201314 faith in the world

FAITH IN THE WORLD

Small Group Bible Studies 2013-2014

Editorial Team: Tom De Craene (Ichtus Vlaanderen), Wouter Van Hoof (Ichtus Vlaanderen), Judith Verduijn (student Ichtus Gent), Naomi Apers (Ichtus Vlaanderen), Gersom Brussaard (Ichtus Vlaanderen), Nico Boven (Ichtus Vlaanderen), Gijsbert Steenbeek (Ichtus Vlaanderen), Jeffrey Vansuyt (student Ichtus Leuven), Simon Geeraerts (student Ichtus Hasselt), Justine Goudeseune (student Brussel), Rudina Coraj (Ichtus Vlaanderen)

Editor‐in‐chief: Tom De Craene

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Table of Contents

Introduction ......................................................... 4

6 // Ecclesiastes 1............................................. 34

Developing a Bible Study ................................... 5

7 // Jeremia 29: ................................................. 39

Manuscript Study ................................................ 6

8 // Handelingen 17: 16-32 ............................... 41

Lectio Divina ....................................................... 9

9 // Matthew 5:1-15 ........................................... 43

1 // Daniel ......................................................... 10

2 // Genesis 1 ................................................... 14

11 // Micha 6: 1-8 .............................................. 51

3 // Luke 7: 36-50.............................................. 19

12 // John 17 ..................................................... 53

4 // Matthew 27:57-28:20 .................................. 25

Sources Used ................................................... 58

10 // Jakobus 1:19-2:26 ........................... 49

5 // Revelation 7:1-17 ....................................... 29

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Introduction In the Academic Year 2013‐2014, Ichtus Vlaanderen will be working around the theme of ‘Faith in the World’. There are two ways of looking at this topic – first of all we can ask ourselves, ‘Is there any faith in the world?’. In a discussion around this question many issues could arise, eg about living in a multi‐cultural society, relating to different world religions, or we can ask ourselves, ‘Is there any hope for this world?’, ‘What can we learn from all the good that happens in society?’, and ‘How can we be part of all this?’.

Secondly, we want to think about the question of how we live out our faith in the world. This topic may provoke questions like, ‘What does it mean to be a Christian student?’, ‘How can we make our faith practical in our student city?’ ‘How does our faith determine the way we view current affairs?’, ‘What about social injustice?’, ‘How do we show Christ to those around us, and the hope we have in Him?’ Throughout the entire year various aspects of this topic of ‘Faith in the World’ will be looked at, both in the Ichtus groups as well as in the activities of Ichtus Vlaanderen.

This material was put together as a guide for the small group Bible studies in the Ichtus groups. As we all know, out of every good Bible study flows a chance for practical application, and we believe this topic has many opportunities for application. We really hope many students (and student groups) will find this guide and the Ichtus Vlaanderen activities useful in helping to give their faith traction. In all this, we ought to remember that all our actions need to flow out of a rich image of who God is, out of a deep awareness of the implications of Jesus’ life, suffering, death and resurrection; and out of gratitude for all of this.

In selecting different passages of the Bible1, we chose those which expose different aspects of ‘Faith in the World’, from both the Old and the New Testament. There are twelve Bible studies in this guide, even though many Ichtus groups will not need so many. As you select relevant studies for your group, we hope you will be brave and choose some of the passages you are less familiar with!

In our preparations we have used a limited selection of Bible commentaries, as one can easily get lost in large amounts of background commentary. We advise you to also consult some good commentaries as you prepare the study, though it is essential you wrestle with the text yourself first. Each study has been prepared by a different person, which means that, though we have generally tried to maintain unity, there is a uniqueness to each study which we hope you will find enriching.

All Bible passages are quoted from the NIV unless otherwise mentioned.

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Developing a Bible Study Below are a few ways of developing a Bible study, but please do not feel restricted by these.

Do bear the following in mind:

Study the passage in depth The entire IFES movement (the umbrella organisation of which Ichtus is a member) affirms “inductive” Bible study as thé way to approach a Bible passage. This means your starting point is the passage, and not your assumptions about what it means. Even though this guide may in some places suggest a meaning to the passages, we still want to encourage you to start with the Bible passage and not with our ideas or advice. Once you have grappled with the text yourself you will find the commentaries, ideas of others or this guide useful. A good way of grappling with the text is by doing the “manuscript method” (see further on).

Draw out the core meaning from the text If you know the core meaning of a passage, it will be easier for your small group to discover it too. You will be able to be more focused during the study and decide how much time to spend on digressions.

Consider how you can help your small group discover the core meaning Many small group leaders assume that once the exegesis is done, the study will be a success.

They can’t be more wrong. After you have drawn out the core meaning of the passage, you will need to reflect on how your group will discover this core meaning for themselves: how will you help them work towards this? Many people think the most simple way forward is a didactic conversation (question and answer), but it can be very difficult because it is hard to predict how group members will respond. Often you may get an answer that you weren’t expecting and at those times it isn’t easy to come up with more questions. The best way forward is when the group leader leaves the group members to talk more than him/herself.

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Manuscript Study This method is a useful way to study the Bible and can be used for preparing a passage but also for leading a small group. It constists of three steps:

Observation In this phase you get a grip on the story (what is the author telling us?). Print off a copy of the passage and make sure you leave plenty of white space around the text but also in between the lines. If possible, leave out the paragraphs and verse numbers.

Go through the passage and make a note of anything that stands out to you, anything that raises questions, anything that indicates a structure or something that is repeated more than once, … Use pens and coloured penciles for marking words, finding structure, indicating themes and connections.

A few more tips for questions:

Ask like a journalist Find the connections Step into the passage

What can you see, hear, Who? Repetitions smell, feel?

What?

Similarities Become one of the Where?

Contrasts characters When?

Cause – Consequence How? A move from the general to the specific A move from the specific to the general What is central to the story What is marginal to the story

What kind of literature is this? Is it a story? A dialogue? Poetry? Commentary of the author2 ? One Bible passage may contain various genres.

Mark the connecting words: because, for, therefore, since, so that, but, ...

Mark the logical units in the passage (which parts belong together?)

Coherence in themes, times, places, thoughts, actions, etc.

Note what strikes you in the passage, what you hadn’t expected or find unusual, things that make you feel surprised/puzzled/irritated Are there links or associations with other Bible passages? Read the passages in their own contexts (not only the individual verses) and ask yourself why they are mentioned here.

Is there anything that raises questions? Anything which you find irritating, surprising or difficult? Write it down!

The genre of the passage helps in determining how to approach the passage.

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Interpretation

In this phase you try to answer the question, ‘What is this passage trying to communicate?’, ‘What do all my observations lead to?’, ‘What is the core meaning of this passage?’

The central task is to convey the meaning of the passage by answering the question, ‘What is the author intending to communicate with the passage?’.

These questions can be helpful: Ask questions in the light of your observations from the passage.

Ask questions about the linguistic and textual connections you found. For example: why is the author repeating this word? Use ‘Why?’ and ‘What is the meaning of?’

Take another look at the linguistic and textual connections in the passage. What are the main connections and the main subjects?

Focus on the essential questions. These are (1) questions that arise out of the passage; (2) questions that cover a large part of the passage; (3) questions that relate to the main idea of the passage.

Now try to answer these questions. First make use of the passage itself, then of the immediate context of the passage within the book of the Bible (ie the surrounding passages), then from connections to other Bible passages, and finally by using a Biblical dictionary, commentary or other helpful books or comments.

Ask yourself ‘the big question’: What message is the author trying to convey to his original readers? What do you think the key points are, or thé main point of the passage?

Why is this passage here?

Try to summarise the key point of the passage in one sentence.

Application

In the final phase we spend some time reflecting on the importance of this passage and its meaning for our lives. This can lead to a practical application (something that has to be done) or a transforming application (something that needs to be changed) or an informative application (the increase of knowledge), etc. Ensure you avoid easy applications. Remember that the Bible was primarily written to groups of people (people and churches, not individuals), so the applications are mostly about what we need to do as a community; the personal applications flow from these.

Central is this: Connect the passage with your own life and the world in which we live.

The following questions can be helpful: • Can you see the connections between the passage and your own life and our world? (for example, can you see yourself in one of the main characters in the text? How does the message of this passage connect with your life?)

Do you feel that God is specifically addressing your small group or you in relation to a particular aspect of your life/lives?

Are there particular commands, promises, examples or counter‐examples in this passage that mean something to you?

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Are there any specific steps you need to take as an application from this passage? Be honest and specific. (Make sure you bring a diary to make notes and remember to come back to this next time you get together as a small group) Is there anything in this passage that is important for my relationships with other people, with our group, our community or our society?

Are there specific things which we, individually or as a group, need to address?

What does this passage have to say to us about God? Does this passage have anything to say about the way I live, think or act as a student?

Does this passage throw a new light on what I am learning at university?

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Lectio Divina The second method which can be an invaluable help to studying a Bible passage is the lectio divina. This is a contemplative, intuitive way of reading the Bible ‐ a refreshing alternative to our knowlege‐based approach. This method helps us listen to God speaking into our hearts.

One person leads the small group, the others do not need a Bible, they need to merely listen.

Step 1: Read the passage aloud once. Do this slowly. After reading the passage, be quiet for a few minutes to allow for further reflection..

Step 2: Say to the group: “During the next reading, what do you notice? It could be word, a phrase or part of a sentence. If there is nothing in particular that stands out to you, don’t worry.3” Read the passage aloud for a second time. Be quiet for a moment and allow everyone to take turns in sharing what they noticed (if anything). As the leader you need to make sure group members only share what they noticed without further reflections or explanations.

Step 3: For the third reading, give your readers this question: “Ask yourself why you are noticing this. Often the things we notice indicate a link between the Bible passage and our individual lives. Is there a connection? Again, it is no problem if there isn’t a clear connection.” Read the passage for a third time. Be quiet and allow time for sharing about people’s connections between the passage and their lives. As a group leader, ensure your members do not elaborate for too long.

Stap 4: Say to the group: “Is there anything God is trying to make clear to you through this passage? God still speaks through his Word and maybe that is what he is doing now.

Sometimes God will not speak instantly, or we do not understand him. That is not a problem.” Read the passage for a fourth time. Be quiet and allow the readers to take turns in sharing what they feel God is telling them through this passage. Again, make sure this is done concisely.

Step 5: You have the choice of reading the passage for a fifth time, or taking time to share more elaborately, and to pray for each other.

