BiblicalMastery Buddy's bible blog

Lesson 16

Faith that is Real

Luke 7:1-17

 Later in Luke it is written, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”  (Luke 18:8)  These words follow a parable concerning persistence in prayer.  I would hope that if I am here when the Son of Man does come that I would be exhibiting the kind of faith to which He alludes to in that verse.  I have to be honest that I do not think a whole lot about faith.  I just assume because I call myself a follower of Christ that I have it.  I also have to admit that I as far as I can remember my faith has not been tested as so many others have. However there have been some incidences in my life that have caused me to wonder if God had forgotten about me.  The fact that we have heard over and over, God has never moved it is us who move further from Him. Thankfully, in hindsight I have seen him work in my life beyond anything I can even imagine.

When does the church fail?  It is when we forget that we serve a God who is able to accomplish what we see as impossible.  Most of what we do is not built on faith.  We strive to make our programs and ministries work never considering whether they are within the plan that God has for us.  Our visions are too small.  We never seem to get to the mission of the church making disciples of all who God brings into our path.

Men like the one in the lesson today are the examples that will encourage us to look beyond ourselves to see what God can do with us.  All our efforts using just our own abilities will have minimal results.  A God size vision that we cannot do will bring glory to Him.

Luke 7:1

Jesus finished His initial teaching to those gathered to hear Him.  He had concluded with the parable of the foundation of His word.  When He completed all that He had to say at that time He returned to the city of Capernaum which had become His home town.

1. Why was the parable of the foundation the last word that He had for them before departing? (He knew that they would need to have His words take hold of their lives before they knew what they thought of this Jesus.)
2. Why did Jesus leave the people who were anxiously listening to what He had to say? (There were others who needed to hear His message.)
3. Why did He choose Capernaum as His home base? (Needed to get away from familiar surroundings and the city was central to other locales.)

Luke 7:2

The opening of the event that would lead to the healing of the slave is enlightening.  It speaks of the relationship between the centurion and a slave he owned.  A centurion would have generally been a battle hardened soldier who was the mainstay of the Roman army.  He was a man who would not back down in a battle and who was willing to give his life for his country.  Because of that loyalty they were strategically throughout the Roman Empire to help maintain peace.  For such a man to have great regard for a slave was unusual.  A slave was usually considered by his owner as no more than a living tool.  Once their usefulness was over they were discarded and left to die because they had no one to care for them. From the Scripture it is told that that particular slave was terminally ill.  

The fact that Luke included at least three references to the Roman military reflects the respect he had for the government they represented.  He did not see them as the enemy as so many Jews did but always cast them in a positive light.

1. Without looking any further what qualities do you like about the centurion?
2. Why should he even care about a sick slave?
3. How was his attitude different from the accepted treatment of slaves?
4. What example does he set for us in his respect for the slave?
5. Why did Luke paint a positive picture of the centurion? (He did not view the Romans as an enemy of Christianity.)

Luke 7:3

It is interesting that the centurion chose not to see Jesus in person. It is obvious that he was hesitant in going to Jesus not knowing how He would react to a request from a Roman soldier. He called some of the Jewish elders and asked them to intercede for him. 

1. What might his actions indicate about the centurion? (Did not know if Jesus would have any dealings with a Roman centurion.)
2. Why did he call the Jewish elders to intercede for him?
3. If the centurion did not know how Jesus would respond to his request why bother Jesus at all?
4. Under what circumstance have you ever been so desperate that you would do almost anything to have an answer to prayer?

Luke 7:4-5

When the elders came to Jesus they did what the centurion did not feel he could do himself.  Not only did they beg Jesus to do as the centurion had asked, but gave reasons that Jesus should consider healing the slave of a Roman.  The centurion had made such an impact in his community that the elders told Jesus the type of man he was. The centurion

• Loved the Jewish people
• He even built a synagogue for them.

From all that was said about the man he must have been a God Fearer.  A God Fearer, as the name suggests, was one who worshipped the one true God but was not willing to be circumcised or follow all of the traditions of the Jews. What had attracted them in the first place was the high moral standards held by the nation of Israel.

1. Why were the Jews willing to speak on behalf of the centurion?
2. What does their description say about the man?
3. What did it mean to be a God Fearer?
4. What had attracted him to the Jewish religion in the first place?
5. What attracts people to Christianity?
6. What might be factors that would turn them off?

Luke 7:6a

Immediately upon hearing the words of the elders, Jesus headed off to the home of the centurion.  There was no hesitation on his part of going into the home of a foreigner. A Jew was forbidden from entering into the home of an alien.

1. Why did Jesus immediately decide to go to the home of the centurion? (Someone was in need of healing.)
2. What would have kept any other Jew from doing what He was about to do?
3. What keeps us from going into the homes of certain people?
4. What does Jesus’ action say to us? (We are never to hesitate when someone needs help.)

Luke 7:6b-7

Jesus did not even make it to the house before he received a message from the centurion.  Evidently the man had not expected Jesus to actually come to him.  He apologized for bothering Jesus.  He did not believe he was worthy of having Jesus come into his home.  His only desire was for the slave to be healed without drawing attention to himself. In faith he knew that Jesus could speak the word anywhere and accomplish what he was asking Him to do.  He said, “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

1. Why did the centurion stay in his home rather than going to Jesus?  (Not worthy of all the attention.)
2. Why did he stop Jesus before He arrived at the house? (Possibly to save the embarrassment of Jesus entering into the home of a foreigner.)
3. What was the strongest act of faith displayed by the centurion? (Just “say the word.”)
4. How do we limit God from acting in our own lives?
5. How powerful could the words, “Just say the word,” be in your own life?

Luke 7:8

The centurion understood Jesus better than all of those around Him as He approached the man’s house.  He recognized real authority when he saw it.  For years he had been part of a system that ordered people around for its own bidding.  As an esteemed military man he had gained the respect and allegiance of those under his command.  Now he was confronted with a man who had the power to heal just by speaking.  The centurion had heard by word of mouth the things that Jesus had said and done and was truly in awe of the Man.

1. How did the centurion come to recognize Jesus as a man of authority?
2. What lessons had he learned from his years in the military? (There were the reasons for the disciplines that had to be maintained.)
3. What are the things that help you recognize the authority of Jesus?
4. Why did the others to whom Jesus had spoken understand what was obvious to the centurion?

Luke 7:9

Upon hearing the words of the centurion, Jesus was amazed at the faith of one who was a foreigner and had surely come from a pagan society.  He responded to that great display of faith by sharing with those Jews surrounding him that the faith of the centurion was greater than He had experienced living for thirty years among His own people.  At that point the elders left and returned to the centurion to report what Jesus had said. Even then they did not have the assurance that Jesus would grant the request of the centurion. However, when they arrived at the home of the Roman they had their answer.  They found that the slave had been healed by the word of Jesus. The centurion had asked Jesus just to say the word.  Although there is no record of Him actually saying anything about the slave, the acknowledgment of the faith of the centurion was enough to bring healing to one he held in high regard. Those who others loved, Jesus loved also.

1. Why was Jesus amazed at the words of the centurion?
2. Why would there have been a note of sadness in His amazement? (His desire was for His own people to have a deep and abiding faith in the Father which He found lacking in them.)
3. Generally what could have been expected of a man who came from a pagan society?
4. What brought about the healing of the slave?
5. What would Jesus say about our faith if He stood in our midst today?
6. When can we expect healing from Jesus in our own lives?  (When we humble ourselves and seek to hear the word spoken that only He can say.)

Luke 7:11-17

It would be just like the doctor that he was for Luke to include this incident.  Jesus left Capernaum and had arrived at a city called Nain.  At this point in His ministry large crowds were following Him everywhere He went to hear Him and possibly to receive healing.  He arrived just at the point that a funeral procession was passing by.  The dead man was the only son of a woman who was a widow.

Seeing the situation unfold, Jesus felt compassion for her and reached out and touched the open coffin.  He commanded the young man to arise.  Immediately, the young man sat up and began to talk.  As would be expected great awe fell over the people.  None of them had ever experience anything like this before.  They began to call Jesus a great prophet for none other than a man of God could do such a marvelous thing. The people began to share about Him and this incident all over the area of Judea and beyond.

1. Why would Luke include this episode in his writings?
2. Why did Jesus choose to heal that young man?
3. Why is it that not all are healed?
4. What was the reaction of the people?
5. Why did the people begin to call Jesus a great prophet?
6. What was the natural outgrowth of the raising of the dead man? (The good news that God had visited the nation of Israel was shared throughout the whole area surrounding Judea.)

 

• You can learn much from the centurion.
• Even though you may find yourself in a leadership position you should have compassion and respect for those who may be under your leadership.  The term we use in church is one who shepherds and cares for his sheep.  This is usually the one who is called pastor.
• You are to take action when you see a need just as the centurion sent for Jesus you are to find the one who can provide the solutions to the problem whether physical or spiritual.
• You are to realize that you cannot handle every situation.  Humility on your part will allow you to seek others who have more knowledge and ability to bring about resolution.
• Acknowledge Jesus as the great physician, prophet, giver of life and God who walked on the earth as you do today.

The centurion represents what Christ would expect of the church.  In him we see a love for his fellow man which went beyond what would have been expected of a man in of his position.  He understood that he faced a situation which was beyond his ability to handle.  All of his authority got him nowhere.  In humility and faith he reached out to the One who could bring healing to his slave.

The church is in the same condition.  The world is sick and it is beyond our ability and wisdom to bring healing.  We are no longer to depend on our own abilities to produce results, but in all humility to rely on the Father to fulfill His purpose for us.  He desires us to see beyond the walls of the building in which we meet week to week, as He does, so that we can touch those who need to be impacted by the good news that we have received.

 

 

Lesson 15

How Firm a Foundation

Luke 37-49

I have thought a lot over the years about what the title of this lesson means.  Many years ago I read a biography about Billy Graham. The one thing that that stuck out in his story which I have never forgotten was his decision about God’s word. His foundation for faith was to be built on the total commitment to the belief that God’s word was infallible.  As he did, I have made a willful choice to accept the total Bible, every word as the inspired message that God has provided for us that we might have life eternal and a personal relationship with Him right now.

This is not to say that I have not questioned parts of it.  I do not understand why God did certain things which seemed so unfair.  I would just as soon skip over those parts that talk about infidelity and the destruction of whole nations.  There has come an acceptance that God has a right to do what He pleases and that everything that has occurred was and is beneficial for His children.

Sadly there are many denominations and individual churches that refuse to accept God’s word in totality.  They want to pick and choose those passages that suit their philosophical stands and ignore the fact that the Bible is a complete narrative of God working in the hearts of man.  We now have names for the different groups and the way they view Scripture.  Those who reject many parts of the Bible and interpret it in the way that suits them are called liberals.  There are others who hold the Bible as the inspired infallible word of God.  Even within all denominations there are divisions with one group taking one stance while others take another.  Liberals forget that God Himself in two different places issues the warning that His word is not to be altered.  The book of Hebrews speaks of the living word, Jesus, as being “the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

Luke 6:37

Jesus certainly did not mean that judgment should not come to someone who had broken the law.  It was God who gave the law that was to be obeyed.  He was commanding His disciples to not have a critical spirit. It is easy to criticize others for a number of different reasons.  It may be the way they dress or something about their personality that might be different.  In any case finite man is not the standard by which others are to be measured.  By criticizing or judging others a person may find himself as the subject of the same. This is different than having a discerning spirit.  When it comes to interpretations of the Scriptures one should be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who “Examined the Scriptures daily to see whether these things (What Paul was teaching) were so.”

Along with judgment is the idea of condemning others.  No one has the right to put down another person.  There may be circumstances that may cause someone to act the way he or she does. Here again if one is not careful he may find himself the one being condemned.

Instead of judging or condemning a person should forgive or pardon others.  In another place Jesus said that in order to receive forgiveness a person has to forgive.  See the model prayer.

1. What is the difference between what happens in our justice system and the way we sometimes judge others? (One is according to the law and the other may be driven by our own prejudices.)
2. What is the idea behind judging?  (It is being unfairly critical of others.)
3. What is the danger in judging others?
4. What are some of the things we are to judge?
5. What right do we have to condemn the actions of others?
6. What might happen if we continually condemn others?
7. What should be our attitude towards others?

Luke 6:38

There are all kinds of giving in which man may participate.  First of all one must consider the attitude of the giver.  Giving with the expectation that one will be repaid defeats the whole idea of the giving.  As mentioned there are those who have the material resources to be generous with what they have.  They give because God has blessed them and they give out of a heart of gratitude.  Quite often God will allow them to have greater wealth because He knows they will use what they receive for His glory. 

Others may not have the material wealth mentioned above but are willing to give of their time, giftedness and abilities in sacrificial service.  Their reward will be the joy of knowing that what they are doing is according to God’s purpose for their lives.

Whether a person receives the financial blessings from his generosity or the joy of doing what God has called him to do, both will understand how generous and loving the Father truly is. Remember that God has already provided each of us with more than we could ever deserve.  He has not skimped in any way.  Just think of His mercy and the gift of eternal life and man will realize that he can never outdo God.

1. What is the most important thing to remember about giving?
2. Why do people forget that giving is not just about money?
3. In whatever ways can one give?
4. What can we expect from our gifts?
5. What should be the results when we give to others in service to the Father?

