This week we
will continue to study the Gospel of Luke.
(1) Read Deuteronomy 23:24-25 and Exodus 31:12-17. Do you get a sense that the disciples really violated the Sabbath? Why or why not?
(2) In Jesus’ reply, He defended the action of the disciples. On what basis did He do so?
a. Their action did not violate the law of Sabbath.
b. The Law of Sabbath no longer was needed. Why?
(3) Did Jesus consider what David did as lawful? What then was the justification for David and his companions’ action?
(4) How may such a justification apply to the action of the disciples?
(5) What is the original intent or purpose of the Law of Sabbath, according to Exodus 31:12-17?
(6) What does “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” mean?
a. What is its implication with respect to the action of the disciples?
b. What is its implication with respect to the Law of Sabbath?
c. What is its implication to us today?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) What was the penalty for breaking the Sabbath Law (Exod. 31:14)?
(2) Why was it so severe?
(3) What does the fact that the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely signify?
(4) Who else could have healed the man of his shriveled hand?
(5) Read carefully what Jesus said in v.9. Jesus was not really concerned about what was lawful, but rather the real purpose of Sabbath. What is the real purpose of Sabbath according to Jesus?
(6) Why did Jesus choose to ask this question first, before healing the man?
(7) Why then were the Pharisees furious? What had they turned Sabbath into?
(8) Mark remarks that Jesus was very angry at the time (Mark 3:5). Why was Jesus angry?
(9) Can you think of similar things in your life and that of the church that might make Jesus angry today?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) Why did Jesus have to choose and designate the Twelve and call them apostles which means those being sent? (See Mk. 3:14-15 for the three-fold purpose of the Apostles.)
(2) How did the Apostles themselves see their role as Apostles (see Acts 1:21-26)?
(3) How significant are these Apostles to the building up of the church? (see Eph. 2:19-20)
(4) Read Revelation 21:14. What added significance is being portrayed by this vision of the Apostle John concerning the New Jerusalem?
(5) Before selecting these 12 men, what did Jesus do?
(6) Why?
(7) Since Jesus knew Judas would betray Him eventually, why would He still choose him? What struggle might Jesus have in this process of selection?
(8) Given the significance, privilege and tremendous honor of being one of the Twelve, how does it speak of the choice made by Judas?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
The messages in the rest of the chapter greatly resemble the messages in the Sermon of the Mount (in Matt. 5). However, the setting and the location are clearly different. “Preachers usually make use of the same or different matter in different sermons, especially if they speak without a written script” (Morris, 138). It is perhaps helpful to remember that both Matthew and Luke record Jesus’ sermons in a summary form as directed by the Holy Spirit with different emphases. In Luke’s case, the immediate hearers are the “disciples”, i.e. those who have made a commitment to follow Christ, not the non-believers, although they were present at time (Lk. 6:1).
Since this section contrasts the blessed and the “woeful”, let’s pair them up for reflection:
|
Blessed are the: |
Woe to you who are: |
|
Poor – theirs is the Kingdom of God |
Rich – already received comfort |
|
Hungry – will be satisfied |
Well-fed – will go hungry |
|
Weeping – will laugh |
Laughing – will mourn and weep |
|
Rejected – reward in heaven |
Spoken well of - like false prophets |
(1) What do the poor, the hungry, and the weeping have in common?
(2) What do the rich, the well fed and the laughing have in common?
(3) What do all of the above have in common?
(4) Do you normally associate the poor, the hungry and the weeping as blessed? Why not?
(5) Why then does Jesus call them blessed? What might they have in common that makes them blessed?
(6) Do you normally associate the rich, the well-fed and the laughing as woeful? Why or why not?
(7) Why then does Jesus call them woeful? What might they have in common that makes them woeful?
(8) Is it harder for the more fortunate in this life to enter the Kingdom of God? Why? (See Lk. 12:21; 18:24-25)
(9) Is it necessarily easier for the less fortunate in this life to enter the Kingdom of God? Why?
(10) In the final analysis, as disciples of Jesus, what makes one blessed?
(11) How historically were prophets treated? Why?
(12) Why should the disciples of Christ expect the same treatment?
(13) If we are persecuted for the sake of Christ as His followers, what reward will be given to us?
(14) Therefore, does blessedness as preached by Jesus in this context refer to temporal or heavenly rewards?
(15) Given the teachings in this section, what then should be the mark of Jesus’ disciples?
