Come and See!

Sunday Bible Study

May 21, 2017

Text: John 1:37-51

Title:  Come and See!  Jesus Does the Work of Evangelism - Not His Disciples

37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? 39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. 44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip findeth Nathaniel, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! 48 Nathaniel saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathaniel answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. 50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. 51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

The Holy Bible: King James Version., electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version. (Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995), Jn 1:37–51.

1  In verse 37, what are the two disciples hearing?

2  In verse 38, what is interpreted?  Verse 41? Verse 42?

3 What is Jesus’ answer in verse 39?  What is Philip’s answer in verse 46?

4  How did Philip find Jesus?  How did Nathaniel find Jesus?  (These are trick questions).

5  How do you interpret the title “Son of God” in verse 49?  Daniel 7:13-14.  Son of Man?

6  Whenever Jesus begins speaking with “Verily, verily” or “Amen, amen” or “Truly, truly”, it is more than just saying something.  Jesus is making a ‘solemn proclamation’.  It is a very important teaching that we must listen to carefully.  What is Jesus teaching us in verse 51?  See Genesis 28:12; Matthew 26:53; Matthew 8:9.

7  If time remains, see John 6:29.  It answers the heart of the question of evangelism.

Isaiah 35: The Blossoming Rose

Wednesday Bible Study May 17, 2017

Isaiah 35 Title:  The Blossoming Rose;The church rising out of the ashes of the synagogues

35 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; And the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.  2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.  3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.  4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not: Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. 7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.  8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.  9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: 10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Pretext:  Isaiah 34:8 prophesied the destruction of the synagogues after prophesying the end of all the nations.  The Gospel is brought to us in chapter 35.  God will raise the church from this synagogues.  By the Holy Spirit many promises are made concerning the Lord’s church.  These many promised things under the form of the cross are hidden from the world.  Therefore the promises must be understood by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Note:  What is “the wilderness”?  Genesis 3; Revelation 12

Genesis 3:1&17 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? ... To Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Revelation 12:5-6 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God.

Note: A meadow can be said to be glad when it is in full bloom.  This is the opposite of a wilderness which is understood to be a barren wasteland; like a desert.  Today, the church is flourishing in the wilderness; unseen by the world.  How does the world see the church in full bloom?  It sees some outward obedience, humility, love for others etc.  But thinks these are common things that everyone has.  They also see these as common and not something to be desired too much.  The church does have an internal gladness that cannot be seen such as confidence, peace, life, and a cheerful conscience.  Question: How is a conscience made cheerful while still in the wilderness?

Note: “The rose (church) shall blossom abundantly” meaning spiritual wealth.  1Cor 12:4ff.

Note: “The glory of Lebanon (Israel or by synecdoche Jerusalem, which was build with materials from Lebanon) shall be given unto it (the church)” meaning all the gifts the Lord gave to Israel shall be given to the Gentiles.  In other words, all the glory, the priesthood, the ritual, and the Word of the Jews have been transferred to our church.

Matthew 8:11-2 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Romans 9:5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

Note:  “Carmel and Sharon” were two fruitful mountains in Judea near the sea.  They are now called the synagog (walking together) which was fruitful in teachers, teaching, and prophets as the Apostle Paul points out in Romans 9:5.

Note:  “they (the church by faith) shall see the glory of the LORD” 1Cor 2:16; 2Peter 3:18; Matt 7:4

Verses 3-7 These are internal strengthenings of the church in the midst of many attacks and disgraces.

Note: “Say to them that are of a fearful heart” is in Hebrew “Say to those who are hasty and speedy in heart” meaning those who are not steady and firm but want to run away and give Satan the victory.  This is essentially last Sunday’s sermon concerning filthiness (leaving the Gospel for wealth and comfort because I know the Gospel already) and wickedness (leaving the Gospel to join the crowd because I am wearied from all that I have to give up for Christ’s sake) from the epistle James.

Note: “Be strong” see the LSB Hymn #656 A Mighty Fortress.  Why?  See the next note.

Note: “Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you”  This is hard for our flesh, to wait on the Lord.  Vengeance is His.  Not ours.  We are not to avenge ourselves.  As much as I do enjoy the Avengers movies, it is not for me/us to avenge all the wrongs of this world.  The Lord will do and save me/us in the doing of it.

Note: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened” this happened with an explosion of miracles among the apostles to confirm the Gospel.  

