1. What causes Jesus to go to Galilee according to Matthew 4:12?
2. To what town does he travel first in the Galilee according to Matthew 4:13? What is the significance of this town to Jesus?
3. To what town does Jesus travel next? Where is this town located in relationship to the Sea of Galilee?
4. What do you learn from Matthew 4:14 about Jesus going to Capernaum?
5. What was Jesus’ message from this time forward according to Matthew 4:17?
6. What do you learn about Simon and Andrew in Matthew 4:18?
7. What does Jesus ask them to do in Matthew 4:19-20? What is their response?
8. What do you learn of James and John from Matthew 4:21-22?
9. Copy Matthew 4:23-24 here. Meditate on this. Try to picture what this would have looked like for Jesus and the disciples.
10. Find a map of Israel and locate the following: Galilee, Capernaum, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the Jordan river.
11. What application can you make from Matthew chapter 4 to your life and relationship with God?
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
Brothers, I, for my part, do not think of myself as having yet gotten hold of it; but one thing I do: forgetting what is behind me and straining forward toward what lies ahead, I keep pursuing the goal in order to win the prize offered by God’s upward calling in the Messiah Yeshua. Philippians 3:13-14 CJB
I love that he calls them brothers. Despite having just finished giving his credentials in Judaism to them, he reflects his renewed priorities in Messiah Yeshua. He doesn’t think of them as talmadim (disciples) as a Rabbi would, but rather he calls them (us) brothers–suggesting an equality unheard of in his culture and religious system prior to his meeting Yeshua the Messiah on the road to Damascus.
He gives us three things in this short passage that are worthy of comment and meditation:
Forgetting what is behind me In making this statement, Paul is telling us that his past is no longer going to be in the center of his thoughts and focus. This is important to think on for a moment. Our past grows in size and importance often as we age. It can loom as a great disappointment–failed relationships, failure in career, failure in faith and pleasing God. It can also loom large a great point of success as it did with Paul. He lists in Philippians 3:5-6, his claims to religious fame–these are things of considerable importance in Jewish culture. We may also have great accomplishments in career, academia or even in religious circles. What Paul is saying is to work on forgetting those things, both good and bad, and move forward with God. It is true that our past forms us, it carves us and imprints on us–but Paul is letting us know that it is not the end of the story in our relationship with God. He is telling us to work to forget what came before and who we were before we met the Messiah and live with God in the now by the power of the Spirit. (Galatians 2:20)
Straining forward toward what lies ahead The verb “straining” is a strong action verb. It suggests intentionality and going beyond oneself, going beyond one’s current location. We are not to be pew-sitters or Youtube watchers only, we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling–get out of our chairs, get out of our houses, get out of our normal routine, seek the kingdom of God. To strain for what lies ahead means to be longing for God’s coming kingdom as well as for opportunities to share the love God, the beauty of His majesty, the comfort of His close presence. Straining implies I am making an effort to see God’s kingdom come. Life with Adonai is not a spectator sport.
Keep pursuing the goal in order to win the prize To keep pursuing requires steadfastness, determination and diligence. We must decide to follow Yeshua as the example of righteous living. We must continue steadfastly and with determination in Adonai’s commands, and we must use diligence to follow the dictates of Torah–the instructions for righteous living.
What is the goal? The goal is to live righteous lives as true witnesses of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob–Adonai. The goal is to keep Torah by the power of the Holy Spirit. We must be the witnesses that God’s word is true and that His ways are pure and holy. This life of righteousness will impact the world around us–it will show us to be different. It will cause us to stand out, which is exactly what it was intended to do. “Be holy as I am holy,” says the Lord God Almighty.
What is the prize? Eternal life with God. To rule and reign with Yeshua. To be forever in the presence of Adonai–never separated from Him. Eternally His.
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
Read Matthew Chapter 4
1. What happened after Jesus’ baptism according to Matthew 4:1?
2. How long had Jesus been fasting when Satan (the devil/tempter) came to Him?
3. What do you think was His physical state?
4. Why would the devil wait and come to Jesus at this time?
5. What application can you make from this timing to your own struggles? When is spiritual warfare (battles against the flesh and temptation) most likely to come?
6. What is the tempter’s question to Jesus in Matthew 4:3?
7. How does Jesus respond in Matthew 4:4?
8. Where does the tempter take Jesus next according to Matthew 4:5?
9. What does he ask of Jesus in Matthew 4:6?
10. How does Jesus respond in Matthew 4:7?
11. What does the devil show Jesus according to Matthew 4:8?
12. What does he say to Jesus according to Matthew 4:9?
13. How does Jesus respond in Matthew 4:10?
14. Copy Matthew 4:11 here. Meditate on this. Record your thoughts and impressions here.
15. What did Jesus use to “battle” the enemy in this passage? Explain how he did this.
16. Read and meditate on 1 John 2:15-17. How does the passage in 1 John relate to the temptation of Jesus. What further insight into Jesus’ temptation does it give us?