(16) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
(1) What do you think the intention of Jesus is by prefacing this message of loving our enemies with saying, “But I tell you who hear me”?
(2) I would like to suggest that what this preface means is, “If you are really serious in listening to me”. What do you think?
(3) We all have people that we do not like, but Jesus is referring to our “enemies”:
a. What is the definition of enemies as elaborated in the examples in vv. 27-29?
b. Given these examples, who are your enemies?
(4) In asking us to love our enemies, Jesus gives very concrete instructions to us. What will prevent us from doing the following?
a. Doing good to those who hate and have sought to harm or destroy us
b. Blessing or wishing them well those who have publicly cursed or insulted us
c. Praying sincerely for those who have mistreated, abused or taken advantage of us
(5) What might prevent us from turning the other cheek to be struck, apart from the fear of being hurt?
(6) Apart from the desire to not suffer any material losses, what might prevent us from letting our tunic be taken in addition to our cloak?
(7) Jesus sums up the above by telling us, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (v.31).
a. You might protest that you would never hate, curse or mistreat anyone, let alone strike anyone or take anything that does not belong to you. How then can you apply this principle?
b. If someone can really put into practice these instructions of the Lord, what kind of a person is he or she, and how would you describe these kinds of actions?
c. Do you wish to receive such kindness from others?
d. Have you received such kindness from anyone? (See v. 36)
(8) By being disciples of Jesus, we have become “sons of the Most High” (6:35). What then should our distinguishing marks be from the “sinners”, meaning those who have not been forgiven by our Father God? (vv. 32-36)
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
This is a section that is best regarded as a collection of teachings or sayings of Jesus during this Sermon on the Plain:
(1) Vv. 37-38 — Have a big heart
a. There are two aspects to judging: To form an opinion and to condemn. Which of these do you think Jesus had in mind?
b. If we are certain that our judgment (i.e. our opinion) is sure and that the person indeed has done something wrong (especially against us), what should we do, according to v. 37?
c. What if we do not forgive?
d. What if we do not have the strength to forgive? (Do you think the best description under the circumstance is that we cannot forgive, or we will not forgive?)
e. Luke has not clarified what the teaching to “give” in v. 38 entails. Apart from the giving of “forgiveness”, what else might it include?
f. Did you ever experience the promise of v. 38 that you received far more from God than you gave?
g. On the contrary, did you ever experience having received very little because you have given too little?
(2) Vv. 39-40 — Do not be a blind teacher
a. If we are “fully trained”, then we will be like our teacher, the Lord Jesus, and will not be a blind leader. What does being fully trained entail? (Note: Fully trained can be and has been translated as having been perfected.)
b. As a pastor, leader or Sunday School teacher, what then should you do to avoid being a blind pastor, leader or teacher?
(3) Vv. 41-42 — Remove our plank first
a. Jesus is obviously using an exaggerated analogy.Why would He choose to use such an exaggeration? What is His point?
b. What is the definition of a hypocrite?
c. Jesus does not appear to stop us from seeing the speck of sawdust in our brother’s eye totally, so long as we remove our “plank” first. What if we really look at ourselves and remove our “plank” first, what would it do to the “speck of sawdust” that we perceived in our brother’s eye?
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Luke concludes the recording of the Sermon on the Plain with two analogies based on contrast:
- good and bad trees (vv. 43-45)
- good and bad foundations (vv. 46-49)
(1) What are the two kinds of people being contrasted by the above?
(2) Vv. 43-45 —The two kinds of trees:
a. We know the hearers are the disciples, so is this analogy meant for self-examination by the disciples or for their discernment concerning teachers or both? Why?
b. What is the importance of using fruit to point to one’s true self?
c. By v.45, everything flows out of the heart.
- Can one fool others by acting out how good fruit looks?
- Can one fool others by carefully crafting what he will speak from his mouth?
(3) Vv. 46-49 — The two kinds of foundations (presumably as a conclusion to the Sermon on the Plain)
a. People like to say, “You can fool people some of the time, but not all the time”. How true is this statement?
b. We may be able to fool others for an extended period of time. According to Jesus, when is the time that our true self will be revealed?
c. What might be the “flood” and “torrent” that will strike us and threaten the foundation of our discipleship or relationship with Christ?
d. What might be the flood that has shaken the foundation of faith of some of the people around you?
e. What might be the reason that their faith had not withstood the test?
f. When we address Jesus as Lord, what are we acknowledging?
g. Pause and reflect on whether there is an area of life in which you have not truly obeyed the Lord.
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?