A. Is any man’s standard infallible? Could all agree on the same standard, if such were devised by man? (Proverbs 12:15; 14:12)
B. Devastation is caused by man’s imperfect standards (Judges 17:6; 21:25)
C. Without God’s standard, we cannot know good or evil (Romans 7:7)
II. The reality of free will
A. God created all things—including man—“very good” (Genesis 1:26-27, 31), and gave man the freedom to stay that way (Genesis 2:16-17)
B. Man chose to disobey (Genesis 3:6)
C. The choice remains today (Revelation 22:17)
III. Evil, pain, and suffering are caused by poor choices
A. Sometimes our own bad decisions (Prov. 11:19; 1 Pet. 4:15)
B. Sometimes the sinful choices of others (Romans 5:15; Jeremiah 25:10-11)
C. Natural disasters (Genesis 6:5; 3:17-19)
IV. Suffering can be beneficial
A. God can use even painful situations for our good (Romans 8:28)
B. Suffering may be a form of discipline (Hebrews 12:6, 11)
C. Suffering leads to greater reliance upon God (Ps. 119:71)
D. Suffering helps us to focus on eternity (2 Cor. 4:17)
A. Jesus had predicted this (Mark 14:27-31)
B. Peter denied being a follower three times (Mark 14:66-72)
II. “Not my problem” (Pilate)
A. Pilate marveled that Jesus refused to defend Himself against false accusations (Mark 15:1-5)
B. He saw that Jesus was not guilty (Mark 15:6-14)
C. Pilate had no backbone and refused to do what was right (Mark 15:15; Matthew 27:24)
III. Hatred (chief priests and the crowd)
A. Envy of the chief priests (Mark 15:10)
B. Bloodlust of the crowd (Mark 15:11, 15)
IV. Mockery (soldiers, passersby, and scribes)
A. A parody of worship (Mark 15:16-26)
B. Made fun of His words (Mark 15:29-30)
C. Denied His power (Mark 15:31-32)
V. “Truly this Man was the Son of God!” (the centurion)
A. Prophecy fulfilled (Mark 15:27-28)
B. Scripture cited (Mark 15:33-34; Psalm 22:1)
C. Power recognized (Mark 15:37-39)
VI. Love (the women and Joseph of Arimathea)
A. The women who had ministered to Him in Galilee (Mark 15:40-41, 47)
B. The secret disciple (John 19:38) who took courage (Mark 15:42-46)
A. The creation of man (Genesis 1:26-27)
B. All things were good when created (Genesis 1:31)
C. The fall of man (Genesis 3:1-15; Ezekiel 18:20; Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 3:23)
II. “In the beginning was the Word…” (John 1:1)
A. The Deity of Jesus is declared (John 1:1)
B. “And the Word became flesh…” (John 1:14) – God became man! The Creator became the creation!
C. “…the form of God…equal with God…coming in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5-7)
III. Why did the Word become flesh?
A. He came to seek and to save that which was lost (Lk 19:10)
B. He came to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15)
C. He came “to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
D. He came to taste death for everyone (Hebrews 2:9; Philippians 2:8 “even the death of the cross”)
E. He came to be “the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:7-9)
F. This was all a part of God’s plan “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:3-4; Ephesians 3:11)
I. “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5)
A. God is light (James 1:17; Gen. 1:3; 1 Tim. 6:16; 1 Peter 2:9)
B. Darkness is the realm of Satan (Ephesians 6:11-12; Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 5:8)
II. Six “if” statements
A. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” (1 John 1:6; Matthew 6:2,5,16; Galatians 2:11-13)
B. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7; Matthew 26:28)
C. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8; Gal. 6:3; James 1:22)
D. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
(1 John 1:9)
E. “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10; Romans 3:23)
F. “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1b)
III. What we have as a result of walking in God’s light
A. Fellowship (1 John 1:7)
B. Cleansing (1 John 1:7,9; Romans 5:9; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Ephesians 2:13; Colossians 1:20)
