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Q4. (Daniel 1:8-16) What is Daniel's first approach to eat a different diet? What does he do when his first attempt failed? What is his demeanor towards those over him? In what ways do you think God affects the outcome of Daniel's request? Daniel’s first approach was to ask the king’s chief official for permission not to eat the food and wine served in the royal palace. This might have been a reckless request since it was inexcusable to disobey the king’s orders. This was, however, refused. In the meantime, the king’s official had put a guard in charge of Daniel and his friends. So Daniel makes another plan. He asks the guard to allow them to eat only vegetables and water at mealtime for the next ten days. After the ten days are up, they must compare how they look with the other young men, and then decide if it will fine for them to eat vegetables instead of the rich food and wine. The guard agrees to do this. Ten days later, Daniel and his friends look healthier and better than the young men who had been served food from the royal palace. So, the guard lets them eat vegetables instead of the rich food and wine. We see Daniel treating all those over him with respect. At the same time he did not fear any possible consequences because he knew he was acting in accordance with the Lord’s standards. This is a typical example in which Daniel boldly places his life in God’s hands, regardless of the outcome, with uncompromising obedience.

Q3. (Daniel 1:8-10) Why do you think Daniel took a stand concerning being defiled by the king's food and wine? How do you think eating the king's food would cause defilement to Daniel's conscience? What does this tell you about Daniel? The Jewish people were strict about obeying the dietary requirements of the Mosaic Law. So Daniel was concerned that he would be given food that had been offered to idols, and that it would contain the meat of unclean animals. Besides, the fact that it had been prepared by Gentiles also rendered it also unclean. To partake of such food would defile them. When it came to the wine, some commentators say that the Jewish people at that time drank their wine diluted with water – sometimes up to 10 parts of water to one part wine. The Babylonians did not dilute their wine. So both the food and the drink would have defiled these Jewish young men. Knowing the requirements of the Law governing what he should and should not eat and drink, Daniel wanted to please God in all he did. So even though he was not in his own land and living under a culture that did not follow God’s laws, he would still consider himself obedient to the Law. By excusing himself from eating and drinking the king’s food and wine, we find Daniel being courageous, determined, and obedient to God.

Q2. (Daniel 1:1-7) What changes did Daniel and his friends’ experience? What was their status in Jerusalem? In Babylon? What do you think was the effect of changing their names to Babylonian names? What impact might it have on them to be made eunuchs? Did they make compromises? If so, why? Nebuchadnezzar knew that he had to employ Jewish people for his own purposes if his victory over Jerusalem was to be permanent. He thus surrounded himself with scholars and wise men of all kinds. They had to be taught to live and think like citizens of Babylon, and some would in time serve in the king’s palace. To achieve this he took young men from the royal family of Judah and from other leading Jewish families. They were to undergo a rigorous three-year course of training after which they were to enter the king’s service. That educational program probably included a study of agriculture, architecture, astrology, astronomy, law, mathematics, and the difficult Akkadian language. Thus Daniel and his friends experienced isolation from the ways and Word of the Lord; at the same time being indoctrinated into the ways of the Babylonians. They were given names which incorporated the names of Babylonian deities. This further separated them from their past and with their ties to the Lord. Besides the culture shock they experienced they were made eunuchs adding to the complete change of life. These youngster were given the same food and wine that the king was served. They may have viewed eating it as a compromise of their commitment to the Lord, as food over which a pagan prayer of consecration had been offered.

Q1. (Daniel 1:1-5) Have you ever made a rapid transition between your customary culture and a new and radically different culture? What did it feel like? Were you able to take your faith with you, or did it fade to the background during this time? Yes. When I was in my early twenties I moved to a town in a rural area that was predominantly Afrikaans speaking. I went to manage a retail business, so it was essential to be approved by the community. Unable to speak the language, barring a few words, I was forced to learn very quickly. The culture was quite different from what I was used to, but being young I managed to adapt in a very short time. The Afrikaans people are very hospitable and most made me feel most welcome in their community. However, it still was a culture shock. Fortunately there was a very small English church community, so I was able to take my faith with me. My experience just gives me an inkling of what Daniel must have experienced.

Q4. (John 21:18-19) What does death have to do with glorifying God? How will your life and death bring glory or credit to God? What does this passage teach us about God's foreknowledge? Ideally, the purpose of our life is to worship and serve the Lord Jesus with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind. If we can achieve this and manage to have the Saviour live out our lives through Him, then I feel our lives would not have been wasted and it will glorify God. We can only do this if we love Jesus more than anything else! Without the help and support of the Holy Spirit this would be impossible. Thus our goal would have been achieved, and God will be glorified whether by our life or death. However, we are but sinners saved by grace. The Lord Jesus knows I love Him more than anything else and He also knows in my limited capacity I’m trying to live a life that will bring glory to Him and our Heavenly Father, and that my life was not wasted and will have meaning.

Q3. (John 21:15-17) Why does Jesus repeat the question and the assurance three times? What does this teach us about God repeating the lessons He wants us to learn? What does it say about God's mercy and willingness to restore sinners to ministry? Jesus repeats the question three times because He is asking, does Peter love Him deeply and personally, that he will faithfully obey Him in the mission which he is being given. I don’t think it’s about an ascending or descending scale of love. Peter had publicly denied the Lord three times, and had disappointed Jesus on several occasions, so it was important that he repents and is restored to fellowship with the Lord. Peter will only be fully committed when he loves Christ more than anything else. That is why Jesus asks Peter "Do you love Me more than these?" This is the most important question, that’s why He asks Peter this question three times. Does Peter love Jesus unselfishly and unconditionally more than he cares for fishing with all of its trappings, or anything else? Peter's immediate response is affirmative, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You". But words are not enough, for there is a mission. Converts are to be cared for. The lambs are to be fed. After asking the question for the third time Peter finally responds, "Lord, You know all things". Jesus knows Peter's heart, whether his act of repentance has truly brought him back in undying love. Jesus had to deal with Peter personally. It was a time of healing and restoration. Not only was Peter welcomed back but he was also commissioned to care for His sheep. The mission was not only to evangelize, to catch fish, but to disciple, to feed the sheep.

Q2. (John 21:7-14) What does Jesus preparing breakfast for the disciples say about His love for them? His provision? What does Peter's early morning swim say about his love for Jesus? The disciples must have been tired and hungry after fishing the whole night. Jesus invites them for breakfast showing His love and concern for them. They see the risen Lord still prepared to serve them as long as they remain faithful to Him – He will supply their needs. Previously He had told them in John 14:13-14, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” By serving them breakfast He was letting them know that He will be there for them. As He shares His food with them, their covenant with Him is renewed, and we see their unity restored. All this must have reminded them of a similar occasion when He fed the five thousand with a few loaves and fishes. Peter could not wait to get ashore, he wanted to be close to the Lord. He had disappointed the Lord so many times in the past and he has this feeling of guilt which he wants to be corrected with Jesus. Peter must have remembered when Jesus had told them that without Him they can do nothing (John 15:5). For one thing Peter could do as a fisherman, was fish. Jesus was teaching them their dependence on Him for everything – even fishing. Also that fishing was not their future but fishing for men.

Q1. (John 21:4-8) Why did Jesus tell the disciples to cast their net on the right side of the boat? Why did the disciples obey? What was the result? What impression did it make on the disciples? Jesus told the disciples to cast their net on the other side because He knew there was a great school of fish on the starboard side. The same thing had happened earlier when He advised Peter where to find plenty of fish (Luke 5:2). Jesus manifested/revealed Himself, by His power, to them and they obeyed. It is when we obey our Lord that we can expect tremendous and unexpected things to happen. Which was the case here. Time after the time the Israelites did things without first seeking the Lord’s advice, and they paid the consequences. The same happens to us today – we are to acknowledge Him in everything we do. After a useless night of fishing, they now obeyed and the nets are filled with fish without the net breaking. I think this is the last recorded miracle of our Lord, and the only miracle recorded after His resurrection. Jesus was also letting them know that He was not abandoning them. Although He is going to be with the Father, He will be there for them, and of course for us as well. This had a great impact on their lives and they recommitted their lives to His service.