Luke 6:39-40

One who does not understand the ways of God cannot lead another into faith.  Both the one guiding and the one following will find themselves walking the road to destruction.  Jesus could have easily been talking about the religious leaders of His day.  He then carried the idea one step further.  No teacher can teach what he does not know.  The student, if he remains under the teaching of a leader, cannot learn anymore that the leader has to offer.  He can however grow to be like his teacher by learning everything those instructing him has to offer. James spoke of not everyone should desire to be a teacher because they will incur a stricter judgment especially if they fail to teach God’s word truthfully. (See James 3:1)

Sadly, in the time which is called the post modern era by many, there are whole denominations which are misleading millions of their members by teaching false doctrine and theology.  Jesus was warning His disciples to always teach the truth.

1. What is the danger of allowing just anyone lead small groups or preach from the pulpit?
2. To whom was Jesus referring when He spoke of the blind guides?
3. Why can a pupil not advance any further than his teacher?
4. How do we recognize blind guides?
5. Who did Jesus want His disciples to follow?
6. Why was He the ultimate guide and teacher?
7. To whom do you turn for guidance in your own life? Why?
8. Who is a teacher that has had a great influence in your life?
9. How do you become like the Master Teacher?

Luke 6:41-42

 It is a fact of life that it is much easier to see the shortcomings and sins of others while being blind to one’s own.  The object in one’s own eye, the beam, should appear larger because it is hitting closer to where you are.  The spec is seen at a distance. Jesus was telling His disciples to repent and confess what is wrong in their own lives before even attempting to say anything to someone else.  Jesus called that man a hypocrite for he was pretending to be what he was not. Every man is a sinner and must face the sins he has committed is his life.  Only then can he even understand what is taking place in the lives of others.

1. Why is it so much easier to criticize others instead of looking at one’s self?
2. What does being a hypocrite mean?
3. At what point will you be able to correct someone else’s behavior?
4. Have you reached that position in your life where there is nothing wrong with a spiritual walk?
5. Why was the object in one’s own eye bigger than what was in his neighbor’s eye?

Luke 6:43-45

A critical spirit and an evil heart cannot produce that which is good.  The actions of a good man will be equated to the good fruit produced by a spiritually healthy person.  There is a story told about two families in New England in the 1700’s.  From the godly family came, college presidents, preachers, teachers, a vice-president and a Supreme Court justice.  The other family who lived close by were drunkards, thieves etc.  The family tree brought forth fruit in accordance to the goodness or rottenness of the tree itself.  Many times a man’s words are reflective of what is in his heart.

1. What comparison did Jesus give between a good tree and a bad tree?
2. What are some examples of good fruit in a person’s life?
3. When does a person become like the bad tree?
4. What influence do people have on others?
5. What does the tree symbolize? (It is the source of all nourishment that produces fruit.)
6. What do you think of the example used above comparing the two families?
7. What are some modern day examples we see that are examples of what Jesus was talking about?

Luke 6:46

Jesus asked a very important question to those around Him including the disciples.  He wanted to know why they would call Him Lord meaning Master if they were not acting according to what He had taught them.

1. How do you react to the question that Jesus asked the disciples there with Him?
2. What are the two important parts of what He said? (They were calling Him Master but they were not doing what He had taught them.)
3. How do you know what Jesus expects of you?
4. In what ways do you try to make Jesus Lord of your life?

Luke 6:47

Luke provides the picture of two different responses to the teaching of Jesus. Notice that there are two constants in the parable Jesus tells.  In both there is a house and a storm.  What happens to each depends on the view each has of God’s word.

The first man, representing many people:

• Comes to Him
• Hears the words of Jesus
• Acts on them

He is like one who builds the house, his life, on a solid foundation of rock.  Notice he does not just sit his house on the rock but digs deep making the foundation solid and firm.  When the inevitable storms of life come because he has sunk his roots deep into what Christ has said, his house stands firm.

The second man also hears the same words as the first but does not live out his life according to what he has heard.  He then is an example of a man who builds his house on the shifting sands and did sink any foundation whatsoever.  When the same storm comes that the first man experiences, the house of the second man collapses.  Jesus ends by saying, “the ruin of that house is very great.” 

1. What are the constants in the two stories? (The house and the storm)
2. What is the difference between the first and second man?
3. What is the foundation upon which the first man built and the second ignored?
4. What is the foundation upon which you are building your life?
5. Why was the first house able to withstand the storm?
6. What do the storms represent?
7.  How are you going to weather the storms that come your way?

 

• There are two admonishments that Jesus gives that have not changed for us since the day He gave them.  Do not judge. Do not condemn others. In both cases we are not to set ourselves up as better than others.
• You are called to give of yourselves.  There will be blessings from God beyond your wildest dreams.  Some of you will be able to give generously from your finances others may not be able to do so but are able to give themselves in sacrificial service using all of your gifts and abilities to glorify God.
• Be a person of God’s word.  By digging deeper and building your life upon the solid rock found there, you will be able to weather any storm that this world may throw at you.
• Make sure that your life exemplifies the fruit of the spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23.
• If you fill your hearts with Christ good treasures will flow out from you.

The church is to be different than any other organization in the world.  One thing we have that no other one has.  It is the good news of Jesus Christ.  The gospel is radical and we are called to live radically for our Lord. If we try to carry out every teaching of Jesus we will become like the Pharisees in making them like the law.  Jesus knew even as He taught His disciples that to become true followers that they and we would be a work in process.  Church is about that process.  We will grow to become more like Jesus as we did deeper into His word and build our lives on the foundation embedded in the rock who is Jesus.  Do not become discouraged or overwhelmed upon hearing the message found in the pages of the Bible.

 

 

Lesson 14

Golden Rule in Action

Luke 6:27-36

By being a follower of Christ I know that there are those out in the world who automatically become my enemy.  Most of them would never think of causing me bodily harm. However because I have a different belief system than they, we are automatically on opposite sides. I have to accept the fact that there are going to be people who disagree with men. 

I have to remember that just as God has loved me since I have turned my life over to Him does not mean that He loves my enemies any less.  Each of us is being called to look at others through the lens of Christ and His Father.  If I choose to isolate myself from the unbeliever how is he ever to hear the good news.  Paul spoke of this in 1 Corinthians.  He said we are to associate with those of the world in order to bring them to Christ. 

It is not easy for me to be outspoken in different environments.  Being somewhat of an introvert makes me hesitant to speak out about my faith with those I do not know or are not like me.  This is an area of my life of which I have to strive to change.  If everyone was like me we would never reach out beyond the doors of the church.  

Churches have cultures that may exclude certain individuals from the fellowship because they are different.  We tend to attract and want people just like us.  An entire church can develop a cliquish attitude and not be welcoming to everyone to desires to come into the body.  We may think that we are friendly but we quite often prove to the guests that we do not truly want them in our midst. 

Jesus calls us to have a different attitude when it comes to the horizontal relationships with those He loves.  We have already seen that it was a diverse group of men He called to be His disciples.  We need to follow His example and be thankful for our differences. Remember God called Jews and Gentiles together to make up His church.

In the last lesson we spoke of priorities which dealt with our vertical relationship to God.  This week we will see what Jesus had to say about our dealings with our fellow human beings.

Luke 6:27

The next series of sayings Jesus directed towards His disciples in particular.  In John Jesus spoke to His brothers, who in a way represented all mankind.  He told them that the world did not hate them but would hate Him. (See John 7:7) In the not too distant future the disciples would have enemies because they were identified with Jesus.  They were told at the outset of His work that they were to love those who were in complete opposition to Him and those who followed Him.

This would not be easy for them in the flesh.  For the kind of love He talked about He used the word apagao, as opposed to the other Greek words for love eros and phileo.  Both of those carry with them the concept of love based on emotion.  Agapao was a love that man had to choose to give.  It was of the will and not based on emotion.  In every circumstance a follower of Christ is expected to have that kind of love. To touch the lives of the enemies in life Jesus called the disciples to do the unexpected.  In order to treat others differently than they would treat the disciples, it all had to start with agape.

1. What is the difference between agapao and other types of love?
2. What is the source for this kind of love?
3. Who would be considered your enemy at this time?
4. Why are we not aware of those who would be counted as enemies?  (There is no opposition because we do not have the same kind of passion that would be displayed by the disciples.)
5. What actions did Jesus emphasize to the disciples?

Luke 6:28-30

In the following verses can be seen the actions enemies will take. Knowing what was to come gave the disciples heads up on how to deal with the situation. They were to

• Seek happiness for those who cursed them.  To be cursed was to be reviled, demeaned and a desire for nothing good to take place in one’s life.
• Pray for those who mistreated them.
• When hit by someone they were to not strike back in revenge but to allow himself to be struck again.  Revenge never gains anything.
• Exceed the demands made upon them even if it meant losing both coat and shirt.
• Give never expecting to receive anything in return.  This would be extremely hard when asked by someone that might not deserve what one does for him.
• Not seek material things if some has stolen them.  Let them keep the items.

All of the above would take an act of the will.  It is to be remembered that each of them would show that nothing aside from loving God meant anything.   In one’s own strength it is impossible to do that which calls for such a radical response as Jesus called those men to that day.

1. How can we be expected to be treated as followers of Christ?
2. What is to be our response?
3. Why are the things Jesus required so contrary to human nature?
4. Who will give the strength to face such difficulties?
5. What will bring about failure or success in following all that Jesus commanded?
6. Why are we not exempt from blessing, praying, turning the other cheek, giving, and not seeking that which was lost?  (Jesus experienced all of these things in His lifetime.)

Luke 6:31

This verse is what is known as the golden rule.  It is interesting that Luke inserted it here right after talking about the harsh treatment a follower of Christ could expect to receive.  There is no one left out of the command to treat others in the way you want to be treated.  There is a possibility that even a person’s enemy might be impacted if he realizes that he need not have to worry that he might be treated badly.

1. Why is this verse so important? (The odds are that if I do wrong to others they will probably retaliate.)
2. Why is this an example of a Christ-like life? (To do other than treating people as Christ would have done makes you a poor witness.)
3. In what ways have you failed in following this command?
4. What acts have you done that show you understand what Jesus was talking about?

Luke 6:32-34

There are three aspects of a person’s life that one may find easy to do. Even non-believers do the same thing with those like them.  Jesus talked about:

• Loving those who love you.  To do so is easy and is not the radical living to which Jesus calls His disciples as shall will seen as the passage ends.
• Doing good to those who do the same to you.
• Lending to those who would pay the person back.

All three of these go against the response that they expected.  He had just shared what His disciples’ actions were to be toward those who did not love, do good or return what they had borrowed.  Loving the loving etc. would not have an impact on the world. They had to be willing to take risks and get outside the safety net of family, friends and the familiar.  Christ was calling them to move out and be among all types of people. Many of them would not like the message of Christ and would respond sometimes in a physical way in opposition to the disciples.

1. Why is it important for a follower of Christ to reach out beyond friends, family and the familiar? (That is where the lost, angry and hopeless are to be found.)
2. In what way were the three emotions and actions cited examples of taking the easy road through life?
3. Why did He say that there is no credit to doing the three things? (None of us are called to live in a cocoon but live in a world in chaos.)

Luke 6:35

To love so unconditionally would put their enemies on the defensive.  They would not know how to handle the unconditional love that His disciples were commanded to show towards them.  It was a love with no demands.  It was given to people who did not deserve it. The sacrificial love would reap benefits for the giver because it was given in humility without thought of oneself.  That kind of behavior was Christ-like and proved that a man is one of God’s children.  It would be rewarded by the Father.

Jesus called to their remembrance that God the Father is kind to both those who are ungrateful and evil. If God looks at all men with that kind of love could His disciples expect to be required to do any less? At some point every person was in that condition before God.

1. Why did Jesus once again emphasize the love that the disciples were to have for their enemies?
2. In what way does it speak to the life style that God expects of His children?
3. In what way does it reflect the attitude you might have or once had in your own life?
4. How do we show that we are sons of God?
5. How much like the people talked about have we been at point in our life?

Luke 6:36

The disciples were to view all men in the same way that God sees them.  The only man who never had to experience the mercy of God was Jesus.  He showed mercy to all by taking what every person deserves when He died on the cross.  No one who turns to God gets what he deserves but receives mercy.  That same mercy was to be extended by the disciples.

1. How are we to view our fellow man?
2. What did we deserve as we are confronted with the holiness of God?
3. What happened so we would not experience what we truly deserve?
4. What are the evidences in your life that shows that you understand what God did for you?
5. What one word sums up all that we have just learned? (Agape)
6. How great a love did God have for all of us that He would be able to show us mercy?

 

• You need to understand that none of the above actions are possible unless you humble yourself before God.
• Realize that the only love that will allow you to love your enemies is God like love.  It is the Greek word Agapao.  To love in that way you must determine in your heart and mind in following God commands regarding others?
• Pray as you are faced with situations that might put a barrier between you and God.
• Remember that you do not deserve the love that God shows you. He has shown you mercy through what Christ did not anything that you could hope to accomplish on your own.

Christ calls all of us to live a radically different life than we could ever hope to do on our own.  Jesus made sure that we understand that selfishness in the body of Christ is not acceptable.  The important lesson that we are to learn is that none of the things that Christ commanded His first century disciples and His followers today to do are possible without total dependence on Him.  We are to love the unlovely, feed those who do not have anything and give to the needy never expecting anything in return except the word from God saying well done good and faithful servant. It is all about looking beyond ourselves to others.  For me it carries the important point that we are to desire the best for everyone even if those who we might see as our enemies. 

