hanks

1. Why did Jesus show special attention to Peter, James, and John? Why do church members sometimes misunderstand when their pastor enjoys a special relationship with a few in the congregation? Jesus treated His Apostles according to their gifts and talents/skills required in a leader. His mission included training leaders to follow Him. And He must have seen the best potential in Peter, John, and James. Being God, Jesus will always be just, we know He loves us all, all are equal before Him, and if He chooses some, it will be the right thing to do. Jesus does not show favouritism, and we are to do the same (James 2:1). Also, the number of witnesses required by law are two or three (Deu 19:15). Being a pastor cannot be easy. They are to handle their congregation with maturity, faithfulness, godliness, and lack of favouritism. People can be forceful, and they have hidden agendas. There’s jealousy and pride. Then there’s discrimination based on race, class, wealth, and whatever.

5. How can we be unashamed of Jesus without it being difficult for non-Christians to want to be around us? Did unbelievers want to be around Jesus? What is the balance? I’m not sure I understand the question. My love for Jesus comes first before anything else, and I don’t see why I should make allowances for any unbelievers in my company. Jesus is perfect holiness, perfect righteousness, perfect virtue, perfect goodness, perfect knowledge, perfect wisdom, perfect compassion, perfect love, perfect mercy, perfect grace, perfect power, perfect justice. There is nothing in Him to be ashamed of. Rather, if there is anything I’m to be ashamed of, it is my sin, my pride, my greed, my disobedience, my thoughts, and I can go on and on. Unbelievers don’t want to be around them. Their self-righteousness keeps them from Jesus, they think there is no need for Him. They are ashamed of everything to do with Jesus and will not have Him reign over them. What is the balance? I will treat them with love and respect, but that is all. As a believers we should be sensitive in which Jesus’ truth and honour is threatened, and seek to compel a change of heart. It is up to us to stand out against the anti-Jesus trends that are operating in the world today. I will not allow them to insult my Lord and Saviour, or to speak badly of Him. He will put to shame those who are ashamed of Him.

4. If someone told you they thought they had lost themselves or lost their soul, how would you counsel them without giving them false assurance? There’s no easy way, it demands their willingness to totally submit to Jesus. In other words, they need to be willing to give up everything in obedience to Jesus Christ, and live a life of denying self, taking up their cross, and following Jesus Christ – nothing less. A willingness to endure daily hatred, hostility, rejection, reproach, shame, and suffering. Even death if Jesus demands it, which is symbolic of a total, final commitment. By rejecting Christ for the sake of anything in this life, is utter foolishness; it will result in losing one’s soul, and spending eternity in the lake of fire. There can be nothing more valuable than a person’s soul. It’s not about their life; Paul wrote “For to me to live is Christ, to die is gain” (Php 1:21). John MacArthur: “I really am convinced that most popular evangelism today lures people into deception. It promises a wonderful, comfortable plan for everybody’s life. It says nothing of a small gate, narrow way. Its subject is the love of God. There’s no mention of the wrath of God. It tends to see people as deprived rather than depraved. It’s full of compassion and understanding without a mention of sin and wrath and judgment. No summons to repentance, no warning of judgment, no call for brokenness, no expectation of a contrite heart, no desire for sorrow over sin. It just calls for a moment, a hasty decision, a few words, and then some promises of health and happiness and blessing” (Luke 9:23-26, The Gospel in Perspective, 24 November 2002).

3. What kinds of attempts at "saving our lives" are actually self-destructive? Why is this such a paradox? The self-destructive attempts at so called “saving our lives” are clinging selfishly to this present life. By indulging in our pleasures and appetites; by basking in comfort, luxury, and ease; by living only for the present; by using our finest talents for worldly acclaim. By being self-centred – it’s all about me. They will be lauded by the world and have temporary pleasure but lose Christ and the possibility of eternal life. To gain Christ demands the loss of self. We see the futility of clinging to this life, not doing anything that might endanger our safety, health, or comfort, because that, paradoxically, would result in losing the very “self” one wants to preserve. By contrast, if following Jesus is most important, we may find ourself in unsafe, unhealthy, and uncomfortable places. We may risk death, but we will not fear it because we know that Jesus will raise us to eternal life. Nothing material can compensate for the loss of eternal life. As Jesus' disciples we are not to use our lives on earth merely to please ourselves; rather we should spend our lives serving God and others. When we invest our life for Christ and His Kingdom we will receive eternal life, as well as the satisfaction of serving God on earth, and we find that by giving up control to God, He fills our lives with Himself.

