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Episodes
Sunday Sep 16, 2012
Sunday Sep 16, 2012
Study 14 - Luke 10:25-42
Loving God and Neighbour
The parable of the Good Samaritan is usually considered by itself. It should not be! It is part of a pair with the story of Mary and Martha. The two go together because in the original Greek the stories are about 'a certain lawyer' (v 25) and 'a certain woman' (v 38).
The two sayings of Jesus that conclude the stories are: in 37b 'Go and do likewise' and in 42b 'Mary has chosen what is better'.
Question 1. Which saying is the more important in popular thinking and preaching? Which does the words Jesus used suggest is the more important?
There is a great deal more interest in the story of the good Samaritan because of its simple brilliance as a story and the way it can be taken as an example by anybody, Christian or not. Everybody recognizes that they should help other people; not everybody is prepared to listen to Jesus as Mary did. Yet the words that Jesus used strongly suggest that the latter is the more important.
Before we read the verses let's think about the structure a bit. The famous parable is set within two short dialogues, the first in 25 - 28 and the second in 29, 36 and 37. Both dialogues have the same, quite natural, formats: 1) a question from the lawyer; 2) a challenging question in reply from Jesus; 2') an answer to Jesus from the lawyer; 1') an answer to the lawyer from Jesus. The well-known parable is inserted before the question of Jesus in the second dialogue.
We read the first dialogue: Luke 10:25 - 28.
Did you get the pattern?
And the second dialogue: Luke 10:29, the story, 36, 37.
What a wonderful teacher Jesus was! Wouldn't it be good if all teachers were as good as he was at getting people to answer their own questions!
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Question 2. In the first dialogue the answer of Jesus in v 28 does not exactly answer the lawyer's question in v 25. What significance can you see in the discrepancy? What does this tell us about the nature of eternal life?
The lawyer asked about eternal life. Jesus answered about life, a good life maybe but still only about life. What the Gospel's call 'eternal life' Jesus says starts in the here and now with a good life lived in this present world. That good life is a life of following him.
It is time to read the famous parable. Luke 10:30 - 35 and the conclusions Jesus draws in 36, 37.
Some things usually missed:
a) The lawyer's question in the first dialogue (v 25) is deeply flawed: one can do nothing to inherit.
b) The parable does not answer the lawyer's question in the second dialogue (v 29) but a slightly different one: 'Which of these three became a neighbour'.
c) The priest would have been rich, therefore on horseback contrasting the Samaritan's donkey.
d) The Samaritan would have risked his life taking a wounded Jew into a Jewish town, where the inn would necessarily have been. The men in the street might well have thought he was responsible for wounding the man and started to attack him before finding out what really happened.
Question 3. Who is the Samaritan portraying? How does this relate to the point about the danger to the Samaritan going into a Jewish town?
Jesus is the Good Samaritan. All others aiming to copy the story are simply following his example. This is another point about the story often missed. In coming into this world Jesus fully accepted all the danger that was to him. He died on the Cross to rescue those who are wounded: physically, spiritually, morally.
Moving on to the second story: to put this story of Mary and Martha in context: the Jewish Rabbis said 'let thy house be a meeting place for the Sages and sit amidst the dust of their feet and drink in their words with thirst ... but talk not much with womankind.'
We read Luke 10:38 - 42.
In that culture a teacher sat to teach and a student, necessarily male, stood to recite and sat to learn.
Question 4. How does Luke indicate that things were not as they would have expected them to be?
Mary was sitting and listening. We can only imagine what the reaction of the men who wanted to be around Jesus might have been. Horror, shock, disgust, amusement - perhaps just a few of them would praise her for what she did.
We are dominantly either doers or hearers: the Samaritan or Mary. By putting these two stories together Luke, and Jesus, are presumably saying that we ought to be both.
Question 5. How can the doers learn to listen better? How can the hearers learn to be more practically active?
These things are a matter of intent and will. Doers can always say 'I'm too busy' and hearers can say 'Ill do it tomorrow when I have finished listening'. Only if we are prepared to listen to what the Word of God is saying to us will we be all that we should be.