Do emphasise this, so that no one feels uncomfortable when they do not notice anything in particular. It is no problem when this happens.

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1 // Daniel Bible passage 1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.6 Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Background4 The Book of Daniel is generally not so accessible because it belongs to the genre of the Prophets. The first six chapters tell Daniel’s life story, in service of the various empires at the

Chavalas, M.W., Matthews, V.H. & Walton, J.H., The IVP Bible Background Commentary. Old Testament, (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2000), 832.

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time. In this respect there are many similarities with other books such as Esther or Nehemiah.

The last six chapters comprise of visions, and in that sense the Book of Daniel shows more correspondence with the other prophetic writings. In this study we will be tackling chapter 1, so we won’t spend any time looking at the visions.

There is a lot of debate surrounding the authorship of the Book of Daniel. Traditionally, Daniel is assumed to be the author, for instance because in the visions he speaks in the first person. Probably the book would have been completed during Cyrus’ reign, around or just after 538 AD. Many historical‐critical theologians now ascribe the Book to Daniel, but believe that it was only written in its current form after the exile, ie around 165 AD.

The Book is written in two languages: the first chapter and chapters 8‐12 are in Hebrew, but chapters 2‐7 are in Aramaic, the language of the people. This language was also understood outside of Israel, as it was the administrative language of the Persian Empire. This may imply that the book was aimed at a wider audience, not only at the Israelites; but it could also mean that they wanted to keep part of the book exclusively for the Jewish people.

Another explanation could be that the Aramaic stories have long been around and that the Hebrew part was added in later on. This of course links closely together with the discussion about authorship. Nevertheless, whoever wrote the book and whenever exactly it was written, we can be certain that the Israelites had to learn to cope with the domination of a foreign ruler and their imposed rules and traditions. A central theme in Daniel is power: again and again, in the stories and in the visions, there are powerful figures who rely on their own power, who see themselves as lords of their own destiny, who think of themselves as god‐like. Time and time again their lack of power and their finiteness is being emphasised: God is the One who holds their fate in his hands, He is the final author of power. Linked in with this is the importance of integrity and submission to God. There is a tension between serving God fully whilst having to live under a godless entity. The Book presents its readers with the hope that ultimately God holds all things in his hands. Furthermore, it shows that integrity does not have to imply a total rejection of the culture where we are live. Daniel 1 immediately introduces us to these ideas.

Clarification 1-2 Judah was not an independent territory (cf. 2 Kings 23:31 – 25:26, 2 Chronicles 36)‐ it was a vassal state of Babylonia. This meant that the people had to pay taxes and could be asked to provide troops for the Babylonian army. Previously Judah had been an Egyptian vassal state, and there were still some pro‐Egyptian people amongst the Judeans, such as Jehoiakim. When Nebuchadnezzar attacks Jerusalem, this is not a conquest but the suppression of an insurgence, because Jerusalem chose to be on Egypt’s side. This would have taken place in 605 AD, when Nebuchadnezzar was general and not yet king. He rose to the throne in 604 and destroyed Jerusalem completely in 587‐5865, after another insurgence.

4 Young men: Daniel and his friends were probably in their early teens, like 13 or 14.

Wallace, R.S., The Message of Daniel. The Lord is King, TBST, (Nottingham: Intervarsity Press, 1979), 13.

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Chaldeans: originally one of the Babylonian tribles. Nebuchadnezzar comes from this trible, which was also the most influential group and therefore the name became interchangeable with the Babylonians. Many of the learned men and the sorcerers also came from this tribe.

As a result of all this, ‘Chaldeans’ can refer to 1) a Babylonian tribe 2) all Babylonians, 3) 6 Babylonian wise men and magi .

5-6 The meaning of the names: Daniel: God is my judge Hananiah: God is merciful Mishael: Who is like God? Azariah: the Lord is my help

Belteshazzar: Bel protects the king Shadrach: order of Aku Meshach: who is like Aku? Abednego: servant of Nebo Bel, Aku en Nebo were Babylonian gods 12 Vegetable: the original word in Hebrew actually means ‘forage’ or food for animals. What Daniel is asking for is food that has not been pre‐prepared, because every food that was pre‐ prepared, whether it be meat or vegetables, would have been offered to an idol7.

Place within ‘faith in the world’ Daniel and his friends are students. They are looking for a way to serve God with integrity whilst living in a culture which isn’t sympathetic of their faith – but not hostile either. They do this not by rejecting that culture, but by getting to know it well. They believe it is good and Gods will for them to gain this knowledge. At the same time, they are looking for a way to live out their faith and not honour any idols. Their knowledge is a gift from God, not from the Babylonian gods. Daniel and his friends are an amazing example to us and an endorsement that God wants us to excell in seeking knowledge and being good at what we do, eg our studies. Pursuing knowledge is a good thing, and so is getting to know the world and our culture. We can only show our faith in the world through living in it and serving the people in it. But most importantly we need to remember that knowledge, all knowledge, does not come from within ourselves, but from God.

Core meaning God is the giver of opportunities to learn and of knowldege itself. It is a good thing to strive for excellence in the way we approach our learning and thereby give him glory.

Chavalas, M.W., Matthews, V.H. & Walton, J.H., The IVP Bible Background Commentary. Old Testament, (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2000), 730.

7 Ibid., 731.

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Possible questions O = observation, I = interpretation, A = application

What are Daniel and his friends being taught? (O) Why does Nebuchadnezzar bring objects from the temple to the temple of his god and not to his own palace? (OI) What genre is this chapter? (OI) God makes the chief official to ‘show favor and compassion’. Does God influence our attitudes and moods? (OI) How important were the gods for the Babylonian people? (OI) Why does the chief official give them different names? (I) Did all dreams and visions have meaning, according to the Babylonians? (I) What does Nebuchadnezzar want to prove by taking the objects of the temple, the captivity of the Judeans and the process of giving them new names? (I) Why do Daniel and his friends refuse the meat and the wine? Did their food laws forbid this?

What is Daniel and his friend’s attitude towards Babylonian culture and knowledge? (I) Do Daniel and his friends make compromises? Where do they draw the line? (I) What is the main exhortation of this genre and this passage in particular? (IA) Daniel and his friends accept working for Babylonia and taking the name of the Babylonians. Whose name do you carry? Who do you work for? Who do you give power over what you do? (A) Daniel and his friends do not only learn about Babylonian knowldege, they also excel in it and outshine the others. As a student, how can you stand out and excell? How can Ichtus as a group do that? (A)

Methods

1) Characters: As an initial observation exercise, pick out all the different characters from the story and let every person adopt a character. Read the story one more time and describe the events through the eyes of that person. Tell us what he sees, experiences, feels, thinks … This exercise can help in our observation.

2) Report: Divide the group into 3 small groups and encourage each group to make a report about these events as if it was for the 8 o’clock news. This exercise can help with observation and interpretation.

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2 // Genesis 1 Bible passage 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed‐bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.

And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”27 So God created mankind in his own image,in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

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Then God said, “I give you every seed‐bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground— everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

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2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Background Genesis is the first book of the Bible. It begins with the creation story and ends with the death of Joshua. The first two chapters of Genesis describe the creation of the earth and in particular of mankind. In this study we will only look at chapter 1.

There is no reference to the author, although the general assumption is that it was Moses who wrote or compiled the source material. Whether or not he was, this passage remains a text of crucial importance for Israel and for us in terms of defining our identity and our relationship with God. Walter Brueggemann describes three different forms of teaching material in the OT: The Torah, The Profets and The Writings. The Torah teaches us about our identity; it gives us clarity about who we are and a sense of reassurance that we are secure in the care of the God who has been, who is and who will always be. The Prophets ask us penetrating and uncomfortable questions about the way that we live. The Writings are full of wisdom and teachings about leading a good life. They teach us what it means to live together in God’s world8. Genesis is clearly part of the Torah, as it teaches us where we come from, who we are and why are are here.

Genesis explains the origins of the earth, humanity and the name of Israel. Other cultures from the same geographical region and period in time also had versions of the origins of their existence (which we call cosmologies), in particular the Egyptian and Babylonian cultures. However, there are significant differences between the creation story in Genesis and the cosmologies from surrounding cultures. The most important of these are: • Light was created on the first day and the sun on the fourth day, thereby making a disctinction between light and the source of light (even though of course people were aware that the sun provides light). This distinction was to emphasise that the sun is created, and so is not a force in itself, or a god, as many surrounding cultures believed. The names of the sun or the moon aren’t even mentioned, there is only mention of a greater light and a smaller light. In sum, the sun and the moon are

Shortt, J. & Smith, D. I. Bible‐Shaped Teaching, 52‐55.

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created by God and need to be treated as such. This was valid then and is still valid now (eg. astrology)9.

•

People group versus all of humanity. Most cosmologies of the surrounding peoples only explain the origins of this particular people, whereas in the Bible the creation story describes the creation of mankind. Further on in Genesis, Israel is specifically mentioned, but not in Genesis 1. All of humanity is part of God’s plan10.

•

Creation of mankind was planned, it was not an accident. The creation of humanity is the crown of the creation work that has been taking place in previous days. In other stories from that era, mankind often came about as an accident or as the result of a battle between different gods; or as an after‐thought in order to serve the gods11.

•

Rest away from work, versus rest as a way of enjoying the work achieved. In many other cosmologies, the gods also rested after creation, but it was the kind of rest that involved escaping from the earth and from the people, whereas in Genesis God rests in his creation and with the people12.

•

People provide food for the gods versus God provides mankind with food. In the Biblical creation story God explains clearly which food is intended for the man and the woman. This is not so much to prescribe as it is to underline that God provides food for them. In other origin stories it is often the other way round, people provide the gods with food. In Genesis God does not need anything from us.

•

Fertility through blessing and work, not through rituals. God blesses the animals and people and commands them to be fruitful. Here again we see it is God who provides and blesses, not humanity who have to obtain fertility through rituals and incantations13.

Note also the parallels between days 1 and 4, 2 and 5, and 3 and 6.

Clarification 1 “In the beginning”. This is not a specific point in time, more like a period in time: the initial period in time when the world came into being14.

The verb ‘to create’ indicates the giving of a purpose to something which has no function and no purpose. When God repeatedly says that it is ‘good’, this indicates that creation is functioning as was intended15.

Peskett, H. & Ramachandra, V. The Message of Mission. TBST, (Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 35.

Ibid., 37.

11 Ibid., 36.

12 Ibid., 44‐48.

13 Ibid., 35 14 Walton, J. H. The Lost World of Genesis One. Ancient Cosmology and the Origin Debate, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 44‐45.