17. What do you learn from the following verses?
Psalm 18:30
John 1:1-3
Ephesians 6:17
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Hebrews 4:12
Hebrews 11:3
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
Read Matthew Chapter 3
1. What does the phrase “in those days” refer to in Matthew 3:1?
2. What do you learn about John the Baptist in the following verses?
Mark 1:1-10
Mark 6:14-29
Luke 1:57-66; 80
3. What do these prophecies of John the Baptist add to your understanding of his life and mission?
Isaiah 40:2-4
Luke 1:67-79
4. How is John described in Matthew 3:4?
5. Who was coming to see John according to Matthew 3:5?
6. What was John doing at the river Jordan?
7. Where in Israel is the river Jordan located?
8. What other important events in the history of the Jewish people took place at or around the Jordan River?
9. What does John say to the Pharisees and Sadducees in Matthew 3:7-10 when they came for baptism?
Going deeper: Who are the Pharisees? Who are the Sadducees?
10. What is the nature of the baptism John is doing according to Matthew 3:11? Of the one who is coming?
11. Copy Matthew 3:12 here. Meditate on this record your thoughts and impressions. Review Jeremiah 15:3-9, the passage from which John quotes this prophecy of destruction. What is John’s meaning by using this prophecy?
12. From where is Jesus coming when He comes to John at the Jordan according to Matthew 3:13?
13. What is John’s reaction when Jesus comes to John to be baptized in Matthew 3:13-14?
14. Why do you think John responded that way to Jesus’ request to be baptized?
15. How does Jesus respond in Matthew 3:15?
16. Why do you think Jesus insisted on being baptized by John? Provide scripture if you can to support your response.
17. What happened when Jesus came up out of the water according to Matthew 3:16-17
18. What do you learn from the following verses?
Psalm 2:7
Isaiah 42:1
Hosea 11:1
19. Consider these other references to God speaking from heaven. What observations can you make?
Nehemiah 9:12-14
Psalm 18:12-14
Jeremiah 51:16
Daniel 4:31
20. What application can you make to your own life from Matthew chapter 3?
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
Read Matthew Chapter 2
1. Why does Joseph take his family to Egypt in Matthew 2:13?
2. Where is Egypt in relationship to Israel?
Going deeper: How has Egypt figured into the history of the Jews prior to this time? Provide scriptures to support your response where possible.
3. How long did Joseph and his family stay in Egypt according to Matthew 2:14-15?
4. Copy Hosea 11:1 here. Meditate on this. Record your thoughts and impressions.
5. What did Herod do when the wise men didn’t return to him according to Matthew 2:16?
6. Copy Jeremiah 31:15 here. Mediate on this. Record your thoughts and impressions.
7. Why does Joseph decide to return to Israel from Egypt according to Matthew 2:20?
8. Why does Joseph choose to live in Nazareth in the Galilee according to Matthew 2:22-23?
Going deeper: Who is Herod Archelaus?
9. What application can be made to your life and relationship with God from this chapter?
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of God and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
1. Who came to Jerusalem according to Matthew 2:1?
Going Deeper: What extra-biblical information regarding the wise men (magi) can youfind? Where were they believed to have been from?
2. What were the wise men (magi) asking according to Matthew 2:2?
3. What was Herod’s response to the inquiries of the wise men in Matthew 2:3-4?
4. What was Herod told by the chief priests and scribes in Matthew 2:5-6?
5. What did Herod do according to Matthew 2:7-8?
6. What do the wise men do after meeting with Herod according to Matthew 2:9-10?
7. What was their response to seeing the star in Matthew 2:10?
8. Where were Jesus and his mother according to Matthew 2:11?
9. Approximately how much time is thought to have passed between the birth of Jesus and this visit by the wise men (magi)?
10. What was the reaction of the wise men (magi) to seeing the child and his mother in Matthew 2:11?
11. Why did the wise men not return to Herod as he had asked?
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of God and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
Read Matthew Chapter 2
1. When do the events of Matthew chapter 2 take place?
2. Herod is a name like “Pharaoh” or “Czar.” Which “Herod” is being referred to in Matthew 2:1?
Going Deeper: Why is he called Herod the Great? Who were his sons?
3. Where was Jesus born according to Matthew 2:1?
Going deeper: Why did Yeshua need to be born in Bethlehem?
4. Copy Micah 5:2 here. Meditate on this. Record your thoughts and impressions.
Going deeper: When did Micah live and prophesy?
5. Where is Bethlehem located? What does the terrain of the area look like?
6. Who else was from Bethlehem according to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)? Provide scripture references where you can.
7. What do you learn about Bethlehem from the following verses?
Genesis 35:19
Joshua 19:10-16
Going deeper: What is the situation in Bethlehem today? Is it part of Israel? Explain.
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of God and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
Rooted and Grounded 