Question 6. How does verse 42a provide a complete answer to the lawyer's original question in verse 25?
If we truly follow Jesus all the rest will fall into place. We are never told whether the lawyer did set out to follow Jesus. We know that Jesus told him what he needed to do. Some of us need the same advice: 'go and do likewise'. Some of us need to copy the example of Mary more closely.
Which category do you fall into: more action or more meditation?
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Sunday Sep 09, 2012
Sunday Sep 09, 2012
Study 13 - Luke 9:51 – 10:24
Mission!
From Luke 9:51–19:27, Luke has Jesus on the road to Jerusalem. Luke has put together many incidents within this journey story because after 8 chapters, at 17: 11, they are only just leaving Galilee! There is no clearly discernable structure to this part of the gospel. It contains some 8 major parables and many minor ones, most of them only found in this gospel. Please read 9:51–55. James and John got it badly wrong in this first story from Samaria. People are always tempted to use strong-arm methods. They may be violent, use their superior status, use financial pressures, try psychology, and so on. James and John reckon Jesus has power. The people in the village are not friendly so they think he should zap them. Question 1: Which strong arm method are we most likely to be tempted to use when the gospel is rejected? Jesus totally repudiates using any such. How can we counter the tendency in ourselves? Your answer will depend very much on where you live. In some countries of the world it is very dangerous to try and force other people to do what is wanted. We have to be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves as Jesus said. Only by making a determined effort to grow more like Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit can we have any hope of overcoming our natural tendencies in things like this. Please read 9:57–62. Here Luke brings together 3 statements about the conditions for following Jesus. The first concerns comfort; the other two are about how we are to live in family relationships. All three appear rather harsh. But except for a few naturally nomadic souls most of us operate better from a secure base of stable home, family and friends. Question 2. How much do such things mean to you? How do you square the ‘no holes, no nest’ challenge with how you actually live? This is a tough one. Few in ministry or on the mission field put the kingdom totally before family. To do so is probably to experience destructive hostility. Perhaps what Jesus said is one of the overstatements, called Semitic hyperbole, like when he said ‘If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.’ Or ‘it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ These saying may sound strange to us but they are the ones we find easy to remember! In the last four episodes Luke has told us about welcoming little children, who was for or against Jesus, James and John’s attitude and the conditions for following Jesus. In all of these the disciples have misunderstood Jesus in one way or another. Question 3. What do they tell us about Jesus? There are many answers to this question, among them:
- the essential humility of Jesus,
- his conviction that, in spite of that humility, he was the Messiah, outranking all previous prophets,
- he had unique insight into what the people around him were thinking,
- he organised things ahead of time very carefully,
- he exercised complete authority over the disciples,
- he sometimes struggled with the task that he had (when he said he had nowhere to lay his head),
- and, he had total conviction about what he was doing (when he talked about looking back–you cannot plough straight if you look back).
- plentiful harvest
- ask
- go
- wolves
- do not greet
- eat
- near kingdom
- not welcome
- wipe dust
- the kingdom.
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Saturday Jul 21, 2012
Saturday Jul 21, 2012
Study 12 - Luke 9: 1 - 50
The end of the ministry in Galilee
This is an important chapter for at least 3 reasons:
- it contains the important question ‘who is this’ 9: 9
- the even more important answers ‘the Messiah’ (v 20) and ‘the Son of God’ (v 35). That Jesus calls himself ‘the Son of Man’ (v 22) is also important.
- it ends the second and long section of Luke’s Gospel Chapters 3 to 9: 50. Telling us that Jesus sets out for Jerusalem in verse 51 indicates the end. This whole section is about Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee.
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Read verses 1 to 9.
Jesus gives surprisingly detailed instructions about how the apostles were to go on the very first mission in the first 6 verses. Of course the culture in which they were to operate was very different from today’s – anywhere in the world. We might wonder if he sent us on mission what Jesus would forbid today. Would it be car, mobile phone, ipod, radio, credit card, bottle of spring water? Would we survive without these things?
