The Nature of Faithful Service Luke 17:1-10 (NIV)

Transcription

1 The Nature of Faithful Service Luke 17:1-10 (NIV) Tips: These questions are meant to get the group thinking and spark discussion, so don t rush through them or attempt to get a solid answer for each one. Don t be afraid to wait for a while to see who speaks, and remember, there are no wrong opinions. Before the Lesson: Each of the Gospels is a tale of Jesus life and actions. The each speak of his crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Amongst them are three which have a greater degree of similarity. These three are call the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, & Luke). Yet, even amongst these three they each are unique in their approach, their intended audience, and the overall intention. Luke is unique in that his account emphasizes Jesus work amongst the Gentiles, his equal treatment and discipling of women along with men, and a constant refrain regarding the work of the Holy Spirit. Starting the Lesson: 6

2 Luke s approach to telling the story of Jesus is best understood as Part 1 of a two part story. Much of the themes and ideas found surrounding the work and words of Jesus are found repeated in the work and words of the Spirit on the disciples in the book of Acts. The context of this passage falls within a section where Jesus is helping the crowd to redefine what faith and faithfulness looks like. The Jewish people had preconceived ideas regarding faith and faithfulness, who was given permission to be a child of faith, and what our relationships with one another ought to look like. Although some ideas most Americans have about slavery match with slavery in ancient Rome, not all of them do. In the ancient world, most slaves had some limited rights and freedoms. Slavery, particularly in the southern United States in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, was modeled after slave practices held by Europeans on Barbados and the surrounding islands. These practices were far more severe and virtually eliminated all basic human rights. Despite the differences, the principle of slavery is rejected by both the Old and New Testament. In Luke 17, Jesus is not addressing the gulf and disparity between slave and master nor is he addressing the ideal human flourishing he ultimately came to institute. This passage is meant to address the nature of faith using an everyday experience the audience could identify with. When Jesus uses the illustration of servants/slaves he is primarily pointing to the nature of service. The audience would quickly identify with how slaves are beholden to masters because of their status in society. Starter Questions: 7

3 Bible Verses: Luke 17:1-10 Jesus said to his disciples: Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying I repent, you must forgive them. The apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith! He replied, If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it will obey you. Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, Come along now and sit down to eat? Won t he rather say, Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty. Before we begin there are a few questions that may help prep us for the lesson. Is there a time you can remember where you thought you knew exactly how something was, but found out you were totally wrong? Was there ever a time where you thought you remembered something (a line from a movie, a song lyric) and later when you investigated, it was different? What did it feel like when you discovered you were wrong? Have you ever signed up to volunteer or been hired at a job and later realized it was nothing like you thought it would be? Could someone share what that experience was like? Opening Prayer: Pray that God would use your discussion and the Scriptures read to teach your group to be better disciples, but also that they would be stretched in their understanding of faith and service. Scripture Reading: In the passage we re going to read, there is a few important things to remember. First, Jesus is trying to challenge people in their ideas of faith and faithfulness. Second, he is trying to establish the heart of faithfulness - which takes the image of servanthood. The passage may be understood best if broken into three sections. Verses 1-3a (ends with So watch yourselves. ), Verses 3b-6, and Verses 7-10 are helpful breaks. Could someone read our passage? 8

4 (Depending on the willingness of the members of the group to read aloud, you may want to call on one or two readers. Have them read the passage twice and maybe ask someone to read the passage in an alternative translation. Remember to thank them for reading!) Discussion Questions: Let s look back over verses 1-3a. A couple of things to know: A milestone was used for crop grinding. It weighed about one ton or 2,000 pounds, typically. In the previous passage Jesus accosted the Pharisees for being a group who refuse to have faith regardless of their experience or witness of God s messengers. How important is causing others to stumble or fall unnecessarily in Jesus eyes? - Jesus is basically saying that causing others to falter in their faith is like committing certain suicide. It is a death sentence for the culprit. It is like having a 2,000 pound stone tied to your neck, pulling you into darkness. Why do you think he sees crushing someones faith as so serious? - allow for various answers The next section Jesus opens the audience s eyes regarding the scope of what faith does when it impacts someone. He does this in two ways. First, he challenges them regarding how we ought to relate to one another if we see through the eyes of faith. Second, he uses an agricultural picture that the audience would understand regarding our access to faith. 9