2. What does it mean to take up your cross daily? If it doesn't mean bearing your own life's burdens (and I don't think it means that), then what DOES it mean? A basic condition of taking up our cross daily is to deny self. This involves a completely new way of life; no more living for our own selfish interests, but living a life for the sake of Jesus and the gospel. We recognise His Lordship in every area of our life – we live to serve His purposes. Now we deliberately choose the kind of life Jesus lived, and He gives us two approaches to life: to deny ourself/or live for ourself; take up our cross/or ignore the cross; follow Christ daily/or follow the world; lose our life for His sake/or save our life for our own sake; forsake the world/or gain the world; keep our soul/or lose our soul; share His reward and glory/or lose His reward and glory (9:23-27). It means to identify with Christ in His rejection, shame, suffering, and death. “The cross represents three things: It’s a sign of suffering, a sign of rejection by the world, and a sign of obedience to God. What is “your” cross? Your cross is accepting God’s will for your life and doing it cheerfully. Your cross will always include suffering, always lead to rejection by the world, and always involve obedience to God." (Ray Pritchard). The result will be that we follow Jesus, living a life in total obedience to Him. We will have a relationship with Jesus, fellowship with Him (there can be no greater blessing), and we will acknowledge Him daily in everything we do.

1. Why was it so hard for the disciples to understand that the Messiah must be rejected and killed and rise the third day? It was hard for the disciples to understand the true purpose of the Messiah, because of their preconceived notions. They had been brought up to believe that the Messiah would come and rescue them from the yoke of Rome, and set up His kingdom immediately. It was impossible to believe that He would be rejected by His own people, and much less put to death by them. Paul wrote in 1 Cor 1:23, “but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” A stumbling-block to the Jews, because they thought the Messiah would be a conquering king accompanied by signs and miracles. They expected David’s throne to be restored. Besides, He was executed as a criminal, and how could a criminal be a saviour? Foolishness to the Gentiles. They did not believe in a bodily resurrection, they did not see in Jesus the powerful characteristics of their mythological gods, and they thought no reputable person would be crucified. To them, death was defeat, not victory. Today the Good News of Jesus Christ is still foolish to many. Our society worships power, influence, and wealth. Jesus came as a humble, poor servant, and He offers His Kingdom to those who have faith, not to those who do all kinds of good deeds to try to earn salvation. This looks foolish to the world, but Christ is the mighty power of God, and is the only way we can be saved. “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Knowing Christ personally is the greatest wisdom anyone can have. Which reminds me of what Isaiah wrote in Isa 55:8-9: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts”.

4. If you have never openly stated your faith in Jesus Christ, please do so today, and let others know that this is a new statement for you. If you have stated your belief in Jesus prior to this, please share with others the circumstances of when you made a declaration of your own faith in Jesus. Dear God, I have sinned and fall short of Your glory, I have repented and I now put my trust in Your One and Only Son, Jesus Christ for my salvation. With the help of the Holy Spirit, help me to obedient to Your Word and live my life for Jesus, my Lord and Saviour. I gave my testimony at my church, in front of the congregation many years ago. I know that God has granted His righteousness to me, through my faith in Jesus, and I have the promise of eternal life. "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

3. Why is it difficult to be able to express simply and clearly what we believe? What are the obstacles you face in expressing this? I know that when you truly believe something it is difficult to keep it secret. So, when we are genuinely born again, we will find it difficult to keep the news about Jesus a secret. We will want to share our Saviour Jesus Christ with all, to tell all about Him, and all that He has done in our life. The ups and the downs we have experienced, and His loving support during our times of hardship. About His love, His saving grace, His promises, faith, trust, hope, and the Holy Spirit. All things have become new, we become new creatures in Christ (2 Cor 5:17), and ultimately we will be like Jesus. Yes, when I was much younger working in a hostile environment, I’m sorry to say, I found it difficult to express my love and faith in Jesus, to my shame. Not anymore!