Question 1 - Under what circumstances should we ‘shake the dust off our feet’ as Jesus told his disciples to do if they were not welcomed?
This is a tricky one to answer. Perhaps Paul did this in Philippi. It says ‘they went to Lydia’s house. Then they left.’ The locals could not be said to have welcomed him. It says ‘the crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas’. But there are stories in the history of the church where people have worked and ministered in a new area for a very long time before anyone has come to faith. When that has finally happened there has often been a real movement of the Spirit. It is hard to say the workers should not have waited.
The next story is of the feeding of 5000 people. We read that in v 10 - 17.
The account of the feeding of the 5000+ (v 10 – 17) is written so as to remind us of the last supper. It includes the words: taking bread – giving thanks – broke – gave to.
Question 2 - What do the statements ‘Jesus said “you give them something to eat” ‘ and ‘the disciples picked up 12 basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over’ mean as comments on the Lord’s Supper?
We meet at the table of our Lord to receive grace and renewal from him as we remember the most significant event in history. Yet we bring food to the table – we have a part to play in the ceremony. Such is the grace of God that we have much left over afterwards. For all the wonder of the simple ceremony we have a part to play.
By the order Luke puts things in he suggests that in the eating of bread they recognized the Messiah. In the eating of bread on the way to Emmaus they recognized the Lord (24: 30, 31 which says: When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
Question 3 - How does that thought, whether taken from this story of the feeding of the 5000 or the event on the Emmaus road, translate into our communion service?
It is his ceremony, not ours. We are to see, beyond the bread and the cup that he is there and blesses us.
Read verses 18 – 27.
Herod asked ‘who is this’ earlier in the chapter. Peter answers here, as Jesus prayed and talked to his disciples in a way that was completely meaningful in that culture.
Question 4 - Peter said that he was the Christ or the Messiah of God. What is the best and most accurate way to answer the question ‘who is this’ in your culture?
The answer will depend on where you are. To many people to say he is the Christ is only to give him a name, so that is not very meaningful. The Son of God is one possibility, but that can be misunderstood in some cultures. The Saviour is another possibility.
The title Jesus used of himself ‘Son of Man’ is difficult and puzzling, which is perhaps why Jesus used it. It meant no more than ‘a male human being’ but is used almost as a title in Dan 7: 13 of a person who seems to represent the people of God (Dan 7: 22, 27). Jesus may have used it as a clean sheet of paper on which he was able to write a meaning himself.
The question ‘who is this’ receives a further answer in what we call the transfiguration, that is the event when the whole appearance of Jesus was radically changed.
Read verses 28 – 36.
Question 5 - We must try to think of what this would have meant to the 3 disciples who witnessed what happened. What will their first reaction have been to the presence of the 3 figures? What will the brightness of Jesus’ clothes have meant to them? And then what will they have thought when they heard the voice from heaven?
There are really 3 questions there. Seeing the 3 figures they will have thought Jesus was of the same importance as Moses and Elijah. Then seeing how changed he was in appearance they will have decided he was the most important of the three. Finally the voice will have said to them that he was fundamentally different and important in a completely different way than Moses and Elijah, who represented the Law and the Prophets and therefore the whole of the OT and Judaism. The voice that told them to ‘listen to him’ also tells us ‘to listen to him’.
Finally we read verses 36 – 50. We will stop there and not at the end of the chapter because the next verse says ‘Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem’ and there are many statements that he was ‘on his way’ in the next 11 chapters. Luke has written a journey documentary in those chapters. This is the end of his ministry in Galilee, the northern province of that area, and the furthest from Jerusalem.
These 2 episodes both remind us that the Christian way is not one of human strength and power. Not only are the disciples unable to heal the boy with the evil spirit and required to start acting in a more childlike and less assertive way but Jesus is going to be betrayed and killed as we read further back in the chapter. This has been well summarized in the phrase ‘the way up is down’.
Question 6 - when we kneel before Jesus and confess our sins we say we are down. He will then lift us up. That is the Christian way. Have you set out on that way for yourself? Only yourself and the Lord know the answer to that question. I hope it is the right one! May the Lord be with you.