5 Could someone re-read verses 3 (starting right after So watch yourselves ) through 5? (Be sure and thank them for reading!) These are verses that illustrate what a committed and faithful disciple does in relationships. These are words that would have shocked the original audience. The people who heard these words were used to laws that permitted rejection, shunning, expelling, and looking down on anyone who offended you or God. What is the hardest thing about forgiving someone who is apologizing for something they have done in the past? - Often it is fear. Fear that they are insincere or will hurt us again. Fear that we will get hurt again. Forgiveness is vulnerability. What does repentance look like? - The word means to go the opposite direction. Repentance certainly includes verbal acknowledgment of the wrong, but also includes a commitment, and in some cases proof, to do/be the opposite of what they had done/been. In this way, faithful disciples don t check wisdom at the door regarding repentance. Faith in others behavior, especially relationally, includes wisdom! In verse 5 the disciples (called apostles here) are shocked that following Jesus requires a faith that is as serious as life and death, as radical as repeated forgiveness for the 10

6 same offense, and respond by saying, Increase our faith! This is taken to mean, This sounds to hard for us! How could we exercise that kind of faith?! Jesus answers their faith with a common illustration we may not get at first. Could someone read verse 6? (be sure and thank them for reading!) Jesus is comparing a couple of different plants. What are the two plants that Jesus mentions in the passage? - A mulberry tree and a mustard bush.) What do you think this verse means considering the context? (allow for various answers. If only one person offers and answer, say, Great! Anyone else? Although not a lesson in botany, Jesus agrarian audience would probably know that mulberry trees have sprawling roots that go deep. These plants were much harder to uproot than mustard bushes which had very shallow root systems. Here, Jesus seems to be saying, What you think to be obvious, isn t true! You thought it was easy to uproot a mustard bush and difficult to uproot a mulberry tree. Actually, with faith - you can do the difficult thing/ task with great ease. Forgiving people is not as difficult when you do it with faith. Now let s move to the final portion of Jesus teaching in our passage. Could someone re-read verses 7-10? (Be sure and thank them for reading!) Why do you think Jesus includes this portion in a section about the nature of faith? - allow for various answers 11

7 Could one of you summarize what you think Jesus is saying about the nature of service done in faith? Jesus has just told them that faith is as important as life is. He has just told them that they can do things that they thought were impossible (especially regarding relationships with others). Why does Jesus equate service done in faith to duty? What are your initial feelings when relating faith and duty? - allow for various answers When you have ever volunteered, served others, given someone money who needed it, or extended forgiveness did it feel like duty to you? What did/ does it feel like when you do those things? - allow for various answers Sometimes it helps to reverse what has been said. Let s revisit the first few verses regarding faith/ stumbling and having a milestone strapped to our necks! If causing someone to stumble is as serious as death, what is serving them in faith like? What would the reverse be? - It would be giving life! If you were to put all these passages together, how would you sum up the nature of service done in faith? - allow for various answers and try to engage multiple people in the group. Ministry Time Application: 12

8 Based on the people and overall feel of your group, select which option you feel fits best. Option 1: If your group doesn t serve in a particular way together, then consider taking this time to have the group silently sit before the Lord and ask him to bring a consensus about serving together in one of the ways listed at: Option 2: Spend time trying to get a word from the Lord for a prayer partner in the group. Ask the Lord if there is a particular way that the person you are praying for is intended to serve. Allow for both confirmation from the person you re praying for and peace. Recognize any resistance if someone gets a word and investigate together with the Holy Spirit why the resistance may exist. 13

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