STUDY GUIDE. CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF JASPER to LUKE 11:14-54

Transcription

1 STUDY GUIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF JASPER to LUKE 11:14-54

2 JESUS VS. DARKNESS Luke 11:14-26 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons. Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ʻI will return to the house I left.ʼ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. BIG IDEA In the cosmic battle between God and Satan, there are two choices. Jesus comes as our liberator.

3 Open It 1. In what groups or situations have you seen a great deal of chaos? 2. How do you feel when good works are attributed to bad motives? Explore It 3. What sort of demon did Jesus drive out? 4. By whose power did some think Jesus could drive out demons? 5. What did some people say about Jesusʼ work? 6. How did Jesus react to criticism? 7. How was the question of Jesusʼ authority turned back on those who questioned Him? 8. In Jesusʼ illustration, what does an attacker take in addition to a personʼs possessions? 9. If a person is not with Jesus, what is his status? 10. Where does an evil spirit go when it is exorcised from a person? 11. What happens to a person if an evil spirit is cast out of him or her and replaced with nothing? 12. What is the final condition of the person who does not replace evil with good? Get It 13. How do we see the various attitudes toward Jesus and His followers demonstrated today? 14. Why was it impossible for Jesus to be working under Satanʼs power? 15. What might Jesus think of those who donʼt let their religion affect their lives beyond religious activities? 16. When evil leaves our lives, what must replace it? Apply It 17. What action can you take today to fill a void in your life with something good and holy? 18. What can you do this week to improve your responsiveness to the Word of God?

4 JESUS VS. RELIGION Luke 11:27-54 As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you. He replied, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it. As the crowds increased, Jesus said, This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomonʼs wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here. No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you. When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal. Then the Lord said to him, Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you. Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

5 Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it. One of the experts in the law answered him, Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also. Jesus replied, And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ʻI will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.ʼ Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all. Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering. When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, waiting to catch him in something he might say. BIG IDEA This life is about a relationship with Jesus, not rules.

6 Open It 1. What do you think characterizes your generation? 2. How important are appearances in our culture? Explore It 13. What did a woman from the crowd call out? 14. Who is blessed, according to one of the people in the crowd? 15. To whom was the woman in the crowd referring? 16. Who is blessed, according to Jesus? 17. What had happened to Jesusʼ following as this story opens? 18. What did Jesus think of the generation in which He lived? 19. What did Jesusʼ generation want? 20. Who was to be a sign to Jesusʼ generation? 21. With what group of people was Jesusʼ generation compared? 22. What made the Queen of the South fit for judging the people of Jesusʼ generation? 23. How did Jesus use Solomonʼs reputation to describe Himself? 24. Who was to condemn Jesusʼ generation? 25. What had the men of Nineveh done? 26. How did Jesus use Jonahʼs reputation to describe Himself? 27. What is not done with a lamp? 28. What is done with a lamp? 29. Who benefits from the proper handling of a lamp? 30. To what did Jesus compare the human eye? 31. What is the "lamp of your body"? 32. What happens when the eyes are good? 33. What happens when the eyes are bad? 34. What did Jesus counsel His listeners to do? 35. What is the result of having the whole body full of light? 36. To what did Jesus compare having a whole body full of light? 37. What did the Pharisee do when Jesus finished speaking? 38. What surprised Jesusʼ host? 39. According to Jesus, what did the Pharisee emphasize and overlook? 40. How could the Pharisees have made everything clean for themselves? 41. What did the Pharisees neglect in favor of tithing herbs? 42. Why did Jesus say "woe" six times? 43. Who else besides the Pharisees was offended by Jesusʼ strong words? 44. What did the Phariseesʼ forefathers do? 45. Why were Jesusʼ listeners held responsible for the prophetsʼ fates? 46. To what did Jesus liken knowledge? 47. What did the Pharisees and teachers of the law do when Jesus left? 48. What motivated the Pharisees and teachers of the law to ask questions?

7 Get It 49. How surprising to you is Jesusʼ reply to the woman in the crowd? 50. How might one have expected Jesus to answer the womanʼs blessing? 51. What does it mean to be blessed? 52. How do you think Jesus was feeling at this point? 53. Why did Jesus use the examples of the Queen of the South and the Ninevites? 54. For what signs from God have you looked? 55. What would Jesus say about your diligence in seeking wisdom and willingness to repent? 56. In what ways would Jesus consider your generation a wicked one? 57. What does God want us to do about living in a "wicked generation"? 58. What kinds of lamps are there, and what are their purposes? 59. Why did Jesus choose the illustration of light and darkness? 60. What does it feel like to be "full of light"? 61. What does it feel like to be "full of darkness"? 62. What kinds of things can you do to make your life a lamp to yourself and to others? 63. What things, people, or situations tend to fill you with darkness? 64. How would you describe the Pharisees? 65. Who today imitates the Phariseesʼ attitudes and actions? 66. Who today tries to change other people on the outside without helping them change on the inside? 67. In what ways do Christians try to change the way people act outwardly rather than how they respond to God? 68. What trade-offs do we make in emphasizing appearance over substance? 69. Of what "woes" might Jesus warn us? 70. How can we be sure that we are emphasizing justice and the love of God instead of our own lists of things others ought to do? 71. Why was it fair for Jesus to condemn His contemporaries for their forefathersʼ sins? 72. To whom else might Jesus want you to give "the key of knowledge"? Apply It 73.What can you do to be sensitive to the signs God has already given you in the Bible? 74.Whom can you ask to join you this week in praying for wisdom and repentance? 75.To whom can you be a lamp this week, sharing what Jesus means to you? How? 76.What is one step you need to take to keep old habits or tempting situations from darkening your life? 77.What person can you ask to spend some time this week helping you weed out hypocrisy? 78.Whom can you encourage to learn from Godʼs Word this week? How? All Scripture verses taken from New International Version

8 FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT