Read an Excerpt
Walk as Jesus Walked Discovery Guide
By Ray Vander Laan ZONDERVAN
Copyright © 2006 Ray Vander Laan
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-310-87970-1
CHAPTER 1
SESSION ONE
RUN! — THE PASSION OF ELIJAH
Each of us is passionate about something. Whether it's biking or golf, music or gardening, hunting or travel, photography or our grandchildren, we strive to devote as much time and energy to what fires up our passion as is appropriate ... and sometimes more than is appropriate. When we speak of the things we're passionate about, excitement dances across our faces and echoes in our voices.
But how many of us are truly passionate about our walk with Jesus? Although we may devote considerable time to worship, Bible study, prayer, and similar activities, is our daily walk with Jesus — how we live out our faith through personal discipleship — our deepest passion? Do we devote our best effort to our walk with Jesus? Does our relationship with him animate our conversations and energize our steps? Do other people notice our devotion, and does how we walk with Jesus inspire them to do the same?
For most of us, it's all too easy to have plenty of passion for some things but little zeal for our walk with Jesus. Our less-than-zealous obedience to God and his Word communicates that our spiritual walk is not something that excites us, and that influences how we live out our faith. We become complacent and apathetic about our relationship with God.
Yet God desires that his people live for him with passion. The religious Jews of Jesus' day understood intense devotion and zeal for God. They honored the passion and zeal of the ancient heroes of the faith — Moses, Phinehas, Hezekiah, Elijah, and so many more. They sought to emulate the fire these heroes showed in their walk with
God, their devotion to Scripture, and their commitment to obedience. And they readily recognized those among them who lived with a passionate zeal for God.
Jesus the Messiah was not a laid-back, unemotional, matter-of-fact teacher. He lived with an intensity for God that few have ever known. He clearly fulfilled the ancient prophecy: "zeal for your house consumes me" (Psalm 69:9). In fact, he displayed such great zeal for God that he was even mistaken for Elijah — the zealous Old Testament prophet who gave God everything he had. Jesus too gave everything, even his very life, in obedience to God.
Jesus challenges those who believe in him to become his disciples — his talmidim — to follow in his steps and become like him. So to be a disciple of Jesus is to walk zealously with God and make disciples as he did. The Jewish disciples of Jesus — including Peter, John, and Paul — understood this call for passionate discipleship. And they lived it. But Jesus sent his disciples out of the Jewish world and into a Hellenistic world that did not know Jesus and that had never heard of the passion of Elijah. It was a world not unlike the world into which he sends us today.
So in this session, amidst the spectacular ruins of the Roman city, Aphrodisias, we'll see how the disciples translated Jesus' call to passionate discipleship into the language and images the Roman culture already understood. We'll see how they used the people's knowledge of sports and the arena games to communicate the total dedication and intense passion needed to "run" the spiritual race in order to win. To give everything you have, your whole self, in order to win the prize is an image the Greek and Roman world understood. It is one our culture understands as well.
Opening Thoughts (4 minutes)
The Very Words of God
I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty.
1 Kings 19:14
Think About it
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine that you could see Jesus as he walked and taught in the villages of Galilee. How would you describe his appearance and demeanor — the way he sounded as he spoke, the look in his eyes, the way he moved as he walked? What do you think you would notice about him? Which heroes of the Bible, or our own time and culture, do you imagine as portraying some of the characteristics or qualities of Jesus?
DVD Teaching notes (22 minutes)
The passion of Elijah
The passion of the Olympic games
Competing to honor the king
Surrounded by witnesses
DVD Discussion (4 minutes)
1. What did you learn about the prophet Elijah, Jesus, and the disciples that you had never before realized?
In what ways do the images Ray Vander Laan presents of these men change your idea of what it means to walk as Jesus walked?
2. What was the point of the Olympic games played in stadiums, such as the one at Aphrodisias, throughout the Roman Empire?
How does this knowledge help you to better understand what Paul intended to convey through references to athletic training and competition in his descriptions of what it means to walk as Jesus walked?
3. How often have you thought that the way you run your spiritual race today is a witness to those you leave behind? What does it take to run your spiritual race in such a way that you make a powerful statement of who God is and encourage others who see you to run well?
Small Group Bible Discovery and Discussion (19 minutes)
The Zeal of Elijah
God loves his people with great passion and devotion and has always called those who say they love him to live for him with zeal — with a consuming passion to do his will and vigorously main- tain his honor in all circumstances. That's what it means to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5). So whether they lived during Bible times or live today, godly people are consumed by an ardent zeal to be faithful to God's Word and exalt him in everything they do, say, and think. Their intensity is obvious to everyone they meet.
