Bible Survey VI

Bible Seminar XI

Mark

First Timothy

First Peter

Titus

Second Timothy

Second Peter

Hebrews

Jude

James G. McCarthy

Bible Seminar Curriculum

Bible Seminar is a series of twelve courses, each consisting of thirteen classes, that guides the student through a study of God’s Word from Genesis to Revelation. It presents the books of the Bible in approximately chronological order. Materials for each book include an introduction, outline, key verse to memorize, series of study questions, and instruction in Bible study techniques. Students are asked to read approximately eleven chapters a week in Old Testament courses and answer about fourteen questions. In the New Testament, students are asked to read about four chapters each week and answer about sixteen questions. Homework assignments require three hours’ work each week.

Course
Number / Bible Seminar Course Curriculum
I / Genesis 1-11; Job; Genesis 12-50; Exodus
II / Leviticus; Numbers; Deuteronomy; Joshua
III / Judges; Ruth; 1 Samuel; 2 Samuel; Psalms I
IV / 1 Chronicles; Psalms II; 1 Kings 1-11; Ecclesiastes; 2 Chronicles 1-9; Proverbs; Psalms III
V / Psalms IV; Song of Solomon; 1 Kings 12-22; Joel; 2 Kings; Jonah; 2 Chronicles 10-36; Psalms V
VI / Amos; Micah; Hosea; Isaiah; Nahum; Zephaniah; Habakkuk; Jeremiah 1-33
VII / Jeremiah 34-52; Lamentations; Obadiah; Ezekiel; Daniel; Ezra; Haggai; Zechariah; Esther; Nehemiah; Malachi
VIII / Gospel of Luke; Acts 1:1-14:28; James; Galatians; Acts 15:1-35
IX / Acts 15:36-18:22; 1 Thessalonians; 2 Thessalonians; Acts 18:23-20:3; 1 Corinthians; 2 Corinthians; Romans
X / Matthew; Acts 20:3-28:31; Ephesians; Colossians; Philippians; Philemon
XI / Mark; First Timothy; First Peter; Titus; Second Timothy; Second Peter; Hebrews; Jude
XII / John; 1 John; 2 John; 3 John; Revelation

Except where otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in this book are taken from the New American Standard Bible © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Lesson 1

Bible Seminar XI

Introduction

The apostle Paul writes, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). This exhortation applies not to Timothy alone, but to all who would be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Christians we must study and know the Word of God, then live it out each day. Only then will we receive the Lord’s approval in the future day.

Bible Seminar XI Course Description

Bible Seminar XI provides an overview of eight books of the New Testament. They will be studied in the order in which they were written.

Mark—the briefest and simplest presentation of Christ’s life.
1 Timothy—instructions from Paul to Timothy for his ministry in Ephesus.
1 Peter—an exhortation to Christians facing persecution to maintain excellent behavior.
Titus— instructions from Paul to Titus for his ministry in Crete.
2 Timothy—final instruction from Paul to his beloved disciple.
2 Peter—a warning to Christians to be vigilant against false teachers in the church.
Hebrews—a warning to Jewish Christians wavering in their faith and considering a return to Judaism.
Jude—an exhortation to Christians to contend for the faith against false teachers.

Course Requirements

Bible Seminar XI is a thirteen week course. A table listing the classes and their dates is below. In preparation for each lesson, students are asked to read four or five chapters of the New Testament and answer a series of questions. These will lead the student in an inductive study of Scripture and introduce the student to several Bible study techniques, preparing him or her for a lifetime of Scripture study.

Students should plan on setting aside a minimum of three hours each week for reading and homework. They should answer each question fully in the space provided. If additional space is needed, students may continue their answers on the back of the sheet, but are asked to keep their answers brief and to the point. Students wishing to complete homework assignment with the use of a computer should ask the instructor for a computer file of the course.

Weekly Class Schedule

The class will meet weekly for ninety minutes. Instructors will divide classroom time between lecture and discussion, using the following schedule.

7:00 p.m. Lecture 1

7:30 p.m. Discussion Groups

8:00 p.m. Lecture 2

8:30 p.m. End

Students are asked to arrive at class a few minutes early, so that instruction can begin on time. Students should come to class with the assigned section read and their homework assignments completed and ready to turn in to their discussion group leader.

Course Completion

To successfully complete this course, students must:

complete all reading assignments
complete and turn in all homework assignments
attend class each week, not missing more than three classes

Students are encouraged to make full use of this opportunity to learn God’s Word by studying hard and giving God their best. Homework assignments are difficult and will require several hours to complete. Students should plan ahead and set aside one or two evenings a week for homework.

Recognizing that most students have a limited amount of time to dedicate to this course, the instructors want the students to feel free to consider their homework completed after three hour’s work regardless of where they are in the week’s assignment. Students choosing to exercise this option should simply write “3 Hours Completed” in the margin of the homework and stop. When instructors see this notification, they will treat the assignment as completed.