Mark 16:17-18 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Note:  “the habitation of dragons” Luther and the KJV translators use some apocalyptic language.  In this style, animals that can be found on the earth refer to something on the earth.  Animals that cannot be found on the earth are referring to spiritual beings.  Evil creatures are depicted as terrifying animals/creatures.  The habitation referred to here are places devoid of God’s Word.  The dragons referred to here are teachers who by ungodly teaching capture the souls and consciences of men whom Christ calls a brood of vipers (Matthew 23:33).  Luther named Erasmus and Zwingli as examples of dragons in his day.  Erasmus defended the papacy with much of his argumentation also taken up by Calvin and the Reformed church bodies of today.  Zwingli gave rise to the Anabaptists who today would be Baptist, Mennonite, and Anabaptist denominations.  A little more specific I would name the following as dragons: Matthew Becker (recently removed from the LCMS roster but teaching at Valpo; Joel Osteen and nearly all the television and radio and blogging evangelists; and, getting even more uncomfortable, I would add Billy Graham to the list, most Christian industries in music and movies (because they are dominated with the Law or the Gospel is intermingled with the Law, thus destroying the Gospel).

Note: “The Highway of Holiness” nothing unclean (whether inside or outside the church) shall enter.  

Note: “the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs”  Therefore Paul says (Gal. 5:22): “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace” and (Phil. 4:4): “Rejoice in the Lord always.”

Behold, the Lamb of God

Sunday Bible Study

John 1:29ff

Title: Finding Jesus!  How do you know you have the correct Jesus?

Text:  29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”  The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016), Jn 1:29–34.

1  What two things does John the Baptist do in verse 29?

2 Why does no one question calling God a lamb/little sheep?

3 How do you know that John the Baptist is speaking of the Holy Trinity?

4 Does John the Baptist know who the Son of God is?  How?

5 Did John the Baptist see the Holy Spirit with his eyes?

6 How does John the Baptist know he saw the Holy Spirit?  What did the Father say?

7 What is Jesus - who is the Lamb of God and the Son of God - doing?

8What is sin? (missing the mark)  Who is missing the mark?   What is the world?

9Which Old Testament sacrifice is the Lamb of God fulfilling?

10 How does this text support the doctrine of Verbal Inspiration?  What is Verbal Inspiration?

11 How do you know you believe in this Lamb of God?

12 From verses 1:29 and 20:31, what does this Lamb of God give to you?

Isaiah 6:8-13 Bible study notes

                                                      Isaiah 6:8-13 Bible study notes

Let us open with an invocation and Luther's Morning Prayer:

I thank you my heavenly Father through Jesus Christ my Lord, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that you would keep me this day from sin and every evil, that all my doings may please you.  For into your hands I commend myself, my body and soul and all things.  Let Your holy angel be with me that the evil foe have no power over me.  Amen.
 

And I heard the voice...
Not everybody hears the voice.  The effect of the vision is to both receive some of the Jews and to harden the rest of the Jews.  The Word of God does not always have humble hearers. The majority are proud, whose reason is not mortified/brought low and whose faith is in their carnal/sinful flesh.

Whom shall I send?
Not all prophets received the teaching office the first time it was offered.  For example, Moses and Jonah both refused.

What about us today?  Who would speak publicly against this nation or who would speak publicly against their own church body?

Isaiah accepts the call after being risen from the curse of death to life, has been strengthened by the burning coal, and has been made a different man.  He is ready to face the great difficulty with faith in Christ.

And He said, "Go, and say to this people...
The emphasis is on the word "this" rather than "My" as in this cursed or rejected people.  God is angry that people live to please themselves, will not learn from Him how to view themselves, and will not deny themselves.  The pastors and people are in this together.

Make the heart of this people dull...so that they do not return and be healed.
The point of this passage is to show God's attitude to those who are hardened in heart, who reject the faith, who reject the Gospel.  He forsakes them.

Then I asked, How long?  And He said, "Until...
As if to say, 'You will not be reformed until death has snatched you away.' Meaning, you will never be reformed.  Don't read this as if it pertained only to that present generation of Israel. There is no promise here for the children.

The Lord  has removed men far away.
That is, He will scatter them among the nations.

And the forsaken places are many...
Another way to read this is, "What will have been forsaken?"

And this is the meaning: God does not snatch away after the manner of Satan, who rages in such a way that he tries to uproot everything altogether, but the Lord always preserves a remnant after the evil have been destroyed.
 

And yet a tenth will remain...
Like a little branch from a forest.  This could be read as a curse, as in 90% will be destroyed.  Or, this could be read as a blessing, as in 10% will be saved.

A holy seed is its stump.  Or...this is the stump of Jesse.  Or...this is the Christ.
So, this is not concerning the Babylonian Captivity in which the corrupt people were enslaved and then corrupt people returned.  This is concerning the Roman Captivity in which Jesus served His ministry.  The holy seed is Christ who is the Seed of the church, the body of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit, in which there is no ungodly person but all are righteous in Christ.
 

Let us close with the Lord's Prayer.