C. Forgiveness (1 John 1:9)
D. An Advocate who appeases (1 John 2:1-2; 4:9-10)
I. The parable of persistence delivered in contrasts (11:5-8)
A. A request made at an inconvenient time (cf. Psalm 74:16)
B. The request initially denied (cf. 1 Peter 3:12)
C. The reluctance of the friend (cf. 1 John 5:14-15)
II. Our responsibility in prayer (11:9-13)
A. Ask (James 1:5-8)
B. Seek (Deuteronomy 4:29; Matthew 6:33)
C. Knock (Matthew 9:37-38; Galatians 6:10)
D. The contrast between evil men and God (11:11-13)
III. Praying for the Holy Spirit (11:13)
A. The Bible is its own best interpreter!
B. The Holy Spirit stands for the “good things” He does (Matthew 7:11)
C. The background of Jesus’ words is Joel 2:28-32, looking forward to Pentecost (John 16:7-8; Mark 9:1; Acts 1:8; 2:4; 8:16-19)
A. Jesus (Matthew 13:37-43, 47-50; 25:31-46)
B. John (1 John 4:17)
C. Peter (2 Peter 3:7)
D. Paul (2 Corinthians 5:10)
E. The Hebrews writer (6:1-2; 9:27-28)
II. Degress of reward
A. Eternal reward (Revelation 2:7, 10; 3:5, 21; Philippians 3:12-14)
B. Rewarded for what we have done (Luke 19:12-26)
C. Increased joy (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20; Philippians 4:1)
III. Degrees of punishment
A. Vengeance awaits “those who do not know” and “do not obey” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9)
B. Jesus speaks of such degrees (Matthew 10:14-15; 11:20-24)
C. Many stripes vs. few stripes (Luke 12:42-48)
D. “Worse punishment” (Hebrews 10:26-31)
A. One of the 12 apostles, chosen by Jesus Himself (3:14-19)
B. Fulfillment of prophecy (Psalm 41:9)
C. Proximity to Jesus is no guarantee of fidelity to Jesus (cf. Revelation 2:4-5, 14-16, 20; 3:1-3, 15-16)
II. One of Judas’ weaknesses was a love for money
A. A thief who stole from the money box (John 12:4-6)
B. His price for betrayal was 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16); fulfillment of prophecy (Zechariah 11:12)
C. Money is often still a problem among the Lord’s people (Mark 4:19; 1 Timothy 6:9-10; Revelation 3:16-17)
III. The remorse of Judas
A. He did not anticipate the consequences (Matthew 27:3-4)
1. We, too, may think we are doing the “right thing” in a given situation (Matthew 7:21-23)
2. We must have the authority of God behind our actions and humbly submit to Him (Col. 3:17; Eccl. 5:1-2)
B. He did not respond to his remorse appropriately (Matt.27:5; cf. 2 Corinthians 7:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
A. Jesus (Luke 24:44-46)
B. Paul (1 Corinthians 15:3; Acts 17:2-3; 26:22-24)
C. Peter (Acts 2:22-28; 3:18)
II. “In that day” (Zechariah 12-14)
A. Zechariah 12:9-11 — John 19:35-37 (cf. Exodus 12:46; Psalm 34:20)
B. Zechariah 13:7 — Matthew 26:31; Mark 14:27, 50 (cf. John 10:11, 14; Philippians 2:5-11)
C. Zechariah 14:7 — John 1:3-5, 9
D. Zechariah 14:8 — John 4:10; 7:37
E. Zechariah 14:9 — Revelation 17:14
III. “The Suffering Servant” (Isaiah 52:13-53:12)
A. Isaiah 53:5 — 1 Peter 2:24-25; John 19:34; 18:22; 19:3; 19:1
B. Isaiah 53:7 — Matthew 26:63; 27:12-14; Mark 14:61; 15:5; Luke 23:9; John 19:9
C. Isaiah 53:9 — Matthew 27:57-60
D. Isaiah 53:12 — Luke 22:37; 23:32-33
A. The Jewish view of Jerusalem (Psalm 48:1-3; 50:1-2)
B. The grandeur of the temple
1. The disciples called the stones and buildings “wonderful” [NASB]
2. Jesus simply referenced its size: “great” (large)
3. These stones measured about 38x12x18 feet
II. The apostles asked three questions (13:3-4; cf. Matt. 24:3)
A. “Tell us, when will these things be?”
B. “And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”
C. “And what will be the sign…of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3)
III. Jesus answered all three questions (13:5-37)
A. “When?” (13:5-13) – after…
1. False claims (13:5-6)
2. Wars, rumors of wars (13:7)
3. Natural and national disasters (13:8)
4. Religious persecution (13:9-13)
5. All of these things will happen before the “these things” of 13:2 happen, and “all these things” would happen during “this generation” to which Jesus spoke (13:30)
B. “The sign when all these things will be fulfilled” (13:14-31)
1. The abomination of desolation (13:14-23; Daniel 11:31; 12:11; Luke 21:20) – Josephus records the history of Roman general Titus and his siege
2. Apocalyptic/figurative language (13:24-27) – keep it in the historical context of “those days”
a. “The powers…will be shaken” (13:24-25) – the religious power in Judaism, authorities represented by sun, moon, stars
b. Not the Second Coming, but the coming of Jesus in judgment against Jerusalem (13:26-27)
3. The parable of the fig tree (13:28-31)
C. “The end of the age” (13:32-37)
1. “That day and hour no one knows” (13:32-33)
2. “Watch!” (13:34-37)
A. Based upon the truth of the apostles’ witness (1 Jn 1:1-3)
B. Divine fellowship (1 John 1:3; 1:7; 3:24)
C. God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9)
D. Brotherly love (1 John 4:7-11)
II. “That you may not sin” (1 John 2:1)
A. “Because your sins are forgiven for His name’s sake”
(1 John 2:12; Romans 5:20-6:2; Psalm 103:12)
B. “Because you have known Him who is from the beginning” (1 John 2:13,14; John 17:3)
C. “Because you have overcome the wicked one” (1 John 2:13,14; 4:4; 5:4-5)
D. “Because you have known the Father” (1 John 2:13; Jeremiah 31:33-34)
E. “Because you are strong and the word of God abides in you” (1 John 2:14; 2 John 1:9)
III. “That you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:13)
A. How does one acquire faith? (Romans 10:17)
B. Eternal life is a promise from the Father to the faithful
(1 John 2:25; Titus 1:2; John 17:1-3)
C. The Spirit inspired the Word to produce faith in us (John 17:20; 20:30-31)
But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. (Acts 8:12)
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