The world may never accept the message we have for them about Jesus.  That should never deter us no matter what the consequences may be.  Our witness must be Christ-like as we love others in spite of their rejection.  We never know when a word or action might impact and transform a person for Christ.

 

Lesson 13

God’s Standards

Luke 6:12-26

It is so easy to look at oneself and think I am doing well spiritually.  Just in the last few days I received a wakeup call during a Life Action Summit meeting.  The speaker gave everyone a questionnaire. Everyone was asked to answer several questions about where we thought we were our spiritual walk.  Each question could only be answered yes or no.  Although I failed it miserably, it was no consolation that everyone with whom I spoke had also done so.

I told my wife that anyone who went through it with no problems should look at it to see if there is an issue with pride.  What I learned was even though I might have thought that I was doing ok, it is God who has set the standards and He is the one who judges me. 

I am so thankful that God’s grace does not depend on my trying to measure up to what He has deemed as an example of one He would call perfect.  I am a work in progress that will never be finished this side of heaven.

There is so much talk today about what constitutes a healthy church.  Even those that are seeing lives transformed by the preaching and teaching of the word still will have their weaknesses.  The best we can do is to try to follow God’s leading for the body called the church.  Rick Warren many years ago wrote the “The Purpose Driven Church.”  In it he called for the church to be balanced in the five purposes derived from the Great Commission and Great Commandment found in Matthew.  They are Worship, Discipleship, Ministry, Fellowship and Evangelism.  Very few churches reach the level in which there is not more emphasis given to one or the other of these purposes.

What God is looking for in a church is the willingness of His people to submit to His purpose.  We are to serve Him completely and leave the results to Him.  Jesus is still looking for disciples today who desire to follow and serve Him as we walk throughout our world.

Luke 6:12

Although not mentioned here specifically, Jesus had already started the selection process.  He had called Simon, Andrew, James, John and Levi by this time.  John talks about some of the others not mentioned before now in Luke.  They had already travelled with Him and seen Him heal individuals.  Just as important they had experienced firsthand the opposition from the religious leaders that would eventually result in the death of Jesus.  Those were the same men who oppose everything that the apostles would do after the resurrection of Jesus.  Jesus wanted the twelve to know what they could expect before they committed to following Him.

Before Jesus made the final cut and selected His closest associates, the disciples, He went away from the crowd and spent a night in prayer.  The choosing of the twelve was very important to Him and the Father.  They were to be the men to whom he was going to entrust the future of the movement that would be called Christianity.  He could leave nothing to chance.  Talking it over with His Father helped clarify who the men were to be.

1. Why did Jesus spend time with all of the men before deciding who would be part of the twelve who would receive most of His attention?
2. From what they had already experienced what could each of the men expect to happen in the future?
3. Why was it important for Jesus to spend a night in prayer before deciding on the men to be His disciples?
4. How often do you pray through a matter before making a decision?
5. What is usually the result when you either pray or do not pray about a particular situation?

Luke 6:13-16

After having spent the night in communication with the Father, Jesus came back to the group waiting for Him.  From the larger body of disciples He called out certain men who would be His closest companions.  Five of the men would have probably known each other coming from the same village of Bethsaida.  They were Simon, Andrew, James, John, Phillip.  Bartholomew, possibly also known as Nathaniel, was a friend of Phillip.  Eleven of the disciples were from Galilee.  The one lone exception was Judas Iscariot who was from Judah.

Jesus chose a very diverse group of men to be with Him.  There were fishermen, a tax collector and others about who little is known.  Two of the men were nationalists or zealots who were on the fore front of opposition to the Roman rule in their country.

Not only did the men have different careers but varying personalities.  Peter was bold, while Andrew his brother was the one who was always bringing others to Jesus.  James and John were quick tempered and ambitious.  Thomas was one who always needed to see evidence before making a decision.   He also showed a tendency to be brave in difficult circumstances.

These are the twelve Jesus chose to be with Him at all times to hear and learn what it would take for them become His disciples. Later after His resurrection they would be given the command to evangelize the world.

1. Why did Jesus just choose twelve men to travel with Him? (A group any larger would be unwieldy for one thing.)
2. Why did He choose such a diverse group of men? (It would take all different types to help grow the kingdom of Christ.)
3. Why is it important for a church to have people with different spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, personalities and experiences?
4. Why did Jesus deliberately choose a man who would eventually betray Him? (No one is beyond hope.)
5. What would Jesus have to do to transform that ragtag group of men in the twelve apostles we see in the book of Acts?
6. What work does Jesus have to do in our lives to turn us into a church that will impact the community in which God has placed us?

Luke 6:17-19

Coming down from the mountainside, Jesus once again was confronted with a throng of people waiting to not only hear Him but to receive healing.  It would be quite a scene greeting the new disciples with the people crowding in on Jesus hoping to touch Him.  This would be the first lesson for them to learn.  If they did not already know it, it would become apparent that they would have to share Jesus with the crowds that needed what only He could offer.  There would be plenty of time for them to be with Him in private sessions. Luke said power was flowing from Him and all were healed.

1. What awaited Jesus as He and the disciples came down from the mountain?
2. What would your reaction be to such a scene?
3. How did Jesus react to the scene before Him?
4. Although Luke said they came to hear them what would it take to be able to get the attention of the people? (In this case He would have to take care of their physical needs in order to calm them.)
5. What is the difference between the crowd that Jesus met and a mob? (Mobs are unruly the crowd around Jesus respected Him and did not get out of hand.)
6. What is the lessons can we learn about sharing Jesus with others from His example?

Luke 6:20

After taking care of the crowd He turned His attention to the disciples.  There was time to deal with every situation in a timely and orderly manner.  Jesus was never in a hurry, but used His time to the greatest benefit of each person. He began His role as rabbi to His disciples.

1. At what point was Jesus able to turn His attention to His disciples?
2. What role did He assume at that point?
3. What right did He have in assuming the role of rabbi? (He had selected the men who would follow Him for the rest of their lives?
4. What lesson can we learn from this verse?  (Jesus handles everything in an orderly manner. 
5. What would be our response to like circumstances? (We may want a leader to stop what he is doing to give us His full attention.)

Luke 6:21-22

If the disciples expected to hear the same old concepts that all the other rabbis taught they were in for a real shock.  The teaching was to be a radical departure from the dried and staid ideas they had heard so many times before.  Jesus began with attitudes He expected His disciples to possess.  Both in Matthew and Luke they are called the beatitudes.  Luke listed only four here as compared with the listed in Matthew 5.  The format is also different.  Many believe that these in Luke were not part of the Sermon on the Mount but were taught at a different time.  I have been a believer that Jesus spoke about the same subjects many times during the final three years on earth.  If this is true the words He used would be according to the circumstances in which He found Himself.

The one common idea is that those who have the attitude expressed in each one the beatitudes. Both in Matthew and in Luke those who follow the teaching of Jesus would have happiness, joy, peace and blessedness in his life.  It should also be understood that poverty, hunger and hatred, by themselves have nothing to do with the blessedness.  It is the way that a person approaches every aspect in life. The four are:

• Blessed are the poor. They will have the kingdom of God. Matthew speaks of poverty of spirit.  Luke does not go beyond the fact that a person is poor.  It is the acceptance that not all will have wealth and that should never be a hindrance to our relationship with God.
• Blessed are those who hunger.  This too is a temporary condition.  One day each follower of Christ will sit at the banquet table of Christ.  God will provide for all of the needs in a way He sees fit.
• Blessed are those who weep.  Laughter will follow. Each person experiences deep hurts.  Christ will help each to walk through them and bring joy to life.  Here again this too is a temporary situation.
• Probably the one that most would give a person the most trouble is the idea that there will be people who will lash out at followers of Christ. The result will be a day in the future when a person can leap for joy.  Although things may not go well on the earth, all is in preparation for that future time in eternity with Christ.

It is important for the disciples to understand that the things Jesus just shared with them were not anything new. He told them that the prophets that had gone before them had been treated the same way by their Jewish ancestors.

1. What is the one factor in all of these are we to understand? (Even in difficult situations Jesus can still provide joy and peace.)
2. Of all of these beatitudes which do you find the most difficult to accept?
3. Which do you think you could handle?
4. Why did Jesus begin His teaching with such harsh realities?

Luke 6:24-26

Jesus moved from those who were blessed, even in difficult situations,  to those experiencing all of the comforts of life.  He pronounced instead of a blessing a woe.  The word woe is a difficult one to translate.  It carries with both a denunciation and also a deep sorrow.  Those who are receiving the condemnation of Jesus do so not because of the fact that they have possessions but their attitudes towards those who do not.  As with the blessing they are neutral or amoral.  There is no righteousness or unrighteous found in any of them.  There are four different groups upon whom Jesus issues woes.

• Rich- It is not the wealth itself but the arrogance of those who have it that bring the judgment of Jesus.  Those individuals look in distain upon the poor but do nothing to alleviate the situation.  There are a number of Scriptures that show the attitude of the rich towards the poor.  Two of those instances are found in James chapter 2 and in the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3. Like poverty, this condition is temporary and wealth is fleeting. Sadly these individuals are getting their reward now and now storing up treasure in heaven where it really counts.  They do everything for today.
• Well-fed- Selfish individuals are the ones who enjoy all the pleasures of this world without any regard for the next.  They live for themselves and lack nothing.  The day will come in the future when all their indulgences will be a thing of the past.  Those who hunger now will eat at the banquet table of Christ while those live only for themselves will have nothing.
• Laughter- Moses turned down the pleasures of this world for the rewards that were to be his as He was faithful to God.  Those who live a life just to have a good time will one day come to the reality of how empty that life has been.  With that realization of a life wasted on the frivolous will come deep mourning and weeping.  The Old Testament speaks of joy turned into mourning because of the actions of the people.
• Popularity- The true prophet was usually rejected and persecuted.  Those who spoke the words the people wanted to hear were well received.  Jesus called those individuals false prophets.  Things have not changed for there are many false prophets in churches today preaching not God’s word but ones filled with promises of prosperity, health and a happy life.  Jesus’ woes on those men and women have not changed.  Sadly, many people are being mis-lead by the promises made by them.

 

1. What are some examples that show righteous use of wealth?
2. Why did Jesus denounce the wealthy of His day?
3. What is wrong with being well fed?  (Nothing if food is not hoarded and only used for one’s on benefit.  We are a nation of overeaters.)
4. What is wrong with being popular?
5. To what was Jesus referring when talking about false prophets?
6. Why are they more popular than those who truly speak the word of God?
7.  What are some examples of false prophets today?
8. How do they misuse the Scriptures?

• Spend as much time as needed before making important decisions.
• Wait until God gives you an answer to your prayers before proceeding to act.
• Praise God for the diversity He has brought to the church.
• Understand that the same things that God has given you can be a blessing or a woe (a sorrowful denunciation) of the way you use His gifts to you.
• Be careful of pride or arrogance in your life when relating to others.
• Always seek God’s treasure stored up in heaven and not those things that are temporary.

Many in the church world are calling for a radical departure from the way we have thought and done things over the last thirty to forty years.  Although we may not agree with them in everything they say, it is a wakeup call to churches that have become lethargic in the teaching and sharing of God’s word. We need teaching and preaching that will literally turn our lives upside down.  Paul was accused of teaching the very same thing we about read in Acts 17:6.  The charge was that, “These men who have upset the world have come here also.” 

This can only happen when we become passionate about two things.  The first is to study and meditate on His word until we make it our own.  Based on the first, we are to become true followers of Christ who are willing to share the radical gospel with those who do not know Jesus.  The time to start is now.
 

 

Lesson 12

Sabbath Problems

Luke 6:1-11

Back in the stone ages when I was young there were certain things that were just not done on Sunday.  In fact the state of Virginia for the most part shut down on Sunday because of the Blue Laws in affect at the time.  I cannot remember when they were stopped but during my childhood we had to deal with them.  Unless you were in what we would now call essential services then you remained closed on Sunday.  I remember that there was only one pharmacy open all day long. 

One time when I attended the Southern Baptist Convention in Atlanta one of the bellhops made the comment that Southern Baptists had the Ten Commandments and ten dollar bills and did not want to break either of them.  It is so easy to get called up in the letter of the law concerning a particular day that all of the enjoyment is taken from it.  God meant for Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior but also for a time to be with family and to participate in other Christ honoring activities.

We in the church can make rules and practice traditions in such a way that those things become a hindrance to reaching the world for Christ.  At one time it stood for no smoking, cussing, dancing and attending movies on Sunday.  Today we would have to include television to the lists that might cause us to be in sin.  Sadly, those ideas cause us to judge people according to our own standards and not what the Scriptures tell us.  The above lists may not be healthy or right choices but we have to be careful how far we go in setting the standards by which man is to live.

I have titled this lesson Sabbath’s problems.  Sunday is a marvelous day.  For some it is the only day they have off from work.  Others out of necessity have to take their Sabbath rest on another day than Sunday.  God set it aside primarily so a person had a day when he/she did not have to work.  Let us be careful that we do not make it more than God intended it to be.

Luke 6:1-2

There were two major reasons that Jesus found Himself at odds with the religious leaders.  One had to do with the question of His deity.  He continued to do things and say things which were evidence of His claim to be God’s Son.  The other which flowed from the first was His actions on the Sabbath Day.