Q6. (John 20:30-31) How did John decide what to include in his Gospel and what to leave out? What is the purpose of his Gospel? John differentiates in verse 31b between believing and having life. Why? The Holy Spirit selected those signs which would best serve His purpose - those signs by which the glory and character of God has been revealed, especially His Resurrection appearances. Because of the great number of miracles performed by Jesus, all could not have been included in the gospel. But John has given his readers sufficient evidence to believe that Jesus is the "Chosen One," the very Son of God, and in believing they receive life in His name. The whole purpose of John’s Gospel is that readers may believe that Jesus is the true Messiah and the Son of God. As he states in verse 31b – believing, they will have eternal life in His name. But those who turn against Jesus in unbelief are condemned to die. Here we have the possibility of life in reading and believing this gospel, but also the great danger of rejection and death. It is up to us to read carefully and critically, for our lives depend on the decision we make.

Q5. (John 20:24-29) Why do you think Thomas is so stubborn about believing that Jesus was raised from the dead? How do you think he felt when Jesus appeared before him? What was Thomas's confession in verse 28? What is Jesus' blessing offered to future believers? Sometimes we should be grateful to people like Thomas who ask questions that we often would like to ask but never really get down to it for some reason or other. However, this attitude can become unreasonable, especially like many unbelievers in our world today. I think it is more of a case of being stubborn, and the fact that if they believe, they might be committed to react and move away from their self-interest and their comfort zone. For believe in our Lord demands some reaction. Eventually Thomas was convinced – and he confessed that Jesus was risen and that He was both Lord and God. Jesus Himself said that more blessed will be those who have not seen and yet believe. We only have to read the Word of God – the absolute truth, and believe. It is here that if God says a thing, we honour Him by believing it; but we dishonour Him by demanding any additional evidence. We know God cannot lie and therefore we are to believe it simply because He said it.

Q4. (John 20:23) In what sense does the Church have the power to forgive sins? Do we (or the church's authorized representatives) confer forgiveness or declare it? Or both? The forgiveness of sins is only and alone through the blood of Jesus Christ. Anything else will only debase the meaning of, and the necessity of Christ’s death on the Cross. This is my belief and I state this without any intent of criticizing other beliefs. Jesus is saying that any Christian can declare that those who genuinely repent and believe the gospel will have their sins forgiven by God. On the other hand, they can also warn that those who reject Jesus Christ will die in their sins. Jesus Himself stated earlier in John 8:24, “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins”. So it is up to us and the church to spread the gospel. By telling, we make people aware of their predicament, and then it is up to each individual person to repent and believe in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, thereby having their sins forgiven.

Q3. (John 20:22) Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with His giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? (See Acts 1:4, 8) Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit? Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day? Without the Holy Spirit, we as sinners, cannot operate effectively in accordance with the will of God. Earlier Jesus had told His disciples that the Heavenly Father would give them the gift of the Holy Spirit. We read of this in John 14:16 where Jesus says, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever”. But in the meantime there is a transition period between Jesus’ death and the Day of Pentecost. So I believe that Jesus breathed into these disciples the Spirit of God to sustain them and secure them for the interval between His ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. As Jesus breathes on these men He says, "Receive the Holy Spirit." This is a gift to be accepted now, a foretaste of the Person of the Holy Spirit who is yet to come and remain in them permanently after Jesus has returned to the Father. Before this, they had not been indwelt by the Spirit of God, and they needed to be regenerated and endued with power from on high, to be able to cope with the coming problems and demands that will be made on them. One of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to bear testimony to man’s rejection of the Son of God, and to point out the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Everything our evil and corrupt world of today does not want to hear about. This ultimately results in the work of the Holy Spirit being ignored and rejected and misunderstood as well.