Elijah was a servant of God who is still remembered for his passionate devotion to God. Let's look at how Elijah walked with God during a key event in his life recorded in 1 Kings 18 – 19. His story will help us better understand the ancient Jewish desire to be zealous — totally devoted — to God.
1. Read 1 Kings 18:15 – 29. What do you notice about Elijah's boldness in speaking to King Ahab, the people of Israel, and the prophets of Baal?
What level of commitment would be necessary to do and say these things? In other words, what motivated Elijah?
3. Read 1 Kings 18:30 – 40. How much physical effort did it take for Elijah to prepare the bull, build the altar, dig the trench? What does this tell you about his zeal for the Lord?
As you read Elijah's prayer, what do you see as the consuming passion of his heart? How much effort do you think it took to capture and execute the false prophets of Baal?
4. Read 1 Kings 18:41 – 46. Where did Elijah go after the false prophets were killed?
What did he do when it started raining? What does this tell you about the intensity of his passion and commitment to honor God?
4. What does James 5:17 – 18 reveal about Elijah and our need to be passionately committed to God?
Is it possible for us to have the same passion as Elijah? Do you think God expects us to have that same zeal? Why or why not?
5. What surprises you about the disciples using metaphors of the Olympic games to describe an appropriate degree of passion for walking as Jesus walked? How well do you think it communicated the idea of the passion of Elijah to people in Roman colonies who had no idea who Elijah was?
6. Which metaphors do you think could communicate the passion of Elijah to people in our culture? How would you use those metaphors in describing your walk with Jesus?
Faith Lesson (5 minutes)
First Kings 17 reveals an essential aspect of Elijah's zeal for God that we may tend to overlook if we focus exclusively on the powerful action and drama of 1 Kings 18. Read 1 Kings 17, taking special note of verses 1 – 5, 7 – 10, 13 – 14, and 17 – 24.
1. What kind of a relationship did Elijah have with God, and how did God's words — what God said to do — influence the prophet's words and actions?
2. What impact did Elijah's zeal and all-consuming passion to obey God in everything have on the widow of Zarephath (vv. 22 – 24)?
In what ways is this similar to the impact Jesus and his disciples had on the people of their world?
3. Elijah was a man of God's Word. He knew it, honored it, quoted it, taught it, lived it, and challenged others to do the same. No wonder the first-century Jews compared John the Baptist and Jesus to Elijah. They also knew God's Word and shared a common passion for it. How might people who know you describe your passion for the words of God?
4. How greatly do you desire to be zealous for God — to have the fire of Elijah in your heart? What kind of effort on your part is necessary to know and obey God's words and become a passionate disciple of Jesus?
Closing (1 minute)
Read the following Scripture passage aloud, then pray, asking God to nurture the passion of Elijah in your hearts so that others will know that he is God.
Memorize
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1 – 2
Walk as Jesus Walked
In-Depth Personal Study Sessions
Day one| Jesus and His disciples: Displaying the Zeal of Elijah
The Very Words of God
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
Matthew 16:13 –14
Bible Discovery
Called to Be Zealous for the Lord
The Jewish rabbis and their disciples (talmidim) sought to have the same fire, zeal, and passion for the Lord and his Word that Elijah modeled. As you will discover in the Scripture passages that follow, Jesus and his disciples did likewise. Not only that, the Lord expects no less from those who desire to be his disciples today. A disciple of Jesus must possess a fire for God, a passion for his Word, and the zeal to be an obedient follower who walks as Jesus walked.
1. As Jesus became better known and his reputation grew, who did people think he was? Why do you think they thought this, and what does it reveal about the kind of man Jesus was? (See Matthew 16:13 – 14; Mark 6:14 – 15.)
2. When he was in the temple before Passover, Jesus demonstrated his zeal for the Lord in a dramatic way. What did he do? Why? What impact did his words and actions have on people around him? (See John 2:13 – 22; also Psalm 69:9.)
3. The following Scripture passages highlight the kind of zeal for God that Jesus wants his disciples to have.
a. Read Mark 8:34 – 38. What personal sacrifice must a per- son be willing to make to be a disciple of Jesus? Does this sacrifice require zeal for the Lord? Why or why not?
b. Read Luke 9:57 – 62. Why do you think Jesus said what he did to these followers? What do you think Jesus was looking for in their response to him?
c. Read Mark 3:13 – 17. What indicates that at least some of Jesus' disciples were very zealous?
d. Read Luke 9:51 – 56. What evidence of zeal do we see in James and his brother, John? (Remember, fire from heaven is lightning in the Jewish understanding.) Who do you think they modeled themselves after? Where did they learn such zeal? (See 2 Kings 1:9 – 15.)
4. What evidence do the following passages provide that the early disciples of Jesus also were zealous for the Lord?
Reflection
What, according to Romans 12:11, is expected of God's people? What do you think this means in your own daily walk with Jesus?
How do you think people who know you would describe your zeal for the Lord?
How do you think Jesus' disciples or the apostle Paul would describe your zeal in your walk with Jesus?
What do you do to maintain your spiritual fervor — the commitment to and enthusiasm for Jesus that his disciples had?
In what ways would you like to deepen your zeal for Jesus?
Paul gave the early believers practical instruction in how to be zealous for the Lord. Read carefully Galatians 4:18, Colossians 3:23 – 24, and Titus 2:11 – 14; then write down practical ways in which you can follow Paul's instructions in your daily life.
Memorize
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Romans 12:11
Day Two| Zealous to obey and Honor God
The Very Words of God
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." ... People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
Matthew 3:1 – 2, 5 – 6
Bible Discovery
Zealous to Fulfill the Word of God
The ministry of John the Baptist focused on preparing people for the coming of Messiah and God's great acts of redemption. John was widely recognized as having the same passion for God that Elijah had, and he was deeply committed to the Hebrew Scriptures as the basis for his teaching and actions. So take a closer look at John's zeal for God and see how God greatly used him to warn people of God's judgment and bring them to repentance in preparation for the coming of Messiah.
1. According to Malachi's prophecies (3:1; 4:1 – 6), who would precede the Messiah's coming — known by the Jews as the "day of the Lord" — and what would his task be?
2. What message did the angel of God give to Zechariah as he was burning incense in the temple? What did the angel say about John's zeal for God? (See Luke 1:8 – 17.)
3. How do we know that Jesus considered John to be the Elijah who would come as promised by the prophet Malachi? How did Jesus view John and his ministry? (See Matthew 3:13 – 15; 11:7 – 14; 17:10 – 13.)
4. Who did the religious leaders think John might be? What was their response to him? (See John 1:19 – 28.)
5. What do each of the following passages reveal about the zeal of John the Baptist? How far was he willing to go, and how much was he willing to sacrifice, to be who God had called him to be? How zealous was he to proclaim the message of God?
a. Matthew 3:1 – 4 (see also 2 Kings 1:8)
b. Matthew 3:5 – 12
c. Mark 1:1 – 4
d. Mark 6:17 – 20
Reflection
Those who are zealous for God make an impact on people not only during their lifetime, but often for generations — even millennia — to come. Just think of how many people today know of Moses and Elijah, of Peter and Paul, and to a lesser extent Phinehas and John the Baptist. Read Acts 19:1 – 9, which records an encounter the apostle Paul had with some of John's disciples in Ephesus — nearly seven hundred miles from Israel — and consider the following questions.
What does the presence of these disciples in Ephesus indicate about the impact John's zeal for God had on others? How zealous do you think these disciples were, and who were they trying to imitate when Paul met them?
Whose disciples did John's disciples become after Paul told them about Jesus? What does this tell you about their knowledge of Scripture and their zeal for obeying it?
How much does the Christian community today desire the zeal of Elijah? How much do we seek to be filled with passionate devotion and obedience to Christ and the Scriptures? How much of an impact do we have on the world around us?
How important is it to you to be zealous for God? For how long do you want the world to remember your zeal for God?
Day Three | Sharing the Passion of Elijah
The Very Words of God
Always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
Proverbs 23:17
Bible Discovery
Teaching Elijah's Passion to People Who Never Knew Him
To zealously love God is to love him with one's whole being, and godly people of every era and culture have a consuming passion to do his will and maintain his honor in everything they do and say. The Jews of Jesus' day had been taught of Elijah's passion from their earliest days, so they readily understood what it meant to zealously walk with God. But what about the people of Asia Minor who were immersed in the pagan, Hellenistic culture of the Roman Empire?
They had no knowledge of Elijah. They aspired to pleasure and self-preservation. How would Jesus' disciples teach them to walk as Jesus walked?
In the arena of athletics and the Olympic games, Jesus' disciples and biblical writers found powerful metaphors of the zeal God desires. The games were widely known throughout the Roman world, and the biblical writers used the metaphors of athletic training and performance to communicate the gospel message. By capturing images of the intensity, passion, and focus required for athletic competition, they were able to explain true discipleship to people who were otherwise unfamiliar with God and his Word.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Walk as Jesus Walked Discovery Guide by Ray Vander Laan. Copyright © 2006 Ray Vander Laan. Excerpted by permission of ZONDERVAN.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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