The Surprising Ending...And Vultures

This is the Bible study page for the Thursday Night Bible Study Group meeting October 6 to study Luke 17:20-37.  This is one of three "Little Apocalypses" in the Gospels.  This is Luke's version and it is significantly different than Matthew and Marks.  It might be good to go look at Matthew 24 and Mark 13 after you have read through Luke's version once or twice.

Read through this passage in two very different translations: NIV/KJV, or NLT/NASB, or another combination of a "literal translation" (like ESV, NASB, KJV/NKJV) with an "interpretive translation" (NIV, NLT, RSV).  The point is to see the options within translation, and places where translators struggled with the meaning.  Although, even in literal translations the translators struggled to make sense of what was written.  Make notes and questions as you go through.

Next, look at what commentaries you find.  If necessary, revise your notes and questions.  After that, go through the questions below:

• The Pharisees ask Jesus when the Kingdom of God will show up.  Why do you think they were asking, considering the things they had seen and heard Jesus do and say?
• Jesus' response seems to say that the Kingdom of God shows up within people.  Considering the range of translations of verse 21, what do you think Jesus meant?
• Jesus switches from answering the disciples to speaking to the disciples.  What do you think about the differences between what He tells the disciples (to begin with, v.22 and 23) compared to what He said to the Pharisees?
• In verse 24, Jesus' description changes to something of a "sudden" event.  To what do you think Jesus refers to as "sudden"?
• Luke puts Jesus' saying that these things have to happen after His crucifixion.  Why do you think He puts that statement right there?  What point do you think Luke is making?  What point do you think Jesus makes here?
• In the days of Noah and the days of Lot.  Most commentaries take the very traditional view of the degradation of the societies.  I don't.  Considering the explanation Jesus gives of how the days of Noah and Lot match the days of His coming, what is the correspondence?
• At verse 31, Luke is missing the reference to the "Abomination of Desolation" used in both Mark and Matthew.  Why do you think such a reference would be missing here?
• The reference to escaping without stopping for stuff is abbreviated here as opposed to Matthew, so why do you think Luke breezes through it?
• The statement about saving a life loses it, and losing a life saves it is found in both Matthew and Mark, but the context is different.  Why do you think Luke thought it might belong here?
• This statement is even found in John (12:25), making it rare indeed.  Why do you think this statement was so important that all four writers made sure it was in their record of Jesus?
• The statements about 2 being present and one left and one taken is in Matthew.  Reading through his description of the "End", what does this statement tell you about what will happen?
• The word "will be left" is the same word used for "divorce" and "forgiveness" in both Gospels.  What do you think of that word-choice?
• Verse 36 is missing from all manuscripts dated before the 5th Century (AD 400).  Why do you think it might have appeared thereafter?
• Consider verse 37 in light of what Jesus has said in verse 20.  Why, if there will be no "signs" does Jesus tell the disciples to look for "vultures"?  

Consider what this means for us today.  It sounds hard to understand, especially when all the other Gospels have such different sounding accounts of the end.  The point remains though, endure to the surprising ending, whether your own here on earth or of the earth itself.

Flying Mulberrys, Unworthy Slaves, and Thankfulness Among Lepers

This is the Bible Study Page for the Thursday Night Bible Study meeting September 29 to study Luke 17:5-19.  This will finish out the beginning of chapter 17 and include the healing of 10 lepers. 

Read through the passage a few times, using different translations, noting things that stand out.  You may have notes from the passage we used last time that you didn't get to use since we didn't finish the verses.  We stopped just before where the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith.  Read that with this healing account to see if that changes, modifies, or influences what you learned from just the six verses.  Note details in the healing that jump out at you.  Ask questions as if you were interviewing one of the disciples (or Luke) about what Jesus said and the healing.

Once you have a good sense of the passage yourself, go back through with any commentaries or study guides you find (yours or online).  Revise your notes and questions accordingly.  Then go back through with the questions below:

• The disciples ask for Jesus to "increase their faith".  How does a mustard seed-sized faith "increase" their faith?
• Why do you think Luke uses a "mulberry tree" instead of a mountain, like Matthew?
• Consider verses 7 through 10 very carefully.  Slavery is such a foreign concept to us, this probably sounds very harsh.  Keeping in mind that it didn't sound harsh at all to them, what do you think is Jesus' point?
• How do you see yourself in verses 7 through 10?  We talk so much about Jesus being our "brother" or "friend", we tend to forget His is our Lord first.  What sorts of things do you need to do differently considering these verses?
• How does the flying mulberry tree and being unworthy slaves increase the faith of the disciples?  How does it increase your faith?
• Jesus was between Samaria and Galilee in this healing account.  Look at a map of the region.  How far has Jesus traveled since He "set His face toward Jerusalem" in  9:51?
• The ten lepers are standing far off from the village Jesus' is entering.  Yet they are close enough to recognize Jesus.  How do you imagine this setting?  What do you think the people around Jesus are doing as He enters the village?
• Look at what the lepers cry out in a few translations.  They all have the same word for how they referred to Jesus, "Master".  Click the link to the left and look at the verse references where this word is used.  What do you think of the fact this word is only used by Luke?
• Jesus tells them to go and show themselves to the priests.  Refer back to that map you looked at earlier.  Where would they need to go to do so?  Look up "Levitical Cities" if you have an atlas with an index.  Now how far would they have to travel?  By the days of Jesus, the cities with Levites were probably much more mixed.  What do you think that, regardless of how far they were to travel, they knew exactly where to go, even the Samaritan?
• In just about any translation it says that, "as they went they were healed."  Considering the request of the disciples to increase their faith, how related do you think that question and this account were to Luke?
• One returns "glorifying God."  The man who returns is a Samaritan, and Jesus notices that on sight.  What do you think this might have meant for Luke's audience?  What does that tell you about how lepers regarded each other?
• The thankfulness is acknowledged by Jesus, but what was it that actually "saved" him?
• If thankfulness isn't what saves, faith is, and all ten were cleansed through faith, what do you see as the benefit of "thankfulness" through this account?
• If Jesus told the ten to go show themselves to the priests, why do you think He would be surprised that only one came back to thank Him?  Keep in mind that they weren't healed immediately, but only as they went to go to the priests.

That should keep us busy, especially since there are other questions and issues not in these questions.  Remember as well to be seeking those areas that the Holy Spirit is revealing to you about your own life where you may need to adjust things (i.e. repent).

Rich Man, Poor Man, Forgiveness and Faithful Slaves

This is the Bible Study page for the Thursday Night Bible Study Group meeting September 22 to study Luke 16:19 through 17:10.  We didn't get through the "Rich Man & Lazarus", so will focus on that for this week.

The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is interesting for lots of reasons.  One of them is the various ways that translations relate the story.  The details are the same, just the word choice was changed.  The real differences between translations is found in the 10 verses of chapter 17.  Be sure to use different translations, I really think it will open up new avenues of understanding; and it's easy to do.

Read through these passages making notes and jotting down questions that occur to you.  The two passages aren't easy to connect, and don't need to be.  They can be, but doing so is an interpretation, not a necessity.  It might be a good exercise though.  See if you can summarize the 10 verses of chapter 17 into a single sentence.  It will be tough, and probably a complex sentence, but give it a try.

Read through some commentaries on the Blue Letter Bible site.  See how they change your comments and questions.  Then go back through the passage with the questions below:

• The parable of the "Rich Man & Lazarus" begins with the setting of the two characters in verses 19 through 21.  What are your first impressions?  Why do you think Jesus made them so incredibly opposite?
• The rich guy ends up in hell, and Lazarus in "heaven".  Why?  What clues do you have for why one went one place and the other to the other?
• The description of the "after-life" is pretty spooky, one side can see the other but neither can get to the other.  What do you think of that?
• Hell (Hades) is "torment" in verse 23, or "agony" due to "flame" in verse 24.  What do you think of this description, in agonizing torment by fire yet able to see the other side where they aren't?
• Notice Lazarus never speaks in this parable.  Why do you think might be important to Jesus' point?
• Abraham has several comments on the rich man's situation (verses 25, 26, and 29), they get progressively more depressing (from irreconcilable agony to it being his own fault).  What do you think of this assessment of the description of this afterlife?
• The rich man constantly wants Lazarus to do this or that, come here, go there.  What does this tell you about the rich man's understanding of himself and Lazarus?  How different do you think this is from when they were both alive?
• Obviously Abraham's final statement relates to Jesus' resurrection and people's persistent unbelief.  Why do you think Jesus would include that to people following Him closely?  What does that tell you about people, even those who follow Him closely?
•  Jesus turns again to His disciples, but remember that this group seems to include some Pharisees.  So, why do you think the topic of "stumbling blocks" is suddenly important, or even in anyway related to the previous parable?
• Jesus refers to "little ones", but who do you think He means?  (hint:  look in parallel verses in Mark and Matthew)
• How do you think verses 3 and 4 apply to our modern approach to "boundaries"?  Is such a person "safe", and how would you relate to such a person having "forgiven" him/her?
• Compare these two verses with Matthew 18:15-17.  What do you make of the differences?
• Compare these two verses with John 20:23.  What do you make of the differences here?
• The disciples ask for Jesus to "increase their faith".  How does a mustard seed-sized faith "increase" their faith?
• Why do you think Luke uses a "mulberry tree" instead of a mountain, like Matthew?
• Consider verses 7 through 10 very carefully.  Slavery is such a foreign concept to us, this probably sounds very harsh.  Keeping in mind that it didn't sound harsh at all to them, what do you think is Jesus' point?
• How do you see yourself in verses 7 through 10?  We talk so much about Jesus being our "brother" or "friend", we tend to forget His is our Lord first.  What sorts of things do you need to do differently considering these verses?

That should be plenty to study Thursday.  We probably won't get beyond the parable, but we're ready if we do.