2. Why did Jesus ask about what others believed before He asked His disciples what they believed? Jesus breaks the question into two parts. He first asks His disciples what the people believe before asking what they believe. I feel that Jesus asks not because He needs an answer, but because His disciples need it. Their response to the first question echoes a lame list we’ve heard before (9:7-9). Jesus wanted His disciples to fully understand and know all their options available, and what was the religiously/politically correct view, before they took the very opposite view and confessed that Jesus as Messiah and God. That they did so in full knowledge that their answer would be against the grain, against the trends, and against the popular opinions. Once they were alone, Jesus asked what the people thought of Him, and they responded by saying that in general, they were acknowledging Him to be a great man - equal to John the Baptist, Elijah or other prophets. This response revealed that the people still didn’t recognize Jesus’ true identity. They had been together for about two and a half years, and He needed them to take a stand before telling them for the first time about His death on the Cross, and that they will be moving their ministry south to Judea. During this time, He has taught them revealed and disclosed to them who He is, by His teaching, by His power over demons, disease and death, and by His power over nature. So, He asked, “Who do you say I am?”. This is a question which really puts a person on the spot, and demands an answer. This is the most important question they will ever have to answer, and their answer will determine where they will spend eternity. Acting as their spokesman, Peter answered “The Christ of God”. Collectively they had previously already stated that He is Lord, He is the healer, the miracle worker, and now they affirm that He is God’s Messiah. This revealed that they had a deep insight into Jesus’ identity. They did not understand the exact nature of Jesus’ ministry, but they knew one fact for sure - Jesus was the Messiah.

1. Why do you think Jesus waited to ask these questions until He could be alone with His disciples? Why do you think He was spending time in prayer before asking these questions? As a result of Jesus’ miracle feeding of the five thousand, there was what almost seems to be mass hysteria. So much so that they wanted to appoint Him as their king (John 6:15). Because of this hysteria Jesus did two things before confronting His disciples about who He is. He sent them away, so that they would not get caught up in this frenzied enthusiasm, and then, He Himself withdrew from the crowds for a time of private prayer (John 6:15). The disciples needed to have a deep, personal appreciation of who Jesus is before He could share with them the pathway ahead and invite them to follow Him in a life of devotion and sacrifice. Jesus had prayed all night before choosing His disciples (Luke 6:12–13), and now He prayed before asking for their personal confession of faith.

4. What struggles have you had in surrendering yourself to be part of this ministry process of assessing the need, bringing your resources to Jesus, placing them in His hands, and receiving back the power to meet needs beyond yourself? There were personal issues that my son had, and when all looked lost and there seemed to no solution to the problem and situation, we brought all we had in prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ. In His great love, mercy, and grace – problem solved. In the crisis hours of life, when your resources are low and your responsibilities are great, it is good to remember that Jesus already has the problem solved.

3. Why didn't He create bread and fish from nothing? Why did He ask the disciples to find what they could? What is the significance of the command, "You give them something to eat"? There are many ways Jesus could have performed this miracle. He could have created the bread and fish from nothing the way He called down manna from heaven in the wilderness. Or, He could have spoken the word and the food would have miraculously appeared in each person’s hand. Or, He could have called angels to provide. Instead, He used the disciples to distribute the bread and the fish to the people. This was to teach the disciples that His method for meeting the needs of a lost world is through people. Christ meets the needs of people through people, but not through people who choose to serve. He works through His servants - servants who serve because they’re under obligation to their Master. They give your inadequate resources and abilities to Jesus. Jesus asks the disciples to find what food they have available, which was 5 loaves and 2 fish. This was to highlight their inadequate resources and to hand these resources over to Him in trust. Before we ask God to do the impossible, let’s start with the possible and give Him what we have. The insufficient becomes more than sufficient when surrendered to Christ! When Jesus issues a command like the one in our passage, (“you give them something to eat”) we can trust Him to provide the resources. He is after all Jehovah-Jireh the God who provides. God delights in providing for His people. Whatever our needs. He will meet them through His love and grace.

2. Why did Jesus decide to feed the people rather than dismiss them earlier? Jesus decided to feed the people rather than dismissing them because of His physical and spiritual concern for them. Getting rid of the people by sending them away while they were still prepared to listen to His teaching, and while they are hungry is not the way God treats people. Besides, among the crowd there must have been many who were still blind, deaf, lame, and diseased - needing His healing. Jesus knew that their greatest need was spiritual, and that He could heal their bodies and fill their stomachs, but this was only a stopgap measure if they died in their sins. So, Jesus carried on teaching them about repentance and the kingdom of God. On top of this this was a chance to teach His disciples an important lesson. The disciples were keen to see the crowd leave, but they did not have the same the compassion and concern that Christ had for the multitudes, but one day they would.

1. What was Jesus' motivation for teaching and healing on this day, even though He and His disciples were tired? How can we find a balance of attitude and ministry? When do we stop when the needs continue? Despite Jesus and His disciples being tired, He saw the large crowd as sheep without a shepherd. Feeling sorry for them, He welcomed them and started to speak to them about God’s kingdom and healing all who were sick. This large crowd had prevented Jesus and His disciples from having a much earned/needed rest so He had every right to be annoyed with them. But instead of being irritated, He responded compassionately and in love when He saw the crowd wandering around lost, helpless, and without a spiritual guide. I think Jesus provides the perfect answer to finding a balance of attitude and ministry, and when to stop – one continues and continues until all the needs are met. Our Lord will provide the means and the needs. I feel we should try to walk in His steps - to be like Him, to be kind, and patient, and always willing to help. Remembering that Jesus received all, spoke to all, and did good to all.

6. Of what value were their reports and Jesus' debriefing? The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done, and this debriefing session was vital and would form part of their training and growth. Jesus patiently listened to everything they had to tell regarding their evangelistic campaign - this must have been quite a follow-up session! Being their first mission, there must have been many good things to report back on as well as the difficulties they had experienced. One can just imagine their enthusiasm and excitement as they returned to Jesus full of good news and wonderful tales. What a wonderful time this must have been. To go out and to minister and then to come back together to be encouraged in all of the things that God had accomplished through them. Jesus needed this time with them more than ever as He was closing out His Galilean ministry. In fact, there was to be little public ministry hereafter. From this point onward He was to concentrate primarily on His disciples, giving them intensive training. However, they needed to have their batteries recharged, so He then took them with Him to the village of Bethsaida, where they could be alone, but any hope of a quiet time together were soon shattered. A crowd of people quickly gathered, and the Lord Jesus welcomed them, as He was always accessible and did not consider this an annoying interruption.

5. How did the disciples' obedience to Jesus' instructions bless people? When Jesus sent them out they followed His instructions, and the people were blessed, as the Twelve performed their duties of preaching and performing miracles throughout Galilee. They did exactly what they had seen Him do throughout His ministry, but this time it was a multiplied ministry. This is the first time the disciples exercise their new power and authority, and is a preview of their mission in Acts as they replicate Jesus’ ability to heal the sick, and probably to cast out demons; no preachers since that time have been given such gifts of miraculous healing. Everywhere they went they spoke of the kingdom of God - communicating the gospel by both word and deed. See how they healed the sick; how they brought much joy and good to the villages. This was all a confirmation that God was with them, that their message was true and that God was full of compassion intent on healing the groaning dying world. Their mission must have had a massive impact on the communities in each village.

4. Why were they told to stay in just one house in each village, and not try to find better lodgings? When they entered a village, they were to look for a family that would receive them as disciples of the Lord and who would be open to their message. Once they found such a host, they were to show courtesy and gratitude in accepting such hospitality, and they were to stay with them as long as they were in the city. The disciples were not to offend their hosts by moving to a home that had better living-conditions, even if it meant living in sparse accommodation. They must learn to be content with their situations and focus on preaching the gospel. If they were refused, they were to show God's displeasure in rejecting His disciples, by shaking the dust off their feet.

3. Why did He instruct them to travel light? Why did He tell them not to bring a staff, a bag, or food, or money, or an extra shirt? What was the point in that? Jesus instructed the Twelve to travel light so that they would trust Him for the supply of all their material needs - no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. They were to live very simply, for there was much to be done with so little time left. Cannot waste time on preparing for the trip, which would be of short duration after which they would come back and report to Jesus. As disciples sent by God, they were to depend on Him and on the people to whom they ministered to meet their needs. Here we see Jesus’ principle of functional simplicity being applied – use only the essentials needed to function effectively as a witness for Christ without losing the primary dependence upon God.

2. What purposes did Jesus seem to have in sending the Twelve on this mission? Continuing from Question 1. Jesus had two purposes in mind in sending the Twelve on this mission. The first one was to preach the kingdom of God, and the other was to heal the sick (9:2). The Twelve had travelled with Jesus, had observed Him, had listened to His teaching, and had been taught by Him. Now, they were ready to take a more active part in Jesus’ ministry; they would be sent out on this mission, basically a training mission, to tell everyone about the coming of the Kingdom of God. Jesus also gave them power and authority to cast out demons and to heal all diseases; which was important because these miracles backed up the message. Soon, they would be doing His work by increasing the spread, and effectiveness of His ministry in reaching more and more people. After His Resurrection, they were the ones left to carry on Jesus’ work.

