Until John, we have been using older manuscripts of Ryle's Expository Thoughts. Just recently, though, EP Publishing has put out a lightly updated version of Ryle's work, which I am now working from. If you are interested in a physical copy of the Expository Thoughts, you can find it HERE.

1. These verses show us the great object for which Christ came into the world.
2. These verses show us one of the principal roles which Jesus Christ fills for true Christians.
3. These verses show us that when Christ died, He died of His own voluntary free will.

"Christ did not come to be only a teacher of new morality or an example of holiness and self-denial or a founder of new ceremonies, as some have foolishly asserted...He came to procure eternal life for humanity by the price of His own vicarious death."

"He provides for all their wants in the wilderness of this world and leads them by the right way to the right place. He bears patiently with their many weaknesses and infirmities and does not cast them off because they are wayward, erring, sick, footsore or lame."

"The treachery of Judas, the armed band of priests’ servants, the enmity of scribes and Pharisees, the injustice of Pontius Pilate, the rude hands of Roman soldiers, the scourge, the nails and the spear—all these could not have harmed a hair of our Lord’s head unless He had allowed them."

Questions:

1. The purpose of Christ's coming into the world was to bring eternal life. Ryle points out that we must not stretch these words too much, and that salvation for those in the OT comes to us the same way it came to them. Is this how you have understood salvation for OT saints?
2. Ryle points out three rich truths regarding Jesus being a shepherd: He knows them intimately, He cares for them tenderly, and he laid down His life sacrificially. He also points out that these truths only benefit those who have heard His voice and followed Him. Do we know these great benefits as we follow the Shepherd?
3. We learn the incredible truth that nobody took Jesus' life, but that, by the command of His Father, He had authority to lay it down and take it up again. Is this a new idea to you? What difference does it make that Jesus wasn't a helpless victim but a victorious conqueror in His death?