15 Ibid., 50.

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27 God created mankind in his image. It was common for a king to have wooden or stone sculptures or engravings of himself in his kingdom, as this was a symbol of his reign in that territory16. In a sense this is what God is doing on earth: He is making people who are in his image, who are his representatives on earth. The idea that kings were in the image of gods was common, but what is radical here is the idea that all people, every man and woman of every tribe, every nation, is God’s representative. The same concept of image bearer can also be seen at the worship of idols: the idols are worshiped because they supposedly contain the essence of the god.This does not mean that the idol physically looks like the god or can do what the god can do. It means mainly that the work of the god is being accomplished here on earth. From Genesis 1, we can say that people are enabled to complete the work of God on earth.

28 “Subdue it”. This means to enable creation to flourish, to fulfill her objective. Ruling here is in the light of the fact that mankind was created in his image, as God’s representative, so ruling is meant to be done in the way that God rules, seeking the good for all of creation17.

31 And God saw that it was very good. ‘It’ refers here to all that He had created (not only mankind).

Place within ‘faith in the world’ When we think about ‘faith in the world’, we can stop and look at the world and the people in it. How God looks at the earth and its inhabitants, and what roles he gives them, are two important questions this passage brings to the fore.

Core meaning This is God’s creation, and He gives everything a role and a purpose. As people we are created in his image, and as His representatives we are called to care for all of his creation, in the way He would.

Possible questions O = observation, I = interpretation, A = application

What structure do you observe in this passage? Find the repetitions in the different days.

(O) What roles are given to each creation? Why are they here, what should they be doing? (O) What verbs are used to describe God’s actions? (O) What genre is this? (OI) What changes in your choice of words can you see when we come to the creation of humans? What could this mean? (OI)

Peskett, H. & Ramachandra, V. The Message of Mission. TBST, (Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 35.

Carson, D. A., France, R. T., Motyer, J. A. eds. New Bible Commentary. 4rd ed, (Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 1994).

16 17

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What tasks are given to mankind? (I) What does the author want the reader to know? (I) What picture of God do we get in this passage? (I) What do the tasks given to mankind actually involve? (I) What is the significance of the differences between the creation story in Genesis and other cosmologies? (I) What does this genre (usually) and this passage in particular lead to? (IA) What does it mean that you are God’s representative on earth? (A) What does it mean that all people are image bearers? How does this affect the way we relate to people who think differently? People who have limitations or disabilities? People who are from a different cultural background? (A) What does it mean for you to ‘subdue the earth’? (A)

Methods

1) Identity: Descartes’ well‐known expression of identity is, ‘Je pense, donc je suis’.

Encourage your group to reflect on this expression from the passage, with their observations and interpretations. From this passage, what would be a good paraphrase of ‘I think, so I am’? This will encourage them to reflect on our identity from Genesis 1 and 2; as this passage speaks deeply about who we are as people.

2) Open letter: Prince Charles says that: ‘Genesis provides a licence to exploit the environment by implying that the world was created to be at man’s disposal.’18 Write an open letter to a newspaper in response to his point’.

In a foreword of the book ‘Save the Earth’. Source: http://creation.com/focus‐144

18

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3 // Luke 7: 36-50 Bible Passage

When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner.’ 40 Jesus answered him, ‘Simon, I have something to tell you.’ ‘Tell me, teacher,’ he said. 41 ‘Two people owed money to a certain money‐lender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[a] and the other fifty.42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?’43 Simon replied, ‘I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.’‘You have judged correctly,’ Jesus said. 44 Then he turned towards the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.’ 48 Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’49 The other guests began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’50 Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’

36

Background Genre There is a big debate on what genre the gospels belong to, but the most popular and tenable position is to categorise the gospels as biographies19. This genre is however not to be confused with our current concept of biography. Many elements that we would expect to be in a biography are not present here, such as the development and education of the main character, or a chronological rendering of events.20. Equally, in contrast to the majority of ancient biographies, the gospels only contain unique characteristics. For instance, they are usually anonymous, and they combine teaching with action21. It is important to be aware that the teaching does not directly come to us (as in a letter), but instead is implicit in the many conversations and interactions between different characters. Therefore it is crucial to be mindful of the entire story22.

In the middle of this Bible passage we also find a parable. A parable is a specific genre with one core meaning, often used by Jesus as a ‘weapon’ against his opponents and to explain

D. A. Carson & Douglas. J. Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, 2nd ed. (Leicester: IVP, 2005), 113‐115 Ibid.

21 Ibid.

22 Darrell L. Bock, Luke, IVPNTCS, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1994), 15 19 20

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the principles of the Kingdom of God.23 Parables are often closely linked to day to day life, but can also contain elements which are meant to shock24. However, the element of shock can easily escape us, because we are so familiar with the parables and not so familiar with the original context25. In order to interpret well, we need a good understanding of the context.

Parables often encourage the reader to make a judgement on the events in the parable, and therefore also on a connected real life event. The goal is to change the way we think about something26.

Luke Research and historical evidence has established that the author of this gospel is most definitely Luke27, even though his name is not mentioned in the book. Luke is not an eyewitness to the stories he wrote down, but he describes them after having done a lot of research and after having confirmed his material with eye witnesses28.

Of all the gospels, one could say that the gospel of Luke is the most pluralistic29, and therefore very fitting for our theme of ‘Faith in the World’. I say this because Luke describes how the promises of God extend to the gentiles, and how Jesus’ teachings relate to the development of the new community that the church was about to become30.

This is at the same time one of the goals of the gospel: though further elaborated in Acts, already in this gospel Luke begins his theological defense of how the gentiles are now part of God’s salvation plan31.

Clarification

There are many similarities between this story and the ones we read in Matthew 26, Mark 14 and John 12. The differences (head vs. feet, mention of the ‘waste’, Simon the leper vs. Simon the scribe, etc.) suggest that this is a unique event in Jesus’ life32.

36-37 In de previous passages, Jesus did many miracles which have gained him a reputation. He is also blamed by the Pharisees for eating and drinking with sinners.

Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight & I. Howard Marshal,eds., “Parable,” in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels.(Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1992).

24 Ibid.

25 Ibid.

26 Ibid.

27 Darrell L. Bock, Luke, IVPNTCS, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1994), 17.

28 Ibid., 17 29 Ibid., 16 30 Ibid., 16 31 Ibid., 20 32 L. Bock, Luke, IVPNTCS, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1994), 141 23

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‘A woman in that town who lived a sinful life’. This woman is often labelled as a prostitute, but her sin is not mentioned in the passage. Even though this woman has in church history and in the arts often been identified as Mary Magdalene, they are probably not the same person. Instead, Mary Magdalene is introduced as a new character in the following chapter33.

Culturally, it was not unusual to open up a public dinner (discussion group or small group) to which a learned man had been invited34. The dinner could have taken place on a court yard leading onto the street35. Or maybe the woman had heard that Jesus was going to be present and she was already waiting for him, or she entered at the same time as Jesus and was waiting quietly in the background36.

38-39 ‘As she stood behind him’. The only place where she could come within Jesus’ reach was to go and stand behind him ‐ this was because of the U‐shaped seating arrangement with heads in and feet out37. Her kissing Jesus must have been shocking in that culture, but the untying of her hair even more so. According to the Talmut, a man could divorce a woman for publicly untying her hair38. As an adult woman in Jewish society, she should have been married, but the untying of the hair to dry Jesus’ feet indicates her low social and religious status39. From the internal monologue in Simon’s head we can guess his true intentions for inviting Jesus.

40 Suddenly all eyes are on Jesus and Jesus becomes very direct; for the first time we hear Simon’s name. ‘Simon, I have something to tell you’. This could indicate Jesus asking for permission to speak, but the same phrase is still used in the Middle East today to indicate you are about to say something that the other person does not want to hear.40 So Jesus begins his parable.

41-42 Jesus tells a parable of two people owing a debt – one owes 50 denarii, the other 500. The first amounts to about two months’ wages, the second is the wage of about a year and a half41.

Neither can repay, both had their debts forgiven. So in three areas they are the same – debt, inability to repay, forgiveness of debt. The only area where there is a difference is the amount of the debt42. Jesus’ story is about the emotion in the story, because he asks his audience to imagine the love and gratitude of a person who has had so much debt forgiven.43

Ibid., 141 Bailey, K. Through Peasant Eyes. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 3‐4 35 Ibid., 4 36 Ibid., 7 37 Keener, G. S. The IVP Old Testament Background Commentary. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1993) 38 Bailey, K. Through Peasant Eyes. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 9 39 Keener, G. S. The IVP Old Testament Background Commentary. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1993) 40 Bailey, K. Through Peasant Eyes.(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 12 41 L. Bock, Luke, IVPNTCS, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1994), 142 42 Bailey, K. Through Peasant Eyes.(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 12 43 L. Bock, Luke, IVPNTCS, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1994), 142 33 34

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43-46 Jesus explains the story and indicates that this woman has done everything that Simon has not done or should have done, according to the norms of the day44. But in terms of cultural customs Jesus was also crossing boundaries by being so direct and crude. Even though Simon’s welcome was meagre, guests were expected to be full of praise about the host’s generosity, so Jesus’ response was unprecedented45.

Jesus directs himself to Simon, while looking at the woman. This was a way of affirming her and would have been less painful for Simon than if Jesus had looked him in the eye46.

47-48 Different translations of ‘therefore’ indicate a confusion over whether the woman’s sins have been forgiven because of her act of gratefulness, or if her gratitude is an indication of her great love. The internal cohesion of the story suggests that the forgiveness precedes the gratitude, not the other way around. In the parable, the forgiveness of debts also precedes the loving response, see verse 5047. The acts of the woman confirm that the forgiveness has already happened and Jesus is aware of this. Jesus makes a contrast between what the woman does with what Simon has not done.

49-50 The other guests misquote Jesus. Jesus states in verses 47 and 48 that her sins have been forgiven (present perfect, passive)48. ‘Who is this?’, is an important question in this chapter and the previous one. By indicating that He has insight in whose sins have been forgiven, He responds to part of the question. He also indicates that He is far more than Simon suspects him to be (a prophet?).

‘Your faith has saved you’. This verse indicates that it is her faith that has saved her and not her act of gratitude; the gratitude flows out of the salvation.

Place within ‘Faith in the World’ When we reflect on ‘Faith in the world’, it is important to consider how we as a group (Ichtus group, small group, etc.) can welcome people regardless of their social status, gender or the colour of their skin.

