Name: _____________________________ Date: _____________________
Family Confirmation Program
Lesson Nineteen
Jesus and the Law of God
Memory Work -- Second Timothy 3:16-17
Opening Prayer
Introduction to Lesson Nineteen
Israel was governed by three sets of laws (See Luther’s Small Catechism, sec. 14). The first
set of laws – the moral laws -- came directly from God on Mt. Sinai. In Jesus' day the
Jewish religious leaders – the Scribes and Pharisees -- wrongly thought that they could
keep these laws perfectly.
The second set of laws, the ceremonial laws, regulated the religious practices of the
Old Testament. The third set of laws, known as the political laws, regulated the daily
life of the people. These laws are comparable to the laws of Canada.
In Jesus' time, the religious leaders had added much to God's law. They lived by a list
of 613 rules and regulations. Jesus pointed out how the religious leaders had gone far
beyond God's intention.
Martin Luther said that the Law of God shows us our sin and drives us to Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ kept the Law perfectly, for us. He died on the cross for our sins, and rose
again to win victory over death. Salvation is his free gift to all who trust him.
1.
Introduction: Read Deuteronomy, chapter 7, verses 12 to 26
a)
What do the following verses tell us about the blessings that Israel would
receive if they kept God’s laws?
Verse 13________________________________________________________________
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Verse 14 ________________________________________________________________
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Verse 15 _______________________________________________________________
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2.
Read Deuteronomy, chapter 8, verses 11 to 20
a)
What would tempt the people to forget God and his laws? (vs. 12- 13)
You should be able to find five items.
Family Confirmation – Lesson Nineteen (continued)
i)
page 2
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ii)
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iii)
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iv)
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v)
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b)
Do these same things tempt people today to forget God? _______________
Why? __________________________________________________________________
3.
Political laws. List the political laws found in the following verses:
a)
Exodus 21:2 _______________________________________________________
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b)
Exodus 21:33-34____________________________________________________
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c)
Exodus 22:25 ______________________________________________________
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d)
4.
Do any of these laws exist today? ___________________________________
Ceremonial laws
a) Which ceremonial law is mentioned in Luke 2:21? (Gen 17:11-14)________________________________________________________________________
b) Which ceremonial law is mentioned in Luke 2:22-24? (Lev. 12)
Family Confirmation – Lesson Nineteen (continued)
page 3
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c) Read Matthew 23:1-4. According to Jesus, what was the problem with the way
the Jewish religious leaders dealt with these laws?
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d) Did Jesus want the people to obey these rules and regulations? _______________
e) What two words did Jesus use to describe what these rules and regulations were
like for the people who were supposed to keep them? (v.4)
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f) What motivated the Jewish religious leaders to do the kinds of things mentioned
in Matthew 23, verses 5 to 7?
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g) What did Jesus say about this problem in Matthew 23, verse 12? _______________
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h) When all these man-made rules and regulations are heaped on people, what is
the end result? (v.13)
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i) What words did Jesus use to describe the Jewish religious leaders in the
following verses?
i) Matthew 23:16 _______________________________________________________
ii) Matthew 23:17 _______________________________________________________
iii) Matthew 23:23 ________________________________________________________
j) What three important issues were they ignoring? (Matt.23:23. Micah 6:8)
i) _____________________________________________________________________
ii) _____________________________________________________________________
iii) _____________________________________________________________________
Family Confirmation – Lesson Nineteen (continued)
page 4
k) The religious leaders had rules about keeping things clean, but what did Jesus
say about the religious leaders themselves? (Matt.23:25-26.)
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l) What term did Jesus use to describe them in verse 25? _______________________
m) What does this term mean? _______________________________________________
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n) Someone once said that the religious leaders "majored on the minor issues of the
faith." What do you think this means?
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o) List two things you consider to be "major issues" of our Christian faith.
i) _____________________________________________________________________
ii) _____________________________________________________________________
p) List two things that consider to be "minor issues" of our faith
i) _____________________________________________________________________
ii) _____________________________________________________________________
q) How can you tell the difference between what's important and what's not?
________________________________________________________________________
5.
Moral Law: Read Luke, chapter 6, verses 6 to 11
(See Chart, p.1483, Concordia Self-Study Bible, discussing the Jewish Sects.)
a)
According to the Jewish religious leaders, what was the problem here?
________________________________________________________________________
b)
What did Jesus do? ________________________________________________
Why? __________________________________________________________________
Family Confirmation – Lesson Nineteen (continued)
page 5
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c)
According to Jesus, what two things should be done on the Sabbath Day?
(v.9) _____________________________________________________________
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d)
How did the Jewish religious leaders feel about what Jesus had done?
________________________________________________________________________
e)
What is the difference between the regulations of the Jewish leaders and
the Ten Commandments? __________________________________________
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6.
Read Matthew, chapter 12, verses 9 to 14
a)
What would the Jewish religious leaders do on the Sabbath Day? (v.11)
________________________________________________________________________
b)
7.
After Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath Day, what did the religious
leaders plan to do to him? (v.14) ____________________________________
Read Mark, chapter 7, verses 6 to 8
a)
Which Old Testament prophet did Jesus quote concerning the man-made
rules and commandments of the Jewish religious leaders? ______________
b)
What did this prophet say about man-made rules? ____________________
________________________________________________________________________
8.
Read Matthew, chapter 23, verse 13
a)
According to Jesus, were the Jewish religious leaders going to enter the
kingdom of heaven? _______________________________________________
b)
Why? (See John 3:16-18) _____________________________________________
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9.
Read Mark, chapter 2, verses 23 to 28
a)
To which of the Ten Commandments had the Jewish leaders added here?
Family Confirmation – Lesson Nineteen (continued)
page 6
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b)
Did the original commandment forbid what Jesus and his disciples were
doing? __________________________________________________________
c)
What example did Jesus give to prove that the religious leaders were
mistaken? (v.25) ___________________________________________________
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d)
Where is this story found in the Old Testament? (Check the study note in the
Concordia Self-Study Bible for Mark 2:25) ______________________________
e)
What was Jesus' conclusion about the whole matter? (vs27-28)
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10.
Read Luke, chapter 18, verses 9 to 14
a)
Who did Jesus direct these words to? (v.9) ____________________________
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b)
What was the Pharisee proud of? (vs.11-12) __________________________
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c)
What did the tax collector think of himself? (v.13) _____________________
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d)
What lesson does Jesus wants to teach us here? (v.14) __________________
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11.
Read Matthew, chapter 9, verses 9 to 13
a)
How did Jesus deal with these people? (v.10) ________________________
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b)
What lesson can we learn from Jesus' example? _______________________
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Family Confirmation – Lesson Nineteen (continued)
12.
page 7
Read John, chapter 7, verses 23 and 24
a)
What were the religious leaders doing wrong? ________________________
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b)
Give examples of how people do this today. __________________________
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13.
Conclusion: Matthew 5:17-18: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or
the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
a)
How did Jesus fulfill the Law? (See Galatians 3:13) _____________________
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14.
Read Matthew 22:36-40. How did Jesus summarize the underlying meaning of
the Ten Commandments? ________________________________________________
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15.
Time spent on this study? ________ With mom? _________ With dad? ________
16.
Comments or questions to discuss with the pastor or in class: ________________
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17.
Closing Prayer
Revised March 18, 1996; Oct. 04,1996; Edited Wednesday, March 09, 2016