Bible Study 1: Who is Jesus Christ?
Optional: Getting to know each other (Since this is the first Bible study with your group, you may do one activity to deepen knowledge of each other if the previous day’s acquaintance game(s) and the morning devotion time had not achieved the desired level of familiarity among your members.)
Consider this:
He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in still another village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was 30. Then for three years, He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He didn't go to college. He never traveled more than 200 miles from the place He was born. He did none of the things one usually associates with greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He was only 33 when public opinion turned against Him. His friends deserted Him. He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. When He was dying, His executioners gambled for His clothing, the only property He had. . . on earth. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race, the leader of mankind's progress. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on earth as much as that One Solitary Life. Do you know who He Is?
(Dr James Allan Francis in “The Real Jesus and Other Sermons,” © 1926 by the Judson Press of Philadelphia, pp. 123-124 titled “Arise Sir Knight!” in http://www.holybible.com/resources/poems/ps.php?sid=47).
What do you know about Jesus Christ?
In Matthew 16:13-16, Jesus asked His disciples two questions. What was the first question that He asked? (Matthew 16:13)
What answer did His disciples give Him? (Matthew 16:14)
Many people throughout the ages - scholars, historians, philosophers, and famous leaders - have said much about Jesus Christ (http://www.tentmaker.org/Quotes/jesus-christ.htm). What do these people say about Christ?
I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him. –Napoleon
No one else holds or has held the place in the heart of the world which Jesus holds. Other gods have been as devoutly worshiped; no other man has been so devoutly loved. --John Knox
Even those who have renounced Christianity and attacked it, in their inmost being still follow the Christian ideal, for hitherto neither their subtlety nor the ardour of their hearts has been able to create a higher ideal of man and of virtue than the ideal given by Christ of old. --Fyodor Dostoyevsky
A Man who was completely innocent, offered Himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including His enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act. --Mahatma Gandhi
Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander the Great, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, He shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of school, He spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, He set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times. –Philip Schaff
I am a historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.--H.G. Wells
As the centuries pass, the evidence is accumulating that, measured by His effect on history, Jesus is the most influential life ever lived on this planet. -- Historian Kenneth Scott Latourette
Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ's 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity. –Unknown
I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and very beautiful; but I never read in either of them: "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden." –Augustine
Buddha never claimed to be God. Moses never claimed to be Jehovah. Mohammed never claimed to be Allah. Yet Jesus Christ claimed to be the true and living God. Buddha simply said, "I am a teacher in search of the truth." Jesus said, "I am the truth." Confucius said, "I never claimed to be holy." Jesus said, "Who convicts me of sin?" Mohammed said, "Unless God throws His cloak of mercy over me, I have no hope." Jesus said, "Unless you believe in Me, you will die in your sins." –Unknown
Fundamentally, our Lord's message was Himself. He did not come merely to preach a Gospel; He Himself is that Gospel. He did not come merely to give bread; He said, "I am the bread." He did not come merely to shed light; He said, "I am the Light." He did not come merely to show the door; He said, "I am the door." He did not come merely to name a shepherd; He said, "I am the shepherd." He did not come merely to point the way; He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." --J. Sidlow Baxter
Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair. --Blaise Pascal
As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene....No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. --Albert Einstein
Jesus was the greatest religious genius that ever lived. -- Ernest Renan
In summary, who is Jesus Christ according to what these people said about Him?
What was the second question that Jesus asked His disciples? (Matthew 16:15)
According to Simon Peter, who is Jesus Christ? (Matthew 16:16)
We have considered what others have said about Jesus Christ. How about you? How would you respond to Jesus’ question: “But you? Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:16)
Bible Study 2: Seeing Jesus Christ – Part 1
In the previous lesson, we learned what great men throughout history have said about Christ. In this lesson, we will listen to what people who have met Jesus Christ personally have to say about Him. We will also listen to Jesus and what He has to say about Himself.
Who is Jesus Christ? Why would He be important to us?
When Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth more than 2,000 years ago, He called to Himself a group of disciples who followed Him everywhere. These disciples left a written record of His words, deeds and the events in His life. This record was preserved in the Bible. The book of John preserves some of these things that Jesus did and what others said about Him.