Q2. (John 20:21) What is the relationship between the way the Father sent Jesus and how Jesus sends us? How careful are you to listen and get directions from Jesus in serving the Lord? The way our Heavenly Father sent Jesus into the world is similar to the way Jesus sends us. There is a distinct parallel between Jesus’ mission and ours. The degree to which we support and are committed to the work of our missionaries, both locally and throughout the world, is a measure of how godly we are - how much like Jesus we are. Besides this, like Jesus, we are to be involved in helping those less fortunate than us, spreading the gospel, and in as many ways as we can, serving our Lord and Saviour – He being the ultimate role model. When it comes to listening and getting directions from Jesus in serving the Lord, I’m afraid to say that there is much, much more I can do. I have no excuse! I do, however, support missionaries, and serve Him at my local church. When I was younger I was much more active in the church – it could be that I’ve reached my ‘sell by date’.

Q1. (John 20:19-20) What do we know about the relationship of Jesus' physical body to His spiritual body? Was Jesus' resurrected bodily? How is His resurrected body similar to His physical body? How is it different? Jesus was resurrected bodily – His resurrection body was a real body of flesh and bones. But it had extra powers to act independently of natural laws, as it was not limited by space and time. However, He continued to display the physical characteristics of His pre-resurrection body. For we read that even after His sudden appearance they were startled but they did recognized Him. He showed them the marks on His hands and feet, and the wound cause by the spear. Joy then filled their hearts when they realized it was truly the Lord, and that He had done as He said He would. He had risen from the dead. The big difference was in that His body was everlasting, one never to die again – His victory over death.

Q4. (John 20:1-18) What are the evidences for the resurrection presented in this passage? Why is the truth of the resurrection so important as an indispensable foundation stone of the Christian faith? What does Jesus' resurrection mean to your outlook on life? In this passage the evidences are the empty tomb, the grave clothes being neatly packed, and the fact that Mary Magdalene saw and spoke to our Lord Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very heart-blood of the Christian faith. Without it we have nothing. Our Lord Himself had promised that He would rise from the dead on the third day. If He did not rise at that time, then He was either an imposter or mistaken. In either case, He would not be worthy of trust. Also, without the Resurrection there is no salvation. But in raising Him from the dead, God testified to the fact that He was completely satisfied with the redemptive work of Christ. My outlook on life changes with the promise of life after death. I prefer storing up treasures in heaven. We know that this life is not all. It does not end here – there is an eternity to be with the Lord. The same God who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up as believers to be with the Lord Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:14).

Q3. (John 20:14-18) What has been Mary's emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus? Why does Jesus tell her not to "hold on" to Him? What is the mission He gives her? She was in a state of shock and overcome with grief. But on finding our Lord alive, she is overwhelmed with joy and gratitude, and reacts out of excitement by touching or holding on to Jesus. Moments before, she thought her heart would break with grief that wracked her soul. Now, she thought her heart would fairly burst with joy. Jesus was not being rude to her. We read later that He allowed Thomas to touch Him. Thomas had doubted and Jesus invited him to prove the reality of His resurrection by putting his hand into the spear wound in His side. With Mary it was not that she doubted, but rather that He required her to go and tell the others that He had risen. There would be time later for her to show respect to Him before His Ascension. She was to give them a very important message that although He had not yet ascended to His Father, that event would happen soon. Now that the penalty for sin had been fully paid, Jesus could tell them, “I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

