Sections

• The Death of John the Baptist
• Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
• Jesus Walks on the Water
• Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

Discussion Notes

v1-12
We see Herod's usage of words and how he bites he regrets giving Herodias' daughter whatever she asks when she asks for John the Baptist's head on a platter. This reminded one group member about Proverbs 18:21:

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

We see the power of the tongue and the need to restrain it in Matthew 6 ("let your yes be yes") and in James, as he says that the one who perfectly controls his tongue is a perfect man (James 3). May God give us the strength to overcome the desires to use our tongue for evil.

Another group member mentioned his lack of control of his mouth with family in particular. We made several observations here:

• family members especially like to try to find the weak spots in our armor just to get a response out of another family member
• when in a conversation, if someone gets mad, you have lost whatever bargaining power you once had to persuade

During this time we discussed the patience of one group member's wife, who waiting for his openness to Christianity for 15 years. It reminded us of Galations 6:9, which we should take to heart in all that we do, because we are promised difficulty in this life and must endure to partake in eternal life.

v13-14
In these verses, we see that Jesus is trying to get some time away to pray or maybe to grieve his cousin's terrible death. In this moment he is followed by crowds, feeds over 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish, and then it isn't until late that night does he get his time away with God the Father. Notice that in verse 14 Jesus sees the crowds and has compassion on them. May God give us eyes to see those who need to receive compassion from us in our hurried lives. There is nothing greater than love (1 Corinthians 13:13), which God calls us to give to all humans on earth.

v31
This reminded one of the group members of a discussion they had at the beginning of the Bible study. The question was, "how do you know you are going in the right direction or in the right place in your life?" This is a good reminder to all of us that faith, or trust, is necessary for our walk with God to prosper. Some are given a larger gift of it than others, but we all must utilize it.

Matthew 13:44-46
We tracked back to Matthew 13 for a moment to discuss what this meant. Why would the man hide the treasure? We discussed that in context, the focus of this section is the value of the Kingdom of God and how we must be willing to throw anything and everything away in order to obtain it. We are not all called to literally do this, but some are. Those who do will have great treasure in Heaven (Matthew 19:21).

Another question that came up was, "How do we figure out when Scripture is literal or figurative?" What I have seen in the past is to read in context, pay attention to minute details, compare your interpretation with other trusted sources, and pray about it. God promises to lead the church into all truth.

Other Questions and Discussions

Would it be OK to follow someone no matter what they say? Is that faith or just following the rules? What if that person is righteous?
I contend that it is beautiful to see someone submit to another, out of respect or out of love. We see this sort of faith in many of our fore-fathers and fore-mothers who went before us in response to God. They are listed in Hebrews 11. We are called to submit to our spiritual authority as well in our pastors.

close minded and smart siblings reject religion
We noted that several group members have smart siblings who have hard-hearts to the truth. One commented, "there is nothing I can do" to which we say Amen and remember to fall to our knees in prayer to the one who saves. At the same time we exhorted him to change his mindset. The faith of another healed the paralytic and so too can our faith save others. We should be fervant and steadfast in prayer, but we can also make practical changes in our words and actions that point to the truth or expose the lies behind their beliefs, without mentioning Jesus. Of course, at some point Jesus must be proclaimed, but to continue to hit someone with the hammer of Jesus does not usually prove effective. Remember, if they get mad, you have lost your persuassive power. At the same time, we must remember that Jesus said he came to bring a sword that puts family members and friends against each other (Matthew 10:34-39). We must always submit to the truth of Jesus Christ above all else.

We had an engaging and great discussion this week. See you next week!