However, had he sacrificed Isaac, God would have resurrected Abraham’s promised son. Why did God not do it that way? What was God saying about His Promised Son?
Day 3 Exodus 12:1-13
Background Information – This next story continues our scarlet thread of redemption because it also foreshadows Jesus. The context is the Israelites are slaves in Egypt. Pharaoh refuses to release them to worship their God. So Yahweh sends nine plagues to persuade Pharaoh to relent, but his heart remains hardened. In this story, God is giving the Israelites directions so that they can in faith be spared the physical deaths of their first borns.
1. What were God’s required characteristics for the lamb the Israelites would sacrifice?
2. What is the connection between the blood applied to the door frame and the physical salvation of a specific type of Israelite?
3. Consider what you learned in the Genesis passages in Day 2. What similarities are you noticing that better help you understand the principle of atonement referenced in Day 2 background?
Day 4 Leviticus 14:1-20
Background Information – Tomorrow we shall read the story of Jesus and a man with leprosy. In Mosaic Law only a priest had the authority to declare a person a leper. Once identified, a leper had to tear his clothing and walk around in torn garments and unkempt hair for the rest of his life When a loved one died, the Jews performed these same rituals to show they were in mourning. The leper was in mourning because unless healed, he was going to die. The leper also had to cover his face from the nose down and cry out “Unclean! Unclean!” to warn others approaching him. Lepers lived outside the camp during the wilderness years when the Law was given.
When the Israelites established cities, an isolated section was designated as the lepers’ camp. Lepers could not enter the Temple to make an offering for sin. Therefore, the Jews believed that a person who contracted leprosy must have committed serious sin. To heal a leper was clearly to restore him to life. Your reading today is from the Mosaic Law and instructs the priests on what to do to both cleanse a former leper and restore him to the community. Note again that scarlet thread of blood applied followed by a declaration of “Cleansed!”
Optional Activity -- In our How to Read Your Bible Class at Grace, participants draw this ritual. They put the camp on the left and outside the camp on the right. Then using childlike drawings, including stick people and simple figures, they draw the steps the priest and healed leper takes. The purpose is to slow the reader down to observe the details of God’s commands. You could try this. Or try acting the instructions out as if you were the priest and leper. Some of you have shared you are doing the readings of Learning Jesus with your kids, so enjoy one of those hands-on experiences with them.
1. The two live bird ritual taking place outside the camp is similar to the two live goat ritual on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). Consider these rituals as parables showing us what atonement looks like. The first bird is killed, and its blood is applied to the second bird, showing the need for the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sin. The second bird is then released, showing the need for sin to be removed.
How would this ritual minister to the healed leper?
2. Symbols in Scripture carry consistent meanings. The number 7 in Scripture signifies completeness. The cedar is a lofty tree while hyssop is a lowly shrub, and they along with the scarlet thread are associated with purification. To shave is to remove pollution. Oil is used in many priestly rituals to indicate that something or someone is holy or set apart for God. Oil is also a symbol for the Holy Spirit. Water can symbolize both cleansing and judgment. “Outside the camp” was the home for anything unclean.
How would knowing these symbolic meanings minister to the healed leper?
3. God is holy and just. God is love and merciful. How does this passage affirms these truths about our Savior? You might choose to answer this in the form of a prayer to God.
Deep Think (Totally Optional)
The healed leper made a variety of offerings: guilt, sin, burnt, and grain. To research these, go to gotquestions.org and type the name of the offering in the search bar. Consider how each type points forward to Jesus offering Himself on the cross “outside the camp” to satisfy the wrath of God for sin once and for all.
Day 5 Matthew 8:2-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16 — Central Passage of the Week
Background Information – Yesterday, we read what the Mosaic Law commanded regarding the cleansing for a healed leper. If you did not read the background information for Day 4, you might want to do so.
Picture in your mind one of those charts of the human body you saw on the wall in your biology class. As you hear the description of the sins of a leper, imagine yourself marking a black X to each area of the body affected by leprosy.
The initial symptom of leprosy is numbness in the fingers and toes. Yellowish lesions develop deep in the skin on the genitalia, face, forehead, and joints. Within ten years, microorganisms penetrate cellular tissue, then muscles and bones. The hair turns white and wooly and falls out. Gelatinous swelling forms in the cellular tissue that leads to skin becoming hard and rough. Scabs form and fall off. Sores run. Finger and toe nails swell and fall off. Gums bleed. The nose is stuffed, and saliva constantly flows. Bacteria attacks the nerves, so the senses dull. In the last stages, the victim suffers from chronic diarrhea, fever, and extreme thirst. He loses weight and weakens. Finally, his internal and vital organs shut down, and he dies.
According to Luke, who was a physician, the leper in our story was “full of leprosy,” meaning he was in the final stages.
1. Consider how leprosy affected the victim physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Imagine LIFE as a leper. Write your thoughts.
2. Record the details from each gospel that show... (One example from Matthew is provided.)
Background Information – Remember from yesterday’s reading, the Law commanded a leper who had been healed to go to the priest and show himself. Then he would participate with the priest in a week-long ritual that would affirm to him and to his community that he was indeed healed.
However, from the time the Law was written until Jesus (about 1600 years) no Jewish leper had ever been healed; no Jewish leper had ever shown himself to the priest; no Jewish leper had ever been restored to his community. So the Jews believed that the person who healed a Jewish leper would be the Messiah, the one to usher in the kingdom.
Jesus commanded the leper He healed to go to the priest to fulfill the commands of the Law. Consider the priest’s reaction when this first-ever healed leper came to him! First, he would check the records to make sure this man had been a leper. Then the priest would take the leper through the cleansing ritual. Finally he would investigate the events of the man’s healing and discover that Jesus of Nazareth had healed him.
3. Mark gives one reason why Jesus went to desolate places; Luke gives another reason. Consider both, but also that the healing of a Jewish leper was believed to be a miracle only the Messiah could do.
o What exactly did Jesus prove He had authority over?
o How do the people respond to Jesus performing a Messianic miracle? What is the result?
o How does Jesus respond to how the crowds responded to Him (Luke 5:16)?
(optional) Matthew 8:2-3 is the suggested memory verse for this week.
re-jesus space
This re-jesus space is where we will take time as a Christ community to ensure we are applying the truth we know to our lives in real time. Not just talking about what we will do, but doing it now and together.
Because we are created in the image of God, the greatest command is to love the Lord with all of our heart & soul & mind & strength. Leprosy affected the victim physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. This is how sin affects us and impacts our love for God.
Follow the leper’s example to be healed body and soul.
Together draw near to Jesus and one by one pray to Him regarding your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Consider starting your prayer with, “I am leper. If you are willing, Jesus...”
Jesus did not depart from Peter, the sinner. Jesus was willing to heal the leper with His touch. Because we are created in the image of God, the second commandment is to love others as Jesus loved and loves us.
Follow Jesus’ example to draw near to sinners and lepers.
1. Together make a list of people who may feel or be perceived as lepers in our community.
Consider spheres of influence connected to your family, friends, work, etc. Include our church community as well.
2. Pray over your list as a group. Continue to pray this week that the Spirit will give your group a heart for one person or people group. Here we are following Jesus in praying before engaging missionally.
COMMUNITY GROUP TIME
• Discuss the Central Passages questions. (This week that is Day 5 — Matt 8:2-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16)
• Open Share Time -- Allow time for each to share “starred” insights or questions from Days 1-5. Allow others to respond to the shared insight.
• Is anyone able to recite all or part of Matthew 8:2-3?
• re-jesus space
God’s joy & strength to you,
kpaulson@gracelaredo.org