We also need to ask ourselves some difficult questions. How do we look at other people? Do we think in terms of ‘them and us’? Good vs. bad, Christian vs. non‐Christian? Or are we all sinners in need of forgiveness?

Keener, G. S. The IVP Old Testament Background Commentary. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1993) Bailey, K. Through Peasant Eyes.(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 14‐15 46 Ibid., 16 47 Ibid., 17‐18 48 Ibid., 17 44 45

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Core Meaning Jesus accepts this beautiful gesture of gratitude from a repentant sinner and welcomes her. In this way, he invites religious people to reflect on (their) sin, on holiness, on their welcome and on the love and acceptance that He offers.

Possible questions O = observation, I = interpretation, A = application

What do you notice in this passage? (O) What is being repeated? In the content as well as linguistically? (O) What structure do you notice? (O) Be a journalist! Who? What? Where? Why? And also how?(O) What is the context? What happens before? (O) What raises questions for you? (O) What genre is this passage? (OI) What are the main themes in this passage? (I) Why is it crucial that Simon (and his guests) understand what this woman is doing, and why Jesus reacts in this way? (I) What is Jesus trying to achieve with this parable? (I) What are Simon’s sins? (I) How is Jesus presented here? Who is Jesus according to this passage? (I) How are the words ‘welcome’, ‘holiness’ and ‘gratitude’ used in this passage? (I) What are the main reasons for including this passage here? What is the author trying to achieve? (I) Try to summarise this passage in one sentence and doing justice to the passage, your observations and interpretations. Try to reach a consensus in your small group. (I) What does this genre (usually) and this passage try to achieve? (IA) What is your small group like – do you allow people to interrupt you? (A) How welcoming is your small group? (A) Have you ever felt superior towards other people? What did you do with those feelings and thoughts? (A) What struck you in this passage? What did you learn about yourself and your small group? What will you do with this, individually and as a small group? (A) What did you learn about God? What will you do with this? (A) Does this passage lead you to confession? (A) If so, take time for this as a group.

Methods 1) This method requires courage, discretion and a fair amount of preparation. As a small group leader, ask one of your friends to stop by during your small group time.

It is important that the other group members do not know this person. This person can ask to join in with the study, and during the course of the evening share a big problem. The aim is to help group members reflect on how welcoming they are as individuals and as a group.

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2) By way of introduction you can let the group reflect on the following questions:

‐ Have you ever felt unwelcome in a group? ‐ Have you ever felt that people looked down on you? ‐Have you ever felt that you were not the right kind of person for a group, due to social background, church background, education, race, gender, …?

3) This method is both observation and interpretation. Choose one of the songs from YouTube, and provide your group members with the lyrics:

‐ ‘Beautiful to me’ by Don Francisco ‐ ‘Maria’ by Elly en Rikkert ‐ ‘Alabaster Box’ by CeCe Winans

Compare the lyrics of the song (and also the atmosphere, the music) with the passage from Luke 7. What are the differences and the similarities? Did the artist do a good job? Defend your point of view on the basis of the passage.

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4 // Matthew 27:57-28:20 Bible passage 27:57As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,60and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

28 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said.

They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” 11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

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Achtergrondinformatie Background information49 As a genre, the gospel of Matthew is considered an ancient biography (like the other gospels).

It is important to make the disctinction here from regular biographies, because the source material was handled different in Antiquity. The most striking feature of Matthew’s gospel is that the events are not arranged so much chronologically but more thematically.

Church tradition acknowledges Matthew as the author, although the gospel itself doesn’t explicitly acknowledge this. What we do know for sure is that the author was very knowledgeable about the Scriptures, so could have been trained as a pharisee. He handles the OT with a lot of wisdom and repeatedly illustrates how Jesus fulfills the Scriptures.

Matthew was probably written with a double purpose: for new Christians, Jewish and Gentiles, but also as a response to the growing power of the pharisees (in Jesus’ day it was especially the Sadducees who had a lot of power). Matthew emphasises why the pharisaical position was often untenable. More than the other gospels Matthew focuses on Jesus’ teachings: on discipleship, the Kingdom of God, ethics and mission.He often explains elaborately that his teachings flow out of the Old Testament promises. Matthew is divided into five thematic sections, plus a prologue and an epilogue. This passage comes from the epilogue, which describes Jesus’ suffering and resurrection. The word ‘epilogue’ is not a part that was simply attached at the end to bring together all the loose ends and bring closure to the different story lines. On the contrary, the epilogue was intended to turn all that was written before into practice. It is meant to mobilise people!

Clarification

7, 10 It is very striking that it is the women who are exhorted to share the good news to the disciples. In those days, a woman’s testimony was not deemed credible ‐ in a court a female eye witness would never be heard. Clearly Jesus undermines this tradition of contempt by making women the first witnesses50.

14 For guards, falling asleep while on duty would normally receive a heavy penalty, even the death penalty. So the priests were asking the guards a big favour51.

16 In the Bible, people often met God on a mountain. The fact that Jesus meets his disciples on a mountain is meant to highlight his divinity52.

19

Keener, C. S. The IVP New Testament Background Commentary, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 842.

Ibid., 130.

51 Ibid., 130.

52 Ibid., 130 49 50

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‘Therefore go’ literally means, ‘as you go along, ‘on your way’. There is no underlying implication of going far away, instead it is about ‘where you are’. The same counts for baptising and teaching, ‘as you baptise and teach’. The central command is to ‘make disciples’53.

It was traditional for rabbis to have disciples. When those disciples became independent, or became rabbi’s, they would make their own disciples. Jesus changes this dynamic: the disciples are not to make their own disciples, but disciples of Jesus54.

Place within ‘faith in the world’ This passage is known as ‘The Great Commission’. Even though this name was only given to these verses in the 17th century, it is undeniable that the task was given to bring faith into the world, or to put it more accurately, to embody, to be faith in the world. The disciples receive the mandate to demonstrate God’s Kingdom and to make more disciples.

Core theme Jesus’ disciples are being called to live out his commandments – the Kingdom of God – in such a way that others will be drawn to become his disciples too.

Possible questions O = observation, I = interpretation, A = application

Why are there only female disciples at the tomb? Where are the male disciples? (27:61) (O) What do the women expect as they go down to the tomb? (O) Why did the guards become like dead men while the women remain standing? (O) Why were there two appearances to the women? (first the angel, then Jesus himself) (O) Why do they need to return to Galilee? Why isn’t Jesus meeting them in Jerusalem? (O) What is the significance of this event taking place on a mountain and not elsewhere, eg a lake? (OI) What is the genre? (OI) What is a “disciple of Jesus”? (I) “Some doubted”. Is it possible to be a disciple of Jesus and still doubt? (I) What is “everything I have commanded you”? (28:20) (see background to the epilogue in relation to the rest of the gospel) (I) Why is the story of how the priests respond interwoven with the resurrection narrative?

(I) What is the general aim of this genre and of this passage? (IA)

“Wherever you are, make disciples of Jesus.” Where are you, what is your frontline in bringing the kingdom of God? What place and opportunities have your Ichtus group been given to reveal the Kingdom of God? (A)

http://beingekklesia.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/go‐make‐disciples‐matthew‐2819‐20/ Keener, C. S. The IVP New Testament Background Commentary, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 131.

53 54

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“...obey everything I have commanded you.” In what ways can you demonstrate Jesus, individually and as a group? (A) Methods 1) Wordspin: As an introduction, design a wordspin around the word “disciple”: write the word down and encourage your group members to write down their associations with it.

Refer back to it later, when you are going through the interpretation questions. Do your original expectations correspond with the passage? What did you learn? Has this passage changed your attitude towards discipleship? (Make sure that you are led by the passage, not by the associations written down first)

2) Structure: Give each person the passage on a blank piece of paper and encourage them to bring structure into the passage. Give each section a title or write down each section’s core meaning in a few words.

3) Manuscript study: If it is difficult to bring structure, you could do a manuscript study, where you highlight these different elements of the story with different colours: people, emotions, indications of time, indications of place, repetitions, connecting words, etc.

4) Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5‐7): for the application. This is a well‐known passage where Jesus teaches his disciples. This could be part of what Jesus meant when he tells them to ‘obey all that I commanded you’ (28:20). Divide the Sermon on the Mount into different sections and encourage each member to prepare one section: what is the core theme of this section, what is Jesus asking his disciples, what does it say about how we can demonstrate the Kingdom of God? Discuss this during the application. Consider how you can grow as a group (small group and Ichtus group).

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5 // Revelation 7:1-17 Bible passage 7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000,6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, 7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, 8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000. 9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God,who sits on the throne,and to the Lamb.”11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures.

They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” 13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” 14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16 ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat.17 For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

Background Genre The book of Revelation is not easily classified into a particular genre55, as it contains multiple genres which are all interconnected. First of all, Revelation is a letter. Chapter 1:4 demonstrates that John writes to various specific communities56. The book is therefore clearly anchored in historical reality57, even though this fact is often ignored by its readers. It is therefore essential to ask ourselves what Revelation meant for the people whom the letter was initially addressed to.

deSilva, D. A. An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004), 885–9.

56 Ibid., 886.

57 Ibid., 889.

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Secondly, the Book of Revelation is prophecy, which we often associate with specific predictions. However, prophecy is in the first instance a critique of the contemporary culture involving a call to change58. Thus Revelation takes a critical look at the current Roman culture and calls for change. The critical approach towards the oppressor was not without danger at the time, which explains partly why the book is so rich in imagery rather than using more explicit language. In seeking to understand the meaning of different symbols, we must first look at the Roman context: what could this imagery have referred to59? But also: what change is this book calling us to make? Not only the first three chapters, but the entire book.

Thirdly, Revelation is apocalyptic, which literally means the ‘lifting of the veil’60. The purpose of apocalyptic literature is to lift the veil of tangible reality to demonstrate which cosmic forces are hidden behind it. Therefore Revelation shows us how the Roman Empire is driven not only by earthly but also by supernatural forces. Apocalyptic literature goes even further in demonstrating how God is even above all of that. The purpose of this kind of literature is in the first place to encourage. It is basically saying, ‘Even when you are being oppressed, you must remember that things will change.”

Author/date61 There is no certainty on the authorship of the Book. The letter does mention (a certain) John as the author. It is clear that he knows the churches that he is writing to and understands their situation because he shares in their experience. The letter was written in the first century AD, probably between 54‐68 AD (during the reign of Emperor Nero) or between 81‐ 96 AD (during the reign of Emperor Dominic).

