Merriam-Webster defines relevant as “having significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand.” I believe all Scripture has relevance for all people, so given that, “Can you speak to how Matthew 25:41-46 is relevant to a believer in the here and now?”.
When you read this passage, your class may want to talk about unbelievers, but the point of the lesson is to encourage believers to get “Involved in Ministry.” In what ways does the above passage motivate members to get involved in ministry? Ask them that question, and see what they say.
With a goal of teaching the Bible to transform adult lives, I search for object lessons, illustrations, exercises, etc. I post these (and some original ideas) in hopes other teachers will benefit, too.
About Me
- servingHim
- I am a former adult Bible teacher at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, TX, and Fielder Road Baptist Church in Arlington, TX
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- PowerPoint for "Affirm God's Good Plan" Genesis1-2
- Good plans
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- On Mission, Matthew 26:1-28:20
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- How to make this lesson interesting?
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- Experiencing God's love
- Involved in Ministry, Matthew 25:31-46
- A place for all to grow, Matthew 19-22 Powerpoint ...
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6 comments:
Did you happen to notice that the LifeWay lesson for "Involved in Ministry" actually used the passage to teach something different than what the Bible meant?
According to the lesson, Jesus was speaking about the sheep's care for the needs of people in general. But, Jesus used the term "brothers" for the people being helped, and Jesus only used the term brother to refer to Christians. The LifeWay Explore the Bible commentary actually addresses this issue, but only by setting up a straw man to defeat. I quote, from the commentary:
"Some interpreters suggest brothers refers to the disciples only, but such an understanding is far too narrow and in effect limits the application of the parable to the first century. A better understanding is the more obvious interpretation, that they are any person in need."
I don't know of any commentary that claims Jesus was only referring to 1st century disciples. Instead, brothers is a universal term for believers. And caring for the brothers in prison or suffering in other ways can still happen today. I just wrote a letter (thanks to info from Voice of the Martyrs) to a Christian pastor who is in prison in an Islamic country.
LifeWay got this one wrong.
Fiat Lux
http://ministryofthemind.blogspot.com
It is not uncommon for preconceived notions to influence understanding of a particular passage, especially if those notions are actually taught elsewhere in other passages. Technically, our real understanding should come only from the proper exegesis of a particular text.
Do you think Scripture teaches elsewhere that believers are to minister to unbelievers in need?
Certainly, the story of the Good Samaritan teaches that we should help others in need, even if they are not the kind of people who might be our friends.
The problem with the current LifeWay lesson is not that it teaches something unbiblical, but that it misuses a passage of the Bible. Since one of my goals as a Bible study teacher is to teach people how to study the Bible, I cannot misuse any passage. If I misuse a passage, I either have to teach in such a way people don't realize I am misusing the passage or I am teaching that it's OK to misuse the passage as long as what you mean is still biblical.
Either option is unacceptable.
Well, as a Bible teacher, I can certainly agree with the goal of helping class members learn to study the Bible for themselves!
I followed your remarks about the interpretation of vs 40, but your last comment generalizes to include the entire lesson. Right? Wrong?
I didn't discard the whole lesson just because of the problem with the meaning of brothers. I taught the lesson with some modification. I explained to the class I disagreed with the interpretation of "brothers" and I explained why. But, most of the lesson I kept the same.
As a side note, I also explained to the class I disagreed with LifeWay's comment that when it comes to sheep and goats, "Distinguishing between these two animals is difficult," and "only a qualified person can tell the difference." That is, quite simply, hogwash. An average person can tell the difference, and everyone in my class agreed.
I think LifeWay was trying too hard to push the idea that we shouldn't try to judge others ahead of time. That's fine and dandy, but sheep and goats are quite different and can easily be distinguished from 100 ft away.
Great! I'm glad to hear that you taught the lesson.
On the issue of the meaning of brother, another interpretation is that Jesus referred to Jewish brothers and sisters. This makes some sense since the parable concerns the judgment of the nations (Gentiles), and it occurs after the harpazo.
Thanks for posting!
Ronnie
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