True Obedience, True Faith, and a Sower and a Storm: Luke 6-8:25
Luke 6
Jesus possessed none of the signs of authority recognized in his world, and yet he gave people permission to do things they normally should not have done. Who did he think he was? That is exactly the question Luke wants us to ask.
- How do people today enlist Jesus to support their own groups or causes?
- In Luke 6:1-26, Jesus tells a story about David and his followers. What is he suggesting by this?
- What practices, traditions, or rules do we tend to cling to today in the way the Jews of Jesus’ time clung to their Sabbath-keeping?
- The four promises and four warnings of vv. 17-26 are presented in terms of Israel’s scriptural codes. How are they like an upside-down covenant? What do his promises and warnings look like for people who would follow him today?
- What kind of heart and spirit was Jesus seeking to nurture in his followers?
Luke 7
The stories in this chapter take the commands of the sermon in chapter 6 and show how these look “on the ground.”
- In Luke 7:1-17 a Roman centurion comes to Jesus. What is he like?
- This is one of the few places in the gospels in which the often-surprising Jesus is himself surprised. What is so surprising to him?
- How can the centurion’s words in vv. 6-8 be a challenging model for our prayers?
- The centurion’s servant was healed because of his owner’s faith. Where is the faith in the story told in vv. 11-17?
- What do these first two stories in chapter 7 say about Jesus’ role, vocation, and mission?
- What is something you are dreading in the upcoming week, month, or year? What are the emotions that arise in you when you think of this thing? Imagine that Jesus enters the scene. What difference does that make for you?
- In vv. 18-50, our attention returns to John. How does Jesus use the images in vv. 18-28 to question the expectations among the Jews about a king and kingdom?
- In the story of Simon and the sinful woman, what do we learn about Simon, the woman, and Jesus?
- How does this story reverse the normal expectations of what would happen when God brought his kingdom?
- How does Luke, through this chapter, define true faith?
Luke 8:1-25
In chapter 8, through a parable and a storm, Jesus is keen to open the eyes and ears of those who were expecting a new king to what God was actually doing.