Finally, several lessons have sections at the end titled Optional Questions for the Advanced Student. These questions require considerable time, greater thought, and a broader knowledge of Scripture than do the other questions in the lesson. It is up to the discretion of the student whether or not to answer these questions. Students who do so, however, are promised a valuable return for their effort.

Bible Seminar XI

Course Schedule

Lesson / Date / Primary Topic / Secondary Topics
1 / January 5 / Introduction—No Homework Due
2 / January 12 / Mark 1-4 /

Author of the Second Gospel
Comparison of the Synoptic Gospels
Old Testament Quotations from the Greek Septuagint

3 / January 19 / Mark 5-8 /

Comparison of the Synoptic Gospels

4 / January 26 / Mark 9-12 /

Aramaic in the Gospel of Mark and the New Testament

5 / February 2 / Mark 13-16 /

The Structure of the Synoptic Gospels

6 / February 9 / 1 Timothy /

Introduction to First Timothy
Grammar Review—Part I, Parts of Speech

7 / February 16 / 1 Peter—Midterm Review /

Introduction to First Peter
Grammar Review—Part II, Verbals, Phrases, Clauses, and Sentences
1 Peter 3:21

8 / February 23 / Titus /

Introduction to Titus
Grammar Review—Part III, Nouns and Pronouns
The Granville Sharp Rule

9 / March 2 / 2 Timothy /

Introduction to Second Timothy
Grammar Review—Part IV, Verbs

10 / March 9 / 2 Peter /

Introduction to Second Peter
Grammar Review—Part V, Adjectives and Adverbs

11 / March 16 / Hebrews 1-5 /

Introduction to Hebrews
Grammar Review—Part VI, Prepositions

12 / March 23 / Hebrews 6-9 /

Grammar Review—Part VII,
The Preposition “At”
The Preposition “Of”

13 / March 30 / Hebrews 10-13
Jude /

Who Wrote the Book of Hebrews?
Grammar Review—Part VIII, Labeling Prepositional Phrases
Introduction to the Book of Jude

Lesson 2

Bible Seminar XI

The Gospel According to Mark 1-4

Author of the Second Gospel

From the earliest days of the church, Christians have acknowledged Mark, one of the first Christians, as the author of the second gospel (Acts 15:39; Colossians 4:10; Philemon 1:24). His name is the anglicized form of the Latin Markus, meaning dedicated to Mars, the god of war. It was one of the three most common names during the Roman era. The biblical Mark was also known by his Jewish name, which was John (Acts 12:12; 12:25; 15:37). This is the anglicized form of the Hebrew name Yochanan, meaning the Lord has been gracious.

It is clear from the Gospel of Mark that the author is a Jew, who is familiar with the locations visited by Jesus, had firsthand interaction with the apostles, and possibly knew the Lord. A fragment from the writings of Papias (70-155 ad), Bishop of Hierapolis in modern-day Turkey, preserved by Eusebius, historian and Bishop of Caesarea (263-339 ad), states that Mark served Peter as his interpreter, accompanied him on some of his travels, and wrote down some of what he taught.

In his first letter, Peter refers to Mark as “my son, Mark” (1 Peter 5:13). Mark was with Peter in Rome during the latter years of his life (1 Peter 5:13, where “Babylon” is probably an early Christian code for Rome). Some believe that the young man Mark refers to in Mark 14:51-52 as having been almost seized by the temple guards on the night of Jesus’ arrest was Mark himself.

Mark’s mother was Mary, an early disciple. She had a house in Jerusalem that was sometimes used by the apostles (Acts 12:12). It is likely that it was the location of the upper room in which Jesus celebrated His last Passover and in which the disciples gathered on Pentecost for prayer. It was to this house that Peter came when he was released from prison by an angel (Acts 12:12-17). These connections would have made Mark an eyewitness of some of the events of Jesus’ life. Later Mark accompanied Paul and Barnabas, who was Mark’s cousin (Colossians 4:10), on their first missionary journey (Acts 12:25). Mark turned back partway through the trip (Acts 15:38), angering Paul. This later became a matter of contention between Paul and Barnabas at the start of their second missionary journey, causing them to part ways. Mark accompanied Barnabas to Cyprus, while Paul traveled with Silas to Syria and Cilicia (Acts 15:37-41). Paul and Mark later reconciled. Near the end of his life, Paul instructed Timothy,“Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service” (2 Timothy 4:11).

Comparison of the Synoptic Gospels

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are known as the synoptic gospels, for they see the life of Christ in a similar manner (synoptic coming from the Greek syn, meaning together, plus opsis, meaning seeing). They share a common structure and much of the same content. Virtually every event from the life of the Lord Jesus in Mark is also in Matthew. The only real exceptions are six verses in Mark 1:23-28 which are not in Matthew. This section is the story of Jesus casting an unclean spirit out of a man in the synagogue of Capernaum. Luke includes this event in his gospel and much of the wording in the Greek text is identical to that in Mark, telling us that one copied the other or they both copies a third source(Luke 4:33-37). The word-for-word correspondence is too exact to be a coincidence. This means that no event in Mark is unique to Mark. It can all be found in Matthew or Luke. It is not clear, however, whether Matthew and Luke relied on Mark or some common document when writing their gospels, or Mark relied on Matthew or Luke or a third document when writing his gospel.