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Sunday Jul 15, 2012
Sunday Jul 15, 2012
Study 11 - Luke 8: 1 - 56
Faith and faithfulness Part 2
What experience have you ever had of what were clearly demonic powers?
It is thought that the Joanna of 8: 3 and the Junia of Rom 16: 7 may be different versions of the name of the same person. (It should be Junia, a woman’s name; Junias is a man’s name and a mistranslation) If so, we may presume Joanna/Junia was an apostle because she fulfilled the requirements of Acts 1: 21, 22, even though being a woman meant she could not be one of the twelve. Luke is careful not to forget the women! Neither should we!
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We noted in the last study that one word in the Greek means both ‘faith’ and ‘faithfulness’.
1) How do we use these words? What is the difference in meaning in our common usage of them?
2) The central passage of these chapters is the familiar parable of the sower (8:1–8). Which meaning, faith or faithfulness, is it encouraging us to think of as the most important?
A parable is designed to be about one most important point but while doing so usually teaches several other theological ideas.
3) Which parts of this parable imply the following things: the Kingdom comes:
a) slowly, it is not a noisy in-breaking event;
b) as a work of grace;
c) necessarily including fruit bearing;
d) with the promise of hope.
4) This parable is usually called ‘The Parable of the Sower’. What else could it be called? What was Jesus really emphasising? What should the title be?
5) What are the present day meanings or examples of: taken by the devil / no root / choked by life / producing a crop?
6) Suppose some seed fell in a stream, floated away, landed, and grew where the farmer could not harvest them? What would the meaning of that be today?
7) Why are the secrets of the Kingdom of God so hard to understand (8: 10)? What did Jesus mean by talking about hearing as though that is difficult? Did he really teach in parables so that people would not understand what he said (8: 10)? What did he mean by saying we have to be careful how we listen (8: 18)? See also 8: 21.
8) We cannot easily make ourselves have ‘noble and good hearts’ (8: 15). What – in very practical terms - does Jesus expect us to do in the light of this parable?
The next two short stories highlight contrasting attitudes of acceptance and rejection to Jesus, as did the story of Simon the Pharisee and the unnamed woman (7: 36 – 50). Faith(fulness) is weak in those who should be strong (8: 22 – 25) and rejected in those who had the opportunity to have it (8: 34 – 37).
9) Over the centuries many believers must have prayed frantically when faced with death by drowning. Many will still have drowned. These did not drown(8: 24, 25). Why?
10)The people of Gerasa thought about what it would mean for them in money terms if Jesus was around and decided they would be better off without him (8: 36, 37). How very 21st century! What was Jesus’ response? What does that say to us?
We noted the final dual healing of a woman and a man’s daughter (8 : 40 – 56) reflects that of a man and a woman’s son in the first two episodes in this section (7: 1 – 17).
11)What does this dual healing tell us about faith? How strong does faith have to be in order to be answered? How far is it true to say it is always answered? Or when is it not answered?
12)Why did Jesus tell the demon-possessed man to go and tell (8: 39) and Jairus and his wife to keep quiet (8: 56)?
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Sunday Jun 17, 2012
Sunday Jun 17, 2012
Luke 7:1–50 & 8:40-56
Faith and faithfulness Part 1
The whole of chapters 7 and 8 make up one section of Luke’s narrative so we will read them together though we will only look at chapter 7 in detail in this study. Not least because of the striking similarities and differences in the people involved between the first and last passages 7:1–17 and 8:40–56.
1. Jesus Restores Health and Life! (Luke7:1–17 and 8:40–56)
Question 1.What is the second passage about? How does it differ from the first passage?