Luke wrote that as Jesus and the disciples were walking they passed through a field of grain.  They pull off the heads of some of the plants rubbed them to get rid of the husks and ate the seed.  That event occurred on a Sabbath Day.  What they did was completely within the law. Moses wrote in Deuteronomy that it was permissible to eat the grain as long as one did use a sickle to harvest it.  A sickle is a long blade with a handle which would be swung back and forth to cut down the plants. (Deuteronomy 23:25)

When the Pharisees saw them doing this, they accused the disciples of breaking the law.  Technically, they were not breaking the law by picking the grain.  What upset the religious leaders was the act was done on the Sabbath.  In their interpretation of the law the disciples had perform work prohibited in that day. They viewed the men as having reaped the crop by pulling the heads off the plant. By rubbing in their hands they were threshing the grain. When they threw away the husks they were winnowing which was getting rid of the unusable part of the grain.

Notice that once again the Pharisees did not attack Jesus directly.  Their words implied that the disciples’ behavior was a reflection on Him as their teacher.  He was the one responsible for them breaking the Law.

Although not mentioned, there was possibly one other Sabbath Law they may have broken.  Depending on how far they had travelled that day they may have gone beyond the distance allowed to be travelled on the seventh day.

1. What were the primary reasons Jesus often found Himself at odds with the religious leaders of His day?
2. What gave the disciples the right to do what they did?
3. Why did the Pharisees have problem with their actions?
4. Who were they really accusing of breaking the Law? Why?
5. What do you think are some of the things that are proper to do on Sunday?
6. Why is the way we treat Sunday a dangerous thing?

Luke 6:3-4

Jesus did not try to defend the actions of the disciples by relating to the event that had just occurred.  He referred to what David did when he was fleeing from Saul.  He actually broke the law when he received the Consecrated bread from Ahimelech, the priest. (1 Samuel 21:6)  Only the priest was supposed to eat the bread that was placed before the Lord every day. (Leviticus 24:9)  This would have left the religious leaders defenseless since David was their hero.

1.  Why did he not attempt to defend the actions of his disciples based on the accusations of the Pharisees? (They had not broken the law but the additions made to it by the Jews.)
2. What did Jesus do by recounting the incident when David was fleeing from Saul and ate the consecrated bread?  (Took away the ability of the religious leaders to accuse the disciples?
3. In what ways must we be careful in accusing others of violating the teaching found in the Bible? (We do not always know the circumstances that caused them to act as they did.)

Luke 6:5

Jesus finally answered the real question the men were asking.  They would ask the same question in a number of different ways.  They wanted to know by whose authority He did the things that He continued to do.  The same question could have just as easily been directed toward the religious leaders because of their manipulation of the law.  They had added to God’s law until it had become a burden to the people.  It had become a way to put them in the position of dictating the way people lived and to serve their own self-interests.  By the time of Jesus the only people who could effectively understand the law were the Scribes and Pharisees.  This gave them the right to determine what could and could not be done on the Sabbath Day. 

Jesus could not have spoken any more clearly.  He said “The Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath.”  That one statement indicated the authority that He had received from the Father to use the Sabbath Day to do good as God had intended. The Scribes and Pharisees pretty much had it their way for many years.  He came along and told them by His words and actions that He had to return the Law to its original intent.

1. What did Jesus mean by the statement, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath? (Only He had the authority to put the proper interpretation on the Law.)
2. What had the religious leaders done to the Law over the centuries? (They had added layers of rules and regulations to God’s Law.)
3. In what position did their actions put them? (They were the last word in the interpretation of the Law.)
4. What is the danger for us to have too many rules in the church?
5. In what ways have we made it difficult for people to come to Christ?

Luke 6:6-7

Luke recorded another incident that occurred on the Sabbath.  As Jesus was teaching in the synagogue He noticed a man with a withered hand.  Since the use of the right arm or hand usually indicated the strength of a man and God, He probably was not able to work.  

The religious leaders were focusing all of their attention on Jesus to see what He was going to do. This man may have been brought there as a test for Jesus. It is disturbing that they had no regard for the condition of the man but he was only important if they could use him as a means to trap Jesus if He broke the law.  They were looking for a way to accuse Him.

Over the years the law had been expanded to state that the only help a person could receive on the Sabbath was to preserve life.  If a person had a non-life-threatening injury or illness he would have to wait until the next day to be treated.  Their idea of the law was more important than the well-being of men.

1. What was the condition of the man before Jesus?
2. What problems did his condition present for him?
3. For what purpose may the man been brought there by the Pharisees?
4. What does this event say about the religious leaders?
5. Why did they care more about the law than the condition of men?
6. How can we fall into the same trap?
7. What do we really care about as a church?

Luke 6:8-9

Jesus saw right through their plan.  He knew exactly what they were thinking.  The very fact that they had let a deformed man into the synagogue exposed them.  Normally they would not even allow such a person to be in their presence.  Unlike the scribes and the Pharisees, Jesus had a deep concern for the physical and spiritual condition of all men.

To bring attention to the hardness of the Jews he called the man to the front of the synagogue.  He then asked the entire group assembled whether it was lawful:

• To do good or to do harm on the Sabbath?
• To save a life or destroy it?

The questions should have had an obvious answer.  Any caring person would of course say to do good or to save a life is the only way one is to act.  Jesus asked the question because the attitudes and actions of the Jews indicated that the Law was more important than helping a person in need.

1. In what ways was their plan obvious?
2. What would tell us that the man had been placed in the synagogue to trap Jesus?
3. In what ways was the attitude of Jesus different from the Pharisees?
4. In what ways do we sometimes act like the Jews?
5. In what ways do we sometimes display the same concern and compassion of Jesus?
6. What did Jesus as the questions of those there in the synagogue? (It was obvious by not doing good that they meant harm to those in need.)

Luke 6:10

Jesus did not let the fact that they were watching Him to condemn His actions keep Him from helping the man.  So that all would know that He was the one who healed him, Jesus commanded him to stretch out his bad hand.  When he did as he was told his hand was made whole.

1. What was the concern of Jesus?
2. How did the man show faith?
3. What was the result of the man’s faith?
4. When have there been times you have not acted to help someone out of a concern of what others might think?

Luke 6:11

The scribes and Pharisees showed what kind of people they were.  They became outraged because Jesus had dared to heal someone on the Sabbath Day.  Following the incident they got together and began to devise a plan for dealing with Jesus.  There is no mention of joy or celebration over the fact that a man now could become productive once more and be accepted into the fellowship of God once more.

1. What did the actions of the Jews indicate about them?
2. Why could they not find joy in the healing that had occurred?
3. What things do we do that make us look like the Jews?
4. What do you think the others assembled thought of what Jesus had done?
5. What are the things that cause you to rejoice?
6. What are the things that cause you to become outraged?

 

• Make Sunday holy and not hollow.
• Have compassion on those in need.
• Do not let your righteousness become self-righteousness.
• Remember that all of us are in need of spiritual healing.
• Remember that it is God’s standard under which you live and not man’s.
• Be careful to not be use to promote someone else’s agenda.
• Remember that if you stand firm in your faith there will be those who do not like what you believe.

There are at least two references in the Bible warning us not to add or take away from the words written in its pages. We need to be careful not to make church a burden for those who are coming from a non-church background.  They need to find us as a compassionate caring people.  It serves no purpose for us to be judgmental and self-righteous.  Remember each us were at one point in our lives without hope and separated from God.

Jesus came to reach out to the lost sheep of this world.  Let us use every opportunity to make the church an attractive, friendly and loving place for all who wish to bless us with their presence.

 

 

Lesson 11

The Attacks begin

Luke 5:27-39

Me- I have not said it in a while but this section is only an example of the opening of the lesson.  You may insert your own personal experiences here.

I am sure that there is not a single one of us who does not feel he or she has been rejected or attacked at some point.  Sometimes they are unprovoked. There have been other times when we may have actually brought them on ourselves.  One such experience occurred many years ago when I was still working. Having worked in purchasing for a number of years, I believed I understood how that function could benefit an organization if done properly.  For some reason that I do not understand to this day upper management did not agree with me.  It was a struggle the entire time I stayed with them to try to do my job.  At one point my director even told me that the organization did not care how other companies did things that the practices in place at that time were not going to change.  She even went so far as to hint that if I wanted to see things done differently that I should look for another job. A side note: Since I have retired some of my ideas have been put into place. They have organized in such a way as to allow Purchasing to operate as it should.

We-

The church can be guilty of rejecting and attacking as well.  All over this country and even in our own church this has gone on.  Many times it will focus on the Pastor.  A church will call a new man to come to be its spiritual leader.  Especially when a church has plateaued or is declining we expect the new person to come in and do whatever is necessary to turn things around.  Sadly, when he begins to monkey with the ways things have always been then some in the congregation begin to criticize his ideas and may attack him personally.  He may be viewed as a great preacher but no one hears what he has to say because he has stepped on that which is sacred to that body.

Eventually he will either weather the storm, choose to leave or be voted out. No matter what happens there are deep hurts and scars left in the lives of everyone concerned that will take a long time to heal.  The worse scenario is that all of the conflict may lead to a church split or its demise. 

In the last two lessons we have seen Jesus healing those who were rejected by society because of their physical condition.  Today we will get a picture of a different type of rejection leading to an attack on Jesus.

God-

Luke 5:27-28

Luke wrote that Jesus noticed Levi.  Notice may not be a strong enough word to picture what actually took place.  Jesus was probably familiar with Levi (Matthew).  On that particular day He looked at Levi intently.  He would have watched him as he went about his task of collecting taxes for the Roman government.  One may even wonder if Jesus had taken note of the way he handled his business. Could he be one who was actually honest in his transactions?  His tax booth was most likely located along the shoreline of the Sea Of Galilee.  He was there to collect taxes from the fishermen as they came in from their work. 

It is strange that Jesus would want Levi to follow Him as a disciple.  The fact that Levi was a tax collector would make him one of the most despised men in all of Israel.  Tax collectors were appointed by the Romans to collect the taxes due them.  Today they would be considered a person who had purchased a franchise. Once he had paid for the privilege he was allowed to charge any amount of taxes he desired.  Anything over the amount due the Romans would go into the pockets of the tax collectors.  Most of them thus would become wealthy men at the expense of his fellow countrymen. They therefore were rejected and outcast in society, not unlike a leper.

To Levi Jesus issued a simple command, “Follow Me.” He immediately left the tax booth and the taxes he had collected and followed after Jesus.

1. What made Jesus take notice of Levi?  (He would be out of place in a place of fishermen.)
2. What attributes might Levi have possessed that would have caught the attention of Jesus?
3. What was his primary responsibility? (To collect taxes for the Roman government)
4. How would the people feel about such a man?
5. Why? (Because most of them abused the position and used it as a way to get wealthy.)
6. In what way was Levi like the leper and paralytic? (He would have been one rejected and an outcast of society.)

Luke 5:29

As would be expected, Levi wanted to share the good news with those who may have been his colleagues.  He invited both tax collectors and a group of individuals called sinners. More than just being a party, he wanted them to have an opportunity to hear experience being with Jesus. From Luke it is learned that it was a large crowd.  This may say something about Levi.  Apparently he was well respected among those with whom he worked and associated.  With his own he was not an outcast.

1. Why would Levi invite those he did to the celebration?
2. Who were in attendance?
3. Why did he invite tax collectors and sinners?
4. What does the fact that it was a large crowd say about Levi? (He was well respected by his peers.)

Luke 5:30

The Scribes and Pharisees would not have attended such a celebration.  They had no respect for those in attendance.  Anyone who did not walk in their circle were held in contempt and totally disregarded.  Notice that they did not confront Jesus personally but went to the disciples to register their complaints.  They could not understand why a man who was a rabbi would associate with the dregs of society.

1. Why would the Scribes and Pharisees not attend such a celebration?  (They would never associate with sinners.)
2. Why would religious leaders avoid and ignore such people? (They would become ceremonially unclean to be involved with them. Never would they have done the things that Jesus did in healing a leper or paralytic even if they had the power to do so.)
3. How were the actions of the Scribes and Pharisees, like the way we often handle conflict? (We do not approach the person with whom we have a conflict but go to others to complain.)
4. What was their problem with Jesus?
5. How much like the Pharisees are we?

Luke 5:31-32

Jesus did not let others answer for Him. He used a short parable to speak to the issue.  On the surface it appears that His response indicates that the reason that the religious do not hear what He has to say because they are righteous men and He as the physician came to bring healing to those who were sinners.  Underlying what was said, He was dealing who those who were lost but claimed that they were righteous.  The Scribes and Pharisees saw themselves as one who the righteous ones and everyone else were sinners. In reality the religious leaders were in need of the great Physician and were no different from those they claimed were sinners.

1. Why did Jesus not allow others speak for Him? (At that point the disciples did not even understand fully who He was.)
2. How should we handle conflict that may involve us?
3. How did Jesus respond?
4. What was He really saying? (Only those who are self-righteous see themselves as not needing forgiveness.)

Luke 5:33-36

The religious leaders then tried a different tactic.  Instead of criticizing Jesus directly they decided to get at Him through the actions of His disciples.  According to the claims of those men both they and John’s disciples followed the tradition of fasting.  They wanted to know why the disciples did not do the same.  What they were saying was, you have not taught your disciples to follow the law, what kind of teacher are you?

