This week we
will continue to study the Gospel of Luke.
Why did Jesus only pick the three disciples closest to Him to have such an unusual encounter, especially in light of 9:27?
(1) Does such a special spiritual experience need to happen in a place like a high mountain?
(2) What does “transfiguration” mean? (Refer to Rev. 1:12-16.) How would you feel if you were one of the disciples upon seeing Jesus in His transfigured form? Read Isa. 53:2. Can you define “humility” in light of Jesus’ incarnation?)
(3) Moses gave the Law and Elijah was often perceived as one of the greatest prophets (if not the greatest). What was the significance of their presence here? Why did they talk about Jesus’ departure which is the word for Exodus in the original language?
(4) As much as Peter spoke in haste and fright (Mk. 9:6), what might the suggestion to build shelters reveal about the mindset of Peter?
(5) The Father spoke words that were similar to those at Jesus’ baptism (see Matt. 3:17), but with one difference. What is that difference, and how would this reveal the purpose of this unusual spiritual experience?
(6) Mark (9:9) tells us that it was Jesus who cautioned them not to share this experience with others. Why? What if they shared this with the other nine disciples? How would they feel?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“As He was praying the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.” (Lk. 9:29)
When we have a divine epiphany, it is always unexpected and it is indeed exacting. This is how David Brainerd, the pioneer missionary to the Indians in New Jersey described his:
'“As I was walking in a dark thick grave, 'unspeakable glory' seemed to open to the view and apprehension of my soul ... It was a new inward apprehension or view that I had of God; such as I never had before, nor anything that I had the least remembrance of it. So that I stood still and wondered and admired ... I had now no particular apprehension of any one person of the Trinity, either the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit, but it appeared to be divine glory and splendor that I then beheld. And my soul 'rejoiced with joy unspeakable' to see such a God, such a glorious divine being, and I was inwardly pleased and satisfied that he should be God over all forever and ever. My soul was so captivated and delighted with the excellency, the loveliness and the greatness and other perfections of God that I was even swallowed up in him, at least to that degree that I had no thought, as I remember at first, about my own salvation or scarce that there was such a creature as I.
"Thus the Lord, I trust, brought me to a hearty desire to exalt Him, to set Him on the throne and to 'seek first His Kingdom', i.e. principally and ultimately to aim at His honor and glory as the King and sovereign of the universe, which is the foundation of the religion of Jesus ... I felt myself in a new world." (pp. 138-140).\
It was the Lord’s Day, July 12, 1739 and he was 21 years old. Two months later he entered Yale to prepare for the ministry.
As Peter had his divine encounter on the mountain of transfiguration (Matt. 17), his immediate, hasty reaction was to build shelters for them. He wanted to “retain” this experience, forgetting that our divine encounter is given to us not to be possessed, but to prepare us for greater obedience (Matt. 17:5). And thus, David Brainerd obeyed and entered Yale where he received his training — no, I do not mean the theology that he learned, but his experience of being expelled by Yale because of his zeal for Christ.
(1) In the case of this boy, describe what a demon-possessed person could look like or experience?
(2) Why did the father come to the disciples for help? (See 9:1-2)
(3) Why didn’t the father give up?
(4) The general rejection by the people in spite of the many miracles He performed, the prevalence of demon-possession and the inability of the disciples together formed the backdrop for the words said by Jesus in 9:41. Would Jesus say the same about our generation today? Why or why not?
(5) Mull over v. 42 and compare this demon to other demons which were about to be tossed out by Jesus (e.g. the one in 8:28ff). How different was this demon? Was the result any different?
(6) What does “they were all amazed at the greatness of God” signify?
(7) Up to this point, describe what the disciples had witnessed in terms of who Jesus was and His power:
a. In healing the sick
b. In driving out demons
c. In raising the dead
d. In countering the verbal challenges and plots of the religious leaders
Had He once
failed to manifest His power?
Had He once lost
to the religious leaders?