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The second passage is about healing of a woman and the bringing back to life of a man’s daughter. Remember: the first was about the healing of a man and the bringing back to life of a woman’s son. Luke has obviously put these particular stories at the beginning and end of this section very deliberately. He has carefully constructed the whole section. The important question is why has he done this–apart from the fact that this was the way that they wrote things in the Roman world of those days? When we look at the two chapters together we will see that he has built them so that the stories of the second part reflect the first part. The first part has two healings, 7:1–17; an account of the doubts of John the Baptist. 7:18–35 and then tells us about contrasting attitudes to Jesus, 7:36–50. The second part reverses that order telling us about contrasting attitudes to Jesus, 8:19–33, 38, 39; then the doubts and rejection by the Gerasenes, 8:34–37 and finally the two healings we have already looked at in 8:40–56. In the middle is a parable about the man who sowed some seed, getting different reactions from the different types of soil.
We can think of this as a reflection because the second half is the mirror image of the first half. There are many of these reflections in the Bible. One very obvious example is in Amos 5: 4b–6a, although unlike most of the Biblical reflections that one does not have an important middle. In most of them the middle is important to explain why the second half is different from the first. In our example here in Luke the middle, the parable, is clearly very important, though it does not alter the second part significantly.
Luke wants us to see that the whole section is about faith and faithfulness. One Greek word has both meanings whereas we split the two apart in English. By ‘faith’ we mean mainly mental agreement with the teachings of a religion–‘faith’ goes on in our heads. By ‘faithfulness’ we mean living in a way that follows the teachings of that religion–‘faithfulness’ goes on mainly in our actions. We will look at that more in the next study.
2. Jesus and the Centurion (Luke7:1–17)
Not for the last time Luke has a story about a centurion. He wants Theophilus (and us) to understand that Christian faith was acceptable to these significant people in the Roman world.
Question 2.We are told many good things about the centurion (7:2–5). We are told nothing about the widow of Nain. What can we learn from that?
There will have been plenty of people around with a vague faith in God who kept the religious laws, but this Gentile Centurion recognized that God was at work in Jesus and was prepared to act accordingly by trusting Jesus. Are we prepared to turn a vague faith into action when God works? Just possibly Luke knew the centurion because he joined the early church, but the widow of Nain did not, so he did not know her.
3. Doubts of John the Baptist (Luke 7:18–35)
Question 3. John expected the Messiah to act like his idea of what a Messiah would do. Jesus quotes Isaiah 35: 5,6 and 61: 1,2 to tell him he is wrong. In what ways was John wrong? What did they expect the Messiah to do? What was Jesus doing that was unexpected?
John evidently shared the general expectation of what the Messiah would do. John will have understood himself to be the messenger of Malachi 3: 1 –3; 4: 1–3 and therefore that all that those verses suggested would happen. Particularly if you live in a hostile society it is important, and encouraging, to remember how hostile the society in which Jesus and the early church lived and worked was.
4. Jesus and Debts! (Luke 7:36-50)
Question 4.What does Jesus mean when he talks about debts (7:39–43)? Do we have big or small debts to be cancelled? (We probably think we have only small debts to pay (v 41,42) but big or small counts the same!) Do we show as much love as we should for Jesus who cancelled our debts?
Jesus was talking about the way in which those who followed him and were members of the people of God needed to remember that they were in debt to God. We, living later, know that we rely on Jesus dying for us to cancel the things in our lives, which stop us, being accepted by God. Since ‘all have sinned’ it does not matter whether our sins are big or small they still stop us being accepted by the Lord. Only in Christ can we have acceptance by God.
5. Jesus, the Pharisee and the woman! (Luke 7:36-50)
Question 5. The Pharisee in the final episode of this chapter (v 36–50) is clearly much more concerned with things and ideas. The woman is only concerned with people. What can we learn from these two stories?
It is important to remember that some people are very concerned with people but some (a smaller number), find their interest is taken more by ideas and things than people. Both sorts of people are necessary in a healthy church and a healthy society.
Conclusion
Question 6. In what ways has this chapter stressed faithfulness?
Nearly all this chapter (and the next) is about people acting out their faith as a result of what they saw Jesus do. They were in a very positive way following him, not just thinking about him. That is faithfulness. The message to us must be that we have to follow Jesus, not just go to church on Sunday.