Though no event in Mark is unique to Mark, the Gospels of Matthew and Luke each contain portions unique to them. About 20% of Matthew is found only in Matthew. This unique material includes events related to Jesus’ infancy (Matthew 2:1-18); the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-8:1); Jesus’ discourse preparing the disciples for ministry (Matthew 10:1-42); and several parables (Matthew 24:43-25:46).

About 38% of Luke is found only in Luke. Most of this unique material is related to Jesus’ birth (Luke 1:1-2:52); the sermon on the plain (Luke 6:20-49); and events near the end of Jesus’ ministry as He travels to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-18:14).

Many Bible commentators see a distinct emphasis in each of the gospels. Matthew, they say, presents Jesus as the King of the Jews. One indication of this is the fact that the gospel begins with the genealogy of “Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). Mark, they say, presents Jesus as a servant. They point to Mark 10:45 as the theme verse of Mark’s gospel: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Luke presents Jesus as a man. It gives more emphasis to Jesus’ birth and traces the Lord’s genealogy all the way back to Adam. John presents Jesus as the Son of God. He opens his gospel, writing, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Near the end of his gospel, John writes, “These have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). Commentators often connect these four emphases to the four living creatures surrounding the throne of God in Revelation 4:6-7. John writes, “The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle” (Revelation 4:7). Commentators see correlations between the lion and Jesus as the King of Israel (the Gospel of Matthew), the calf and Jesus as the servant (the Gospel of Mark), a man and Jesus as the Son of Man (the gospel of Luke), and the eagle and Jesus as the Son of God (the Gospel of John). Similar imagery is found in Ezekiel 1:10.

Despite the poetic appeal of this approach to distinguishing the four gospels and its well-established place in Christian tradition, others question whether it is valid. They argue that all four gospels present Jesus as king, servant, man, and the Son of God. The gospel of Mark, for example, includes many references to Jesus as the Son of Man (Mark 2:10; 2:28; 8:31; 8:38, and others), the King of the Jews (Mark 15:2; 15:12; 15:18; 15:26; 15:32), and the Son of God (Mark 1:1; 3:11; 5:7; 15:39). The text of Mark 10:45, recognized by many as theme verse of the gospel, is also found in Matthew 20:28.

Questions on John and Jesus’ Ministry in the Judean Wilderness—Mark 1:1-13

1. In introducing the ministry of John the Baptist, Mark quotes two Jewish prophets: Malachi, the last prophetic writer of the Old Testament, and Isaiah, possibly the greatest Jewish prophet. What do we learn about John the Baptist and his ministry from these two quotations?

A. “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way;’” (Mark 1:2; quoting Malachi 3:1).

B. “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight’” (Mark 1:3; quoting Isaiah 40:3).

2. What are the first recorded words of Jesus in the gospel of Mark? What significance do they have for us today?

Questions on Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee and the North—Mark 1:14-9:50

3. In Mark 1:21-39, we find a record of Jesus’ activities over a period of about thirty hours, beginning on a Sabbath day. To better understand Jesus’ busy and demanding life, list all of the events recorded in this section of Scripture.

4. Read again the account of Jesus’ healing of a leper in Mark 1:40-45.

A. What does this passage have to say about Jesus’ attitude toward self-promotion? (When answering this question, consider the conduct of many modern-day television faith-healers, who seem to be part preacher and part showman.)

B. If Jesus wanted the Jews to recognize Him as the Christ, why did He warn the cleansed leper to “say nothing to anyone” (Mark 1:44)?

5. Read again the account of the paralyzed man whose friends lowered him through the roof into the presence of Jesus in the room below (Mark 2:1-12).

A. Why were the ruling Jews so offended when Jesus forgave this man of his sins?

B. Jesus answered His critics, saying, “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Arise, and take up your pallet and walk’’?” (Mark 2:9). How would you answer this question? Which is easier to say and why?

6. What can we learn about living life as Jesus did from Mark 2:13-17?

7. What applications can you draw for your life from the following passages?

A. Mark 2:18-20

B. Mark 2:21-22

8. Consider Mark 2:23-28. What does Jesus mean when He says, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27)?

9. What was it that “grieved” the Lord in Mark 3:1-6? How might we grieve Him in a similar manner?

10. What do we learn about the attitude of Jesus’ family toward Him from Mark 3:20-21 and 3:31-35?

11. Explain Jesus’ following statements.

A. “For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it should come to light” (Mark 4:22).

B. “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it shall be measured to you; and more shall be given you besides” (Mark 4:24).

C. “For whoever has, to him shall more be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him” (Mark 4:25).