(8) Given the above facts, what questions would the disciples have when Jesus said, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men”?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“O unbelieving and perverse generation…how long shall I stay with you and put up with you?” (Lk. 9:41)
It was quite obvious that Jesus’ rebuke in Luke 9:41 above was prompted by the inability of the disciples (i.e. the twelve of them minus Peter, John and James who had accompanied Jesus to the mountain) to drive out the demon from the boy. But, while Jesus called the disciples “of little faith” (Matt. 17:20), He accused the generation as totally unbelieving and perverse (i.e. twisted).
We know that while Jesus performed many miracles (like healing the sick, driving out demons and even raising the dead) the general response of the people was still one of unbelief. While Jesus once cited the “tri-cities” of Capernaum, Korazin and Bethsaida to denounce their unrepentance (Matt. 11:20-24 and Lk. 10:12-16), we know that they were merely the microcosm of the spiritual apathy of all of Israel. How can one explain their hard-heartedness in spite of the miracles they had witnessed if not because of their perverse minds — their twistedness!?
Yes, the Lord has not chosen to manifest such miracles today or at least not as commonly as in the first centuries, however we have seen the spread of the gospel in an exponential fashion in the last two thousand years. It has been the fruit of faithful witnesses and the power of God manifested in the gospel itself.
Unfortunately, the regions where the gospel had been the most prosperous, i.e. Western Europe and North America, have seen at first a gradual, and now, an accelerated decline in faith in Jesus Christ as “the Way and the Truth and the Life” without whom “No one comes to the Father” (Jn. 14:6). What Jesus said of His generation is certainly true of our generation — an unbelieving and perverse generation.
The Pharisees of Jesus’ time were so twisted that they said, “It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons”, referring to the miracles performed by Jesus (Matt. 9:34). It was all because Jesus rebuked them for their sins, especially the sin of hypocrisy.
These days, even though the Biblical teachings about homosexuality are absolutely clear and the consequences of their sins are undeniable (Rom. 1:26-27), the world is so twisted that they also seek to demonize all who uphold the Word of God. It is within this context that the Bible, again, refers to a generation like this as “perverse” (Rom. 1:27).
(1) Similar to Mark, Luke places this argument (9:46) about who is the greatest after (i) the transfiguration witnessed by the three chief apostles (9:28-36), and (ii) the repeated assertion by Jesus of His impending sufferings and death (9:22, 44).
a. For Peter, John and James, what was the purpose of transfiguration?
b. What impact might it have on them since they took part in the argument here?
c. Did Jesus’ repeated emphasis of His impending sufferings and death have any impact on the disciples? Why or why not?
(2) We all love children. Why then did Jesus imply that we in fact have a hard time “welcoming these little children”? What does welcome mean? Under what circumstances might we not welcome children and why?
(3) Jesus says, “For he who is least among you all — he is the greatest”. Then, if we work hard at serving others and at making sure we occupy the least important role in order to be the greatest, would it work? Why or why not?
(4) How can we cultivate the attitude or mindset of being “the least”?
(5) Why didn’t John “welcome” the man who drove out demons in Jesus’ name?
(6) We always like to say that no one can be neutral when it comes to how we treat Jesus Christ. How then should we understand v. 50?
(7) What might be the message to John when Jesus appointed 72 others in 10:1?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
“Do not stop him…for whoever is not against you is for you.” (Lk. 9:50)
We always like to say that when it comes to Christ, we cannot be neutral. We either believe in Him as our Lord and Savior, or we reject Him from our lives. Being neutral means rejection.
By the same token, you can either be inside the Kingdom of God or outside the Kingdom of God, but not in between. Therefore, when Jesus commended the teacher of the law who agreed with Him on what the greatest commandment was, saying, “God is one and there is no other, but Him...”, He said, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God” (Mk. 12:34). Jesus did not say he was inside the kingdom, but rather still on the outside, because he had yet to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and accept Him as his Lord and Savior.
