Bible Stories for Adults

Jesus Shows His Glory

Matthew 16:13-16; 17:1-9



Welcome and Announcements
    Next Week - Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant (Luke 7:1-10; Matthew 8:5-13; John 4:46-54)
    Bible Words to Remember:
      Jesus received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory. 2 Peter 1:17

Opening Prayer


A Place to Teach (Matthew 16:13)
    What became a key focus of Jesus' ministry as He neared its end?
      Mark 9:30-32
    What happened whenever Jesus tried to find a place to be with just His apostles?
      Matthew 14:13-14, 34-36
    Where did Jesus finally find a place where the Jewish crowds wouldn't follow?
      Matthew 15:21
    Where else did Jesus take His disciples that would be away from Jewish leaders and crowds?
      Matthew 16:13a

    Caesarea Philippi - 25 miles north of Sea of Galilee, 1700 feet higher
      Outside of Galilee in region ruled by Herod Philip II (third son of Herod the Great)
      Name - Augustus Caesar & Herod Philip II (Caesarea - Caesar's town, Philippi - of Philip)
    At base of Mount Hermon - Large mountain at northern boundary of Palestine, source of Jordan
      20 mile long ridge, three peaks - two over 9000 feet, View all of Palestine to Dead Sea
      Also called Ice-Mountain - Source of ice for Damascus & Mt Lebanon during summer
    Near Old Testament town of Dan in territory of Naphtali - Mainly non-Jewish now
      Jeroboam set up shrine in Dan, Became worship center for Baal (was Balinas)
      Caesarea Philippi had shrine for Greek god Pan - had been called Panias
      Magnificent marble temple to worship Caesar - distinguishing building of town

Question of the Day (Matthew 16:13-14)
    Surrounded by such pagan influences, what question did the penniless Galilean ask?
      Mark 8:27
    How does Matthew's record of Jesus' question differ?
      Matthew 16:13
    How does this name that Jesus gave Himself point to who He really was?
      Daniel 7:13-14
    Who did people think Jesus was? Did they recognize Jesus as the Messiah?
      Matthew 16:14

Jesus as John the Baptist? (Matthew 14:1-2)
    Who was especially curious about who Jesus really was?
      Luke 9:7-9
    Why did Herod believe Jesus was the reincarnation of John?
      Matthew 14:1-2
    Were the miracles Jesus performed similar to the ones John did?
      John 10:40-42

    Did people think Jesus was John because they acted the same?
      Luke 1:17; 3:7-9
      2 Corinthians 10:1a
    Did they at least look or dress the same?
      Mark 1:6
      John 19:23-24
    What similarity should the people have recognized?
      2 Kings 1:8
    What other visual contrast was made between Jesus and John?
      Matthew 11:18-19

Jesus as Elijah or Jeremiah? (Matthew 16:14)
    Why did people think Jesus might be Elijah?
      Malachi 4:5-6
      Jews still leave an empty chair for Elijah when they celebrate the Passover
    Why might people think Jesus might be Jeremiah?
      2 Maccabees 2:1-12 - Before exile, Jeremiah hid the ark in a cave on Mount Nebo
        Jeremiah would return before the Messiah to bring back the ark & incense altar
      2 Esdras 2:18 - For thy help I will send my servants Isaiah and Jeremiah

The Real Question (Matthew 16:15-17)
    Was Jesus really concerned about who the people thought He was?
      Matthew 16:15
    Did the disciples have a better understanding of who Jesus was?
      Matthew 16:16
    Had they learned this from spending the last two years watching Jesus?
      Matthew 16:17

    Was there any way they could have figured this out by themselves?
      Matthew 11:25-27
    Now that we have the story of Jesus in the Bible, can we figure this out for ourselves?
      1 Corinthians 12:3
    Peter was ready to give his confession when asked. What advice does he later give us?
      1 Peter 3:15
    Are we to try to be as eloquent and persuasive as Peter and Paul when telling of Jesus?
      1 Corinthians 2:1-5, 13

Built on the Rock (Matthew 16:18-20)
    How did Jesus use Peter's confession to help reveal His purpose for the disciples?
      Matthew 16:18
    What is this petra, the foundation of Jesus' church?
      1 Corinthians 3:11
    Did Peter understand what Jesus meant by calling him a stone and his confession a rock?
      1 Peter 2:4-5
    How did Peter explain Jesus as Christ being a large rock?
      1 Peter 2:6-7
    How important would this church (spiritual house) be?
      Matthew 16:19
    After verifying that His apostles knew who He was, did Jesus ask them to explain it to others?
      Matthew 16:20

A Complete Understanding? (Matthew 16:21-28)
    Was Jesus just concerned that His disciples knew that He was the Messiah?
      Matthew 16:21
    Wasn't it clear through Peter's confession that they already understood this?
      Matthew 16:22-23
    What did Jesus say to explain that being a stone in His church was more than just a confession?
      Matthew 16:24-28

Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-2)
    How long did Jesus stay in the Caesarea Philippi area teaching His disciples?
      Matthew 17:1
    What is significant about this time?
      Exodus 24:15-16
    What does Luke tell us that Jesus did there?
      Luke 9:29
    Luke says His clothes were as bright as lightning. What analogy does Mark give?
      Mark 9:3
    Was it just His clothes?
      Matthew 17:2

    How was this similar to, but different than what happened to Moses?
      Exodus 34:29
    Was this glory that Jesus was getting now that He had nearly completed His mission?
      John 17:5
    How does Moses' example explain to us why Jesus' glory had not been revealed?
      Exodus 34:30, 33-35
    How did John later refer to this in his gospel? (Also 2:11; 7:39; 11:4; 12:23; 13:31-32; 20:31)
      John 1:14
    What did Peter say later in one of his letters?
      2 Peter 1:16-18

A Mountaintop Experience (Matthew 17:3-5)
    Besides a shining Messiah, what else surprised the three apostles?
      Luke 9:30-31
    How astonished were these disciples with what they were seeing?
      Mark 9:5-6
    What happened before Peter could finish making a fool out of himself?
      Matthew 17:5
    How would this remind the apostles that Jesus is the Messiah, the new Moses?
      Deuteronomy 18:15

The Reaction of Peter, James and John (Matthew 17:6-13)
    How did the apostles react to this mountaintop experience?
      Matthew 17:6-8
    What promise of Jesus had just been fulfilled?
      Mark 9:1
    After seeing this magnificent Epiphany of Jesus, how would the three explain it to the others?
      Matthew 17:9
    Did Jesus' order bother the three?
      Mark 9:10

    What other question popped up as they tried to make heads-or-tails about what happened?
      Matthew 17:10
    How did Jesus answer their question?
      Matthew 17:11-12
    Did this confuse the baffled three even further?
      Matthew 17:13

Closing Prayer



Copyright © 1998 by Kurt Rosenhagen

Use of this material is provided free of charge for use in personal or group Bible Study, no permission needed.
The author reserves all rights for use in published material or in uses where fees are involved.
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kurt@biblestoriesforadults.com


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