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Sunday Jun 10, 2012
Sunday Jun 10, 2012
Luke 6: 27-49
The New Way of Jesus
Part 2. Kingdom Ethics
Luke’s Sermon on the Plain continues. We read together Luke 6: 27-49
This is a shorter version of Matthew’s sermon but it still contains no less than 22 separate points! We will look at them in groups.
1. Love your enemies v27, 28
It is easy to miss some of the practical implications of these statements. They mean, for instance, that a Christian will never refuse to speak to someone, whatever they may have said or done. And it will affect our behaviour towards someone who wants the same job as we do.
Question 1: What effect will it have on us if we force ourselves to speak kindly in those sorts of situation? Where else can you think of where obeying Jesus might have some positive results in our everyday and family life?
Pause.
Even if we have to force ourselves to speak well in that sort of situation doing so will have a good effect on our underlying attitudes towards that person. If we fall out with someone at work we must be careful to greet them in exactly our usual cheerful way the next morning. They will find it very hard to respond in anything other than the same way. It is hard to obey Jesus when the inevitable problems of family life occur. Are you the person who is always the first to try and mend a damaged relationship?
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2. Not standing up for our rights v29-31
Is it really possible to act like this in the real world? What happens if someone takes my bicycle? Do I give them my motorbike? Perhaps Jesus is making one of his outrageously impossible statements (camels through needles; plucking out eyes etc.) so that we remember better the principle behind what he said. Total obedience to what Jesus taught here would rapidly lead to us having no money at all!
Question 2: What should we do in the practical things of every day to put the principle behind these statements into practice?
Pause.
I think the only possible answer to this is to say we have to be careful not to put ourselves first in what we do but put others in front of ourselves. It is, of course, a great deal easier to say that than to actually do it in the real world we live in. It is also, of course, a great deal easier to hear it said and mentally agree than to go out and do it!
3. Doing better than expected v32–35a
Probably ‘lending’ in that culture, as in many, was a nice way of talking about giving somebody something.
Question 3: Should we ever lend like that without expectation of a return? Shouldn’t we call it what it is from the beginning if that is what we intend, rather than using such double talk?
Pause.
Not all the things our culture wants us to do are necessarily what we should do as followers of Jesus. In some cultures it is more important to say something that pleases the person we are talking to than to tell the truth. Jesus said he was “the way, the truth, and the life”. That means we must be in all things as truthful as we can possibly be even if that is against our culture and traditions.
4. The results of this behaviour v35b, 36
We will probably see that we will have all sorts of problems in living up to what Jesus said. It is so difficult to obey what he said and still live life in the real world. Perhaps it is impossible. But Jesus was probably doing this deliberately to make us see that we can never in ourselves be good enough to appear before the Lord God. We can only rely on his mercy and goodness consequent on the self-sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross for our acceptance.
Question 4: Why does Jesus call us sons, or children, in this context (v36b)?
Pause.
This is to emphasize that we are in a personal relationship with the Father God. And that again can only be through the acceptance that Jesus obtained for us by his death on the Cross. When we call God our Father that means we accept all our fellow Christians as our brothers and sisters.
5. What we give will be what we get v37, 38
The first sentence in v37 is sometimes used to suggest we should never judge anything or anybody at all. But, of course, we do! If we didn’t, how could we ever correct anyone and life in and out of the church would be impossibly difficult.
Question 5: How should we understand v37 in such a way as to be realistic and yet follow Jesus properly?
Pause.
Matthew adds ‘in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.’ (Matt 7: 2). If we are prepared to face the truth and be judged by it we may make other people face the truth. If not, not!
Verses 37b and 38 could be taken to mean simply the better you are the better your life will be. Life is never as easy as that (Ps 73: 1-5, 13, 14).
Question 6: How, then, do we understand what Jesus meant?
Pause.
Some people teach a false gospel which promises obvious material blessing to the believer. This is clearly not the way the Kingdom in the world works as Ps 73: 2, 13, 14 points out. The book of Job and Luke 13: 1 –5 say much the same. What we are promised is reward for faithfulness in the day of the Lord when the world comes to an end. We are to look to our own reward and not make judgments on what should happen to other people.