Q2. (John 20:3-9) What is the significance of the presence and position of the grave clothes in the tomb? Why do you think it was difficult at this time for Peter to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead? The fact that the linen grave clothes had been left lying in an orderly fashion, and that they might even have still been left in the general shape in which they had been wrapped around the body, indicates that the body was not taken away in a hurry. Since everything lay in such order and decency, it must have been done by our Lord Himself or by the angels. If someone had stolen the body it is highly unlikely that they would have left in an orderly and unhurried manner – even leaving the clothing carefully folded. It is more likely that the robbers would have taken the body in its wrappings. If they had left the clothes behind, they would have left them in disorder. When John entered the tomb and saw the orderly arrangement of the grave cloths, maybe he remembered, understood and believed what Jesus had told them earlier about His coming Resurrection. I doubt John was contrasting his faith with Peter’s unbelief. It was simply a confession of his own faith. But still we read in Luke 24:12 that Peter 'went away, wondering to himself what had happened'. Peter, like most people, perhaps need time to fully comprehend the reality of the Resurrection. He needed time to turn over in his mind all the evidence before he came to a decision about what had happened.

Q1. (John 20:1; Luke 8:1-3) What do we know about Mary Magdalene? Why do you think a woman was given the honour of seeing the risen Christ first? We know little about Mary Magdalene. Her name indicates that she was from Magdala in Galilee; perhaps a wealthy widow. She had met Jesus in Galilee where He cast seven demons out of her. She then joined the band of disciples and followed Jesus wherever He went (Luke 8:2). She was with the other women at the cross when all the disciples had fled (Mark 15:40; John 19:25). She observed Jesus' burial (Mark 15:47) and witnessed the events surrounding the resurrection. She was the first among the women to discover the empty tomb, the first to report to the disciples, and the first to see the risen Christ as she lingered by the tomb after all the others had left. The women were devoted to Jesus. They were among a group of dedicated followers who had committed themselves to caring for Jesus and His disciples as they travelled. We see this as they were the last to leave the Cross and the first to arrive at the tomb. They remained faithful to the very end, even after His disciples and apostles had fled. It is, therefore, only fitting that they would be given the honour of seeing the risen Christ first.

Q5. (John 19:38-42) Who were Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus? Was it good that they were "secret disciples"? What risk did they incur by participating in Jesus' burial? Why is the burial account important to Jesus' story? To our understanding of who Jesus is? Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin and a righteous man who sought the Kingdom of God (Mark 15:43). Nicodemus was also a member of the Sanhedrin, who had earlier visited Jesus at night (3:2), and had also asked that Jesus be given a fair hearing before the Sanhedrin (7:50-51). Up to now both were secret believers. Fear of the Jews had kept them both from confessing Christ openly. As things were at the time in Israel, I think they had no option but to operate as secret disciples because of possible excommunication, persecution and harm to themselves and their families. Under the circumstances they could do some good supporting Jesus secretly - for if exposed they would have been taken out. However, with Jesus’ death they both boldly stepped forward to claim the body of Jesus for burial, exposing themselves to great risk. We find that nearly every detail of Jesus’ death was a fulfilment of prophecy. He is the Messiah!

Q4. (John 19:31-37) Why do you think Jesus died in such a relatively short time? What does the water and blood flowing from Jesus' side indicate? How did it fulfil Scripture? Jesus had received very harsh treatment before He was placed on the Cross. In 19:1 we read that “Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged”. He was beaten with a whip or a rod. The whip had pieces of metal or bone in it, and these cut deep gashes in the flesh. He suffered all kinds of wounds, there were blows by a rod which caused contusions, scourging which caused lacerations, the crown of thorns which caused penetrating wounds, nails which caused perforating wounds, and then finally the spear which caused incised wounds. These most cruel form of punishment must have taken its toll on our Lord and this may have hastened His death. The flow of water and blood from Jesus’ side indicated that He was already dead. Scripture is fulfilled with reference to the ‘righteous man’ in Psalm 34:20: “he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.” And the affirmation of Jesus as the Passover Lamb of God in Exodus 12:46: “It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.”

