Blind Persistence

This was the Bible study page for the Thursday Night Bible Study Group meeting October 27 to study Luke 18:31-43.  But now this is the Bible study page for Thursday, November 3.  This has a prediction of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, and then the healing of a blind man as Jesus enters Jericho.

Read the passages in multiple translations, especially the prediction in verses 31-34.  Look for word and grammar choices in translations.  Notice the similarities, over the differences.  That will actually tell you a lot about this passage.  Jot down notes and questions.  Be sure to walk through the healing account as if you were there noting what you see, smell, and hear.

After you have made your own study, look through commentaries you have at hand.  Revise questions and notes, and then go back through with the questions below:

•  Jesus calls the Twelve together.  This is the select group He has called, and not the troop of camp-followers.  To these He relates what will happen.  Why do you think Jesus would limit this just to them?  Why not the larger group to whom He appears after His resurrection?
• Everything will be completed as predicted about the Son of Man by the Prophets.  How do you think the disciples (and therefore Judaism) taught in that day about the "Messiah"?  They don't get this so it had to diverge significantly.
• Jesus goes on to describe the treatment He will receive, and it's not all beatings and crucifixion.  Why do you think Jesus makes a point of including both here?
• In Matthew 20:17-19 and Mark 10:32-34 this prediction is mirrored to an extent.  In all three Jesus takes the Twelve aside, and in each account He includes His humiliation.  But why do you think that Luke would leave out the chief priests and scribes which Matthew and Mark include?  Luke has "Gentiles" instead, which matches the majority of his audience.
• The disciples are not able to "bring these things together" (i.e. "understand") but they can't, not because they're unintelligent, but because it was "hidden".  Who do you think hid it from them, and why hide it?
• The blind beggar "hears" the commotion, and learns it's "Jesus the Nazarene".  What do you think it means for the beggar that he is able to connect "the Nazarene" to "Son of David"?  Why call Jesus the "Son of David"?
• The crowd, having told the blind beggar Jesus is coming, then tells him to be quiet.  Why do you think they were upset about the beggar crying out to Jesus?  Later they love the healing, and it was known that Jesus heals, so why prevent this man in need of it from crying out?
• Jesus stops and orders the beggar to be brought to Him.  Why do you think the crowd is now engaged on the bind man's behalf? What changed?
• Jesus asks what the mans wants Him to do for him.  Why ask a blind man what he wants?
• Literally the man wants to "look up".  There is a Greek verb for "see", but it's not used here.  What do you think might be inferred by "to look up" over "to see"?
• Look at the variety of ways the word "to look up" is used.  Sometimes it's for "look up" as into heaven.  But also notice the Gospel writers use it a as a "pun" in some healing accounts.  How does this usage help you understand why it might be used here instead of "to see"?
• Jesus says his faith has "saved" or "made him well" ("given life" in one translation).  The word is normally "saved" elsewhere (93 times).  Why do you think this applies here?  What do you think this healing was about?
• What role do you think what the man cried out to Jesus played in his "faith" about Jesus?
• The man could see immediately and "praises God".  The people see it and "glorify God". What do you think is the difference, if any, between "praising" and "glorifying" God?

That will keep us busy I'm sure.  Be thinking of how you are or are not like the disciples as you read Scripture, and are and are not like the blind beggar and his faith.  These are the best points of application.  Jot down some thoughts about that.

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).

Seeing Things God's Way

This is the Bible study page for the Thursday Night Bible Study Group meeting July 7 to study Luke 13:1-17.  This begins the thirteenth chapter finally.  We'll be looking at a teaching, a parable, and a healing.  Some commentaries think they're separate (at least the healing from the parable/teaching), but I think there's a common connection.