6. How to live for the Kingdom v39–45
The parables of the blind, the student and the plank all, in different ways, emphasize that we need to be walking in the Way of Jesus if we want to be good and do things that matter in the kingdom of the Spirit. We need to be able to see, to be properly trained and not be blinded by things that should not be there. Then the parable of the good tree emphasizes that we need to be the right sort of tree. Being a better thorn bush will not lead to fruit, just bigger thorns!
Question 7: How can we tell whether someone, or ourselves, is the right sort of tree?
Pause.
When we set out to follow Jesus we are told that we shall be saved at the final day. But we are also told that account will be taken of the whole of our lives as followers (Rom 14: 10, 12; 2 Cor 5: 10). It is hard to see how these two teachings fit together. It is best to take them both as the Lord’s word to us and strive to live in the light of both of them.
7. The Summary v46-49
Luke’s version of this story is slightly different from Matthew’s perhaps more familiar one. It is often called ‘the parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders’. That is a good title for the parable in Matthew, not so good for this one of Luke’s!
Question 8: What title would more accurately summarize this parable? Pause.
The word ‘foundation’ is the most important one in this parable. It ties this parable to many other Biblical verses. Perhaps the most significant is Isaiah 28: 16 which refers to the temple but is used by Peter (1 Pet 2: 6) of Jesus. In Peter’s little picture Jesus is the all important foundation. Peter, like Jesus, emphasises that we are to do the building.
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Sunday Jun 03, 2012
Sunday Jun 03, 2012
Luke Looks Back Chapter 8
Luke 6:17 – 6: 26
The Way of Jesus: blessings and woes
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Luke wrote his own version of Matthew's more famous Sermon on the Mount. It is much shorter and was preached in 'a level place'. Probably Jesus, like any travelling preacher, used much the same material many times and these are two slightly different reports of what he said.
Please do read Luke 6: 17 - 26
The biggest differences occur in the list of blessings and the woes that Luke, but not Matthew, has after them. Luke has only 4 Blessings and 4 matching Woes. Understanding them can be tricky!
Blessing 1 (v 20).
Question 1: Say which of the following statements are true or false comments about this Blessing? And why? a. All poor people are already in the Kingdom because they are poor and therefore can be sure they will be saved when they die. b. All the poor people who met King Jesus as he walked round Galilee were in the Kingdom because they had met the King and therefore would be saved. c. Jesus was only talking about those who were, and are, spiritually poor - they would be in the Kingdom (Matt 5: 3). d. Jesus didn't say anybody is 'in' the Kingdom he told them who it belongs to. That means it is wide open for the poor but they still have to set out to follow Jesus whole heartedly to be 'in' the Kingdom.
It is certainly true that Jesus had a special feeling for the poor people he met and got on better with them than rich people but just poverty by itself does not let anyone into the Kingdom so the first 3 are all false. To "follow Jesus" is the all important way into the Kingdom which is about what the fourth statement said.
That first blessing was about something that was happening then (present tense). The next 2 blessings 2 and 3 are about the future (future tense).
Blessing 2 (v 21a):
Jesus was talking to a big crowd. In those days many people did not get enough to eat and would be hungry. Matthew interprets this as being about hunger and thirst for righteousness and we should probably understand this that way. The difficult word righteousness is about establishing a relationship (the basic meaning of the word translated righteousness) between the Lord and his people. Which can only be done by making a person good and holy before God, which, fortunately, God by his grace will do for us, for we could never be good enough ourselves.
Question 2: Are you hungry, in this spiritual sense, now? Are you prepared to wait to be satisfied later? When will 'later' be? Or are you in too much of a hurry?
The Bible consistently teaches that the final justice of God at the judgement day will right all wrongs, particularly for the poor and the hungry who trust him now. But of course most of the answer to this question is something you are going to have to meditate on yourself.
Blessing 3 (v 21b):
Someone has said "those who wish to serve him best are conscious most of sin within".
Question 3: Is it worth weeping over our sins now for the promise of laughing later? Have you any advice for yourself and others as to how to think more about the future and make that a more important factor in the way you live?