1. What's the difference between power and authority? Power is the ability to accomplish a task, and authority is the right to do it, and Jesus gave both to His Apostles. They were able to cast out demons and heal the sick, but the most important ministry He gave them was that of preaching the kingdom of God – the Good News. Their power/ability to do these miracles, was a special gift to attest to the truth of the gospel, to confirm that the Lord had sent them and was working through them (Mark 16:20). The Jewish people traditionally asked for some sign before they would believe (Heb 2:4), but today we test a person’s ministry by the truth of the Word of God (1 John 4:1–6). However, miracles alone do not prove that they are from God, for Satan can enable his false ministers to do amazing things (Matt 24:24). Their delegated authority was to make more disciples as they preached, and taught. The same authority that Jesus still commands us to tell others the Good News, and make them disciples for the Kingdom. They were also given authority over the forces of evil, and protection from harm during their mission (Luke 10:19).

5. What lessons does this passage teach you as a disciple? What do you think we disciples are intended to learn from this? This passage teaches me that as a disciple, the amount of faith is not important as its genuineness. That is, it’s not so much about the quantity of faith but of its quality. There has to be complete trust and loyalty to God, a humble obedience to God’s will, and a readiness to do whatever He calls me to do. But, this type of faith is not something I can obtain without help; besides faith is a gift from God (Eph 2:8-9). Growing in faith is a constant process of daily renewing my trust in Jesus. It does not matter how much faith I have; I will never reach the point of being self-sufficient. If there is any shortfall Jesus Himself will make up the difference! We are intended to learn from this that biblical faith is what God requires when all human hope is gone. We see this in the case of the woman – she had faith that Jesus could heal her, when all human hope was gone. She had seen all the doctors, and they had only made her condition worse. She had spent all of her money, so that she had no remaining options. The same can be said for Jairus, once his daughter had died he saw no hope. Biblical faith produces hope, it does not depend on it for its existence. Faith was not the result of hope (human hope) but the response to the absence of it.

4. Why did Jesus exclude everyone but the parents and His closest disciples from the girl's room? As soon as He arrived at the home, all were wailing in despair, even some of it done by hired mourners. Jesus told them to stop because the girl was not dead, but sleeping, causing them to ridicule Him, because they were positive that she was dead. So, He put them all out! This situation was much too tender and special for Him to allow dozens of unbelieving spectators to watch. Undaunted, He went to the room, taking with Him only Peter, James, and John, along with the parents to the motionless child, and taking her by the hand, said in Aramaic, “My child, get up.” Immediately the twelve-year-old girl got up and walked. The relatives were stunned, and doubtless delirious with joy.

3. Why didn't Jesus let Jairus give up? By the time Jesus managed to get away from the crowd to go with Jairus to his home, his daughter had died. He was advised that Jesus would not be able to help and they were not to bother the teacher anymore. It was assumed that the interruption as Jesus healed the woman was fatal and that it was now too late, and He was now helpless to do anything about it. It is hard to believe that they had not heard the news about the raising of the son of the widow in Nain (7:11-17) or that it was somehow never considered. Jairus's crisis must have made him feel confused, afraid, and without hope, but in Jesus there is both hope and promise, what is needed is faith. Having overheard, Jesus encouraged the distraught father with a word of hope – “don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed." He meant something similar to that which he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has healed you.’ It is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that He was talking about. Jairus was also taught that with Jesus, it is never too late, there is always hope. After graciously reassuring Jairus, Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the house.

2. Have you ever had a time spiritually when you felt God "carried you" in spite of your weak faith? If so, when? Has He set you back on your own feet again yet? Yes, in my stupidity I bought into a business with unbelievers; not having earnestly prayed about it beforehand. I had only been a believer for about 2 years and after about 6 months into the business I realised it was not viable, and I stood the chance of losing my investment. It was a most trying moment and had both my wife and myself on our knees. After much prayer, sweat and anxious moments I only suffered a minor loss. But it was close and I could have lost a substantial amount. In spite of my weak faith, after all had been over, I realised God had stepped in and saved the situation from my perspective. There was definite divine intervention. Yes, and He has set me back on my own feet again. Only this time I had learned a hard lesson and from then on God was involved in all my business decisions. To Him goes all the glory!

1. What do Jairus' actions in this story tell us about the state of his faith? Jairus came immediately to Jesus and knelt down in front of Him begging that He come to his home because his twelve-year old daughter was dying. He was desperate and obviously believed in Jesus’ power and authority to heal his only daughter, but unlike the centurion (7:6-7), Jairus only had a partial faith in Jesus, not realising or understanding that Jesus could heal from a distance. How different he was from the centurion who said, ‘Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof … Say the word, and my servant will be healed’. Jesus went with Jairus to his home, not holding his deficient faith against him. Being a ruler of the synagogue, it must have taken Jairus a great deal of humility and courage to approach Jesus and ask for His help. For by this time the Jewish religious leaders were already plotting to kill Jesus.