Therefore, when Jesus talked about the man who drove out demons in His name and said, “for whoever is not against you is for you”, He implied that the man had believed in Him. Indeed as Paul affirms in 1 Corinthians 12:3, “Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed’, and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’, except by the Holy Spirit”.
On the other hand, in Acts 19, we read that the evil spirits jumped on the Jews who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed (Acts 19:13-16). It was because they did not belong to Jesus.
Therefore the invoking the name of the Lord Jesus is not the test of authentic belief in Christ, i.e. of whether or not one truly believes Jesus as the Son of God and has put his trust in His redemptive work through His death and resurrection alone. In this age of ecumenicalism and ecumenical dialogue, we need to heed the (earlier) words of Berkouwer in that, “common denominator ecumenicity is a fruitless way to seek unity”.
For sure, we do have common ground with Islam, and we do have common ground with Mormonism, but what can make us truly one is the belief that “Salvation is found in no one else (i.e. except in Christ Jesus) for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12) and that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)
(1) Luke mentions that Jesus “resolutely” set out for Jerusalem. In using this word, Luke implies that it was not easy for Jesus to do so and there were things that might sway His “resoluteness’. What might those things be?
(2) Given the discrimination of the Jews against the Samaritans, why would Jesus wish to visit the village of Samaria?
(3) What was the reaction of the local people and why?
(4) They have had contact with Jesus previously, (see especially Jn. 4:41-42). Why would they still treat Jesus like this?
(5) Have you come across rejection against Christians based on similar circumstances?
(6) What was the reaction of John and James? Were they justified, given the example of Elijah (see 2 Kings 1)?
(7) Can you think of any modern-day situation that might invoke a similar reaction on your part?
(8) Some manuscripts also have these words of rebuke by Jesus, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are…” What kind of “spirit” were John and James then?
(9) In contrast, Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.’’ What kind of “spirit”, is Jesus’?
(10) V. 57: This man appeared to have decided to follow Jesus voluntarily, and he highlighted one special aspect of his resolve. What was it? From Jesus’ response, can you tell what He emphasized concerning the challenge of following Him?
(11) V. 59: This other man was invited by Jesus to follow Him but he wanted to go and bury his father “first”. Was Jesus’ reply to him too harsh?
(12) There are at least two very important points that Jesus wanted him to understand about “following” Him. What might they be?
(13) V. 61: Still another man indicated his willingness to follow, but not before returning home to say good-bye “first”. Again, was Jesus’ reply unreasonable? What did his saying good-bye amount to, as far as He is concerned?
(14) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” (Lk. 9:58)
The Gospel of Luke records three separate incidents in which Jesus sets up presumably a very high standard for those who wish to follow Him. In none of the three incidents, are we told whether these individuals ended up following Jesus. However, through Jesus' words and the special circumstance of each of the three, the Gospel of Luke clearly teaches us what it means to follow Jesus and what it takes to be His disciples. Allow me to share with you my thoughts over the next three consecutive days.
Today, let us focus on the thought that a fully committed disciple of Jesus will not regard this world as his home: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” (Lk. 9:58)
The Gospel of Matthew tells us that this man who took the initiative to follow Christ was a scribe, which means he was well-trained in the Scriptures and has great zeal for God. As a result, his desire to follow Jesus could not be questioned, given the fact that he ignored the hostility of his peers and he publicly announced his decision.
I would be over-joyed if I could lead someone to Christ like him.
However, it appears that there was one particular aspect of following Jesus that he might not have thought through as he boldly pledged, “I will follow you wherever you go” (Lk. 9:57).
To this, Jesus gave His reply, using foxes and birds as examples. What is common to these animals is that they both have a place to call home. As primitive and temporary as their home may be, they have a sense of security, belonging, rest and permanency!
In contrast, Jesus has no place to lay His head. It is not that He lives like the homeless, but that in essence, there isn’t a place He considers home while on earth — a place of permanency, of security, of belonging and of rest.
