This week we
will continue to study the Gospel of Luke.
These are two parables of growth. Compare them and see their similarities in trying to understand what aspects of growth about the Kingdom that Jesus desires us to learn:
13:18-21
(1) The size of a mustard seed and yeast. Why did Jesus choose each to describe the Kingdom? What do they have in common?
(2) Can you apply the ideas of “small” and “hidden” to the Kingdom of God?
(3) The size of a tree and the flour dough. Why does Jesus choose each to describe the Kingdom?
(4) Can you apply the idea of “big” and “visible” to the Kingdom of God?
(5) What words are being used in each of the parables to denote “time”? How do they speak to you about God’s Kingdom?
(6) Having considered their similarities, are there any differences between them that also speak of the Kingdom that are meaningful to you?
13:22-30—Jesus’ answer appears to put emphasis on the Jewish background of the hearers as He refers to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the prophets in His teachings:
(7) According to Jesus in v. 26, why would they (He addresses them directly by saying, “you”) expect themselves to be part of the Kingdom of God?
(8) Why are they being called “evildoers”?
(9) What will be the fate of those who cannot enter the Kingdom of God?
(10) Why did the “someone”of v. 23 think that there would only be a few saved? Jesus had in mind someone who would not be saved. Who do you think that was? (See Jesus’ remark in vv. 29-30.)
(11) The description of the door (into the Kingdom) as "narrow" logically conveys the idea of difficulty about its entry.What effort then is needed in order to gain entrance through this narrow door? (See Lk. 14:26-27, for example.)
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Jesus did not accuse the Pharisees of lying, since Herod did tell the Pharisees of his desire to kill Jesus. His intention was to warn and tell Jesus that he wanted Him out his territory which covered Galilee, but not Jerusalem. By calling Herod, the "fox", Jesus publicly insulted him, and by asking the Pharisees to reply to him, He let them know that He saw through their alliance with the Herodians (Mk. 3:6).
(1) So His heading toward Jerusalem was not out of fear of Herod, but for a different reason. What was that reason according to v. 33?
(2) Why did He purposely mention the fact He could and would continue to drive out demons and heal people?
(3) I agree with Lenski and many other commentators that by mentioning "today, tomorrow and on [the next day] the third day", Jesus was not talking about His death and resurrection, but rather the urgency and shortness of His remaining earthly ministry. What was the goal that Jesus was trying to reach?
(4) Apart from a sense of urgency and shortness of time, what else can you detect from the words of Jesus? How may you emulate Him in the use of your time still given to you?
(5) Why did Jesus mourn over “Jerusalem”? What does Jerusalem represent?
(6) What was the mission of the prophets? (see Ezek. 3:16-21)
(7) Many prophets were killed or stoned,. Why then did God still continue to send them?
(8) Has “Jerusalem” changed much today?
(9) Describe God’s heart towards the peoples of the places below. Has His heart changed today?
a. Jerusalem
b. The world
c. Your city
(10) What is God doing today to gather the people to Him?
(11) What might be your role in this respect?
(12) How similar would it be to the prophets of old?
(13) How was the prophecy in v. 35 been fulfilled in AD 70? Will it happen again? (See Zech. 14:1-2)
(14) Will they (the people of Jerusalem, the Jews) eventually have a chance to see Christ? (See Zech. 12:10ff)
(15) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) Why did such a prominent Pharisee invite Jesus to eat in his house? Did they not hate Him?
(2) Why did Jesus accept his invitation?
(3) On this occasion, why did Jesus choose to ask before healing?
(4) How did Jesus answer His own question?
(5) Why did the Pharisees have nothing to say?
(6) Jesus told an interesting parable in vv. 8-11: Is it true humility if we do as Jesus said in the parable so as to avoid humiliation or to be honored? Why or why not?
(7) Is inviting friends or relatives to a meal necessarily wrong? Which point(s) was Jesus making?
a. Do not look for repayment
b. Care for the have-nots or marginalized
c. Or both
(8) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
(1) Based on the “reply” of Jesus, if I say that the man who said, “Blessed is the man who will eat the feast in the kingdom of God”, did so in a self-congratulating mood, would you agree? Why or why not?
(2) In His reply, Jesus began with a “certain man” preparing a great banquet and ended with “not one of those men…will get a taste of my banquet”, what in essence was His reply?
(3) First, the servants are being sent to those who had already been invited:
a. What does each of the three “excuses” represent?
b. If I say the first excuse is about investment, the second, career and the third, family, would you agree?
c. In each of the cases, how does it vividly depict the hurdle or excuse for not following Christ today? Which might be the most common? Why?
d. Jesus’ parable describes them as the “invitees”. In what sense were the Jews the “invitees”?
(4) Who are those being invited next? What do “streets and alleys” represent? Why are they being described as "the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame"? (See Eph. 2:12)
(5) Describe those mentioned in the third round of invitation. Who might they be, especially those from the country lanes?
(6) What then was Jesus’ message to the man who made the statement in v. 15?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) Imagine, with such large crowds which traveled with Jesus, (Lk. 12:1 already indicates that many thousands were following Him), what happened physically when Jesus suddenly stopped and turned? What kind of body language was it?
(2) The words in vv. 26-27 were harsh. Did Jesus not want people to follow Him?