Target Audience A letter to the churches in Asia; disciples of Christ in the Roman context in the first century AD62.

Central themes of the Book

Elaboration of different theological perspectives on God / Jesus / Holy Spirit / Followers of the Lamb References to the context of Christians in the first century AD Usage of the Old Testament. The entire Book is filled with references to the Ancient writings, especially Isaiah, the Psalms, Ezechiel, Daniel and Exodus.

God as Judge.

Ibid.

In terms of references to the sea (eg 21:1) the Romans used to refer to the Meditarranean as Mare Nostrum (“our sea”). It is also the case that the sea carries a sense of threat in the entire Bible, but this Roman meaning could also have played a role.

60 deSilva,D.A. An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004), 887.

58 59

61

Marshall, H. I., Travis, S. & Paul, I. Exploring the New Testament Volume 2 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity

Press, 2002), 305‐328.

62 Michaels, R. J. Revelation. IVPNTCS. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), 108‐116.

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Structure of the Book

1:1‐8:

Chapter 1 t/m 3: Chapter 4 t/m 11: Chapter 12‐16: Chapter 17‐19: Chapter 19‐20: Chapter 21‐22: Chapter 22:

Prologue Vision of Christ and the seven churches Adoration in the throne room Gods people in conflict with the forces of evil The Last Judgement The rider on the white horse and the thousand years The end victory: the new Jerusalem Epilogue

Clarification Worship of the Emperor63 In Asia Minor, emperor worship was important for two reasons. Because of the distance to Rome, emperor worship was a kind of safeguard to ensure the loyalty of the citizens. This is why offers were brought to the emperor in local temples (such as incense)64. On the other hand, local traditional ways of governing cities and villages remained intact in order for the local leaders to demonstrate their loyalty to Rome. For that reason, people benefited greatly from this kind of emperor worship, perhaps more than Rome itself.

In Chapter 7 we witness some things which have a direct correlation with the known forms of emperor worship, such as: • People around the throne (elders).

• White robes (white was the known ritual colour from a Greek context).

• The singing and proclaiming of glory and honour, short proverbs and poems of honour65.

Numbers In this chapter we immediately notice a great amount of references to numbers. These numbers contain patterns and meaning, and a lot of the words also have a number‐related meaning, which is less obvious in the English translation. The important thing here is that many of these numbers often refer to fullness and completeness. Most of these numbers either refer to the divine, the natural or the human element66.

As a way of illustration67:

More background on emperor worship can be found on: http://openbaring.blogspot.be/p/achtergronden‐1‐ opkomst‐van‐de.html 63

64 Thompson, L. L. The Book Of Revelation, Apocalypse and Empire. (New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1990), 160‐167.

65 Marshall, H. I., Travis, S. & Paul, I. Exploring the New Testament Volume 2 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 305‐328.

66 Ibid., 305‐328.

67 Ibid., 305‐328.

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Place within ‘faith in the world’ Revelation 7 has two very vivid scenes which seem to point in the same direction. Firstly, the united people of Israel receive a seal, and secondly a huge crowd from the whole world is united before the throne and the Lamb.

This is a picture of hope where there is space for people of all backgrounds and cultures.

God is worshiped by people with a diversity of cultures and languages. Faith in the world in this context means having attention for the riches of the different countries, cultures, languages and backgrounds. This also includes a place for the tears and wounds that we carry with us from that background. God is faithful to Israel and faithful to those who worship the Lamb.

God is also referred to as the highest authority. Glory, honour and devotion are clearly not given to the Roman emperor or any other earthly authority. Gods view of authority is also different to the world’s view. He comforts, He nurtures, He protects. He heals the wounds of brokenness and oppression. This is a timeless message for the church of Christ throughout the centuries. Images that refer to the circumstances of the first Christians, these promises and certainty for the oppressed in every age are a hope for the future.

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Core theme The worshipping crowd before the throne of the Lamb is characterised by a diversity in culture, language, backgrounds and this is connected with Gods promises of comfort, healing and repair.

Possible questions O = observation, I = interpretation, A = application

How can you structure this chapter? (O) What similarities can you find between the different aspects of this passage? (O) What words/names do you notice? What words or names are being repeated? (O) What genre is used here? (O) What people can be called ‘citizens’ in this chapter? (I) What does it mean in this context to be a citizen? What do they do? (I) Who is the leader and what do you learn about him? (I) Is this chapter about the now or the future? What makes you say that? (I) What does this passage call us to do? (IA) Why is the diversity of the crowd important in this passage? (IA) Are you in the crowd? (A) Where are you?

What is your background/culture/language?

What are your pains and tears?

How do you worship the Lamb?

What contribution do you bring from your area of study (or work later on) to the wealth of diversity before the throne? (A) What tears, efforts and battles do you see in your own country? What hope does this passage give you? (A)

Methods 1) Visualising: Divide the group into small groups of 2 to 4 people. Encourage them to depict this chapter with clay, paint, pens. This helps to see the passage as a whole and not to focus too much on the details. In discussing the application, use clay, paint or pens to describe what you can bring before the throne of the Lamb from your own background. Visualise the different elements of art, identity, gratitude and mourning from your own culture.

2) Song/poem: Each member could write their won song or poem to God as a worship before the throne, from their own background, culture, tears or wounds.

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6 // Ecclesiastes 1 Bible Passage 1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king of Jerusalem: ‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher.

‘Utterly meaningless!

Everything is meaningless.’

3 What do people gain from all their labours at which they toil under the sun?

4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains for ever.

5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.

6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.

7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full.

To the place the streams come from, there they return again.

8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say.

The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.

9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

10 Is there anything of which one can say, ‘Look! This is something new’?

It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.

11 No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.

2

I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

12

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What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.

16 I said to myself, ‘Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.’ 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.

15

For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.

18

Background Genre The book Ecclesiastes belongs to the wisdom literature, alongside Job and Proverbs. In wisdom literature, the prevailing idea was that the person who lived a good life would prosper, but the person who lived a bad life would be punished by God in this life. This view is partly shared in Proverbs, but in Job and Ecclesiastes, it is questioned or contradicted68.

So Ecclesiastes starts off with a shocking statement: ‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’ (or ‘vanity’ in an older translation). The author talks about his search for the meaning, or meaninglessness of life. He recounts all that he has explored, and what his conclusion of the matter is69.

The book Ecclesiastes can be looked at in different ways. Some believe the book is utterly pessimistic – the author claims to know the truth, by associating with Solomon, but in fact in his research he proves his own foolishness. In order to find the meaning of life he only utilises reason, observation and experience70.

What does come out very clearly in Ecclesiastes is the idea that the fear of the LORD is the only reliable foundation for life (see also Job 28:28; Proverbs 1:7)71.

The name of the book derives from the Hebrew Qoholet, referring to the person leading and speaking to a community of people (‘the preacher’). The word Qohelet doesn’t appear outside of Ecclesiastes but in Ecclesiastes it appears seven times72.

Authorship This book was not written by ‘the preacher’ himself – his words are retold by someone else.

This becomes clear from Eccl. 1:1, 2, Proverbs 7:27 and from the epilogue Eccl. 12: 8‐1473. ‘The son of David, King in Jerusalem’ is meant to point to Solomon. Traditionally it was accepted

Bartholomew, C. G. & OʹDowd, R. P., Old Testament Wisdom Literature. A Theological Introduction. (InterVarsity Press, 189.

69 Ibid., 194.

70 Ibid., 199.

71 Arnold, B. T. & Beyer, B. E., In ontmoeting met het Oude Testament.

72 Ibid., 327.

73 Bartholomew, C. G. & OʹDowd, R. P., Old Testament Wisdom Literature. A Theological Introduction. (InterVarsity Press), 190.

68

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that he was the author of Ecclesiastes, but Luther was the first to question this74 on the basis of Aramaic influences in the language used, which could indicate that the book was written after Solomon’s time75. Solomon is also not mentioned explicitly, in contrast with Proverbs and Song of Solomon76. According to Tremper Longman III it seems more likely that the name Ecclesiastes was taken on by the author to associate himself with Solomon (for literary and communication purposes77), and yet to maintain a certain distance at the same time. The background of the book also doesn’t seem to fit with the time of Solomon, as he lived in an age of wealth and prosperity, whereas in the book there are descriptions of misery and vanity (1:2‐11) (1:12‐2‐26). The book suggests it was the beginning of a period of ‘death’ for Israel (3:1‐15); there was injustice and violence (4:1‐3); there was gentile tyranny (5:7, 9:19); death was preferred to life (7:1); ‘there is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt’ (8:9). Therefore it is more likely that the book was written after exile, perhaps in the third century BC78.

Clarification

2 ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity’ (1:2; 12:8) or ‘meaningless’. This is a Hebrew literary form to make special emphasis, like ‘song of songs’ (Song of Solomon) or ‘holy of holies’ for the holiest place79.

Place within ‘faith in the world’ One aspect of ‘Faith in the world’ is about the question: Do we have faith in the world? Is the world meaningful? Is everything meaningless? What is the point of life?

These are exactly the questions asked by the preacher from Ecclesiastes. He was a wise man, associated with Solomon who received his wisdom from God. In our small group we can discuss what the preacher has to say, and what do we think about it. In what ways do we and do we not agree with him?

The conclusion of the bookcomes in the final chapter verses 12: 13‐14:

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.

For God will bring every deed into judgment,

Greidanus, S., Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes. Foundations for Expository Sermons. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010), 7.

75 Arnold, B. T. & Beyer, B. E., In ontmoeting met het Oude Testament, 328.

76 Kidner, D. The Message of Ecclesiastes. (Nottingham: InterVarsity Press, 1976), 21.

77 Greidanus, S., Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes. Foundations for Expository Sermons. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010), 7.

78 Ibid., 10‐11.

79 Arnold, B. T. & Beyer, B. E., In ontmoeting met het Oude Testament, 329.

74

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including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

Core Meaning Everything under the sun is meaningless/vanity/air and emptiness/mysterious/enigmatic/of a fleeing nature.

Possible questions O = observation, I = interpretation, A = application

Which words and phrases are being repeated? (O) What do you find out about the preacher? (O) What do you find out about God from this passage? (O) What genre is this? (OI) How and what does the preacher think? (OI) How does the conclusion in chapter 12:13,14 affect your view on chapter 1? (OI) How would you describe his way of thinking? (I) What is vanity? (I) What do people gain from all their labours, toiling under the sun (3)? (I) What is the significance of ‘under the sun’? (I) What is meant with ‘There is nothing new under the sun’ (9)? (I) Does the preacher have faith in the world? (I) How would you summarise this passage? (I) If the author lived before the fall, would he have made similar observations? Would he have reached the same conclusions? (I) How can you determine whether or not life is meaningful when you are in the midst of circumstances where nothing seems to make sense? (IA) What does this genre (usually) and this passage try to achieve? (IA) How can we as a community handle this passage? (IA) We read this passage after the coming of Jesus. How does that affect the way we read it?

(IA) Do you recognise yourself in the thoughts of the preacher and in his way of thinking?(A) What do we as an Ichtus group or a church do with this passage? (A) How can we as a community care for people who doubt the meaning of life? (A) The preacher investigates all things. How do you look at this attitude as a student? Is it benefiticial to investigate all things? (A)

Methods

1) Various translations: use a variety of translations, perhaps even different languages. Allow the group members to read them aloud and look at the differences and the different implications for the meaning of the text. Look especially at the Hebrew word ‘Hebel’ and its different translations: emtpiness – fleeting – breath ‐ vanity – meaninglessness.

2) Wordspin (Introduction): Draw a circle on a big piece of paper (A3) and in the middle you write the word ‘fleeting’ or ‘vanity’. Give the group members time to write down their

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associations. What words are connected with this? What do you think? What do you feel?

Which colour do you associate it with?

3) Swedish method (O): to help the group members to read the passage more carefully and to find out what they think about it, you can use this method. You put a ‘+’ sign by something you agree with, or like; and a ‘‐‘ where you disagree or what you find irritating; or a ‘?’ with something you don’t understand.

4) Music (O & I): Let the group members listen to ‘Gone’ by Switchfoot or ‘Alles is lucht’ by Stef Bos (or any other song that relates to the meaning(lessness) of life). Ask them what they think, and compare it with Eccl.1. What are the similarities and differences? See YouTube: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YISE0wk9XbY and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boOH1g0maTQ )

5) Poem (O & I)

Ecclesiastes.

There is one sin: to call a green leaf grey, Whereat the sun in heaven shuddereth.

There is one blasphemy: for death to pray, For God alone knoweth the praise of death.

There is one creed: ‘neath no world‐terror’s wing Apples forget to grow on Apple‐trees.

There is one thing is needful ‐‐‐‐‐‐everything‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ The rest is vanity of vanities.

G.K. Chesterton

What is this about?

What are the similarities and differences with the Bible passage?

6) Statements (I & A): The aim of this method is to gain a better and broader picture of Ecclesiastes and of what else is said in this book. It may also help people to shape their opinions or open up a discussion. Divide the room in two and put forward a few statements by the preacher, as proverbs. Those who agree go to one side of the room, those who disagree go to the other side. Then ask them why they agree or disagree, if they want to share their thoughts. You could also write down statements on small cards for each group member to read, and to say whether or not they agree, and why.

7) Letter (A): Write God a letter, telling him how you view life. What do you think the meaning of life is, and what role does God play in it?

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7 // Jeremia 29: Bijbelgedeelte 1 Hier volgt de brief die de profeet Jeremia vanuit Jeruzalem heeft gestuurd aan de overgebleven oudsten onder de ballingen, aan de priesters, de profeten en alle anderen die Nebukadnessar vanuit Jeruzalem naar Babel had gevoerd. 2 Hij schreef deze brief toen koning Jechonja, de koningin‐moeder, de hovelingen, de leiders van Jeruzalem en Juda en de smeden en wapenmakers al uit Jeruzalem waren weggevoerd. 3 Hij liet hem bezorgen door Elasa, de zoon van Safan, en Gemarja, de zoon van Chilkia, de gezanten die namens koning Sedekia van Juda naar koning Nebukadnessar in Babel reisden. De brief had de volgende inhoud: 4 ‘Dit zegt de HEER van de hemelse machten, de God van Israël, tegen de ballingen die hij vanuit Jeruzalem naar Babel heeft laten voeren: 5 Bouw huizen en ga daarin wonen, leg tuinen aan en eet van de opbrengst, 6 ga huwelijken aan en verwek zonen en dochters, zoek vrouwen voor je zonen en huw je dochters uit, zodat zij zonen en dochters baren. Jullie moeten in aantal toenemen, niet afnemen. 7 Bid tot de HEER voor de stad waarheen ik jullie weggevoerd heb en zet je in voor haar bloei, want de bloei van de stad is ook jullie bloei.

8 Dit zegt de HEER van de hemelse machten, de God van Israël: Laat je niet misleiden door je profeten en waarzeggers. Hecht geen geloof aan hun dromen; ze dromen slechts wat jullie wensen. 9 Wat ze jullie in mijn naam profeteren zijn leugens. Ik heb hen niet gezonden – spreekt de HEER. 10 Dit zegt de HEER: Als er in Babel zeventig jaar voorbij zijn, zal ik naar jullie omzien. Dan zal ik mijn belofte gestand doen door jullie naar Jeruzalem te laten terugkeren. 11 Mijn plan met jullie staat vast – spreekt de HEER. Ik heb jullie geluk voor ogen, niet jullie ongeluk: ik zal je een hoopvolle toekomst geven. 12 Jullie zullen mij aanroepen en tot mij bidden, en ik zal naar jullie luisteren. 13 Jullie zullen mij zoeken en ook vinden, als jullie mij tenminste met hart en ziel zoeken. 14 Ik zal me door jullie laten vinden – spreekt de HEER – en ik zal in je lot een keer brengen. Ik zal jullie samenbrengen uit alle volken en plaatsen waarheen ik je verbannen heb – spreekt de HEER – en je laten terugkeren naar Jeruzalem, waaruit ik je heb laten wegvoeren.

Achtergrondinformatie Genre

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Verduidelijking Plaats binnen ‘geloof in de wereld’ Kerngedachte Mogelijke vragen O = observatie, I = interpretatie, A = applicatie (toepassing)

Welk genre is dit? (OI) Waar roept dit genre (meestal) en deze tekst toe op? (IA)

Werkvormen

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8 // Handelingen 17: 16-32 Bijbelgedeelte 16 Terwijl Paulus in Athene op hen wachtte, raakte hij hevig verontwaardigd bij het zien van de vele godenbeelden in de stad. 17 In de synagoge sprak hij met de Joden en met de Grieken die God vereerden, en op het marktplein ging hij dagelijks in debat met de mensen die hij daar aantrof. 18 Onder hen waren ook enkele epicurische en stoïsche filosofen, van wie sommigen zeiden: ‘Wat beweert die praatjesmaker toch?’ Anderen merkten op: ‘Hij schijnt een boodschapper van uitheemse goden te zijn,’ omdat ze dachten dat hij predikte over Jezus en een godin die Opstanding heette. 19 Ze namen hem mee naar de Areopagus en zeiden: ‘Kunt u ons uitleggen wat die nieuwe leer is die door u wordt uitgedragen? 20 Want wat u zegt, klinkt ons vreemd in de oren; we willen graag weten wat u bedoelt.’ 21 Alle Atheners en de vreemdelingen die er wonen hebben immers voor haast niets anders tijd dan voor het uitwisselen van de nieuwste ideeën.

22 Paulus richtte zich tot de leden van de Areopagus en zei: ‘Atheners, ik heb gezien hoe buitengewoon godsdienstig u in ieder opzicht bent. 23 Want toen ik in de stad rondliep en alles wat u vereert nauwlettend in ogenschouw nam, ontdekte ik ook een altaar met het opschrift: “Aan de onbekende god”. Wat u vereert zonder het te kennen, dat kom ik u verkondigen. 24 De God die de wereld heeft gemaakt en alles wat er leeft, hij die over hemel en aarde heerst, woont niet in door mensenhanden gemaakte tempels. 25 Hij laat zich ook niet bedienen door mensenhanden alsof er nog iets is dat hij nodig heeft, hij die zelf aan iedereen leven en adem en al het andere schenkt. 26 Uit één mens heeft hij de hele mensheid gemaakt, die hij over de hele aarde heeft verspreid; voor elk volk heeft hij een tijdperk vastgesteld en hij heeft de grenzen van hun woongebied bepaald. 27 Het was Gods bedoeling dat ze hem zouden zoeken en hem al tastend zouden kunnen vinden, aangezien hij van niemand van ons ver weg is. 28 Want in hem leven wij, bewegen wij en zijn wij. Of, zoals ook enkele van uw eigen dichters hebben gezegd: “Uit hem komen ook wij voort.”

29 Maar als wij dan uit God voortkomen, mogen we niet denken dat het goddelijke gelijk is aan een beeld van goud of zilver of steen, het werk van een ambachtsman, door mensen bedacht. 30 God slaat echter geen acht op de tijd waarin men hem niet kende, maar roept nu overal de mensen op om een nieuw leven te beginnen, 31 want hij heeft bepaald dat er een dag komt waarop hij een rechtvaardig oordeel over de mensheid zal laten vellen door een man die hij voor dat doel heeft aangewezen. Het bewijs dat het om deze man gaat, heeft hij geleverd door hem uit de dood te doen opstaan.’

32 Toen ze hoorden van een opstanding van de doden dreven sommigen daar de spot mee, terwijl anderen zeiden: ‘Daarover moet u ons een andere keer nog maar eens vertellen.’

33 Zo vertrok Paulus uit hun midden. 34 Toch sloten enkelen zich bij hem aan en aanvaardden het geloof, onder wie ook een Areopagiet, Dionysius, een vrouw die Damaris heette en nog een aantal anderen.

Achtergrondinformatie Genre

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Verduidelijking Plaats binnen ‘geloof in de wereld’ Kerngedachte Mogelijke vragen O = observatie, I = interpretatie, A = applicatie (toepassing)

Welk genre is dit? (OI) Waar roept dit genre (meestal) en deze tekst toe op? (IA)

Werkvormen

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9 // Matthew 5:1-15 Bible passage

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

3

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

14

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Background Author The author of this gospel is Matthew, who was a tax collector in Kapernaum. Matthew’s profession may give us an indication of why this gospel is so well ordered and has a clear structure80.

Target Audience The gospel of Matthew was not only written for non‐Jewish Christians, but in fact was written mainly for Jewish Christians and has many Jewish features. It includes various references to Jesus’ family history, the Old Testament, and the Law. This gospel is also particularly Jewish in the use of its language (‘the Kingdom of Heaven’), and Matthew’s emphasis on the innocence of Jesus, the Messiah, also indicates he was writing for people from a Jewish background. It was Matthew’s deep desire to see the Jewish people come to faith81.