Read through the passage in a few different translations, jot down notes and questions, and then check out some commentaries.  Revise your notes and questions if necessary, and then go through the questions below:

• Current events were circulated by word-of-mouth in that day, so the report in verse 1 isn't unusual or surprising in a sense.  It's even expected since everyone knew Jesus was from Galilee and would think He'd want to know.  So why do you think He responds so negatively?
• Jesus hears their report and begins challenging a belief that "things happen in proportion to the degree of sin of the people who suffer in it".  Jesus instead puts everyone in the same "sin-bucket".  Why do you think people would believe that sin drives the degree of suffering?
• Jesus says, "repent or perish", this sounds pretty strong and in the context, people actually died.  So, what do you think Jesus meant by this warning?
• What do you think it means to "repent"?
• In the context of the report, Jesus simply tells people to repent, but doesn't explicitly tell them from what (except the belief that suffering is directly related to the degree of sinfulness in a persons' life).  What do you think Jesus had in mind for them to repent from and to?
• The parable of the fig tree happens in a vineyard.  In their day this wasn't that unusual, and vineyards often are imagery for Israel, so what do you think the fig tree represented in parable?
• Who is the vineyard owner?  Who is the vinedresser/vineyard keeper/gardener/vineyard worker?
• If the tree has one more year, what do you think this means for the "fig tree"?
• So, if the problem the fig tree has is producing figs, what do you think this means for those needing to repent?  What do you think they need to do to survive after the year?
• If (and I believe it does) the parable related to the need for repentance, then what do you infer from it about repentance?  What do you think it teaches about what repentance means?  What do you learn about repentance for your own life?
• Immediately it's the Sabbath, and Jesus is teaching in the synagogue.  What do you think it means that Jesus is allowed or asked to teach in a synagogue?  Why do you think He would be allowed to do that when His popularity with the religious leaders is on the decline?
• Jesus sees a woman who is bent over and it is from spiritual oppression.  He heals her, but not with the wording associated with casting out demons.  So, what do you think was going on with the woman?
• Jesus calls her over to Him (up front), declares her healed, and then touches her.  Why do you think He healed her this way?
• The synagogue leader cites the law about abstaining from your occupation on the Sabbath.  What do you infer about what he believes about Jesus' occupation?  What do you think is Jesus' occupation?
• The synagogue leader doesn't address Jesus, he addresses the crowd.  Who do you think he had a problem with?
• Jesus wastes no time in calling out the legal problem.  Do you think the leaders would have considered animals more important than this woman?  So why would such exceptions be made for animals but not for people?  What sort of "healing" was going on besides Jesus that they would have prohibited its exercise on the Sabbath?
• Jesus points out the problem of priority in the oral tradition or explanation of the law.  What do you think God intends for the Sabbath?  What is it supposed to be about?
• His "opponents" were humiliated.  What does that tell you about those in attendance?
• Why do you think the crowd would be so favorable when the leaders were humiliated?  Why wouldn't that bother the crowd?

That should keep us busy.  Remember to apply the "Awakening", "Honesty", and "Action" process to find the application the Holy Spirit has for you in this passage.  What would repentance look like for you?

Choosing Followers; Giving Marching Orders

This is the Bible study page for the Thursday Night Bible Study Group meeting December 3 to study Luke 6:12 through as far as we get.  We probably won't get much further than the choosing of the Twelve.

Seeing the choosing and the immediately following sermon as connected ties who was chosen to the 'job description' for the position.  These can be disconnected, but I believe in Luke's mind they are very closely connected.  The main reason is that, between them, the distinct grammatical element of "Now it happened..." (v.1), or "And it came to pass..." found in verse 1 and 12 is missing in verse 17.  This construction also appears in verse 6 but is left untranslated in nearly every translation due to a textual variant leaving it out.  Luke has used this structure nearly every time he transitions from one event to another.  So that it's missing in verse 17 is something to consider.

If you're still awake, go ahead and read through the remainder of the chapter.  Keep in mind that this passage generally parallels Matthew 5 through 7.  Reading them together is helpful, but can also be confusing.  Matthew doesn't connect the sermon to the selection of the Twelve, but does mention the disciples.  He also has more than double the amount of sayings of Jesus; many of which do not occur in Luke at all (others are located in other places in Luke).

But we may not get further than the distinct differences between the different lists of the Twelve this week.  For comparison, these lists are found in Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19, and Acts 1:13 (also by Luke).  Some name differences, like two, are easy to reconcile.  Others can be, but some can't. So work through them, but also be ready to accept that we just simply don't know.

The order of study should be to read the passage first, jotting down your own thoughts and questions.  Only after you have studied on your own should you look at other sources.  Let the Spirit lead you first so He can point out to you the areas He wants to work on in your life; your own AHA moments.

After you have a good handle on the passage, let me shake it up a little as you go through the questions below.  These only go through the selection of the Twelve and the setup for the sermon.