Jesus responded with a parable.  He equated what was happening to the Jewish marriage which was a time of celebration and joy.  While the wedding celebration was going on, those with the   bridegroom would not find it necessary to fast, which was a sign of contrition, because of the happiness all around them.  In the words of Jesus there would come a time following His crucifixion and before His resurrection that the disciples would feel the necessity to fall down before God because of the uncertainty of their future. 

Sadly, the Scribes and Pharisees had abused every facet of their religion.  Fasting was certainly one of those situations.  They did this act and other things they primarily did to show how pious they were.  They would even put white powder on their faces so others would know that they were fasting. 

1. Having failed in the previous effort to discredit Jesus what was their new tactic?
2. Why did they invoke John into their argument?
3. What were they trying to prove about Jesus by making the claim that the disciples were not following the tradition of the Jews?
4. Why did Jesus not answer their question directly but told them a parable? (He did agree with them that the disciples did not fast.)
5. Why did He then use a parable to answer their claims?  (To diffuse their reasoning.)
6. How had the Pharisees used the practice of fasting?
7. What picture did Jesus paint for those who were with Him?
8. What does this parable say to you?

Luke 5:36

Jesus then told the men two more short parables that dealt with the idea that they were following a dead religion that would get them nowhere.  The first spoke to the idea that would be familiar to them. They understood that you could not sew a piece of cloth that was not previously washed and shrunken onto an old garment that may have been washed a number of times.  To do so would cause the old garment to have a larger tear. It was a picture of trying to patch the new teaching into an old practice of religion.

1. Why did Jesus consider the Jewish religion dead? (It was based on an ideology of works leading to salvation.)
2. Why did Jesus use a parable to explain where the Jews were going wrong?
3. Why can you not patch the gospel of grace into a religion based on the works?
4. Why does the religion of the Old Testament not work for mankind?

Luke 5:37-39

To emphasize the point He told another parable which is basically the same but using a different example.  In that parable He spoke of new and old wineskins. Old wineskins cannot hold new wine because the gas from the fermentation process would cause the skins to burst.  Only new wine can be put into new skins.  Again He was trying to tell them that the teachings of the Old Testament were not for a new day. Sadly, the final picture Jesus paints is that those who believe as the Scribes and Pharisees believed did not want to hear the radical teachings of Jesus.  Man loves the status quo especially when it comes to religion.

1. Why did Jesus tell the same parable in two different ways?  (To emphasize the point of the good news He was bringing to man.)
2. What did the final words of Jesus mean?
3. Why do we have trouble with change?
4. What kind of change did Jesus bring to the world?

You-

• Every opportunity you have look around to see who may be potential leaders in the church.
• Be careful that you do not judge someone because of their appearance.
• Remember the Bible says if you have a problem with someone you are to deal with them personally and not through someone else.
• Do not get caught up in the status quo when it hinders the growth of God’s kingdom.
• Be deeply committed to Christ and do not just put on an act to impress others.  God sees through that kind of person.

We-

The church is to be the place where outcasts and those who feel rejected by those around them can find a place where they are accepted and loved.  We have seen three examples of different people from varied backgrounds who came to Jesus and received healing in both body and spirit.  It is interesting how Jesus called all kinds of people to be His disciples.  Most of us if we were trying to put a leadership team together would select individuals who had nothing in common.  Like every church it is important to remember that we do not decide who becomes a follower of Christ.  Every person comes to Jesus with the same needs.  We are all sinners who need the saving power of Jesus.  He is the unifying force in everyone’s life.

To continue with this idea, those who look down on others and reject them see others as inferior to themselves.  It is so easy to become self-righteous because do the right things and no the nomenclature, when our hearts may not be truly in tune with God.  Humility leads to the realization that we are equal and Christ must do a work in all of hearts.  Let us look at others in the same way that Jesus did and His church will grow spiritually.

 

 

 

 

 

Lesson 10

Healings

Luke 5:12-26

Being somewhat of an introvert I often find it easier to confine what I do to a safe environment.  Writing lessons can be done alone. Reading can be done in the privacy on our home.  I often wonder if even the things I do at the church building are what I am truly supposed to be doing.  It is harder to make myself openly evangelize when it is not my personality to do so.  When the church was doing the FAITH evangelistic ministry I enjoyed facilitating the learning time than I did going and knocking on the door of a complete stranger.

Even as a child, there were certain situations I tried to avoid. To this day I do not like Halloween  because I did care to dress up in a silly costume and go to homes of people I did not know.  I did not feel like yelling trick or treat just to get candy.  The worse experience I had was passing out brochures for my dad who was a Fuller Brush salesman for a while.  Both he and my brother are alike.  Both had and have no problem talking with anyone. 

 I know that Jesus calls us to get out of our comfort zone.  The longer I remain in it the more difficult it is to break out of the pattern.  People who are out beyond the walls of the church desperately need Jesus.  I need to share with others what He has shown me.

Churches can get in the same rut because it is made up of people often too often with the mindset of feeling comfortable with who it is. Our attitude is if the people really want to be a part of our group then they will find us.  If Jesus had had the same attitude as many of us, I am not sure if we truly believe today that He is the Messiah.  Reading God’s word we see He went about healing and teaching. He was sent to do so.  The problem for us who have become so complacent is that Jesus said everywhere you find yourself you are to begin and continue the process of making disciples.  He did not plan to spend all of His time in the church of His day, the synagogue, but was always out among the people.  Let us not look at the building as a destination each week but as sending out place.

Luke 5:12-13

Many of the people Jesus healed would never have met Him except for the fact that He travelled from city to city to teach and preach about the Kingdom of God. Most of them would have not been able to attend a service in the synagogue or the Temple because of their unclean condition.  Such was the case of the two men found in the rest of this chapter. 

As He was about the Father’s business travelling from city to city a man who was completely covered with leprosy approached Him.  He fell on his face before Jesus and with his statement showed his confidence in Jesus.  He knew that He could heal the leprosy, that was not the problem. He was begging Jesus to do what no other man would be willing to do including the religious leaders if they could. He desired to be healed of his leprosy. He was considered unclean because of his disease and was not allowed to get close to anyone or even be touched by another human being, except another leper.  Now, he was imploring Jesus to do the unthinkable.

Jesus immediately complied with his request and reached out His hand to cleanse the man of leprosy.  His words to the man were just what the desperate man needed to hear.  Jesus said, “I am willing be cleansed.”  G. Campbell Morgan a great preacher of the last century indicated that the act of reaching out to touch the man and the healing were simultaneous therefore Jesus did not violated the law of touching an unclean person.

1. Why was it important for Jesus get outside the synagogues?
2. Why was it even more important for Him to travel from city to city?
3. How did this healing fit the pattern of so many others? (The person either came to Jesus personally or was brought to Him by others)
4. What action by the man showed his great faith in Jesus? (He was willing to approach Jesus in his unclean state.)
5. Why did the man say, “If You are willing?” (Jesus was not obligated to have anything to do with a leper.)

Luke 5:14

There were two different commands given to the leper after he was healed.  He was told first of all not to tell anyone about the healing.  If the word got out about what had happened, He would have been considered only a miracle man.  Healing was not the main focus of His ministry.  If it was He would have cured every person with whom He came in contact.  There were many that did not experience being made physically better.  Jesus had come to tell about the kingdom of His Father. 

Jesus then commanded the healed man to go to the priests and complete his obligations of one cleansed of leprosy.  Only after the offerings were made and the priest declared him clean could he return to society. The man did not need the confirmation that he was cleansed but by obeying the command of Jesus it eliminated any question in the minds of others. 

1. Why was the man told to keep quiet about the healing?
2. Why was the man told to go to the priests?
3. What must the man do to indicate that he was sure of his healing?
4. Why was the offerings and other parts of the cleansing process important? (The man would not be accepted in society without the stamp of approval from the priests.)
5. How do you know that you have beencleansed from sin in your life?
6. How is the healing you may experience in your life different from the leper? (He still had to perform the requirements of the law while we live under grace.)

Luke 5:15

Inevitably, the news about what Jesus was doing would spread.  It was obvious that the leper was cured of his disease and people would want to know who did it.  The very thing that Jesus did want to happen occurred anyway.  News about Him spread and the sick flocked to where He was to be healed.  Those occasions did provide Him the opportunity for Him to teach.

1. How could Jesus expect for the news about Him not to be broadcast throughout the land?
2. What was the inevitable result?
3. What opportunities did the coming of the people give Him? (To teach)
4. What are the reasons that you come to Jesus?
5. Which is more important to have your spiritual needs or physical ones met?
6. Why do you believe that way?

Luke 5:16

Whenever He could Jesus would slip away from the crowds.  This would become more difficult as His fame grew.  He would use that time to get by Himself away from the noise of the crowds and pray.  Even though He was the Son of God, Jesus needed those times of communing with His Father and being spiritually refreshed.

1. Why did Jesus feel it necessary to get away from the crowds coming for healing?
2. Why would it become more and more difficult to do so?
3. How do we know that this was a pattern for His life? (See also Mark 1:35)
4. In what way is the action of Jesus an example for us?
5. Why do we need to get alone with God?

Luke 5:17

It is obvious that Jesus was not exclusive of anyone who was willing to listen to His teaching.  In this verse He was found sitting among Pharisees and teachers who had come from all over Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem. At this point in His ministry they may have been there out of curiosity.  They had heard of the new rabbi who certainly was not part of their group.  He was making a name for Himself and they came to see why He was so popular. 

It is a telling statement on the part of Luke that the power to perform healing was on Him. Sadly, the men among whom He sat would not believe they needed healing of any type.  Those who desired to be cured could not get to Him because of those men.

1. Why did Jesus take the time to try and teach the religious leaders? (His message is for all people including those who believe they do not need to hear it.)
2. Why had those religious leaders come to Jesus? (Curiosity)
3. Why did Luke mention that Jesus had the power to heal? (Those men needed spiritual and possibly physical healing but did not recognize the fact.)
4. Who was excluded from being able to see Jesus? (Those who desired to be healed and to hear His life changing message.)
5. In what ways do we sometimes act like those religious leaders? (We pretend that we do not need what Jesus has to offer.)

Luke 5:18-19

There were a group of men who were determined to bring their friend to Jesus to be healed. At first they were not able to get into the house to see him because of all of the religious leaders crowded around Him.  They were not going be deterred in fulfilling their mission.  Seeing the impossibility of breaking through the crowd they carried him up onto the roof of the building, removed some tiles and let him down right in front of Jesus.

1. What motivated those men to carry the man to Jesus?
2. What does their determination show about the relationship they had with each other?
3. Why would they not let the crook turn them away?
4. What do you think of the reaction of the religious leaders? (Maybe one of disgust that their meeting had been interrupted.)
5. What evidences are there in your own life of the type of determination shown by those men to bring people you know into the presence of Jesus?
6. What have been the results when you have done so?

Luke 5:20-21

The response to the actions of the men who brought the paralytic to Jesus was different than one might expect.  It certainly revealed the true feelings of the religious leaders.  Jesus seeing the determination of those who their friend to Him and the faith that believed He could indeed heal him spoke to the heart of what the man truly needed.  It was obvious that he needed to be physically restored to health, but more than that there was a spiritual healing that needed to take place. Jews believed that physical ailments were caused by a person’s sin.

It was one thing to acknowledge that a man was sick because he had sinned.  It was entirely different to claim to have the ability to forgive man of that sin. For that reason when He spoke of the sin issue in the man’s life the religious leaders became infuriated.  It was enough for Jesus to go around healing and teaching.  He was however doing something only what God had the ability to do, forgive sins.

1. What would be the normal reaction of seeing men so committed to their friend that they would do everything in their power to bring him into the presence of Jesus?  (We would probably applaud their actions.)
2. What was the reaction of the religious leaders to the words of Jesus? (They were infuriated.)
3. By speaking the way He did what was Jesus claiming? (He had the power to forgive sin thus making Himself out to being equal with God.)
4. In the minds of Jews what was the correlation between sin and sickness? (Sickness stemmed from the fact that a man/woman had sin in their lives.)
5. Why did the religious leaders have no problem with healings?

Luke 5:22-25

Jesus knew what they were thinking so He asked them a question that would be difficult to answer because no matter how it was answered they would have to affirm that God had worked through Jesus.  He asked them whether it was easier to tell a man that God had forgiven his sins or to get him up on his feet to walk. 

To answer the question for them He would show that He had authority over sin by giving them physical proof by healing the man of his paralysis which in the mind of those there had been caused by the sin.

He turned to the paralytic and commanded to him to get up and take the evidence of your old life and go home.  Immediately the man obeyed Jesus picked up his bed and returned home giving glory to God.

1. How did Jesus know what the religious leaders were thinking? (He understood what was in the hearts of man. See John 2:24-25)
2. What evidence did He give that the man’s sins had been forgiven?
3. What could the religious leaders not answer His question? (They would have to acknowledge that Jesus was the Son of God.  They could not rid themselves of all the ideas that had been around for centuries.)
4. How was the man different than the religious leaders? (He believed he was free from all guilt and the prison of his paralysis and was able to obey Jesus because of his new found faith.)
5. What was his response to the command of Jesus?
6. How sure are you, that Jesus has forgiven your sins? (He went to the cross to prove His love for you.)

