Yesterday I looked at the requirement of our being teachable and today keeping within that line of thought I want to look at the Lords Disciples who were seeking instruction from Him. As they are our examples. But first I will look to Pastor Hoekstra and his writing on Grace. And then to the Seeking of Instruction given to the Disciples using the ESV translation. And has become my habit when the LORD gives me enlightenment I will edit as needed.
"Grace Empowered Proclamation of the Risen Christ"
"This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses . . . the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses . . . Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead . . . And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all." (Acts 2:32; 3:15; 4:10, 33)
Jesus is called here the Prince of Life, from this then Satan is the prince of darkness chaos sin and death.
At the Lord's Supper, the resurrection was implied. "I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of GOD comes" (Luke 22:18). At the tomb, the resurrection was documented. "He is not here, but is risen!" (Luke 24:6). With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the resurrection was proclaimed. "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of GOD, you have taken by lawless hands, and put to death; (the one Whom) GOD raised up" (Acts 2:23-24).
The risen Christ was the constant message of the early Church. In Peter's Spirit empowered message at Pentecost, he repeatedly proclaimed the Resurrected LORD Jesus. "Him . . . you have crucified , and put to death; Whom GOD raised up . . .You will not leave My soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption . . . He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ . . . this Jesus GOD raised up, of which we are all witnesses" (Acts 2:23-24, 27, 31-32).
Not long after this glorious beginning, another proclamation of the risen Christ occurred as the lame man was healed at the Beautiful Gate. When the crowds gathered to see what had happened, Peter's message was again centered around the Resurrection of Christ Jesus. "You denied the Holy One and the Just One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, Whom GOD raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses" (Acts 3:14-15).
Soon after this, the religious Jewish leaders arrested the apostles, "being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead" (Acts 4:2). Here, Peter again proclaimed the resurrection. "By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, Whom GOD raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole" (Acts 4:10).
It was the Grace of GOD that empowered the Church to witness boldly about the risen Christ. "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the LORD Jesus. And great Grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:33).
The Seeking of Instruction Manifested by the Disciples:
Matthew 13:34-36 "All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, He said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world." Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field."
Mark 4:10-12 "And when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parables. And He said to them, "To you has been given the Secret of the kingdom of GOD, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that "they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven."
Mark 7:17-23 "And when He had entered the house and left the people, His disciples asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" (Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
Mark 9:9-13, 27-29 "And as they were coming down the mountain, He charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. And they asked Him, "Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?" And He said to them, "Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that He should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him."
"But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when He had entered the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" And He said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer."
Mark 10:10-12 "And in the house the disciples asked Him again about this matter. And He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."
Mark 13:3-8 "As He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?" And Jesus began to say to them, "See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains."
Luke 3:10-14 "And the crowds asked Him, "What then shall we do?" And He answered them, "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise." Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to Him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And He said to them, "Collect no more than you are authorized to do." Soldiers also asked Him, "And we, what shall we do?" And He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."
Luke 11:1-4 "Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." And He said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation."
Luke 18:18-27 "And a ruler asked Him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except GOD alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth." When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of GOD! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of GOD." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But He said, "What is impossible with man is possible with GOD."
John 6:24-25, 26-34, 35-40 "So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"
Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to Eternal Life, which the Son of Man Will give to you. For on Him GOD the Father has set His seal." Then they said to Him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of GOD, that you believe Him Whom HE has sent." So they said to Him, "Then what sign do You do, that we may see and believe You? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"
Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of GOD is He Who comes down from heaven and gives (Light and) Life to the world." They said to Him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me Will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I Will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the Will of Him Who sent Me. And this is the Will of Him Who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that HE has given ME, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the Will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes Him should have Eternal Life, and I Will raise him up on the last day."
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