• What does it reveal to you about the Trinity that Jesus has the need to pray all night before He selects the Twelve?
• Jesus selects twelve of His disciples and designates them apostles.  Considering that the word apostle basically meant "emissary" or simply "someone on a mission for someone else", why do you think this designation was used here?
• Andrew, the brother of Peter makes the top, right behind his brother. In Matthew he's in the same place, in Mark though he's buried in the middle.  Since Mark gets his material from Peter, why do you think he would put Andrew so much lower?
• At least Andrew is in every list.  In Luke, who is this other "Judas" (see also John 14:22), and where is Thaddeus?  And why does no one include Nathaniel (see John 1:45)?
• Consider the other lists.  What do you think about differences in order?
• In Matthew 5, the sermon occurs on a mountain (Matthew 5:1).  Here Luke has Jesus descending to a "level place".  Considering the content similarities why do you think that the "places" are different?
• Luke has Jesus working as He speaks.  He's healing, and people are being healed just by touching Him.  Luke mentions that the power to heal is radiating from Him.  Why do you think this element of the setting is important for the content of the sermon?
• People came from Tyre and Sidon, not just Jerusalem and Judea.  Look Tyre and Sidon up on a map.  Do you think that there were Gentiles in the group?  Why do you think the possibility might be important to Luke?

After going through the questions, consider your observations, what you've read in commentaries, and whatever you been able to glean from the questions above.  What AHA moments have you discovered in this passage?  What actions do you need to take in light of what you've discovered?

Touch And Forgiveness - Needs Of The Healed

This is the Bible study page for the Thursday Night Bible Study Group meeting October 29 to study Luke 5:12-26.  This account is of two healings, one of leprosy, and the other of a paralyzed man.  Both accounts are also found in Matthew and Mark.  It may be helpful to look up those parallel accounts and review the differences (which are slight). 

Read through the passage a few times.  Try and imagine yourself in the action, imagine the smells, the sounds, and the sights.  Sometimes the parallel accounts in Mark and Matthew help imagine the setting.  If you have a Bible dictionary, or look up leprosy on the Blue Letter Bible site to get a better sense of the social problems associated with the disease in Jesus' day.  With that, revisit the encounter between Jesus and the man with leprosy.

The issue in the second healing has to do with the "forgiveness of sins".  This opens up a huge discussion on what exactly is is sin, and why is forgiveness so restricted in Jewish religious teaching.  There are all sorts of places you can look such disucussions up, but the enormous amount of information can be overwhelming.  See what sort of definition you can come up with just from the limited discussion in this passage.

From all this examination on your own, make notes, jot down questions, and see what God may be telling you about these things or related things in your own life.  Please bring these notes questions and 'awakenings' to the meeting on Thursday.  After you have gone through this passage yourself a few times, go back through with the questions below:

• Why do you think Luke is not giving specifics about where Jesus is doing these healings?
• What sort of details about location can you get from Matthew and Mark?
• The man covered in leprosy says, "If you wish..."  or "If you desire..."  Why do you think he poses his request that way?
• Consider that Jesus first touches the man with leprosy before he even replies.  In that culture, why do you think this would be significant to the leper?
• Jesus says, "I wish..." or "I desire..." and then commands the man to be healed.  Think through that, Jesus commands the man to be healed.  Why do you think that might be significant?
• Jesus then commands the man to not tell people all over, but just to go to the priests and follow the law of Moses.  In Mark we see that the man didn't do that.  Why do you think this was important enough for Jesus to command the man, much in the same way he commanded him to be healed?  Why do you think the man didn't do it?
• Besides the obvious connection between the news and crowds around Jesus and his 'escape' to the wilderness to pray, why else do you think this might be an important detail for Luke (notice it's not in the other two gospels)?
• In the next account, we see the religious teachers showing up for the first time.  Right along with the comment about their presence is the statement about the power of the Lord to heal.  How do you think these statements might be related?
• The phrase about the power of the Lord is not only difficult to translate, but also disputed in its arrangement.  Essentially the power of the Lord is there for Jesus to heal.  It's power with a purpose.  This is not a typical way of referring to the power of the Lord, so why do you think it's important here?
• Read the other parallel accounts of the paralyzed man and his friends.  What do you think it was about the paralyzed man and his friends that showed remarkable faith?
• Seeing their faith, Jesus says, "Your sins have been forgiven."  If the power of the Lord was present to heal, and Jesus sees their faith, why do you think Jesus chose to tell him his sins were forgiven? Why not just start with healing?
• The teachers reason together, so it sounds like they are discussing outloud.  In Mark and Matthew, it seems they are reasoning quietly or silently, but thinking the same thing.  Either way, Jesus knows what they are saying/thinking.  Why do you think he asks them "why" if he already knows "what", wouldn't He also know "why"?  Why do you think they need to know why they were thinking that way?
• "What is easier, to say or to do?" What do you think Jesus meant here?  For instance, how would anyone know if Jesus was right, that the man's sins had been forgiven? But they would see right away if the man was healed.
• Jesus uses the healing to demonstrate his "authority" to forgive. What sort of statement do you think He is making here?  Equality with God, or perception given to Him by God, or something else? What do you think He is saying?
• It says that the people were amazed and glorifying God.  Do you think that included the religious teachers present?  What do you think they thought?

