Read Mark 7:31-37. Jesus returns from the area around Tyre and Sidon to the Lake of Galilee in the country of Decapolis. Here He is asked to heal a deaf-mute.
1. Where in relation to the Lake of Galilee is the area of Decapolis?
Southeast of Lake Galilee
2. Did Jesus have to physically touch the person to heal him? Why do you think He did touch the person?
No
Read Matthew 15:29-38 and Mark 8:1-9. Jesus again retreats to deserted areas hoping to avoid the crowds. But they find Him and flock to Him, bringing with them many sick and ill to be healed.
3. How long had this crowd been with Jesus?
Three days
4. What kind of healings did Jesus perform?
He healed lame, crippled, blind mute and many other types of infirmities.
5. What statement did Jesus make to His disciples after ministering to this crowd?
I do not want to send these people away hungry.
6. What was Jesus in effect asking them to do?
Feed the crowd.
7. What was the response of the disciples?
Where will we get the bread to feed these people?
Read Matthew 15:39-16:4. When Jesus again crosses the lake, He is met by the Pharisees and the Sadducees. While both groups argued with each other and were on opposite sides of the fence in many things, they were united in their opposition to Jesus Christ. The texts say they asked our Lord a question to test Him. There are two Greek words that can be translated as “Put to the test.” One of them, “dokimazo,” means to test with the view of approval. It is sometimes translated as “to approve.” The other word, “peirazo,” has a negative implication. It means to test with the view of seeing someone or something fail. It is often translated as “to tempt.” The word used here is the negative one. They were testing Him to try to cause Him to make some slip or to see Him fail. They were not testing Him to see if He were genuine, for they had already made up their minds concerning that.
8. What are the differences between the Pharisees and the Sadducees?
The Jewish religious leadership, like our religious climate today, was not a homogeneous group. There were many different sects or divisions. The two most well-known were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees were the religious conservatives of the day, drawn chiefly from the common people, who believed that the laws of the Old Testament should be strictly applied to all aspects of daily life, that there was a resurrection, that angels and spirit beings were real and existed, that there was an oral Law handed down from the Fathers as well as a written Law and that this was as authoritative as the written law, that is, the Old Testament Scriptures. They were zealous in trying to be separate from those they considered unclean and impure.
The Sadducees, on the other hand, corresponded, more or less, to the religious liberals of our day. They were in large the aristocracy of the priesthood, tracing their ancestry back to Zadok, the High Priest during the reign of King David. They rejected the concept of the oral law, the existence of a resurrection, angels or spirits. They held a much more relaxed interpretation of the Law and especially its application to daily life. During the time of our Lord’s first advent and especially after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, their power was ebbing.
9. Why did the Pharisees and the Sadducees ask Jesus to perform a sign (do a miracle)?
They were testing Him (to prove Him wrong).
10. What do you think Jesus meant when He told these religious leaders that they could not discern the signs of the time?
They could not see in the events of those times that the Spirit of God was bringing to pass what had been foretold.
11. What is the sign of Jonah?
Just as Jonah was (dead) in the stomach of the great sea monster for three days, so the Messiah would be dead for three days before being resurrected. It is often taught that God preserved Jonah alive in the belly of the great sea monster for three days. This teaching is tradition, not Scripture, for the book of Jonah does not record that he lived throughout this time, nor does it state that he died. It is no less miraculous for God to resurrect Jonah after he is eaten and partially digested by this sea monster than it is for God to preserve him through this period. However, when we see that Jesus compares His death and resurrection with the events happening to Jonah, it seems much better to understand Jonah was eaten and died. When he was vomited up upon the beach, God resurrected him and called him a second time to go to Nineveh.
The Applications:
What are the applications of these passages to our lives today? Identify as many as you are able.
1. As a former teacher, I had to be very careful not to touch the students in my classes. Physical contact is strongly discouraged by almost all authorities because of the physical and sexual abuses that have occurred in our days. To avoid any hint of impropriety, one simply did not touch. Yet my principal, a wise man, recognized that there are times when a kid just really needed a hug. When one was called for, you should give it. Sometimes a hug, a pat on the shoulders, a hand-clasp can communicate more than words ever can.
2. There are times when people will want to debate or discuss theological issues and topics. Is there a God? How can you know? How did we come to exist, creation or evolution? And it is not so much that they are trying to come to the knowledge of the truth, for they have already decided what to believe, as it is they just want to try to trip up the person with whom they are talking. Most of the time, it is better just to avoid such discussions. They are fruitless for the most part, for no matter what evidence is presented or logic used, it is virtually impossible to convince someone who has already decided on an issue. This is not to say that we should not be able and prepared to give an answer for our hope and our beliefs. There are times when questions are genuine, coming from those who really wish to know the truth.
3. The religious leaders in our Lord’s Day could not discern the signs of the times. They could not see that events that were taking place were heralding the coming kingdom. So also, the religious leaders of our day, by and large, do not discern the signs of our times that the coming of our Lord is near indeed.
While it is definitely true that one cannot know the day or hour of our Lord’s return for the church and the beginning of the terrible time of judgment prior to the establishment of the kingdom, this does not mean we are absolutely clueless. Note what the writer to the Hebrews states in 10:25, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, AS YOU SEE THE DAY DRAWING NEAR.” We can see the day drawing near, the Day of Judgment and the establishment of the millennial kingdom. We may not know precisely when, but we can know that it is close!
Many leaders today have forgotten about that coming kingdom. They no longer believe in its literal fulfillment. Many are more concerned with immediate needs and wishes than with the coming Kingdom. We must be aware of the signs of the times in which we live and realize that our hope is fast approaching. Let us hold fast our hope. Let us assemble together to worship Him and to stimulate one another to love and good works.