Central themes in Matthew This Book of the Bible was much loved amongst the first generation of Christians and church communities. They sought to find ways to take the gospel of Jesus to other peoples and make them disciples. As well as describing the birth, baptism, temptation, death and resurrection of Jesus, this gospel also includes five long discourses, in which Jesus teaches his disciples how to live in the Kingdom. Two other themes that are core to this gospel are82:

Faith: Faith is very important in the gospel of Matthew. We often hear Jesus asking, ‘Do you believe in what I have told you?’ or, ‘Do you believe that I can do this?‘. Jesus longs for his followers to trust in Him and in his Word83.

Righteousness/Justice: Jesus says that we are saved for righteousness, which means that once we have come to faith and have had our sins forgiven, we are expected to demonstrate the righteousness of God in our lives by doing good and living in a good way. Exactly how we can do this is described in the gospel of Matthew.

Structure of the book

D. Pawson, Sleutel tot de Bijbel. (London: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2003), 945 D. Pawson, Sleutel tot de Bijbel. (London: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2003), 952‐957 82 Ibid., 967‐970 83 Ibid., 967 80 81

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As mentioned earlier, the gospel of Matthew has a very clear structure. As an introduction, Matthew tells us about the birth, death and temptation of Jesus. Subsequently in chapters 5‐ 25 we find the different sermons. These are interspersed with accounts of Jesus’ deeds and miracles, which supported his teachings. In this way Matthew wanted to show the reader that Jesus’ teachings are an example for us, but the way He lived was too. Finally the gospel describes the death and resurrection of Jesus84. The Bible passage we are looking at in Matthew 5 can be found in Jesus’ first sermon, better known as the Sermon on te Mount.

Clarification

3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, ...’ The poor in spirit could refer to those with limited intellectual capacities,or it could mean those in material poverty. Both of these possible interpretations are based on our status in the world. But in order to find the true meaning of ‘poor in spirit’, we need to reflect on our spiritual poverty. In Greek the word ”ptochoi” is used, meaning ‘beggar’. Our spiritual attitude to God needs to be like that of a beggar, hungry for his Word and his mercy, and grateful for all that we receive from Him85.

3-12 Earlier on in the gospel of Matthew, Jeus told his listeners that the Kingdom of Heaven was near (Matthew 4:17). Those who heard this may have wanted to know what they could do to enter the Kingdom of God. This sermon answers this question, and highlights how different God’s Kingdom is from the kingdoms of the earth86.

11-12 Jesus tells his listeners to ‘rejoice and be glad’ for being insulted, persecuted and falsely accused. At first sight, this may seem contradictory. However, persecution can be a good thing, as it can strengthen our faith as we persevere, and enable us to encourage others. The fact that we are persecuted can be a sign that we trust in God despite what is happening around us. For this, there will be a reward later in the Kingdom of God.

Place within ‘Faith in the World’ The annual theme of ‘Faith in the World’ can be interpreted in two ways. On the one hand, we can interpret this as: faith and the faithful in the world. How can we behave as Christians in the world, how can we relate to each other? On the other hand, we can ask the question: do we have faith in the world? Are we confident that we as Jesus’ co‐workers can contribute to the good in this world?

To the first question, this passage gives us a very clear answer, as Jesus describes how to live in this world, what kind of attitude to have towards each other. Jesus shows us how to be light and salt in the world.

Ibid., 949‐950 Saret, De Bergrede studie, 1‐2 86 The life Application Study Bible. (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers/Youth for Christ, 1993), 1096 84 85

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To the second question, if we should have faith in the world, we should say, yes, absolutely! ‘...so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven’ (verse 16). If we live the way Jesus showed us and taught us, people will notice and honour God.

Core Theme

The Kingdom of Heaven is totally different from worldly kingdoms, so in order to be part of it, our behaviour will be totally different. Jesus calls us to be compassionate, gentle, humble...It is important that the world sees this, so that they can be witnesses of the greatness and goodness of God’s Kingdom.

Possible questions O = observation, I = interpretation, A = application

What do you notice when you read the passage? Can you identify a structure? Do you notice any contrasts or similarities? Can you provide a label for the different parts? (O) Is there any part of the passage that speaks to you personally? (O) What are the different beatitudes? (O) What is God’s reward for each beatitude? (O) What does Jesus compare us with here? (O) What does this passage teach us about how to live? (OI) What are the contradictions between beatitudes and contemporary values? (OI) What is meant with peacemakers? (I) What does it mean to be the ‘salt of the earth’? (I) What does it mean to be the ‘light of the earth’? (I) Is it sufficient to fulfil some of these, but not all? Why or why not? (I) Can you summarise this passage in 1 or 2 sentences, explaining what is most important to you? (I) How can you apply this passage in your community, school, friendships and family? (A) What aspects from this passage can be improved in your life? (A) What would you want to pray about after reading this? (A) Methods 1) Association: take a large sheet of paper and write down one of the beatitudes. Encourage the group members to write down all the words they associate with it. Afterwards, you can discuss their ideas in the broader context of their meaning in the passage (after observation, as an introduction to interpretation).

2) Reconstruction: Divide the group in two. Give one half the passage without the ‘beatitudes’ and the other half the passage without the ‘rewards’. Are the groups able to reconstruct the passage? (see appendix)

3) Group work: Divide the group in two’s or three’s. Leave each small group to do the observation questions, and at the end share the findings together. This can also be done for

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interpretation and application. This method allows the individual group members time to share at their own pace and in more depth.

4) Creative: Give each member of the group one beatitude to creatively express, draw, sing or explain.

5) Brainstorm: Take a large piece of paper and discuss the question,”How can you apply this passage in your community, school, friendships and family?”. Have a brainstorm with your group. Keep hold of the piece of paper afterwards and use it to keep members accountable.

6) Prayer: After the Bible study, go into groups of two or three and pray for each other, especially for those things that you would like to see changed after reading and studying this passage.

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10 // Jakobus 1:19-2:26 Bijbelgedeelte 19 Geliefde broeders en zusters, onthoud dit goed: ieder mens moet zich haasten om te luisteren, maar traag zijn om te spreken, traag ook in het kwaad worden. 20 Want de woede van een mens brengt niets voort dat in Gods ogen rechtvaardig is. 21 Wees daarom zachtmoedig en leg alle verdorvenheid en elk denkbaar wangedrag af. En aanvaard zo de boodschap die in u is geplant en die u kan redden. 22 Vergis u niet: alleen horen is niet genoeg, u moet wat u gehoord hebt ook doen. 23 Want wie de boodschap hoort maar er niets mee doet, is net als iemand die het gezicht waarmee hij is geboren in de spiegel bekijkt: 24 hij ziet zichzelf, maar zodra hij wegloopt is hij vergeten hoe hij eruitzag. 25 Wie zich daarentegen spiegelt in de volmaakte wet die vrijheid brengt, en dat blijft doen, niet als iemand die hoort en vergeet, maar als iemand die ernaar handelt – hem valt geluk ten deel, juist om wat hij doet. 26 Wie meent dat hij God dient, terwijl hij zijn tong niet kan beteugelen, zit op een dwaalspoor, en heel zijn godsdienst is vergeefse moeite. 27 Voor God, de Vader, is alleen dit reine, zuivere godsdienst: weduwen en wezen bijstaan in hun nood, en je in acht nemen voor de wereld en onberispelijk blijven.

2 1 Broeders en zusters, het geloof in Jezus Christus, onze glorierijke Heer, staat niet toe dat u mensen op hun uiterlijk beoordeelt. 2 Stel dat uw samenkomst wordt bezocht door iemand die prachtige kleren en gouden ringen draagt, en tegelijkertijd door een arme in vodden.

3 Als u dan de eerste met alle zorg omringt en tegen hem zegt: ‘Neemt u plaats, hier zit u goed,’ terwijl u tegen de tweede zegt: ‘Ga daar maar staan, of ga maar bij mijn voetenbank op de grond zitten,’ 4 maakt u dan geen ongeoorloofd onderscheid en wordt uw oordeel niet door verkeerde overwegingen bepaald? 5 Luister, geliefde broeders en zusters: heeft God niet juist hen die naar wereldse maatstaven arm zijn, uitgekozen om rijk te zijn door het geloof en deel te krijgen aan het koninkrijk dat hij heeft beloofd aan wie hem liefhebben?

6 Maar u behandelt arme mensen met minachting. Zijn het dan niet de rijken die u onderdrukken en u voor de rechter slepen? 7 Zijn zij het niet die de voortreffelijke naam die over u is uitgesproken, door het slijk halen? 8 Wanneer u echter het koninklijke gebod volbrengt dat de Schrift geeft: ‘Heb uw naaste lief als uzelf,’ dan handelt u juist. 9 Maar als u op het uiterlijk afgaat, begaat u een zonde en bestempelt de wet u als overtreders. 10 Wie de hele wet onderhoudt maar op één punt struikelt, blijft ten aanzien van alle geboden in gebreke. 11 Want hij die gezegd heeft: ‘Pleeg geen overspel,’ heeft ook gezegd: ‘Pleeg geen moord.’ Als u geen overspel pleegt maar wel een moord, overtreedt u toch de wet. 12 Zorg ervoor dat uw spreken en uw handelen de toets kunnen doorstaan van de wet die vrijheid brengt. 13 Onbarmhartig zal het oordeel zijn over wie geen barmhartigheid heeft bewezen; maar de barmhartigheid overwint het oordeel.

14 Broeders en zusters, wat heeft het voor zin als iemand zegt te geloven, maar hij handelt er niet naar? Zou dat geloof hem soms kunnen redden? 15 Als een broeder of zuster nauwelijks kleren heeft en elke dag eten tekortkomt, 16 en een van u zegt dan: ‘Het ga je goed! Kleed je warm en eet smakelijk!’ zonder de ander te voorzien van de eerste levensbehoeften – wat heeft dat voor zin? 17 Zo is het ook met geloof: als het zich niet daadwerkelijk bewijst, is het dood. 18 Maar dan zegt iemand: ‘De een gelooft, de ander doet.’ Laat mij maar eens zien dat je kunt geloven zonder daden; ik zal u door mijn daden tonen dat ik geloof. 19 U gelooft dat

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God de enige is? Daar doet u goed aan. Maar de demonen geloven dat ook, en ze sidderen.