Luke 5:26

All those there had four reactions to what Jesus had done.  They:

• Struck with astonishment
• Began glorifying God
• Were filled with awe, reverence for God
• Spoke of the event they had just witnessed as being remarkable.

 

 

1. What did the people think of the event that just occurred?
2. Who would have been part of the group who were amazed? (The religious leaders)
3. To whom did they give honor?
4. In what ways do you honor and glorify God for what He has done in your life or the lives of those you know?
5. In what ways do you recognize when God has done something special in your life?

 

• Remember that although you may tend to forget, you at one time were in the same condition as the leper and the paralytic, lost without hope.
• Give thanks that you are or were never beyond the reach of God’s mercy and love.
• Remember that Jesus touched your life and made you clean from the penalty of death.
• Regard people with the same love that has been shown towards you.
• Pray for the opportunity to touch the life of someone that they may know Jesus.

The church is a hospital for spiritually sick people.  That sickness may manifest itself in many forms.  There are those who try to hide it behind a façade of everything is alright.  It may appear as one who is apathetic to its surroundings.  For some it may appear in the form of anger towards God.  Whatever the portrait one tries to paint of himself, he or she is still in need of the healing power of God.  As each of us has the blinders removed from our eyes we will begin to recognize the symptoms of those who are hurting and show them the love of Christ. Let us all begin to see others through the eyes of Jesus and treat them accordingly.   

 

Lesson 9

Who Believes in You

Luke 5:1-11

There are all types of situations in which people express confidence in others.  When and company hires an employee it believes that the individual is capable of doing the job for which he/she has been hired. Marriage is another example of the trust between two people that comes from the belief that I can live with and enjoy a long term relationship until the Lord calls one or both home.  In my life there have been people who have expressed a belief in me. Of course one is my wife to whom I have been married for over fifty years. She is the love of my life and my best friend in spite of all my shortcomings she continues to be an encouragement to me. 

In my spiritual walk there have been as mentioned before two men who although I no longer in contact with either were my mentors and ones who believed that I had some talents and abilities that could be used in service to God.  Probably, I would not be doing what I do today if it had been for those two.  The neat part of what they did was to seek me out from among all those they could have helped.  I like to think they were a lot Jesus who chose men who never thought of accomplishing what He was calling them to do.

All too often the church suffers because we do not look for the potential in others. We have a tendency to pigeonhole people for a number of reasons. Instead of limiting people and potentially having them go somewhere else we need to rethink ways to involve them in the ministries of the church.  As long as we believe they do not have the potential and do not challenge them to serve they will atrophy in their spiritual life.  We all too often think of ourselves the way others picture us.

There is a story that is told of a teacher who told that he was going to be teaching the brightest and best in a particular school.  Sure enough at the end of the year the students had lived up to his expectations.  After the year was over he was then informed that his class had actually been made up of average students.  What was the difference between them remaining average and achieving great things? It was the attitude of the teacher who believed in them and challenged to do more than they would have otherwise accomplished.

The question is do we want those who come after us to be just like many today?  Is it not more productive for God’s kingdom to challenge people to exceed the expectations that a person may have of himself/herself?

Luke 5:1-3

Jesus had gone down to Judea to teach and preach, but had returned to the area around the Sea of Galilee. Gennesaret was another name of the Sea of Galilee. Luke begins to recount the calling of the first disciples in this chapter.

As had been His practice in Nazareth and previously in Capernaum He once again was teaching the people in Galilee.  Remember the words he words of Jesus were spoken with authority and power.  Therefore, the people wanted to get as close as they could to hear His words.  As they crowded in only those closest to Him would have been able to hear. He notice two boats nearby and had Simon put his boat out a short distance from the shore.  Having done so, the water would provide the amplification of His voice so all could hear His teaching.

1. Why did Jesus pick that particular location near the Sea of Galilee to teach the people? (He already decided who would be His first disciples and they would be found down at the shoreside.)
2. Why did the people press in on Jesus?
3. What did this show about the words of Jesus?
4. What was the advantage of getting in the boat to speak to the people?
5. Why did he pick Simon’s boat? (He already knew him.)

Luke 5:4-7

At the conclusion of His message, He commanded Simon to put his boat further out into the sea and cast down his nets. Jesus seemed to be saying to him, I will join you in your fishing today. Simon responded by letting Jesus know that he and his partners had labored all night and had failed to catch anything.  He had spoken correctly because he had continued to turn away from Jesus and return to his fishing. Anything away from the purpose to which God calls a person will bring failure. He then stated that because Jesus wanted him to do so he would comply with His wishes. Simon had heard the same words as all of the others had and understood that Jesus carried within himself an authority like no other man.

From the other gospels it is evident that this was not the first time that Peter and the others had been with Jesus. After previously spending short periods of time with Him they went back to their fishing boats. The first meeting would have taken place as they followed Him after John’s proclamation, calling Jesus the Lamb of God. (See John 1:35-39) In the last verse of Luke 4 it does seem to indicate that any of the four travelled with Jesus when He went into Judea to teach.

With Jesus in the boat, the catch was so great that Peter could not haul them in because to do so would break the nets.  His partners came with their boat they filled the two boats to the point of almost sinking.

1. Why did Jesus have Simon move out into deeper water and again down his nets?  (Jesus knew that he had come up empty handed and wanted to let Simon know that only in Him could he be successful.)
2. Why was he willing to do what Jesus commanded?
3. Why had the men not continued to walk with Jesus after their previous meetings?
4. What did Jesus show to all of them when the catch was so great? (They could accomplish  more with Him than by their own puny efforts.)

Luke 5:8

The extraordinary event was more than Peter could handle.  He had just witnessed something neither he nor his partners had ever seen in all of their years of fishing for a living. Remember they had been with Jesus on previous occasions and had seen Him perform miracles but were still not convinced that they should follow Him permanently.  Now Simon was confronted with a choice.  He could once again turn back from the opportunity be presented to him and continue doing what was familiar and comfortable or confess his sin and give up everything to become a disciple of Jesus. Initially, upon seeing the miracle his reaction was to see himself as being totally unworthy of being a disciple of Christ. James, John and Andrew were in the same position. For the moment, however, Jesus was focusing on the man who would become the future leader of the Apostles.

1. Why did Peter have trouble grasping what had just occurred?
2. What evidence do we have that this was not the first time that Peter and the others had seen Jesus and had been invited to follow Him?
3. Why did Peter want Jesus to depart from him?
4. Why did he feel that way? (Because he had failed to follow Him earlier.)

Luke 5:10

At that moment the invitation to him, to not only follow Him but also to completely change his way of life by becoming a fisher of men. Jesus wanted Simon and the others to become His disciples.  He was the One who reached out to them and chose them to follow Him.  This would be the pattern with all of the disciples who He asked to follow and learn from Him for the next three plus years.

It is interesting that the way Jesus went about choosing the men to follow Him was at odds to the normal way of selecting disciples.  Within the Jewish religion a young could only become a  rabbi after years of dedicated study.  If he then proved worthy by excelling in his studies and was willing to spend many years of his life learning from a particular rabbi, he would approach him and ask that he be allowed to become his student.  By the time the training was complete the disciple of the rabbi would have thoroughly learned, not only all of the traditions of the Jewish religion but would have memorized good portions if not all of the Old Testament.

The key was that only the brightest and committed men would dare to ask to eventually become a rabbi. By the time a young man would have approached the rabbi, most of them would have discovered they did not have the passion to give so much of their lives to that intense kind of learning.  Most men would wind up staying home.  They would possibly enter into the family business.  In the case of the first disciples of Jesus all of them were fishermen.

Then along came Jesus. He saw men differently than the rabbis. They needed to possess special qualities that were not evident to the rabbis nor did the men see it in themselves.  There were two  characteristics that were important to Jesus. He saw in them the potential to carry on His work once He had trained them.  The second was they did not have to unlearn many of the teachings of the rabbis, thus they would be more receptive to the new teachings that they would hear from the mouth of Jesus.

1. Why did Jesus not give Simon the option of remaining as a fisherman of fish but of man?
2. What was the process by which a young man might become a disciple of a Jewish rabbi?
3. How did that differ from the way Jesus selected His disciples?
4. What did Jesus see in those fisherman that caused Him to select them in the first place?

Luke 5:11

Simon, Andrew, James and John had heard what they needed to hear.  They immediately, without hesitation, left everything their boats and family to follow after their new master.  The fact that He had reached out to them and wanted to include them in His work was enough for them. Each of the men possessed the inner drive to accomplish what Jesus was promising. They only needed someone to light the spark that had remained dormant.

1. What caused these men to finally leave the work they had been doing?
2. What would it take for each of us to leave our old way of life behind us?
3. Why is encouragement such an important factor in each of our lives?
4. What did the disciples possess that prompted Jesus to call them? (A drive ingrained in them by earning a living by facing the perils and uncertainty of being fishermen.)

 

• Think of all the times that you have turned downed opportunities to serve Jesus in a capacity suited to your giftedness.
• Even though you may never reach the status of a rabbi, understand that for anyone who calls himself a disciple of Christ he is to be passionate about God’s Word.
• Understand that to be a disciple is to be passionate about serving Christ.
• Be willing to give anything that keeps you from loving Jesus as you should.

The church is only as strong as the people who are part of it.  If we are to impact the world around us we need to become passionate followers of Christ. The word used in the Bible for disciple is Talmud.  He is one who is willing to dedicate his whole life to follow Jesus with his whole heart soul and mind.  Anything less will weaken the church.

Over the coming months it is important to ask whether we are helping the kingdom of God grow because we are changing. The change will only happen when we respond to the call of Jesus to become His computer experts, managers, electricians, bank tellers and military men and women serving Him.

Lesson 8

In His Hometown

Luke 4:14-44

Me – (You can write of your own experiences here.  This is just an example)

It is sometimes hard to for those who have known you the longest to realize that you grow up and can do things that they do not expect. Families are like that.  They only think of you as a child and refuse to accept you as an adult.

It is also hard to move into a new community or church and have people take you seriously.  Moving from North Carolina back to Virginia as a teenager I experienced the feeling of always being on the periphery of any group.  I had my little core of friends, but never really fit in with those in the youth group who had known each other for years.  The church I attended had youth week.  During that week the youth would learn about and perform the duties of the leadership in the church.  I always felt left out of doing any challenging or exciting jobs. 

God used all of these experiences to help me grow in my faith.  They also built within me a desire to see young people have the opportunities to use their talents and abilities.  There are some of them serving faithfully in the churches they now attend.  May I never forget that God has given to everyone of us a real purpose in His kingdom. 

We-

We need to be careful that we do overlook those in the body that potentially could become a leader either in our church or in another place.  It is so easy to look around and judge those fit or unfit for service.  It is possible that God might take the most unlikely person and use them in a way that none of us would have ever expected.  The responsibility of the church is to look at everyone as a child of God who has the potential to grow into a vibrant dynamic Christian who has much to offer.  Let us be careful never to demean the abilities of anyone. 

God-

Luke 4:14-15

After His baptism and the experience with the devil in the wilderness, Jesus returned to Galilee.  Luke wrote that He went, “In the power of the Spirit.”  As He went about in Galilee news about this new itinerant preacher and healer was spreading. Matthew provides a glimpse of the message He was preaching.  He wrote that Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)  His message was different than that of John.  Jesus’ words were of encouragement to a discouraged and oppressed people.  He used the availability of the synagogues to proclaim God’s word as a way of reaching the leaders in the families.  After four hundred years anyone bringing good news would have been praised.

1. Why did Jesus return to Galilee to begin His ministry? (It was His home.)
2. Why did news about Him spread so quickly?
3. Who was His primary audience in the synagogues? (The men and leaders of the communities where He was speaking.)
4. What was His message? (See Matthew 4:17)
5. How did it differ from that of John the Baptist?  (It was words of encouragement to an oppressed people.  John only spoke of repentance and living a different way but still under the Law of Moses.)
6. Why did the people flock to hear that message? (They had been waiting for four hundred years for just such good news.)
7. How does the words of the kingdom have more meaning to you than just those calling us to a repentance leading to just doing good works?

Luke 14:16-21

Jesus finally made His way to His hometown of Nazareth.  It is natural that He would want to share the good news with His family and those He knew.  As He had done in other places He entered the synagogue.  Since He was now somewhat of a well know person by this time, He was asked to read from the Scriptures.  When He was given the book to read, He turned to a Messianic passage found in Isaiah 61:1-2a and read it to the people congregated there. 

What Jesus did sent a powerful message to all within the hearing of the word.  Although at that moment He had not attributed that passage to being about Him, He stopped before finishing verse 2.  The first part which He shared spoke of what He would accomplish during His first coming.  The part of verse 2 which He left out had to do with His second coming when He would return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords to judge the earth.

When He finished reading He sat down which meant He was about to teach what that passage meant.  Everyone waited to see what the Man was going to say. His first words to them were, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  He was claiming to be the Messiah to whom Isaiah was referring.

1. Why would He want to return to His hometown?
2. What is the first thing you want to do after you accepted Jesus as your Savior?
3. Where are you to share the gossip?
4. Why was He permitted to speak to the attendees in the synagogue?
5. Why did He choose the particular passage in Isaiah?
6. Why did He omit the last part of verse 2 from His reading?
7. What was He claiming about Himself?

 

Luke 14:22

The initial response to the words of Jesus was positive.  All those in attendance that day expressed wonder as to how a carpenter’s son could have gained such insight into God’s word. 