Q3. (John 19:30) When Jesus says, "It is finished," what does He mean? What mission(s) had the Father given Him. In what way did He complete them? The debt has been paid in full – our sins, past, present, and future have been forgiven. Jesus’ task is now complete – He has been “obedient unto death” and the Father has been glorified. We note that it is a cry of victory, not one of defeat. Our Lord Jesus was in control and He determined the time of His death, as He willingly accepted death to complete the mission His Father had given Him. The pouring out of His soul as an offering for sin! The work of redemption and of atonement! We can only thank God today for the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary! What a Saviour!

Q2. (John 19:26-27) What is Jesus' mother Mary feeling at the cross? Why does Jesus give John responsibility to care for His mother? What does this say about Jesus' values? She showed her concern and affection towards Jesus by standing with Him to the last. It must have been a terrible sight to see her son in such agony and sorrow, and to witness Him being jeered and insulted by the crowds. She herself was probably exposed to the danger of being abused by the crowds. In spite of His own suffering, Jesus now reaches out in His hour of death and cares for His mother, giving this responsibility to His disciple John.

Q1. (John 19:23-24; Psalm 22:14-18) In what ways did Jesus fulfil Psalm 22:14-18? What does the Psalms passage tell us about how Jesus felt on the cross? I am poured out like water – His exhaustion as His blood flows. All my bones are out of joint – the agony of bone dislocation by hanging on the cross. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me – violent disorder of His internal organs; His heart, for instance, was melted like wax within His breast with the pain. My strength is dried up like a potsherd – His unendurable weakness as His strength ebbs away and is dried up. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth – His unremitting thirst as His tongue cleaves to His palate. You lay me in the dust of death – He is at death’s door as death now beckons and its dust settles upon Him. Dogs have surrounded me - Roman soldiers, gentiles often referred to by Jews as dogs, surrounded Him like a pack of vicious, snarling dogs. A band of evil men have encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet – it was this company of evil-doers who had pierced His hands and His feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me - as they gazed upon His half-naked form, they could see His bones pressing out against His shrunken skin, giving them keen pleasure and satisfaction. They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing - the soldiers divided His garments among them and cast lots for His clothing.

Q6. (John 19:7-15) What does Pilate fear when the Jewish leaders report that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God? What does Pilate fear when the Jewish leaders threaten to report him to Caesar? Which fear wins out? What fears control you and keep you from serving Jesus fully? What motivation is winning out in your life? The thought that Jesus might be a man with divine powers, or perhaps a god or son of a god in human form, must have filled Pilate with fear. Like most Romans he was superstitious, and he must have been afraid that he might incur the wrath of the gods. What made matters worse was his wife’s dream about Jesus and her warning to him (Matthew 27:19). However, when the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar", we see Pilate weakly submitting to the Jewish mob. He could not afford to be seen as disloyal to Caesar. In the end the fear of man wins out. Fortunately I can honestly say I have no real fears of serving Jesus fully. Except perhaps, in the past, the fear of speaking in public. If it was not for this fear I might have been able to serve the Lord better. But now I am “past my sell by date” and it does not matter anymore.

Q5. (John 19:1-6) Why do you think Pilate maintains Jesus' innocence and then has Him brutally scourged? Why does Jesus allow Himself to be brutally scourged and then mocked? (see Hebrews 12:2) How much persecution are you willing to endure to accomplish the mission the Father has given you? I think that Pilate had hoped that the punishment of having Jesus brutally flogged would satisfy the Jews, and that then they would not demand Jesus’ death. Jesus kept His eyes fixed on the coming glory when all the redeemed would be with Him eternally, thereby enabling Him to endure all the shame, suffering, and even death. We thank our Lord and Saviour for His love, grace, and mercy shown to us on the Cross. The pain and humiliation He suffered for my sins – our sins. It is easy to say I’m willing to endure all kinds of persecution, but I feel when such a time does perhaps come, I will definitely not be able to withstand any form of extreme hardship without the help from my Heavenly Father.