Lesson #11e

Bible Perspectives: How to Study the Bible for Yourself – Part II
Lesson #11
“The Road of Salvation”

• Daily Spiritual Diary Discussion
• Personal Concordance Discussion
• Homework Discussion:
• #9 Comprehensive Book Analysis:

Chapter Analysis Sheets #E and #F” – Jonah 3 (to go to homework answers for the teacher – an example)

• Class Lesson: How to Witness from the Old and New Testaments
• Sharing the Gospel
• There are many ways to witness to others about the Good News and about your faith in Jesus Christ. There are a number of printed guides that you could memorize and follow. However, most Christians do not feel comfortable with these methods because they are so confining. They do not consider the flow of conversation, the non-believer’s questions, responses, or deviations from the script. From experience, I have discovered that the best way to witness to others is to develop your own method which includes some of your own experiences along with some key scriptures.
• Witnessing Using Scriptures from the Old Testament

• Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ using only the Old Testament is the way the disciples did it. They did not have the New Testament.
• The only difference in witnessing from the Old Testament instead of the New Testament is a matter of the scriptures used.
• Why is it important to know the Old Testament scriptures when you can simply use the New Testament ones?
• Rom 1:16 indicates that we are to witness to the Jew first and also to the Gentiles. To witness to the Jews, you must use the Old Testament because Jewish people will not accept anything from the New Testament.
• An Understanding of Isa 53 is essential when witnessing to Jewish people.
• An Analysis of Isa 53:
• The Character of the Suffering Messiah, Jesus Christ (1-3)

• “Root out of dry ground”

= humble beginnings of the Messiah during an historic period of israel’s spiritual dryness.

• Remember there was 400 years when God was silent between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
• “no form nor comeliness”

= (see Psa 22:6)

• When Jesus hung on the cross, His face had been marred by beatings so that to look at Him, there was nothing to admire.
• “rejected of men”

= in the Hebrew it means, rejected by men of stature.

• “A man of sorrows”

= the word sorrows means “pains and disease”. Jesus bore all pain and disease on the cross.

• “acquainted with grief”

= Jesus Christ was acquainted with the weaknesses of the flesh, which includes physical sickness, because He was fully human as well as fully divine.

• The Sacrificial Atonement of the Suffering Messiah (4-6)

• “he hath borne our griefs”

= He carried all physical illnesses on the cross.

• “he carried our sorrows”

= Jesus applied “sorrows” to physical illnessin Mat 8:17 when He healed Peter’s mother-in-law. The word, carried, means to bear punishment or chastisement.

• “stricken, smitten of God and afflicted”

= God, the Father, planned and sent Jesus to the cross, not men.

• “wounded for our transgressions”

= The things Jesus suffered on the cross were not just for physical illness but for spiritual atonement for sin. The wording is an allusion to the Old Testament temple trespass offering for sin.

• “bruised for our iniquities”

= The translation from the Hebrew says “crushed by our sins”

• “chastisement for our peace”

= The punishment for sin was paid by Jesus to bring us peace with God.

• “with his stripes, we are healed”

= The stripes were the marks on his back from being beaten by the cat-o-nine tails. According to Roman law, there were 39 lashes administered to a prisoner. It so happens that all physical illnesses are divided into 39 major categories. The word “healed” implies body, soul, and spirit (physically, spiritually, and emotionally).

• “all we like sheep have gone astray…”

= This tells us that all people are rebellious against God and go their own way. in other words, we are all sinners.

• “laid on him the iniquity of us all”

= All our sins, past, present and future, were put on Jesus when He hung on the cross.

• The Exalted Character of the Messiah Under Suffering (7-12)

• “he opened not his mouth”

=This is a prophecy that Jesus fulfilled in Mat 27:12,14

• “as a lamb to the slaughter”

= An implied reference to the Passover lamb, the offering in Exodus that protected the Israelites from death. Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. (Joh 1:29)

• “cut off out of the land of the living”

= It means to die an early death, but more than that, it means shunned like a leper and separated from people. Remember that leprosy is a symbol of sin which separates man from God and results in eternal death.

• “for the transgression of my people was he stricken”

= It tells us again He died for our sins.

• “made his grave with the wicked and with the rich”

= Jesus Christ died between two thieves on the cross, but was buried in a rich man’s tomb.

• “he had done no violence”

= Jesus Christ was perfect humanity with no sin in Him.

• “it pleased the lord to bruise him”

= it pleased God, the Father, to put sin and sickness upon Jesus because He was willing to fulfill God’s merciful plan of redemption for man.

• “an offering for sin”

= Jesus fulfilled all the Old Testament offerings listed in the book of Leviticus. There are allusions to each one of the sacrifices in this chapter.

• “the pleasure of the lord shall prosper in his hand”…”my righteous servant justify many”

= through Jesus the kingdom of God would prosper as many people would eventually be reconciled to God through the crucifixion.

• “divide him a portion with the great”

= God would exalt Jesus by raising him from the dead and give him a position at his right hand in heaven.

• “made intercession for the transgressors”

= At God’s right hand, Jesus intercedes for us today before God, the Father.

