So what? What does it mean?

Now that we have created all these questions, are next step is to learn how to answer them. After reading Matthew 26, we asked the question, "Who attended the dinner?" How would we answer that question?

For more answers to the question we can look at other passages of Scripture in which this same story is found. We could look in a commentary on the book of Matthew. We could ask others who might know. We could go on the internet and do a google search. There are many places we can go to find answers.

Let’s go to the other Gospels and see if we can learn more about who was at this dinner. When we do, we find out that not only was Simon the Leper there, but so was Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead. We further find that the woman who poured the perfume on Jesus was the Mary Jesus had set free from demon possession.

If we asked the question, Why was the dinner given?, we learn from the other Gospels that the dinner was given in Jesus honor. It was a group of people who wanted to honor Jesus for what He had done in their lives. We can imagine what the dinner must have been like with that group of people sitting around talking about how Jesus had impacted their lives. From Matthew the tax collector, to Simon the Leper, all there to honor the one who had changed their lives.

If we asked the question, How much was the perfume worth?, we again can look at the other Gospels and learn that it was worth about a year’s wages. She gave to Jesus what would have cost her the sum of money she could make in a year. She was making a very significant sacrifice to show Jesus how much she loved him. One would think that the dinner guests would have applauded her actions based on what Jesus had also done for them. But they did not. They criticized her, but Jesus did not. Jesus notices and is pleased when we express to Him how grateful we are for what He has done in our lives.

Once again, as you use the OnTrack, we will try to help you develop this skill. The devotional thoughts are not only based on questions we asked about the passage, but on the answers we found. Similar to the observation step, you will notice that on some days there are questions after the thought to help you think through how you can further apply what you have just read. There is a place in your guide for you to write down the answers to the questions you have come up with.

The goal is to help you become skilled in the ability to read a passage of Scripture and create your own devotional thoughts based on the questions you come up with, and the answers you find to those questions. To be able to determine what God is saying through Scripture, we must know how to ask observation questions and then find the answers to those questions.

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