Accusations

1) Nearly anyone with a basic knowledge of Christianity knows Jesus was accused of many things.

2) This study deals with accusations against the Lord, His people, and has application for today.

3) When we think of accusations against the saved, we may be inclined to associate them with non-Christians.

4) Most of the accusations in the Bible came from RELIGIOUS people.

5) Sometimes religious people actually looked for a way to accuse Jesus or His people.

a) The Pharisees and Scribes both looked for reasons to accuse Jesus (Lk. 6:7).

b) Chief priests offered accusations (Mt. 27:12). See too Mk. 15:3b.

c) See how Luke describes this group of people (23:10). Elders accused Jesus (Mt. 27:12).

d) Religious people used religious questions (Jn. 8:3-6).

6) We may draw some conclusions based upon the above passages:

a) Not every basis for an accusation is grounded in fact (Jesus never sinned).

b) Religious people have offered unjust accusations in the past.

c) When an accusation is made, it often doesn’t stop with “one point.”

d) Sometimes an accusation is really disguised criticism.

e) Instead of an outright accusation, people may try to get us to accuse ourselves by our words.

7) Jesus was certainly in a special category and perhaps we can understand accusations against Him.

8) What about typical human beings (Christians) – where they also accused?

a) What does Acts 24:13 tell us? ________________________________________.

b) How strong were the accusations against Paul (Acts 24:10-13)? ______________.

c) How strong are many of the accusations made against people today?

d) What “technique” did accusers in Acts 25:15-16? ____________________.

e) In New Testament times, was anyone besides Jesus and Paul accused? 1 Pet. 2:12.

9) Accusations were and still are common. We might thus ask what motivates them.

10) Jesus was accused based upon what He believed, said and did.

11) How would people have responded to the preaching described in Mt. 15:3-5, 7-8, 12?

12) Jesus called people “hypocrites” (Mt. 22:18) who abused widows (Mt. 23:14) and were blind guides (Mt. 23:16).

13) He referred to these people as the offspring of snakes (Mt. 23:33) and killers (Mt. 23:34).

14) He believed and said people were like unmarked tombs (Lk. 11:44).

15) He said the kingdom would be taken from them (Mt. 21:43-45).

16) Jesus said people preached what they didn’t practice (Mt. 23:1-3).

17) Jesus took followers away from religious leaders (Jn. 12:19). He said people would die in their sins (Jn. 8:21, 24).

18) If we speak the truth, we will be accused of things like: ________________________________.

19) Many accusations are based hate or malice instead of fact (compare Jn. 15:25).

20) Where does slander come from (Mt. 15:19)? _____________________________.

21) Are accusations ever just? ___________. Jn. 5:45.

22) Do people ever “embellish” their accusations (Mk. 14:63-64)? ___________________.

23) What should we check before making an accusation? ______________________________________________.

24) What do we learn from 1 Tim. 5:19, a passage that deals with elders? ______________________________.

25) In view of Mk. 15:3, what often happens when an accusation is made? (HINT: “many” things): ______________.

26) Ultimately, who is the source of false accusations (Rev. 12:10; Jn. 8:44)? ____________________.

27) Relate to Phil. 2:15 to Christians being accused of various things: ____________________________________.

28) Jesus can understand what it is like to be accused because He was accused of many things.

a) Mt. 9:3 – He was accused of _______________. How did Jesus respond? __________________________.

b) Mt. 9:11 - He was accused of ______________. How did Jesus respond? __________________________.

c) Mt. 11:19 - He was accused of _______________________________________.

d) Mt. 12:1-2 - He was accused of __________________. How did Jesus respond? _____________________.

e) Mt. 12:38 - He was accused of ___________________. How did Jesus respond? __________________________.

f) Lk. 23:2 - He was accused of ____________________. How did Jesus respond? __________________________.

29) How did Jesus respond in Mt. 26:63? ______________________________________________________.

30) How does 2 Cor. 13:5a relate to our being accused of something? ______________________________________.

31) Questions we might ask if accused: ____________________________________________________.

32) Should unjust accusations interfere with our work (1 Pet. 4:11-14)? _________________.

33) How does Mt. 5:23-25 help us when accusations are made? _______________________________________.

34) What does Prov. 26:2 say about accusations? ___________________________.

35) Does Jas. 4:12 help us? ___________________. When facing accusations we need _____________(Col. 4:5; Jas. 1:5).

36) Give a keyword in Eph. 4:2 that relates to accusations: ___________. A key expression Eph. 5:2: ________________.

37) We learn what about accusations from 2 Tim. 2:24-25? _________________________________________________.

38) Final verses: Ps. 15:1-3. __________________________________________________________________________.