1. Why did the people speak well of Jesus? (He clearly expressed the word of God.)
2. What did Luke mean when he spoke of the wonder of the people? (It was difficult for them to understand how a mere carpenter’s son could be so knowledgeable.)
3. What was really underlying the questioning of Jesus’ credentials? (It is difficult to ever understand how a person can rise above his or her circumstances in life)

Luke 14:23

Jesus understood what the people there were thinking.  They just could not understand how anyone could make the claims that He was making.  To claim to be the Messiah would be a sinful act in their eyes.  Jesus in essence was saying that they could not conceive that He could be anymore than an ordinary man.  In order to receive forgiveness for making such a claim about Himself He should confess.  By speaking as He did He eliminated any further discussion. To prove who He was they, although not said, expected Him to do what He had done in Capernaum.

1. Why did Jesus put into the mouth of all who were there the words, “Physician, heal Yourself?” (He had no right to make claims for himself and therefore must repent.)
2. What did Jesus say to the people that indicated He knew what they were thinking? (He knew what they were thinking and wanted to say, so He said it for them before any gossip had a chance to get started.)
3.  What were they expecting from Him? (They wanted Him to do the same things in His hometown as He had done in Capernaum.)
4. Why did He not do so? (He may have expected a greater reception because they were familiar with Him and had seen Him grow up in their midst.)

Luke 14:24

There is an old saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt.”  Nothing that Jesus could have done in Nazareth would have changed the way the people felt about Him.  Forever in their minds He would be the son of Joseph and would be known as the Carpenter from Galilee. 

1. Why does the old saying fit the reaction of the people to Jesus?
2. Why is it that we cannot get beyond seeing people as they were earlier in their lives?
3. How does the way people view you affect the ministry that you might be willing to do?
4. In what ways would the attitude of the people affect what Jesus wanted to do among those with whom He had lived for thirty years?
5. What was the response of those to whom you tried to share the good news that you had become a Christian?
6. How did it make you feel?

Luke 14:25-27

Jesus then told two stories that reflected the attitudes of the chosen people.  Because of the sinfulness of the nation of Israel there came a famine to the land.  Elijah had declared its coming and how long it would last.  He was sent away from Israel during that time period and directed him to go to Zarephath in Sidon.  There he found a widow and God provided for the woman during the worse of the famine. 

The second story He related also had to do with God’s kindness toward a Gentile.  Naaman a man from Syria came to Elisha and was healed of leprosy.  He was the only person to receive healing although there were many lepers in Israel at that time.

The message Jesus wanted the people to hear was that if they refused to hear what He had to say, there were many others from the Gentile world, who would be open to His message. Like John the Baptist, Jesus was already opening up the gospel to others besides the Jews.

1. Why did Jesus tell the stories?  (He knew the heart of the people that they were already rejecting Him.)
2. Why did Jesus pick the two incidences from the Old Testament to get His point across? (His message was for who were willing to hear.)
3. What is the danger in our own lives that the stories might be spoken about us? (We must be careful not to reject the message of the gospel?

Luke 14:28-30

Jesus had read the minds and hearts of people correctly.  His mention of the Gentiles in the Old Testament caused those in the synagogue to become very angry.  This man could not be the Messiah because every good Jew knew that when God sent Him He would be for their nation only.  Gentiles, including the hated Romans, were to be excluded from the blessings to come.  Their reaction was swift and violent. 

In their minds Jesus had spoken blasphemy and was deserving of death.  He was forcibly driven from the synagogue and taken to the edge of a cliff outside the city.  They planned to throw Him down the cliff and although not mentioned in the Scripture would have proceeded to cast stones upon Him to make sure He was dead.  No one knows how He did it but Jesus got away from the mob by passing right through them.  It was not the time for Jesus to die and God was not going to allow it to happen at that moment.  He left them standing there and departed from them.

1. Why did the stories elicit such a response from the people?
2. In what ways did their reaction show that Jesus’ words to them accurately portray the spiritual condition of their hearts?
3. Why did they believe He deserved to die? (His claims bordered on blasphemy.)
4. Why were they unable to kill Jesus at that moment?
5. What does the words, “He went His way” say to you about how Jesus will react to those who reject Him?
6. What might be some reasons that the presence of Jesus would no longer be felt in our midst?
7. What are the indications that His Spirit has departed?

Luke 14:31-32

Having been rejected by those in His hometown, Jesus moved His base of operation southwest to Capernaum which was located on the Sea of Galilee. In that location He could begin afresh and not have the baggage of being well known by the people He was trying to reach.  As He had done in other places He went into the synagogue to teach.  All who heard Him were amazed at His message.  Luke wrote that the amazement came because He spoke with authority.  The people were used to hearing a repetition of the teachings of some well respected rabbi. Jesus spoke on His own authority.  His messages were based on the words He heard from His Father.

1. Why did Jesus move to Capernaum?
2. What opportunity did it present for Him? (Could start fresh.)
3. Why would He begin teaching in the synagogue? (The people would already have a core belief system.)
4. Why were the people amazed at His teaching?
5. How was His teaching different than the rabbis? (He spoke the words from God but they depended on the teaching of others.)

Luke 14:33-35

The key to the following incident is that it occurred on the Sabbath.  There was a man there   possessed by a demon.  The teaching of Jesus not only affected the people but the demon that was living in the man.  The demon made some important declarations:

• He commanded Jesus to leave not only him but all demons alone to do their evil deeds.  It is amazing that he would have the gall to tell the Son of God what to do.
• The second thing was a rhetorical question.  He knew that he and Jesus were at war with the spiritual future of the people at stake.
• There was another rhetorical question asked. This time he asked if Jesus had come to destroy them.  Eventually that would happen but for now Jesus had other things to do and then would come the judgment on the devil and all of his demons.
• Finally there was an attempt to short circuit God’s plan by announcing to the world that Jesus was “The Holy One of God.”  If the people had understood what the demon was saying they would have immediately expected Jesus to become their king and lead them against their enemy, the Romans.

 

1. Why was the demon -possessed man there in the synagogue? (He may have been hoping that Jesus could help him.  The devil may have been using it as an opportunity to confront Jesus.)
2. What were the demands of the demon?
3. Why did he think he could command Jesus to do anything?
4. Why did he try to announce who Jesus was? (It would undermine what Jesus was sent to accomplish because the people would immediately expect Him to save them from all the Romans and restore their kingdom.)

Luke 14:35

The demon had its turn to speak.  Jesus then responded with a strong disapproval of the words He had heard.  He was not about to allow the demon short circuit the task that God had sent Him to do. He immediately ordered the demon to be quiet and come out of the man and.  Jesus was going to allow this episode continue so He used the authority He had to cleanse the man of the evil spirit that had possessed him.

The last desperate act of the demon was to throw the man to the floor right in the middle of those in the synagogue.  He no longer had control over the man and Luke wrote that no harm was done to him.

1. After the demon had finished speaking what was Jesus’ response to him?
2. What did it mean that Jesus rebuked him?  (He strongly disapproved and condemned what the demon was trying to do)
3. How was the command to be quiet and the demand that for the demon come out of the man connected? (The demon no longer had a vehicle through whom he could speak.)
4. What was the dual purpose in casting the demon from the man?  (To keep him quiet and to give back to the man a life free from the control of the evil one.)
5. Why did Luke emphasize that the demon did not harm him? (He knew he had met his match and could no longer do anything to the man.)

Luke 14:36

As Jesus began to teach in the synagogue the people were amazed that He spoke with such authority.  They then saw the authority that Jesus had received from the Father even over demons and they were even more amazed. After that event the word spread about Him to the surrounding area.

1. What authority had Jesus displayed that amazed the people?
2. Which had a greater impact on them?
3. Which would be longer lasting? (Performing miracles only led to a demand for greater ones. God’s word would eventually sink deep into their hearts forever.)
4. What impacts your life today God’s word or miraculous feats?

Luke 14:38-39

The next several verses are not chronological but show the orderly process of the ministry of Jesus.  It is not until chapter 5 does Luke give the selection of the disciples. Although not mentioned in the two verses here, in addition to Simon, Andrew, James and John are already with Him. (See Mark 1:29)

After leaving the synagogue Jesus went with Simon to his home.  There He found Simon’s mother-in- law ill with some kind of fever.  As He had with the demon, He ordered the fever to leave her body.  She was immediately made well, got up and served the men.

1. Why did Luke put this event where he did in his book?  (He was showing that the fame of Jesus was spreading especially after He had healed the man with the evil spirit.)
2. How do we know that the events shared in this chapter are not in chronological order? (He  had not yet selected His disciples which comes in chapter 5)
3. How did the word about Him spread so quickly? (He had already been preaching and teaching before arriving in Capernaum.)
4. What evidence is there that the mother-in-law was completely healed?
5. Why did He rebuke the fever just as He had the demon in the synagogue? (Both control the body and mind so that a person cannot do the things they want to do.)

Luke 14:40-41

Word had spread about Jesus, so after the day’s work was complete the people who were ill, began coming to Him for healing.  Matthew saw this event as a fulfillment of the prophecy out of Isaiah. (See Isaiah 53:4 and Matthew 8:17)  Among them were those who were demon possessed. They tried once again the same tactic as in the synagogue of crying out about Christ’s deity.  He refused to let them speak, condemning what they were trying to do, because they knew He was the Christ.

1. Why did the people flock to Jesus?
2. What was their main concern?
3. In what way did their actions show they were not concerned about the fact that Jesus was the Christ?
4. Why did they come in the evening? (They had to finish the day’s work before they would be free to come to Him for healing.
5. Why did the demons continuing to harass Him?
6. What was their concern? (They would lose authority over people’s lives.)
7. What His response to them?

Luke 14:42-43

Early the next morning (See Mark 1:35) Jesus left the house and went to a secluded place to pray.  Like all people He needed the refreshment only the Father can give.  It was not long however before He was missed.  Mark says that Simon and his companions came looking for Him with the news that the crowds were also trying to find Him. They did not want Him to leave but to continue there with them.  His response indicated there were others who needed to hear the message about the kingdom of God.  He let them know that the healing was secondary to the real reason He had been sent to earth.  His true purpose was the proclaiming to the kingdom.

1. Why did Jesus seek time alone?
2. What does this indicate about His needs?
3. Why did the people not honor that time? (Everyone was looking out for himself to have his or her needs met.)
4. Why was it important for Jesus to go to other places?
5. What did the words spoken say to the people? (They had missed the true purpose of His coming.)
6. What did Jesus understand about why He was here on earth?
7. In what ways are we just like the people in Capernaum and in Nazareth?

Luke 4:44

Luke seems to jump ahead.  He has Jesus moving from Galilee into Judea.  As He had done in every place, He went into the synagogues to teach and preach.  There is no indication that any healing occurred on those occasions.  Luke primary theme was that Jesus brought good news and everything else was secondary to that purpose.

1. Why did Luke immediately have Jesus in Judea? (To fulfill the words just spoken by Jesus in the previous verse.)
2. What pattern did He follow in Judea?
3. Why is there no mention of healing taking place?
4. What was Luke’s primary focus in sharing the narrative of Christ’s life?

You-

• Only in the power of the Holy Spirit can you witness for Christ.
• As Jesus did you need to know the Scriptures and their meaning to take advantage of the opportunities to share with others the good news.
• Look at others as those whom God loves and do not demean any of His children.
• Understand that all God is doing is not about me but everything is for His glory.
• Have a desire that the good news of Jesus be shared with all people.

 

We-

We have seen in this lesson people in two different cities misunderstanding Jesus.  The first rejected His words because He was inclusive of those who would be welcomed into the kingdom.  The second issue those folks had to face was the difficulty accepting someone who they thought they knew so well.  He just did not fit the mold of one who could claim to be the Messiah. Familiarity truly does breed contempt or at the least it minimizes the effectiveness of what a person can accomplish.

In Capernaum Jesus was more accepted.  Sadly, it was not because of His words but the miracles he performed. 

We have to ask ourselves, how do we view Jesus?  Hopefully our perspective will be different than either of those congregations. We needed to hear clearly the message of salvation that is inclusive of all those who turn their lives over to Jesus.  Secondly, the idea that the church is all about meeting our needs will limit us in what we can accomplish for our Savior.  Jesus understood the attitudes of each of them and moved on to where the message of the kingdom of God would be heard clearly. 

 

 

Lesson 7

A Testing Time

Luke 3:21 – 4:14

As proof that baptism does not save a person is indicative of the life long struggle that each of us have with the temptation to sin.  I would like to think from the point in time of my baptism that my walk would have been easier, but it is not true.  Thankfully salvation is based on the grace of God and not how I act every day. Each day I face the challenges of this world just as Jesus did in the desert.  The difference is that I have all too often given in to the temptations to lie, become angry, prideful and a host of others.  There is no reason to air any dirty laundry in this context because God has allowed me to put whatever I have done behind me.  Thankfully God now continues to forgive me when I do fail Him.  He is also teaching through His word to live in a more trusting relationship with Him depending on the Holy Spirit to keep me from falling.

The church cannot get caught up in the challenges that face Jesus in the desert.  Although the temptations the devil proposed to Him were of greater intensity, the essence of each of them is prevalent among us.  I will just mention one that seems to exist in every church.  It is to brag about our size.  We often inflate the number of people on the role forgetting that sadly those who are active are actually a fraction of those who call themselves members.  We also may brag about the programs that we offer.  Either of these may cause us to give false impressions of what is taking place within the body.  Let us be true to what is accurate so that we may be good witnesses for Jesus in the world.  