In essence, He is telling this scribe and all who wish to follow Him, not to consider this world as their home. This is exactly the examples of those people of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11:9-16:
“By faith, he (referring to Abraham) made his home in the promised land, (but) like a stranger in a foreign country, he lived in tents… For he was looking forward to the city whose foundation and builder is God….If they (Abraham and Isaac etc.) had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had the opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them”.
And it was not just for them, but for each one of us who follows Jesus!
(1) Jesus had previously appointed the Twelve as Apostles (meaning those being sent) in Luke 9:1. Why did He also appoint and send another 72? (see 10:2)
(2) What were they to do and what were they able to do? (see10:17)
(3) What message might Jesus be sending to the original Twelve?
(4) Who is the “Lord of the Harvest”? Why would Jesus teach us to ask Him to send out workers? What would be the result of our asking? Have you ever so asked? Why or why not?
(5) The instructions given to the 72 were quite similar to those given to the Twelve in chapter 9:3-5, with the following additions:
a. They were being sent like lambs among wolves: Would lambs stand a chance before wolves? Did they survive the sending? What might be the message to us today?
b. The ministry of the gospel is certainly a ministry of faith, but Jesus adds that they “do not greet any one on the road” (10:4). How does this instruction echo what Jesus said to the three would-be disciples in 9:57-62?
(6) Jesus also told them to say, “Peace” (10:5) as they enter into a house. Jesus was obviously not talking about a superficial greeting, but one that imputes divine peace:
a. What is that peace? (See Jn. 20:19-20; 14:27)
b. It appears that not everyone who welcomes them could necessarily receive this peace, only if “a son of peace is there”. Who does this refer to?
(7) What should they do to towns that do not welcome them? What does this action signal? Why then should they still remind these towns that “The Kingdom of God is near”?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” (Lk. 9:60)
Unlike the scribe we considered yesterday, this one was called by Jesus and that is significant — when Jesus calls a person, it means that from His perspective, he is ready.
Therefore, if you are called by God whether to follow Him, to answer His call into full-time gospel ministry or to take certain action, that means He considers you as ready, and there is no excuse to delay your obedience. This was the case with this man.
This man was not unwilling to answer Jesus’ call to follow Him, except that he thought he had unfinished business to attend to — not just any unfinished business. He needed to bury of his father.
Commentators tell us that the Jews “buried their dead without delay, if there was time enough, on the same day, at least on the next” (Lenski, Matthew, 561). So the requested delay was not meant to be too long. Furthermore, the man probably had a grieving mother who desperately needed his presence and it was really basic filial piety to do so, irrespective of one’s culture. And yet, Jesus said, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” (Lk. 9:60)
Let’s consider Jesus’ reply more carefully: He is telling us that in life, there are basically only two types of people — those who are dead spiritually (even though they may be alive physically), and those who are spiritually alive.
How did this person know that he belonged to the second type? Well, if he sincerely called Jesus “Lord” he belonged to the second type — those who have eternal life. As such he had to live differently from the rest.
The question is how?
And Jesus’ answer is to “proclaim the Kingdom of God”.
In other words, those who are spiritually alive are alive with a mission and for a mission! No one is spiritually alive for their own sake and without a mission. We have eternal life so that we may proclaim the Kingdom of God. Without a sense of mission, we are not following Jesus; we are not His disciples!
We know how Eric Liddell of Scotland gave up the chance of competing in the Olympics because the competition fell on the Lord’s Day. You may also know that even after winning an Olympic Gold in the 400-meter race subsequently, he gave himself to be a missionary to China.
He was very close to his parents who were missionaries too, but their ill health prevented them to stay in China. Eric Liddell was fortunate enough to spend his first furlough back home to be with his parents before returning to Tientsin.
But one day, he had a most unusual experience. It was as if his father was standing right beside him, and the next morning, at breakfast, he received the news that his father had passed away suddenly.