(3) Did Jesus (for that matter, any teaching in the entire Bible) ever teach us to hate, especially people within our families?
(4) So, what does “hatred” mean in this context in order that we can be His disciple?
(5) Why did Jesus say, “cannot be”, and not “should not” or “would not” be? What is the difference?
(6) Apart from “hating” those dearest to us, Jesus added that we have to “carry our cross and follow Him”:
a. What does the “cross” signify?
b. What is meant by our cross (not His)?
c. What has carrying our cross to do with following Him?
(7) How does the conclusion in v. 33 help explain vv. 26-27?
(8) Jesus then used two parables to explain the “cannot” of following Him.
a. Let’s consider the meaning of things that are common to the two parables:
- Why does one need to sit down?
- What is being considered in each of the cases?
- What would happen if (a) the cost is too prohibitive, and (b) the enemy is too strong to overcome?
b. Let’s consider the things that are not common to both parables:
- Why did Jesus use the building of a tower (not an ordinary home, but a very big project, likely a once-in-a-lifetime decision) in the first parable?
- How does the use of warfare in the second parable aptly depict the decision to follow Christ?
- While not everyone has the means to build a tower, does everyone have the means to follow Christ? How much will it cost to follow Christ? (See 14:33)
- In the second parable, how many men does the king have versus that of the enemy? What is the message here, especially in following Christ?
- How then can we win the battle, i.e. be able to follow Christ? (Read Jos. 5:13-15 to see the key to victory.)
(9) What if we still follow Christ without having sat down to consider the cost of following Christ, or having considered it, we are not willing to love Him more than anyone (the true meaning of v. 26) or anything (the true meaning of v. 27) in our lives (that is to remain faithful till death as mentioned in Rev. 2:10)? How will we end up according to vv. 34-35?
(10) Read v. 34 again. Can you hear the sigh uttered by Jesus? Are you causing Him to sigh today?
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
The following three parables are extremely famous, and they are all told by Jesus as a result of the muttering of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law:
Vv. 3-7—The parable of the lost sheep — a parable that all the immediate audience would be able to identify with (not all were shepherds, but sheep rearing was very much a part of their society).
(1) Since the Pharisees and the scribes regarded the tax collectors as “sinners”,
a. Who did they regard themselves to be?
b. Should they rejoice that as immoral as the tax collectors were, they were conspiring against Jesus?
c. Why then did they criticize Jesus for befriending such “sinners”?
d. Why, do you think, the tax collectors (traitor and cheaters in the eyes of the people) and “sinners” (likely harlots) often gathered around Jesus? Why did they seem to react rather differently to Jesus’ teachings and miracles than the Pharisees?
(2) What does the use of the example of one sheep out of a hundred signify?
(3) And yet, the shepherd dropped the rest and searched for the one lost sheep. Why?
(4) How fitting is the use of a lost sheep to describe a sinner in terms of:
a. The choice one makes to go astray
b. The danger the lost sheep faces
c. The helplessness of the sheep
d. Any other condition that might come to your mind
(5) Why would the shepherd call his friends and neighbors to celebrate?
(6) Describe what this parable says about the following:
a. The preciousness of sinners
b. Jesus’ determination to seek just one sinner
c. The joy in heaven upon the repentance of the sinner
Vv. 8-10—The parable of the lost coin
(7) List the similarities of this parable with the first one.
(8) What might be the dissimilarities of this parable from the first one?
(9) Do you think the Pharisees and the scribes could relate even better to this parable? Why?
(10) How does the rejoicing contrast with the attitude of the Pharisees?
(11) Who really are the lost sheep/coin?
(12) How
do these two parables help you in terms of the following?
a. Praying for the unsaved
b. Rejoicing over the repentance of someone you love
c. Your own repentance, if you have yet to believe in Jesus Christ
(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
In answer to the muttering Pharisees and scribes, Jesus helps them see with the first two parables how much God loves sinners, and that everyone is a lost sheep or lost coin that He seeks to find. Upon finding them, there will be great rejoicing in heaven. The third parable, while reinforcing God’s love for sinners as a father, serves to point out and correct their self-righteous attitude.
(1) In this parable, what kind of a family, in which the sons live in, is being depicted?
(2) Would you be satisfied with such a home? Why was the younger son not satisfied?
(3) How do you suppose the younger son learned of life in the distant country? Had he been there before?
(4) How do the above speak to why men choose to reject and leave the Creator God?
(5) Did life in the distant country turn out the way that he had heard of and hoped to be?
(6) What was the turning point in this young son’s life?
(7) How significant was such a turning point to him?
(8) What was the turning point in your life that caused you turn to (or return to) God?
(9) How similar was your turning point to that of the prodigal son?
(10) How did Jesus depict this waiting father? How does it reflect the heart of Father God?
(11) How does v. 21 define genuine repentance?
(12) How does vv. 22-23 define forgiveness? (i.e. What does it entail?)
(13) In answering the older brother, what do you think was the tone of the voice of the servant in v. 26? What might be the response he expected from the older brother?
(14) From the words of the older brother, what can we understand as to how he viewed his “sonship” and his relationship with his father?
(15) While the prodigal son was once lost, in what ways was the older son lost as well?
(16) How does his attitude reflect that of the Pharisees and the scribes?
(17) How does v.31 reveal the blessings and privilege of being children of God (Jn. 1:12)?
(18) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?