Two major events in the life of Jesus would thrust Him into the world.  The first was His baptism by John.  The second involved His time in the desert in which He faced the temptations of the devil.

Luke 3:21-22

Luke wrote that all the people were baptized.  This would not mean of course everyone in Judea, but those who were present with him who saw a need to repent.  It is doubtful that the religious leaders would have submitted to such a ritual. 

At that point Jesus came to be baptized by John.  No one knows why He felt the need to receive the baptism of forgiveness since He was perfect and did not need to repent of any sin.  There are all kinds of answers but the best explanation seems to be that it was a symbol of His identification with those He had come to save.  In Matthew John is reluctant to baptize Jesus and has to be persuaded to go through with the act. (See Matthew 3:13-15)  Although not mentioned in the other gospels Jesus is once again found praying.  Here again Luke does not go into detail about the actual content of the prayer. 

As He came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him.  The dove that came on Him was not for His benefit but those who were observing what was taking place.  In John, the apostle wrote that the dove was a sign to John the Baptist.  By it He was able to recognize that Jesus was the coming Messiah. (See John 1:29-34)

The final thing that happened at the baptism was the voice that was heard from heaven.  God the Father announced His approval of His Son. The Father was not just referring to the baptism but to life that Jesus had lived up to that point and the task ahead of Him.

1. What did Luke mean when he wrote that all men came to be baptized? (He was referring to all who were present who were willing to confess and repent.)
2. Why did Jesus submit Himself to be baptized?
3. Why did God send a dove to show that the Spirit had come upon Him? (A sign for John the Baptist that Jesus was indeed the One to come.)
4. Why did God speak to Jesus aloud?
5. Why were the words important to Jesus? (Affirmation of who He was and what He was about to accomplish.)

Luke 3:23

Thirty years old seem to be an important age in the life of the Jewish world.  Besides Jesus others began their careers at that age.  The priests would have begun their work at the age of thirty.  David became king of Israel at that age.  So Jesus began His ministry at the point when He could relinquish the responsibilities of his family into the hands of His half brothers. 

Luke also indicated that to the outside world in which Jesus lived, Joseph was considered his father.  Evidently Joseph had adopted Jesus as his own son. 

1. Why did Luke, specifically mentioned the age of Jesus?
2. What would Jesus have been doing prior to that age? (Taking care of His family since Joseph had probably died sometime previous to that time.)
3. Why would most of the people think of Jesus as the son of Joseph and Mary?
4. What did His parents understand?
5. What other important person began his career at the age of thirty?
6. What should have happened in a man’s life by the time he reaches that age?

Luke 3:24-37

While Matthew begins the genealogy of Jesus at Abraham, Luke begins with Jesus and works all the way back to Adam. Matthew’s primary goal was to show Him as the rightful heir of the throne of David.  Luke on the other hand saw as the fulfillment of what the first Adam was intended to be. He was the second Adam (Man) who was to re-establish man to the position that he had lost when Adam fell in the Garden of Eden. (See Romans 5:12-14; 1 Cor. 15:21-22)

The genealogy that Matthew provided is believed to be through the line of Joseph from David.  Luke provides the line of Jesus through Mary.  This is one of the ways that the variances in the two genealogies. 

Luke did not neglect the importance of any member of the lineage of Jesus, but in every case showed that He was the total fulfillment of all of God’s promises. 

• Beginning with Genesis 3:15 Jesus was to be from the lineage of a woman, thus eliminating the possibility of the sinful nature being passed from man to man. 
• From Abraham He would have been a member of the chosen people of God.
• God told Abraham that through his seed all the world would be blessed.  Jesus was the provider of that blessing. (Gen. 12:3; 22:18)
• Through David He would be the rightful king of God’s chosen people.

 

1. Why did Matthew begin his genealogy with Abraham? (He was writing primarily to a Jewish audience, therefore he emphasized the fact that Jesus came through the chosen people of God.)
2. Why did Luke trace the lineage of Jesus all the way back to Adam? (He was to be savior of all people.  He was the second Adam who reconciled man to God by being what God intended for the first Adam who fell.)
3. What important people, in God’s economy, did Luke include?
4. What did each contribute to the fulfillment of the prophecies about Jesus?
5. Why would you consider each important?

Luke 4:1-2

Following His baptism Jesus left the Jordan River.  He had been in the presence of His Father and received His blessing.  Luke wrote that because of what had just occurred that Jesus was full of the Spirit and ready to embark on the journey ahead of Him led by the Holy Spirit. 

Before beginning His actual ministry the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness where He faced the temptations of the devil for forty days. His time with the devil was more than the three temptations upon which so much emphasis is given.  Leading up to those three the devil was attempting to wear Him down spiritually.  For all of the forty days He fasted, having nothing to eat.

1. Why does Luke emphasize the fact that Jesus was filled with the Spirit?
2. What does that mean?
3. What did it mean for Him to receive the affirmation of His Father? (He would not face any situation alone.)
4. When are the times that you feel closest to the Lord?
5. What do you feel you can accomplish when that happens?
6. Why was it important for Jesus to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit?
7. Why is it important for us to do the same?
8. What was the devil attempting to do by constantly harassing Jesus during the forty days? (Wear Him down mentally and spiritually.)
9. Why did Luke mention that He ate nothing for forty days? (A person becomes vulnerable to compromising with the devil after so many days without nourishment.)

Luke 4:3-4

Knowing that Jesus was physically weak, the devil tempted Him to use His power for His own personal benefit. He began two of the temptations with the statement, “If you are the Son of God, “ use Your powers to ___________. (See Matthew 4:3 & 6) Jesus used Scripture to refute the devil in all three of the challenges placed before him.  Luke shortened what Jesus said which is found in Deuteronomy 8:3.  Matthew adds to the words “Man shall not live on bread alone,” he included but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”  Later in John’s gospel Jesus told His disciples that, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” (John 4:32) He then continues that, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” (John 4:34)  In both places He was making the point that material possessions that were so important to the devil did not control His life.

1. Why did the devil frame each temptation with the words “If You are the Son of God?”
2. Why did the devil begin with tempting Jesus to turn the stones into bread?
3. How did Jesus respond?
4. What does His response tells about how we should view material things?
5. How should we use them?
6. What was the source of His strength to refuse to submit to the devils invitation?

Luke 4:5-8

Jesus was led up onto a mountain top and shown all the kingdoms of the world.  This was probably a vision put before Jesus for this would be impossible physically.  In a way the devil was right in his statement he was in control of the kingdoms of the Cosmos (the world systems).  From the time of the fall the worldly societies have been dominated by him.  They belong to him only because God has allowed it. In the desert, however, the devil was about to have the power taken away from him, unless he could get Jesus to submit to him and worship him. 

Jesus was not about to have any part in what the devil was doing.  He refused to worship the devil.  His answer was once again taken from Scripture. Notice, Jesus did not argue with the devil or condemn him but used God’s word to speak to the heart of the issue.  Here He quoted from the second giving of the Law in Deuteronomy.  He said, “You shall worship the Lord Your God and Serve Him only. (Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20)  Of course these were first spoken by God on Mt. Sinai when He told the people, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3)

1. In what ways was the statement of the devil correct?
2. In what ways was he making incorrect statements? (He only has as much power as God allows. God is ultimately in control of everything.)
3. How did Jesus answer him in that situation?
4. Why did Jesus use Scripture to answer the devil?
5. Why did He not argue with him?
6. How do you respond when others question your faith?
7. What is it that you worship?
8. In what ways is God through Jesus the focal point of your life?
9. What do you think of the verse that says “What profits a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” 
10. What is the devil out to do in your life?

Luke 4:9-12

The devil’s last attempt to discredit Jesus at that time took place in Jerusalem.  Jesus was transported to the city and carried to the pinnacle of the Temple.  Because Jesus had used Scripture to counteract the attempts of the devil, he decided to switch tactics and quote Scripture himself. The problem, as always, was the devil twisted what was written in the Bible for his own purpose.  In this case he turned the words in Psalm 91:11-12 as a test of whether God truly loved and would protect His Son.  He took that small section completely out of context.  The verses are actually talking about the fact that God would keep a person who trusted Him secure in that relationship.

What the devil was asking Jesus to do was to promote Himself by jumping from the temple. It would be a way of jump starting His ministry by a spectacular act.  He would become an overnight sensation, but the whole purpose of His coming would be defeated.  He did not come to perform tricks to entertain crowds.  Those types of people are soon forgotten if they do not continue to perform greater and greater stunts. See John 6 to see how Jesus spoke to those looking for a handout.

Jesus responded by letting the devil know what he was trying to do.  He told him first of all to get lost. (Matthew 4:10)  Then He told him that the one who truly wants to be in God’s hands is the one who does not need to test God to see if He really cares.

1. What was the devil attempting to do in this last temptation?
2. Why is it important for us to understand God’s word?  (The devil and his followers will try to twist the meaning to mislead people.)
3. In what ways has the devil tempted you to promote yourself?
4. How did Jesus handle this last temptation?
5. By whose authority can we tell the devil to get lost?

Luke 4:13

Luke wrote that the devil left Jesus for a time in the future when he would once again do battle.  Jesus had defeated the devil and he knew it.  He left the battle with his tail between his legs to use and old saying.

1. What did Luke mean by indicating that the devil would look for another opportunity to face Jesus?
2. Did he ever really leave Jesus alone?
3. Who were some of the people that the devil used to give Jesus trouble throughout His ministry?
4. Who are the people who cause you the most problems as you try to follow Jesus?
5. How can we keep them from gaining victory over us?

 

• Constantly be in God’s word as the sword to ward off the devil.
• Whenever something does not match up with His word, go to Him in prayer for a clear direction.
• Remember if the devil tempted the perfect man just think how much more vulnerable you are to his trickery.  We must be on guard against him at all times.
• Remember the temptation that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden is the one dealing with pride.  If our relationship with God is right there should be no room for it in our lives.

If a church is truly alive for Christ we can be sure of one thing, the devil will make every attempt to destroy it.  The basic temptations that Jesus faced of possessions, position and power are still prevalent in our lives today.  We have to remember, as simple as it sounds, that the church is made up of those who if not careful will bring those attitudes into the body. 

We need to be ready to answer our own temptations with God’s words.  What Jesus said to the devil is still valid today and worth repeating.

• Man does not live for material gain, but on the guidance from God through His word and the teaching of the Holy Spirit.
• Let nothing get in the way of our worship of God. He will not allow us to remove Him from His throne in our lives.
• We are not to do those things that bring honor and prestige to our lives, but all things are to be done to glorify Him in every way.

If we continue to have this kind of heart then God will make us into a great church that reflects His name in our community.  Our thoughts should always be to say to the devil, “get lost” you have no place in our midst.  We belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God the Father.

Additional Notes:

M-Responds to the call of God as shown to him from His Word. Understands that the call is to carry out the purpose that God has for his life.  The call is individual. The will of God is also for the individual, even though it may very well affect many others. (Luke 3:3-6, 16)

 M-John the Baptist was motivated by the fact that he was fulfilling in his life what God had called him to be and do. (Luke 3:3-6)

GC-A follower of Christ is to share what he has. (Luke 3:11; 6:30)

GC-Honest (Luke 3:13)

GC-Content with what we have (Luke 3:14)

GC-Does not make false accusations (Luke 3:14)

RT-When we understand the reality of baptism, man can only take part in the outward sign of the decision by being immersed in the water.  It is God who changes the heart of man and brings about a baptism that takes place internally through the work of the Holy Spirit. This change of heart brings about a new attitude and altered behavior as he strives to serve Christ. (Luke 3:16)

GC-Exhorts others with the teaching and preaching of the gospel (Luke 3:18)

RT-Satan actually did have the limited authority he claimed on this earth as men had sold their souls to him. He has allowed men to have access to that authority.  It is the authority to use and abuse, but not one that he can keep.  Jesus later would say “All authority is given to Me.” (Mt. 28:18) Matthew wrote further about Him, “He was teaching as one having authority.” (Mt. 7:29)  Man may worship Satan but Jesus never needed to or would submit to him.  This world is Satan’s playground and his pride will be his undoing along with all of his followers.

RT-In the desert Jesus refused to turn the rocks into bread to satisfy His own need for food. However, there would come a day in the not to distant future when He would take a small amount of bread and increase and increase it by enough to feed 5, 000.  It was to be an act of compassion for the people and not for himself. (Luke 4:3-4; 9:12-17)

M-Man’s foundation for life should be to be in God’s Word, not just physical feeding. Doing what God wants and not trying to sway Him to follow man’s misguided actions is the way he does not try to tempt God.  His time should be spent in worship based on his love for God not on what the world has to offer.  If man will have this kind of heart attitude, Satan will not be able to find a place in the life of such a man. (Luke 4:4-12)

 GC-Never does foolish things, just to prove God’s ability to protect one from the consequences of his or her actions (Luke 4:9-12)

GC-Resist the temptations of the devil in God’s name and he will flee from you (Luke 4:13)

RT-Every empire that has received its power and instructions from Satan has and will fail. Jesus’ kingdom which is based on obedience to His Father is never ending.  Through Him the final victory over sin is assured. (Luke 4:5:8)