20 Dwaas, wilt u het bewijs dat geloof zonder daden nutteloos is? 21 Werd het onze voorvader Abraham niet als een rechtvaardige daad toegerekend dat hij zijn zoon Isaak op het altaar wilde offeren? 22 U ziet hoe geloof en handelen daar hand in hand gaan, en hoe het geloof vervolmaakt wordt door daden. 23 Zo ging in vervulling wat de Schrift zegt: ‘Abraham vertrouwde op God, en dat werd hem toegerekend als een rechtvaardige daad.’

Hij wordt zelfs Gods vriend genoemd. 24 U ziet dus dat iemand rechtvaardig wordt verklaard om wat hij doet, en niet alleen om zijn geloof. 25 Werd niet ook Rachab, de hoer, rechtvaardig verklaard om wat ze deed, toen ze de verkenners ontving en langs een andere weg liet vertrekken? 26 Zoals het lichaam dood is zonder de ziel, zo is ook geloof zonder daden dood.

Achtergrondinformatie Genre

Verduidelijking Plaats binnen ‘geloof in de wereld’ Kerngedachte Mogelijke vragen O = observatie, I = interpretatie, A = applicatie (toepassing)

Welk genre is dit? (OI) Waar roept dit genre (meestal) en deze tekst toe op? (IA)

Werkvormen

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11 // Micha 6: 1-8 Bijbelgedeelte 1 Hoor toch wat de HEER zegt!

Sta op, laat de bergen uw rechtsgeding horen, laat de heuvels getuige zijn.

2 Luister, bergen, naar het pleidooi van de HEER, hoor toe, onwrikbare fundamenten van de aarde.

De HEER heeft een geschil met zijn volk, hij klaagt Israël aan: 3 ‘Mijn volk, wat heb ik je misdaan?

Waarmee heb ik je gekweld? Antwoord mij!

4 Ik heb je weggeleid, bevrijd uit de slavernij in Egypte.

Ik zond Mozes, Aäron en Mirjam om jullie voor te gaan.

5 Ben je dan vergeten, mijn volk, wat Balak besloot, de koning van Moab, wat Bileam, de zoon van Beor, hem antwoordde?

Ben je vergeten wat er gebeurde tussen Sittim en Gilgal?

Ken je de gerechtigheid van de HEER niet meer?’

6 ‘Wat kan ik de HEER aanbieden, waarmee hulde brengen aan de verheven God? Moet ik hem tegemoet treden met brandoffers, zou hij eenjarige stieren aanvaarden?

7 Kan ik hem gunstig stemmen met duizenden rammen, met olie, stromend in tienduizend beken?

Moet ik mijn oudste kind geven voor wat ik heb misdaan, de vrucht van mijn schoot voor mijn zondig leven?’

8 Er is jou, mens, gezegd wat goed is, je weet wat de HEER van je wil: niets anders dan recht te doen, trouw te betrachten en nederig de weg te gaan van je God.

Achtergrondinformatie Genre

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Verduidelijking Plaats binnen ‘geloof in de wereld’ Kerngedachte Mogelijke vragen O = observatie, I = interpretatie, A = applicatie (toepassing)

Welk genre is dit? (OI) Waar roept dit genre (meestal) en deze tekst toe op? (IA)

Werkvormen

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12 // John 17 Bible passage After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Background From the time of the early church fathers onwards, it has been assumed that John, son of Zebedee and one of the 12 disciples, is indeed the author of the gospel of John87. As a disciple, John was a close eyewitness to the teaching and acts of Jesus himself. Some

P.H.R. Van Houwelingen, Johannes Het evangelie van het Woord. Commentaar op het Nieuwe Testament, (Kampen, Kok, 1997), 23 87

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commentaries claim that John was Jesus’ favourite disciple88, as they had a friendly relationship and John had experienced a lot of Jesus’ ministry from close by.

The gospel of John is very different from the other gospels in the New Testament – it omits certain stories, and also describes events that we do not find in the other three gospels. John’s Jewish background enables him to address some important Jewish themes. After the calling of the disciples, John describes the work Jesus has come to do, which consists mainly of miracle stories and descriptions of Jewish festivals (chapters 1‐12). These chapters then introduce and lead to the following part (chapters 13‐17) which have as their core theme the last Passover Meal that Jesus has with his disciples. He teaches them on what has happened before and gives them final instructions for when He is no longer with them. These final instructions end with a prayer (John 17) – which is sometimes called the High Priestly Prayer or the Farewell Prayer89. Jesus has just celebrated the Passover Meal with his disciples (John 13‐ 17) and is aware that his imprisonment and death is near. He prays again near his disciples. The first part of the prayer is for himself (1‐5), then he prays for his disciples (6‐19) and finally for all believers (20‐26).

Clarification

1a ‘After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed’. This implies that Jesus adopted a common Jewish position to begin prayer (cf. John 11:41) and that that which is spoken needs to be read as a prayer90.

1b-5 Jesus’ ministry has almost come to completion. Through his miracles and his preaching He has shown the world some of God’s power and might, and now the moment has arrived for the final battle: the victory over death and the gift of eternal life to those who believe in him.

6-8 Jesus has told the disciples all they need to know, and they are convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, sent by Him.

9 ‘I am not praying for the world’. In this chapter the word ‘world’ appears 18 times, but in this instance it is perhaps the hardest to understand. Here, ‘world’ is referring to those who do not believe in Jesus. Does this mean that these people will not receive eternal life? See verse 20, where Jesus prays for those who come to faith through the proclamation of the Word. In verse 9 Jesus is praying specifically for those who already believe in him, for they will need his prayer for unity and strength, because their faith will be tested.

11-13

Ibid., 19 Ibid., 331 90 F.W. Grosheide, Het Heilig Evangelie volgens Johannes II Hoofdstukken 8‐21. Kommentaar op het Nieuwe Testament, (Kampen, Kok, 1950), 398 J.C. Bette, G. van den Brink, H. Courtz, et al, Het evangelie naar Johannes. Studiebijbel v.5, (Zaltbommel, Koninklijke Van de Garde, 2001), 699.

88 89

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Is Jesus in the world or not in the world? It seems as if two different worlds are spoken about. In verse 11, the world as in the people who do not believe in Jesus – Jesus is rounding off his work on earth and will no longer speak in public – so in that sense, he is no longer ‘in the world’. However, physically, he is still on earth (verse 13). When his work is fully complete, he will also leave the earth physically.

‘None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.’ In John 6:70‐71 we read a prediction of the betrayal by Judas.

21-23 Through the unity of all Christians people will see that God the Father and the Son are one.

This unity is a testimony to the love of God.

26 Through Jesus in us, He can continue his work through us. We testify of the love of Christ.

His name is known when we share his love with those around us.

Place in ‘Faith in the World’ Jesus came to the world with a clear mission – to offer people eternal life. During his lifetime Jesus taught people and pointed out their need for a saviour. He was the promised Messiah.

In John 17 we read a prayer by Jesus to his Father, with his disciples nearby. They are the ones who believe his message and follow him as the Son of God. His job is nearly done. In chapter 18 Jesus is taken captive and we see the battle where Jesus will finally conquer death.

When this happens he will no longer be on earth and the disciples will have the task of spreading the gospel. The mission of Jesus does not end at the resurrection or the ascension because He keeps going with his disciples and ultimately all his followers. Jesus believed in the world. A world with people who are too beautiful to be lost.

Core theme I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

22

Possible questions O = observation, I = interpretation, A = application

What genre is this passage? (OI) Read the passage through once and mark the words that are repeated. What do you notice? (O) There is mention of different kinds of worlds. Which ones? (OI) Who and what does Jesus pray for? (OI) What is meant with ‘Your word is the truth’? (v. 17)? When John wrote his gospel there wasn’t yet a canon of the New Testament. (I) What is the relationship between v. 11, 13 and 25‐6? (I)

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What is meant in v. 12 with ‘None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.’?(I) Jezus’ work in the world is nearly completed. What does he want us to do? (IA) How can you apply Jesus’ mission in your own life?(A) Have you experienced resistance at university? If so, how do you handle it? (A) How can you practically demonstrate the love of God to your fellow students?(A) At the end of the prayer, Jesus prays for unity amongst Christians. How can we as a small group put this into practice? (A) How can you, as an Ichtus group in your city, help to show people a glimpse of God’s love? For instance think of helping at a food bank, local centre, a place where vulnerable people can come for a meal, etc. (A)

Methods

1) Prayer walk: This study is all about showing God’s love to the world. How can we apply this to our Ichtus group? The method of the prayer walk allows us to explore the world around us, pray in a more focused way, and witness to the people around us. As a Bible study leader you could spend about half an hour studying the passage, emphasising the importance of unity within ichtus and between all Christians. At the end of the study, take your group outside and take them for a walk through the local neighbourhood. When passing by areas of need for prayer (schools, cafes, churches, prayer houses, etc.), stop for a prayer, or write down prayer points for later. At the end of the walk, pick out one thing that you want to do differently or an area where you want to make an impact. Write this down and keep each other accountable.

2) Collage: In this passage, the word ‘world’ appears 18 times, but not always with the same meaning. Give each member of the group A4 paper, scissors, glue, and a couple of old newspapers and magazines. Give each member of the group 20‐30 mins to make a collage of what his/her world means, and what they think of with the word ‘world’. By using the different collages you can explore the different meanings of ‘worlds’.

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Appendix 1: Reconstruction Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

He said: “Blessed are the ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐, for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐, for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐, for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐, for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

3

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Sources Used

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Bette, J. C., van den Brink, G., Courtz, H. & van Veelen, G. A. Het evangelie naar Johannes.

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Carson, D. A. & Moo, D. J. An Introduction to the New Testament. 2nd ed. Leicester, InterVarsity Press, 2005.

Green, J. B., McKnight, S. & Marshall, I. H. eds. “Parable.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

Greidanus, S. Preacing Christ from Ecclesiastes. Foundations for Expository Sermons. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010.

Grosheide, F. W. Het Heilig Evangelie volgens Johannes II Hoofdstukken 8‐21. Kommentaar op het Nieuwe Testament. Kampen, Kok, 1950.

Keener, C. S. Matthew. IVPNTCS. Downer Grove, IL: IVP, 1997.

―. The IVP New Testament Background Commentary. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993.

Kidner, D. The Message of Ecclesiastes. TBST. Nottingham: InterVarsity Press, 1976.

Life application study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers/Youth for Christ, 1993

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