October 25, 2020

Matthew 9:14-17

1. We have now read many of the accounts in Matthew since the Sermon on the Mount, have there been any specific passages that stood out to you from Matthew 8-9 so far?

2. In Matthew 9:14, we see that both the disciples of John as well as the Pharisees highly value fasting.

We saw in Matthew 6 that Jesus addresses those who do religious activity to be seen by others...what are the ways people can still fall into this trap today?

We heard that this is evidence of the corruption of the human heart, that even good things can be distorted by humanity. What are other examples of good things that have been distorted due to sin?

3. In Matthew 9:15, Jesus uses the analogy of a wedding celebration to begin his response to the question.

A connection was made to Hosea 2:16-20 that this bridegroom language in Matthew 9 was purposeful...how important is it to see the various ways that Jesus claims to be God?

One of the big ideas in this section was that Jesus shapes true worship. How can we be more intentional in our worship to set our minds' attention & hearts' affection on God & His glory? How do we keep that from being just another statement?

4. In Matthew 9:16, we see that Jesus uses the idea of adding a new patch to an old garment to address the issue of external, religious activity.

Why is it so important to embrace the truth that justification takes place apart from works?

It was said that "patchwork religion is taking a sample of Jesus that you like & adding it alongside other teaching & thinking that you find palatable." Why does this fail?

5. In Matthew 9:17, we see that Jesus uses the idea of new wine needing to be held in new wineskins to make his final point.

We talked substantially about the need for every person to be made new. Why do all of us need to be made new? What are passages in the Bible that would help explain this?

How is a person made new? What's a Bible passage that helps articulate the way a person is made new?

For those who have been made new in Jesus Christ, how does this newness impact your priorities?