Blessing 4 (v 22, 23)
the most important point about all the Blessings only comes in this last one.
Question 4: What is the great condition of this Blessing and all the others (here it is again)? Are the problems of this Blessing certain to happen for the true follower of Jesus?
Our joy depends on following the Son of Man, as Jesus called himself. Whether we will be hated, despised, insulted and rejected depends on where we have to live in this world. Some of us have it easy, others do not.
4 Woes. v24 - 26.
Jesus does seem to have a rather poor view of life. He seems to think being rich, well fed, cheerful and well thought of are all bad things. Most of us probably disagree and would defend our right to disagree. What then can we make of these sayings? Perhaps we can start this way - you probably know somebody who is rich, fat, always cheerful and in the middle of a group of people and yet you would not at all like to be that person. Why is that?
Question 5: What are the bad things about being rich, fat, always in the middle of a group of people? Why then did Jesus make these his woes?
You will need to think hard about this one. People like this all too often are what they are because they are careless of other people. They think only of themselves and what they can get out of life, regardless of how many people they hurt and offend on the way. But they have a sort of life force that seems to push them through life successfully. The Psalmist in psalm 73 grumbles about these sort of people and comforted himself saying "God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever".
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Sunday Apr 01, 2012
Sunday Apr 01, 2012
Luke Looks Back Chapter 7
Luke 5: 27 – 6: 16
The Way of Jesus: people and problems
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Sunday Feb 05, 2012
Sunday Feb 05, 2012
Luke Looks Back
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G'day! Today we start a new weekly Sunday spot. It is Luke Looks Back and is recorded for us by friends of mine, Roger & Margaret Kirby. It is primarily a set of bible studies looking at the Early Life and Galilean Ministry of Jesus as recorded by in Luke 1 - 9. Each of the studies has a mixture of notes and questions. The aim of these questions is to give those taking part some real knowledge and spiritual understanding as a result of discussing the answers to them. While they are designed for a small group, they would also be valuable as a weekly devotional. They were first written for use in a group in England. In putting them on the Internet I know they may be used in very different cultures from ours and not all the questions will make good sense in every culture. So feel free to down load the studies, modify them as much as you like and translate them into your language if you wish. With translation in mind they have been written in simpler English that will hopefully make that task easier for whoever does it - may you be blessed in that work.
The questions are a mixture of the easy to answer (study 1, question 2) and some that are more difficult (study 1, question 5). Some are deliberately unexpected in what they ask (study 1, question 6), hoping to make people think. Included are some questions on the way Luke wrote and the structure of his writing in order to identify what Luke saw as the main points he wanted to make, believing these are therefore the points the Holy Spirit would wish us to understand as the most important (1 Pet 1: 10 - 12; 2 Pet 1: 20,21). The ancient texts did not have headings, paragraphs, sentences or even spaces between words so the only way of conveying structure was in the actual words.
The English version of the Bible used in writing these notes was the NIV. They include 'icebreakers'. These are to get everybody talking and help folk to know more about each other in a non-threatening way. A study covers a section of the gospel rather than a single session of discussion. Many of them will take two or more sessions to complete. Each study will print on an A4 page as two A5 pages. Printing on both sides of the paper and then cutting down the middle will give two convenient A5 double-sided copies. These will be available in Adobe PDF format and standard mp3 audio files. Thank you. Bibliography. The following (English) books would be helpful for discussion leaders where available:
- Saviour of the World: Message of Luke (The Bible speaks today) by Michael Wilcock
- According to Luke by David Gooding
- Luke for Everyone by Tom Wright
- Luke by Darrell Bock (NIV Application Commentary)
- Luke by R Alan Culpepper in the New Interpreter's Bible (unfortunately only available as half volume IX)
- Jesus from a Middle Eastern Perspective by Kenneth Bailey (This new book written by an American who has spent both his childhood and most of his working life in the Middle East is highly recommended. It explores questions of structure and brings a new and very interesting and informative perspective to the culture of the gospels. Many comparisons with life in the developing world are possible.)