Bible Study for May 11, 2025

Hi everyone,

Every year on the Fourth Sunday of Easter we celebrate the crucified and risen Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd.  As Christ's gathered assembly, we are Jesus' flock as together we hear the voice of the Shepherd who knows us, speaking through the Scriptures.

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https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88689075784?pwd=K3lRMnVmL2Z6MGFoQ3AzRjJsRFplZz09

Meeting ID: 886 8907 5784
Passcode: church

Pastor Tim

"God has led you to the desert, and spoken to your Heart."

Mount of Olives Lutheran Church

3546 E. Thomas Rd

Phoenix, AZ 85018

602-956-1620 office

Bible Study for May 11, 2025

Opening Prayer:

Creator of all, we thank you for the opportunity to gather in study. Open our minds and hearts. By the power of the Holy Spirit, unite us in faith, hope, and love. Help us to be faithful to the gospel and to walk humbly with you. Grant us your peace as we grow in wisdom and understanding. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

John 10:22-30 Have you been “elected” to believe, or is this a choice you have made?

Jewish authorities wanted Jesus to tell them plainly who he was. In modern Greek, this request really meant, “How long will you annoy us?” Jesus’ response to this request serves as John’s theological conclusion about Jesus’ public ministry. While Jesus’ “works” include the signs, they are not all restricted to these. John is clear that Jesus’ ministry was to do all the works that revealed who God is and what God intends for the world to understand about God’s divine ways. His summary statement about the sheep is an example of John’s paradox between those who believe they have come to know God by faith through Jesus Christ and those who understand their relationship with God to be established by election. This paradox is not resolved, Jesus concludes that the Father and he “are one”—God judges, Jesus judges, God gives life, and Jesus gives life. Jesus’ response indicates that the works of the Father and the works of the Son are one and the same, and that together, they make up the larger household of God’s faithful. 

Revelation 7:9-17 How do you “wash your robe” as an expression of your faith?

John’s revelation began with a vision of the Son of Man, who gave him messages to seven churches. It continued with a slaughtered Lamb who opened the first four seals and unleashed the four horsemen who would bring war, famine, and death to the world. When the fifth seal was opened, John saw the souls of those who had been martyred for their faithfulness. They cried out for God’s vengeance but were given white robes and told to wait. In Revelation 7, John heard that 144,000 persons from the twelve tribes of Israel would be marked as pure with God’s seal to protect them from the coming torment. Then John saw a multitude who had come through a time of suffering that would inaugurate the messianic age. These could refer to a group faithful in their martyrdom but not a part of the “sealed” 144,000, who had been persecuted by dominant culture (called the beast or Babylon). The multitude had “washed their robes” and now worshipped before God. They were seen by the world as troublemakers because they challenged the dominant violent and oppressive culture. Refusing to conform, they offered an alternate way of manifesting God’s love, peace, and inclusion. Whitening one’s robes means being prepared (as Jesus was) to face rejection and death for the sake of faithful witness to God’s word and grace. 

Closing Prayer

God of comfort and compassion, through Jesus, your Son, you lead us to the water of life and table of your bounty.

May we who have received the tender love of our Good Shepherd be strengthened by your grace to care for your flock. Amen.