Discussion Questions

Jesus repeatedly tells healed people, “See that you tell no man,” and Bercot highlights Chrysostom’s explanation that this shows humility and a refusal to attract “thrill seekers”; what does this reveal about God’s priorities in ministry, and how does it confront modern Christian instincts about publicity, platforms, and “testimony marketing”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jesus often tells healed people not to tell anyone. What does that show about what God cares about in ministry, and how does it challenge today’s push for publicity, platforms, and “testimony marketing”?

In Mark’s account, the healed leper publicizes the miracle and “as a result, Jesus could no longer openly enter a city”; how does that unintended consequence challenge the assumption that spreading every exciting spiritual story always helps the kingdom, and what kinds of “good news” sharing today might actually obstruct Jesus’ work? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When the healed leper spreads the story, it actually makes it harder for Jesus to enter towns. What does this teach us about when sharing exciting spiritual stories can hurt more than help, and what kinds of “good news” sharing today might get in Jesus’ way?

Bercot argues that biblical “leprosy” was almost certainly not Hansen’s disease and notes the “stigma” created by misnaming; what does this discussion suggest about how God wants His people to treat the ritually/physically unclean, and how should Christians think about medical labels, fear of contagion, and social exile in light of Jesus touching the leper? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If biblical “leprosy” was probably not the disease we call leprosy today, what does that say about how labels can create stigma? How should Christians treat people seen as “unclean” or risky, especially since Jesus touched the leper?

Jesus offers to enter the centurion’s home, breaking a deeply entrenched rabbinic tradition that Peter later still calls “unlawful,” even though it wasn’t in Moses; how should Christians discern when a “strong tradition” functions like an unwritten law, and what traditions in your church culture might Jesus intentionally violate? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jesus was willing to enter the centurion’s home even though a strong Jewish tradition said not to. How can Christians tell when a tradition has started acting like God’s law, and what church traditions today might Jesus purposely break?

Bercot connects Jesus’ willingness to enter a Gentile home with God’s plan for “one flock” of Jews and Gentiles; what does this reveal about God’s intention for the boundaries of His people, and where do you see modern Christians rebuilding separation lines God has torn down? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jesus going into a Gentile home points to God’s plan to make one people from Jews and Gentiles. What does this say about who belongs with God’s people, and where do Christians today rebuild the dividing lines God removed?

Jesus says many Gentiles will sit with Abraham while “the children of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness”; how does this warning challenge common evangelical assumptions about who is “safe,” and what does it suggest about the danger of relying on heritage, identity, or past religious privilege? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jesus warns that some Gentiles will join Abraham, but some “children of the kingdom” will be shut out. How does this challenge easy ideas about who is “safe,” and what danger is there in trusting family background, identity, or past religious privilege?

Bercot calls the pro-war appeal to the centurion an “argument from silence” and compares it to Jesus’ silence with the immoral woman and the Samaritan woman; where do you see Christians today building moral permission structures out of biblical silence, and how can a group learn to recognize when silence “proves nothing”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says using the centurion story to support war is an “argument from silence,” because Jesus doesn’t comment on it. Where do Christians today treat the Bible’s silence as approval, and how can a group learn that silence often proves nothing?

Tertullian is quoted: “in disarming Peter [the Lord] disarmed every soldier,” and “one person cannot be bound to two masters, to God and to Caesar”; what early-Christian assumptions about discipleship and violence are embedded in that quote, and what would have to change in your theology of “service,” “patriotism,” or “self-defense” to take it seriously? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Tertullian says that when Jesus disarmed Peter, He disarmed every soldier, and that we can’t serve both God and Caesar. What does this show about early Christians’ view of following Jesus and using violence, and what would you need to rethink about “service,” “patriotism,” or “self-defense” to agree with it?

After healing Peter’s mother-in-law, she “arose and ministered to them,” and Bercot notes early tradition about Peter’s wife and possible martyrdom; what does this scene imply about the expected response to being healed or helped by God, and how might it confront a modern tendency to receive spiritual benefits without reordering our lives toward service and costly faithfulness? JumpstartAnother way to ask: After Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law, she gets up and serves. What does this suggest our response should be when God helps or heals us, and how does it challenge the habit of taking spiritual benefits without changing our lives toward service and costly faithfulness?

In the Gergesenes episode, Jesus permits demons to enter swine, and Chrysostom/Jerome/Julian are cited: it reveals demons’ malice, their limited power under Christ, and our need to pray “deliver us from evil”; how does this portrayal of the spiritual realm challenge modern Christian comfort with temptation and “safe” spirituality, and what concrete practices would reflect the kind of daily dependence Bercot describes (praying the Lord’s Prayer multiple times, refusing presumption, taking evil seriously)? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When Jesus lets the demons enter the pigs, the writers say it shows demons are evil but limited under Christ, and we need to pray “deliver us from evil.” How does this challenge a comfortable, “safe” view of spirituality, and what daily habits would show real dependence on God and a serious view of temptation and evil?