Who is the Word? (John 1:1, 6, 14)
What is His relationship to God? (John 1:1-2)
Who created all things? (John 1:3)
Who has the life? (John 1:4-5)
Who is John? What is his relation to the Light? (John 1:6-8)
Who is the true Light? (John 1:9-11, 14)
What did John the Evangelist and Nathanael call Jesus? (John 1:18, 47-49)
What did the Samaritan woman call Jesus? (John 4:28-30)
What did the Samaritans call Jesus? (John 4:39-42)
Considering what John the Evangelist, Nathanael, and the Samaritan woman said, who is Jesus?
What did Jesus say about Himself? (John 4:11-13; 6:35; 7:37-39; 8:12; 10:9-10; 10:30-33; 11:25-26; 14:1-6)
Based on what Jesus said about Himself, who is Jesus Christ to you? (Sharing time)
Consider what C. S. Lewis said about Jesus Christ:
“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Now that you know all these things about Jesus, how would you live your life in relation to Him?
Bible Study 3: Seeing Jesus Christ – Part 2
In the previous lesson, we considered what those who spent time with Jesus said about Him and what Jesus said about Himself.
What did we learn about Jesus Christ in the previous lesson?
In today’s lesson, we will continue to discover who Jesus is based on what He did.
While He was on earth, what did Jesus do? (John 2:1-11; 4:46-54; 5:1-9; 6:1-14; 6:16-21; 9:1-7; 11:38-44; 20:1-18)
Why did John the Evangelist write about the things that Jesus did? (John 20:30-31)
What do we learn about Jesus Christ in this Bible study based on what He did?
When Jesus revealed Himself to Thomas, how did Thomas respond? (John 20:24-29)
What did Jesus say to the Jewish teacher whose name is Nicodemus? (John 3:14-18)
Why would we need Jesus' eternal life in us? (Romans 3:23; 6:23)
What did Jesus do with our sins? (John 1:29)
What do we need to do in order to receive Jesus' eternal life? (John 3:16-18)
What happens when we believe and receive Jesus? (John 1:12-13)
Sholem Asch says:
“Jesus Christ is to me the outstanding personality of all time, all history, both as Son of God and as Son of Man. Everything He ever said or did has value for us today and that is something you can say of no other man, dead or alive. There is no easy middle ground to stroll upon. You either accept Jesus or reject Him.”
Considering all you now know about Jesus, do you wish to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?
Bible Study 4: Loving Jesus Christ
“Blessed is he who appreciates what it is to love Jesus and who despises himself for the sake of Jesus. Give up all other love for His, since He wishes to be loved alone above all things. Affection for creatures is deceitful and inconstant, but the love of Jesus is true and enduring. He who clings to a creature will fall with its frailty, but he who gives himself to Jesus will ever be strengthened. Love Him, then; keep Him as a friend. He will not leave you as others do, or let you suffer lasting death. Sometime, whether you will or not, you will have to part with everything. Cling, therefore, to Jesus in life and death; trust yourself to the glory of Him who alone can help you when all others fail.” (Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ; Book II, The Interior Life; The Seventh Chapter)
In the previous Bible study, we saw Jesus for who He really is as revealed in the Bible: God in human form and Savior of the World. In this study, we will continue to see Him in the pages of the Bible, this time not only as our God and Savior but also as One worthy of our constant and total love.
Why did the crowd look for Jesus? (John 6:26; see also John 6:1-13)
What did Jesus mean when He said that He is the bread of life? (John 6:32-35, 40)
Bread to the people in Jesus' day is the same as rice is to us Chinese and Filipinos. It is the food that we need to keep us alive.
Considering this, how much do we really need Christ? Do we hunger for Him as we hunger for food? Do we thirst for Him as we thirst for water? Can we live for 3-5 days without water1 and 8 weeks without food2?
How long can we live without Christ?
What kind of shepherd is Jesus? Why do you say so? (John 10:11-15)
What does this tell us about Jesus? (Romans 5:6-8)
If someone loves you so much that he is willing to die for you, what do you want to do to that person in return? (1 John 4:19)
Aside from being willing to die for His disciples, what else was Jesus willing to do for His disciples? (John 13:1-5)
In Jesus' day, footwashing is the work of the lowest slave in a household. Yet Jesus was willing to humble Himself to serve His disciples. What does this tell us about Jesus' feelings toward His disciples? (John 13:1)
Knowing that Jesus loves you so much that He was willing to humble Himself to serve you, how will you respond to Him?
