12 Women of the Bible

Week 3 - Mary of Bethany

Hey all you OBSers! Welcome to Week 3!!!

Hope you ALL have a wonderful Valentine’s day and a great weekend!!

Print this, post it to your fridge or tuck it in your study book. This is your

SUGGESTED guide for the week to help you keep up in the Bible study!

What We’re Reading This Week...Mary of Bethany (pp. 107-118 in study guide)

Mary of Bethany: Putting Our Faith into Action. We will learn how we can be like Mary and serve Jesus by doing what you can with what you have.

Her Character:  Mary appears to have been a single woman, totally devoted to Jesus. The gospel portrays her, by way of contrast with her sister, Martha, as woman of few words. As Jesus neared the time of his triumphal entry into Jerusalem prior to Passover, she performed a gesture of great prophetic significance, one that offended Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus.

Key Scriptures:  Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:1-9; Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1-12:11

Hashtags

#12Women-CCMV, #12Women, #OBS – When you post on social media about the study, use these hashtags! If you want to see what other OBSers are saying, search these tags to connect!

Daily Blog Posts, Bible Study & Discussion

● Monday, Wednesday and Friday – New study email/blog posts, so check your email or head to the Facebook page to join in the conversation!

● Wednesday – Video teaching from StudyGateway, the link will be emailed to you; I hope you’re enjoying this special feature of our Online Bible Study.

Thursday, 2/11

● Bible Study LIVE! 8 p.m. ET ~ One hour of LIVE Bible Study on Facebook. Click here to join the fun! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/692185037534989/

Let’s Chat:

Observe — Our theme this week “The gospel is living LODED and acting out on our faith in the world…Mary did what she could do!” What thoughts come to mind when you read this statement?

Bible — This week’s verse is Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) "The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Let’s try Verse Mapping this verse; click here for more information.

Stretch — What is God speaking to you about through the lives of the women in this study? Prayfully consider and journal your thoughts.

Mary of Bethany’s Life and Times

All able-bodied and ceremonially clean Jewish men, usually accompanied by their families were required to attend Passover in Jerusalem as well as two other major religious feasts, Pentecost and Tabernacles (Exodus 23:17), throughout the year.

The Feast of Passover took place in Nisan, the first month of the ancient Jewish year, our April. (See attached for Jewish Calendar & Feasts). The most significant feast celebrated by the Jew, Passover commemorated their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. At that time, Moses had commanded each family to kill an unblemished one-year-old male lamb.  He had instructed them to take the blood from the lamb and, using a brush made of hyssop branches, spread the blood on the sides and top of the doorframe of each household. When the tenth and last plague came to Egypt, the angel of death entered only the houses without blood on the doorpost and killed the firstborn son in each family.  Any home with blood on the doorway was “passed over.”

Jewish families ate the meat of the lamb for their Passover supper, sharing with neighbors if the family was too small to finish the lamb alone. The meal also included a salad of bitter herbs as well as unleavened, or unrisen, bread. Before Passover, the house was thoroughly searched and cleaned to be sure no yeast was in the house to spoil the unleavened bread. This bread reminded the Jews of the haste with which they had to eat their last meal in Egypt before leaving slavery there. Psalms 113-118, known as the “Egyptian Hallel” (or Praise) psalms, were sung before and after the meal.

Often during their history, the Jews neglected to celebrate the Passover, as well as many of the other religious feasts God had instituted. The times when the Passover was reinstated are mentioned specifically in the Old Testament, and the ignorance of the people regarding the sacred nature of the feast is apparent. Most often, the restoration of the feast came about because of a religious revival (2 Kings 23:21-23; 2 Chronicles 30:1; 35:1-19; Ezra 6:19-22).

The Last Supper Jesus ate with his disciples, on the night he was betrayed, was the annual Passover meal. Jesus gave specific instructions to several of his disciples for preparing this important meal. While he and his disciples reclined at the table, Jesus revealed that one of the Twelve would betray him and that he would be crucified.

Our Life and Times

With His words, “This is my body” and “This is my blood,” Jesus gave new meaning and significance to the Passover lamb. When he was crucified the next day, he himself became our Passover Lamb. Though we may observe the beauty of the Passover, for believers, the work is done. Jesus’ death on the cross as the ultimate Passover Lamb made the continual sacrifice for sin no longer necessary. Through his body and blood – through his work as our Passover lamb – we gain forgiveness for our sins and life eternal.

Many Blessings!