• An Analysis of Psalms 22:

• “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

(1) (Mat 27:46)

• Why did God forsake Jesus on the cross?
• Jesus became sin on the cross (2Cor 5:21) God cannot look upon sin.
• God was separated from Jesus during the three hours of darkness when Jesus was made sin for us.
• Psa 22:6-8 “Father forgive them” (Luk 23:34)
• Jesus looked down from the cross. He heard the mocking hatred of his people. In their eyes He was like a worthless worm to be crushed under foot. (6)
• The word “worm” here has a triple meaning.
• =1= It refers to Jesus’ reputation with the people. (Mat 27:41 Mar 10:34 fulfill the prophecy in Psa 22:7.)
• =2= It refers to Jesus’ face marred by beatings to the extent that He did not look human. (Isa 53:2)
• =3= The Hebrew word used here refers to a tiny, red, coccus worm that was crushed to release a red color that was used to dye the curtains of the temple red.
• Jesus’ body was crushed to release His blood that is used to dye our spiritual garments white. (Rev 7:13-14)
• Psa 22:9-10 “woman, behold thy son.” (Joh 19:26)
• As Jesus looked at the mocking crowd, he sees his mother there with John. According to Psa 22 Jesus acknowledges that it was God who brought about his birth to the virgin, Mary.
• Psa 22:11-13. The “strong bulls of bashan” refers to the Roman soldiers. This was a common derogatory nickname at that time.
• “as a ravening and a roaring lion.”

(13) The lion was also a symbol of Rome.

• Psa 22:14-18. The Physical Condition of the Suffering Shepherd

• “all my bones are out of joint”

(14)

• Gravity of a body hanging on a cross causes the bones of the shoulders, arms, hands, back, and pelvis to become out of joint as the person attempts to breathe.
• “poured out like water”

(14) Jesus could feel his strength draining from him.

• “my tongue cleaveth to my jaws”

(15) Crucifixion causes the body to perspire in great abundance. Then dehydration sets in. (Joh 19:28)

• “they pierced my hands and my feet”

(16)

• The piercing of hands and feet is a specific detail that refers to crucifixion. The Jews had no such punishment. Capital punishment in the Jewish culture was stoning.
• “dogs”

is a derogatory name for gentiles, again in reference to the Romans.

• “i may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.”

(17)

• Jesus was crucified naked which was the custom. It was the ultimate humiliation.
• The soldiers gambled for his garments (18). (Mat 27:35)
• The word, “darling” in verse 20 means = the only begotten one.
• Witnessing from the Old Testament and the New Testament:

• Whatever method you choose, there are some key elements that should include:
• =1= Eternal life is a free gift. It is not earned or deserved.
• Old Testament: Pro 14:12
• New Testament: Joh 3:15-16
• =2= Man Is a sinner. He cannot save himself.
• Old Testament: Isa 53:6 or Isa 64:6
• New Testament: Rom 3:23
• =3= God is both just and merciful. God must judge sin of which the result is spiritual death. God provided a way of escape through Jesus Christ.
• Old Testament: Isa 53:10, 4, 6 or Jer 31:3
• New Testament: 2Tim 4:1 and Joh 14:6
• =4= Jesus Christ, who is He? What did He do?
• Old Testament: Isa 53 or Psa 22
• The Holy Trinity in the Old Testament: Gen 1:25 and Isa 48:16-19
• New Testament: Rom 5:1
• =5= What must a person do to be saved? Accept, Receive, Believe (faith)
• Old Testament: Isa 53:5 and Isa 49:24
• New Testament: Rom 10:9-10
• =6= The assurance of salvation
• How can you know for sure are saved and have eternal life?
• Old Testament: Isa 41:8
• New Testament: Jam 2:23

• Types of Bible Study Methods:
• #9 Comprehensive Book Analysis

: Chapter Analysis Sheets #C, #D, and Book Summary Sheets #G, and #H —

Jonah 4

• In the same way that you studied chapter one, chapter two, and chapter three of the book of Jonah, you will study chapter 4.
• Solving the Riddle for the prize:

• There is a strange event that occurs at the end of book of Jonah (4:6-10). You are to discover the New Testament significance of this event by discovering the meaning of the objects involved in light of the rest of the Bible. Like many Bible passages, there is a surface interpretation and there is a deep interpretation. You are to discover the deep interpretation.
• To help you: As you study this week, think about the meaning of the following objects just as you would interpret any New Testament parable: the east wind, the sun, the gourd, and the worm.
• Homework:
• Work on your Spiritual Diary for 15 minutes for 6 days.
• You have established a good pattern. Keep it up!
• Continue the Personal Concordance.
• Use the Comprehensive Book Analysis: Chapter Analysis sheets #C, #D, #G, and #H –

Jonah 4

• Day 1 = Read Jonah chapter 4. Work on the “Chapter Analysis” on page #C.
• “Passage Description”
• Summarize the chapter in your own words. Do not interpret what is being said here or why. Only state the facts.
• Day 2 = Read Jonah chapter 4 through and meditate on it verse by verse. Write on a separate piece of paper any outstanding observations.
• Day 3 = Read Jonah chapter 4. Complete the two left hand columns on sheet #D using the notes you wrote from the previous day.
• Notice that in the left two columns one is titled “Verse”. This is the verse that relates to the observation you made.
• Day 4 = Read Jonah chapter 4. Fill out the two right hand columns on sheet #D.
• Notice that in the right two columns, one is titled, “Verse”. This is the verse that prompts any questions or problems that occur.
• Day 5 = Complete page #G.
• Day 6 = Complete page #H.

Homework Page #C

#9 Comprehensive Book Analysis

Chapter Analysis

Date:

Passage: Jonah 4

Passage Description:

Homework Page #D

#9 Comprehensive Book Analysis

Chapter Analysis: Jonah 4

Verse:	Observations:	Verse:	Questions and Answers:

Homework Sheet #G

#9 Comprehensive Book Analysis

Book Summary

Book: Jonah Date:

Book Title:

Final Outline of the Book (Keep the outline short and simple):

Sheet #H

#9 Comprehensive Book Analysis: Book Summary

Main Themes (What main themes did you discover in the book?)

Main Conclusions (What important things can one learn from this book?)

Final Application: