Table Study Questions | Matthew 5:38-48

TABLE STUDY QUESTIONS | MATTHEW 5:38-48

1. Introduce yourselves. Read Matthew 5:38-48 out loud. Have one person share of a time they pursued retaliation or revenge.

2. Read Romans 12:17-21. How does Matthew 5:38-41 and this passage inform a Biblical view of retaliation and vengeance? ______

3. Read Matthew 5:39-40 and I Peter 2:21-23. What is your instinctive response to insults and demands on your goods/possessions? How do these verses challenge that instinct? ______4. Read Matthew 5:41-42 and I Corinthians 6:7. Based on both passages how are we to respond to those who demand from us what we would rather not give (time, energy, earnings, resources, etc.)? ***the Bible isn’t necessarily calling us to be completely negligent to our own well-being. However, it is clearly calling most of us to give more and be more available than we already are. In short, it’s calling us to get very uncomfortable. Keep that in mind with this question.***

1 ______5. Read Matthew 5:44. What kind of prayer would Jesus ask you to pray for your enemies? ______

6. Read Matthew 5:46-47. Where do you love only those who love you? To whom are you kind? For whom do you pray, share life with, even greet/acknowledge? ______

7. Read Matthew 5:48, I Peter 1:14-16, and I Peter 2:9-10. God was, is, and always will be perfect. When we become followers of Jesus we do not become perfect. So how do you reconcile these three passages of scripture? Note the relationship of a father and son. ______

2 APPLICATION | HOMEWORK | MORE STUDY

• Read the Sermon on the Mount each week this summer. • Read the Sermon on the Mount in one sitting each week this summer. • As with all things we are called to obey, Jesus is our ultimate example. We are never asked to do something he has not already done. Read and study the following passages to learn more about this: o Isaiah 50:6-8 (fulfilled by Christ) o Isaiah 53 (fulfilled by Christ) o Philippians 2:1-11 • The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) are both an introduction to and the foundation of the entire Sermon on the Mount. How do the Beatitudes connect to Matthew 5:38-48? What do they have in common? If you missed the first sermon in this series, you can find it here: austinridge.org/tablesermons • Pray for God to work on developing a heart of obedience in you this week.

REMINDERS

• Start with the text • Expand to the context • SOAP first: https://www.austinridge.org/am-site/media/how-to-study-the-bible.pdf • Dictionaries, commentaries, articles, podcasts, etc., second

RESOURCES

• Bible: ESV Study Bible. A solid translation and a great study Bible. • Read from multiple translations • How to Read the Bible For All its Worth by Fee and Stuart • The Bible Knowledge Commentary (both and Old and New Testament editions) by Walvoord and Zuck • Sonic Light - Concise commentaries for each book of the Bible http://planobiblechapel.org/constable-notes/ • BlueLetterBible.org - search a word or a passage, turn on “Strong’s” in the tool bar.