Eric was overcome with grief. He couldn’t help but say that if only the Lord had taken his father home while he was in Scotland on leave, he could have been with him to the end. He would have been there to comfort his mother too!
In other words, he was struggling with the emotions of this second man who wanted to first go and bury his father. But Eric believed God always has a reason, and when he quieted himself to ponder things before God, he came to understand that had his father died when he was in Scotland, he might never have returned to China.
He also came to understand that as much as he loved his mum very much, his younger sister and brother were nearby to give comfort and care for his aging mother. Though he could not go back to bury his father, he later received the letter his father sent him before his death, and he came to understand that his mission was to continue where his father had finished — and that was to proclaim the Kingdom of God in China!
Capernaum, Korazin and Bethsaida were like a “tri-city” to the west of the Sea of Galilee with Capernaum being the largest of the three, as it was situated close to the major road to Damascus. According to Matthew 11:20, Jesus performed most of His miracles in this region and yet they did not believe in Him.
(1) Look up Ezekiel 26 and 28 and get a sense of the sin and judgment of Tyre and Sidon in the Old Testament. (You may want to quickly scan these two chapters).
(2) What was the purpose of comparing the two Jewish cities, Korazin and Bethsaida, to the two Gentile cities of old?
(3) It is obvious that Capernaum thought very highly of itself, perhaps in terms of its own prosperity and its major synagogue. Jesus frequented Capernaum and considered it His home town (Matt. 9:1). What was the reason for their downfall according to Jesus?
(4) What was the result of this “short-term mission” of the 72?
(5) Why did Jesus say, “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven”?
(6) What then is the reason for Jesus being “full of joy” (10:21)? How then can we give joy to our Lord Jesus?
(7) What lesson(s) can we learn from this in terms of our priorities and emphases on church ministries?
(8) From
the immediate context of this chapter (10:1-20), answer the following questions.
a. Who were the wise and learned (from whom God has hidden His things)?
b. Who were the little children (to whom God has revealed His hidden things)?
(9) V. 23 indicates that the revelation of the Father is totally the prerogative of the Son. What then is the basis on which the Son chooses to reveal the Father?
(10) Has Jesus revealed to you the Father? (10:22)
(11) What was Jesus referring to when He called the disciples blessed?
(12) In that case, are we less or more blessed compared to the disciples? Why? (See Jn. 20:29)
(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the service in the kingdom of God.” (Lk. 9:62)
In the case of the third man, we do not know whether he followed Christ on his own initiative like the first man, or if he was called like the second person. But that is really not important, because everyone is in fact responding to the inner call of the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus. While the setting and timing might be different, it is ultimately the Holy Spirit who prompts us either gently, and for some vigorously, to follow Jesus. Therefore, this third man did have a call to follow Jesus and he responded by saying, “Lord, but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family” (Lk. 9:61).
Again, it sounded perfectly proper, especially in the Oriental culture — it is expected of all children, even in today’s culture! And yet, Jesus accused him of “looking back”!
Allow me to share my failure in this respect:
When I heard the calling from God to go into full-time ministry, I had been an accountant for 21 years, and I loved my job and was proud of my performance. So, when I quit my job and went to study full-time in a seminary, I was wondering what I might do the first summer.
I was in the car business, and I knew some of the folks working in Detroit, and I thought it might not be a bad idea to contact them to see if there might be some summer job available so that I might earn a bit more money for my seminary education. It so happened that one of my college classmates who was not a Christian invited me for lunch (if I remember correctly), during which I casually mentioned my plan to look for a summer job in Detroit. To my surprise, with a stern face he said to me, “Paul, do not look back!”
I felt so ashamed. I knew it was only a summer job, but deep down, it was my pride, my love of my former career, and the gasoline in my blood — as the people in the car business would say — that were beckoning me!
