Go to the source! Discover what the Bible says about …
These pages are designed to aid study or investigation for Christian discipleship through individual Bible study, Cell groups, Home groups, or meeting one to one. The questions could be used alone allowing each person to use their own Bible.
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Deliver from evil
Introduction
Jesus’ teaching on the the kingdom is scattered throughout the first three gospels. It is not a structured set of teaching but a scattering of profound challenges to the way we see and live life. I have organised them along the structure of the Lord’s prayer which brings together most of the elements.
On this page is a short summary of Jesus teaching for each of the main elements. At that point there is a pointer to a page which will give a more exhaustive view.
Bible Zone
- Our Father - King Jesus directs attention and prayer to our Father.
- Hallowed be your name - The values of the king, summarised by holiness.
- Your kingdom come - We work to extend the reach of the kingdom.
- Your will be done - The kingdom is worked out in obedience that comes from within.
- Give us this day - We look to the king to provide for us each day.
- Our daily bread - Jesus himself, broken for us is our bread.
- Forgive us - We need to be reconciled to the king.
- As we forgive - The king looks for us to forgive as we are forgiven.
- Lead us not into temptation - Testing abounds in life. We look for protection
- Deliver us from evil - The king has an enemy. We need protection from him.
Our Father
The king’s response to evil may take time, but it will have its day.
- In this parable, what is the Kingdom represented by?
- How was people’s attitude to the king demonstrated (v4-6, 11-12)?
- What characterised the people who did in fact attend the wedding feast?
- Why was it that the wearing of wedding clothes (v11) rather than behaviour (v10) distinguished those who were chosen?
- What does it mean to wear wedding clothes?
Matthew 22:1-14 1 Jesus also told them other parables. He said,2 "The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son.3 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!
4 "So he sent other servants to tell them, 'The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!'5 But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business.6 Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them.
7 "The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town.8 And he said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren't worthy of the honor.9 Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.'10 So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.
11 "But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn't wearing the proper clothes for a wedding.12 'Friend,' he asked, 'how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?' But the man had no reply.13 Then the king said to his aides, 'Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
14 "For many are called, but few are chosen."
Hallowed by your name
Jesus’ kingdom is different from the kingdoms of this world, as a result the people of the kingdom behave differently in the face of troubles.
- How does Jesus identify himself in this text?
- What are the characteristics of the subjects of Jesus’ kingdom?
- Why wouldn’t Jesus’ true subjects fight for Jesus’ protection.
John 18:"Are you the king of the Jews?" he asked him.
34 Jesus replied, "Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?"
35 "Am I a Jew?" Pilate retorted. "Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?"
36 Jesus answered, "My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world."
37 Pilate said, "So you are a king?"
Jesus responded, "You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true."
38 "What is truth?" Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, "He is not guilty of any crime.”
Your Kingdom come
There is opposition by people to the coming of the Kingdom.
- How does the king describe those who are opposed to the Kingdom?
- Why would such people be opposed to others entering the kingdom?
- What will be the end result for such people?
Matthew 23 13 "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people's faces. You won't go in yourselves, and you don't let others enter either. … 27 "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity.28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.
There is opposition by spiritual forces against God’s Kingdom.
- Which spiritual beings are mentioned in this text?
- What is the nature of the kingdom opposed to God’s Kingdom?
- How do you understand v23?
Luke 11:14-26 One day Jesus cast out a demon from a man who couldn’t speak, and when the demon was gone, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed, 15 but some of them said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.” 16 Others, trying to test Jesus, demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
17 He knew their thoughts, so he said, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart. 18 You say I am empowered by Satan. But if Satan is divided and fighting against himself, how can his kingdom survive? 19 And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said. 20 But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. 21 For when a strong man like Satan is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe— 22 until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.
23 “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.
24 “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ 25 So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order. 26 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.”
Your Will be done
The development of the Kingdom within us is more important than the outward measures of success and happiness.
- What hindrances are mentioned to entering the Kingdom?
- How can one be freed from such hindrances?
- Since cutting out a limb does not cut out the deceitful heart, these external items are not in themselves the issue. Jesus often used hyperbole - ‘You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.’ The point is that there are things in our lives that lead us out of the Kingdom, and even worse incite us to lead others out. These must go, even if they are as valuable to us as our eyes or hands.
- What ‘eyes’ and ‘hands’ are there in our lives that might need to be surrendered?
Mark 9:42-50 “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands. 45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’
49 “For everyone will be tested with fire. 50 Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.”
Give us this day
Our Daily Bread
Forgive us
As we forgive
Lead us not into temptation
When we are surrounded by evil it is hardest to give of ourselves in love. Yet this is what the Lord is looking for.
- What conditions does Jesus describe that will test the love of his people?
- What will Jesus look for in our lives?
- What condition does Jesus look for in the world before he reenters the picture?
- How does the preaching of the Kingdom and enduring to the end link?
Matthew 24:12-14 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations* will hear it; and then the end will come.
Deliver us from evil
The kingdom has an enemy who is bent on overcoming the growth of the kingdom.
- What is the Kingdom equated to in this parable?
- What did the enemy do?
- What did the workers do at the different stages of the parable?
- How are the weeds observed in the Kingdom now?
Matthew 13: 24 Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. 25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. 26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’
28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.
“‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.
29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”