What is Jesus saying to us? (John 15:9)
How do we remain in Jesus' love? (John 15:10)
What will happen if we remain in Jesus? (John 15:1-8)
What do we learn about Jesus in this Bible study?
In John 21:15-17, what question did Jesus ask Peter three times to answer?
Put yourself in Peter's place. Imagine that Jesus is asking you three times, "___________, do you love Me?" (Put your name in the blank instead of Peter's name). How will you answer Jesus' question? What will you do to prove it?
Will you pray and commit yourself to love Jesus totally, constantly, and completely?
Bible Study 5: Reflecting Jesus Christ
What is God's ultimate plan for us? (Romans 8:28-29)
Think about the following quotations:
Amy Carmichael took a group of children to see a traditional goldsmith at work in India. In the middle of a charcoal fire was a curved roof tile. On the tile was a mixture of salt, tamarind fruit, and brick dust, and embedded in this mixture was the gold. As the fire devoured the mixture, the gold became purer. The goldsmith took the gold out with tongs, and if it was not pure enough, replaced it in the fire with new mixture. But each time it was replaced, the heat was made hotter than before. The group asked him, “How do you know when the gold is pure?” He replied, “When I can see my face in it.” (Amy Carmichael, Learning Of God, (London: SPCK, 1983), 50.)
Brother Lawrence, a 17th century French monk wrote, "When in prayer: 'Sometimes I considered myself before Him as a poor criminal at the feet of his judge; at other times I beheld Him in my heart as my Father, as my God…. Sometimes I considered myself there as a stone before a carver, whereof He is to make a statue; presenting myself thus before God, I desire Him to form His perfect image in my soul, and make me entirely like Himself.' ” (The Practice of The Presence of God, 31-37)
Amy Carmichael and Brother Lawrence are talking about the same thing: They want the Jesus whom they love to be reflected in their lives. Is this your desire as well? Explain.
How do we reflect the Jesus whom we love in our own lives? There are four ways that we can do this.
1. In Our Worship
Read Matthew 4:8-10. How did Satan tempt Jesus? What was Jesus' answer to Satan's temptation?
The Free Online Dictionary defines worship as:
a. The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.
b. The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.
"Worship ... is a conscious glorification of God flowing from an inner attitude of lowly submission to His authority and awe at His majesty. This glorification can be expressed by prostration and by words. Since God can hear the thoughts of the heart, the words do not have to be audible." (http://www.oldpaths.com/archive/davison/roy/allen/1940/whatiswo.html)
How do we worship God? (John 4:20-24; Romans 12:1-2; Revelation 4:8-11; 5:9-10; 11:15-18)
2. By Living Holy Lives
Read Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:15-16. What are we commanded by God to do? Why should we do it?
"Thus, we see that "holiness" implies a setting apart for God's purpose. Moral goodness is intrinsic to the meaning only inasmuch as (obviously) only with such goodness can one serve God's purposes. The holy person in the Bible is one who has had a line of definition drawn around them consecrating themselves, and all they are and do, to the purposes of God. How that works out within one's personal life today is a matter of individual conscience." (http://www.tektonics.org/whatis/whatholy.html)
To be holy means to act in a certain way because the God who called us acts in this way. According to the following passages, how does God act and how should we act? (Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:36; Ephesians 4:1-6; 5:1-2; Philippians 2:1-8; 1 John 1:5-10; 2:3-6; 3;4-10; 4:7-8)
Who is Jesus to you? If this is what He is to you, then how should you live your life?
3. Through Our Witness
When Jesus ascended into heaven, what did He command His disciples to do? (Acts 1:8; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:44-48)
Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? What then should you be doing?
What do we bear witness to concerning Jesus Christ? (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 3:21-26; 5:8-9; John 3:16-18; Ephesians 2:1-10)
How long are we to bear witness about Christ? (Matthew 24:14)
What is Jesus' word of encouragement to all who bear witness for Him? (Luke 12:4-12)
What do you need to do in order to be a faithful witness for Jesus Christ?
4. By Discipling Others
What is the Great Commission of Jesus Christ? (Matthew 28:19-20)
What did Jesus do when He was on earth? (Matthew 10:1-4; 3:13-18; Luke 6:12-16)
Following the example of Christ, what should we always be doing? (2 Timothy 2:1-2)
How many should we disciple? (Matthew 28:19)
How long should we disciple others? (Colossians 1:28-29)
Where are your disciples?
What should I do so that I may be effective in discipling others as Jesus did?