Indeed, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the service in the kingdom of God.” (Lk. 9:62)
(1) Why did the expert in the law test Jesus by asking, “What must I do to inherit eternal life”?
a. What kind of a test was it?
b. What answer did he expect from Jesus? (Note: In their opinion, Jesus has repeatedly broken the law, especially with the rules governing Sabbath.)
c. What was right about his question?
d. What was wrong about his question?
(2) Perhaps, to his surprise, Jesus referred him back to the Law. The lawyer rightly cited Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 which summarize the essence of “All the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:40):
a. Why did Jesus say “do this and you will live”?
b. Did He endorse salvation by work?
c. Can anyone truly and fully “do this”?
(3) The lawyer obviously did not ask out of humility and belief, but to test and perhaps, even trap Jesus. However, Jesus, as He always did, took command of the dialogue which did not sit well with this lawyer:
a. Why did he bring up the issue of who his neighbor was?
b. Whom did he have in mind as his neighbor?
c. Whom did he have in mind as not his neighbor?
(4) The parable from vv.30-36 is a familiar one:
a. How did this parable answer his question as to who his neighbor was?
b. How did this parable answer his notion on who his neighbor was not?
c. The question Jesus asked at the end of the parable is interesting:
- Should Jesus not ask, “Which of these three do you think consider the man a neighbor of his?”? Why or why not?
- Why then did Jesus ask instead, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man?”? (v.36)
- It appears that Jesus’ focus is not on “who our neighbor is” but on “be a neighbor!”. How does this focus reveal the true meaning of “Love... your neighbor as yourself”?
d. Which of the characters in the parable can you identity with the most?
e. Which of the characters in the parable speaks to you the most? How so?
(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Which of these do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” (Lk. 10:36)
The story of the Good Samaritan is a familiar one. Even non-Christians have heard of the name “good Samaritan”, if not the story itself. But the moral of this parable, as popularized, is one of lending a helping hand to the needy. Of course, it is true, but the significance of the parable goes far beyond this.
The backdrop to this parable is the conversation between Jesus and an expert in the law who asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He asked it in order to test Jesus, meaning he probably wished to see how Jesus ignored or even trampled on the Law of Moses in His answer. To his surprise, Jesus upheld the Law of Moses and affirmed the Jewish notion of Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 as the essence of “all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:40).
However, Jesus is far from affirming that eternal life can be earned by works, because no one can truly and fully keep all the laws at all times , let alone the essence of the Law of Moses. James makes it clear, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (Jas. 2:10)
So, Jesus’ command to “do this and you will live (referring to eternal life)” seeks to show the inability and futility of relying on the keeping of the law to earn eternal life.
However, in his self-righteous mindset, the expert in the law thought that by strict observance of the ritualistic laws, he had already met the requirements of Deuteronomy 6:5. He also knew that there were people that he did not like, or considered unworthy of his love, and so he either wished to challenge Jesus or seek to clarify who really would be the “neighbours” that he needed to love in order to earn eternal life!
To his great surprise, Jesus told him and the crowd this parable to show them the futility of their faith which rested in the observance of the law as a means to earn eternal life. The priest and the Levites are representatives of such a faith, and their neglect of the victim fully reveals their void of love, whether to men or God. The hated Samaritan (who also worships Yahweh but based on their Samaritan Pentateuch), on the other hand, demonstrates a faith that fully satisfies the requirement of the law. The Samaritan in the parable loves those who discriminate against or even hate him. This kind of love only comes from God or from someone who loves God in the first place.
This was exemplified in the life of Nelson Mandela. How could he forgive those who imprisoned him? According to Chuck Colson who met Mandela personally, it was because he came to know Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior while in jail.
So, the moral of the parable of the Good Samaritan is not just lending a helping hand to the needy, but to know the God of love and love as God loves—even our enemies. As children of God who know and love the Father, we do not choose who might be worthy to be our neighbour (and thus worthy of our love), but we seek to be a worthy neighbour to all.