And now apply the AHA principles to what you read.

AWAKENING:  Prayerfully go through looking for the thing that God is using to awaken something in you.  Think through your life in relation to the people and teaching involved.  Jot down the 'alarm' that God is using with you.

HONESTY: Next be honest about your life in light of this 'alarm'.  Think through what God is pointing out to you about your life, like where you have strayed from a direction He gave you before, or about something you've been doing or not doing.  What do you see about your life in a new light from this passage?

ACTION:  Lastly, what do you need to do about what you discover?  What action do you need to take in light of your honest assessment of what God is saying to you?  What can you do now, before Thursday?  What do you need to do, perhaps long-term?

That should keep us busy for the week.  Be sure to bring your notes and any AHA with you Thursday!

Rebuking Spirits and Fevers

This is the Bible study page for the Thursday Night Bible Study Group meeting September 3 to study Luke 4:31-44.  This is more an introduction into Jesus' activity rather than His teaching at this point.  It can be assumed that, like in Acts, even though Luke doesn't detail each occurrence, these sorts of exorcisms and healings take place along side the teaching.

Read through the passage a few times in several translations (www.blueletterbible.org has several).  Jot down notes and questions about differences and word choices.  Words like 'authority' and 'rebuke' words have a range of meaning, but you may find a lot of others that are different between translations.

After you have your own set of notes and questions, go through a commentary or two (or study Bible notes).  See if these answer your questions, bring up new ones, or modify your notes at all.  See what nuggets you glean from them, but feel free to disagree with their conclusions.  Good ones tell you when they're guessing, and commentaries do a lot of guessing.

After you've gone through your notes and a few commentaries, go back through the passage with the questions below:

• Jesus 'went down' to Capernaum and does these things, but from what we read previously, He'd already been doing them there.  Why do you think this sounds somewhat out of order?  Or does it sound out of order to you?
• What do you think the people heard in Jesus' teaching that had 'authority'?  How do you think it was different than what they heard the other rabbis teach?
• Consider what the 'spirit' says in a few different translations.  Why do you think the spirit addresses Jesus this way?  If it knows who Jesus is, why challenge Him?
• Why do you think that the spirit's knowledge of who Jesus is would be a 'threat' it might hold over Him?
• Look at the word for 'astonish' in verse 32, and compare it with 'amazement' in verse 36.  What differences do you see?  How is the response to Jesus' teaching different from their response to His casting out of a demon?
• The word for what Jesus does to the fever in Simon's mother-in-law was the same as what He did in the synagogue to the spirit, 'rebuke'.  Why do you think Jesus would rebuke a fever as if it could 'obey'?  How do you understand His approach and what it means for the 'cause' of the fever?
• The sun is going down and people are brining sick to Jesus, and He works through the night.  He tries to leave the next day, and they try to prevent Him.  What do you think about the people treating Jesus this way?  Why do you think they would be so insistent?
• What does this tell you about the extent of sickness and demon possession just in this region?  How different is that from our 'region' here?
• Jesus goes to towns in Judea.  That's a long way to walk from Galilee. Why do you think He would go there?

This should be plenty to keep us occupied for our time together.  This will be the last study page for  a while, as we go through AHA. 

Whom God Accepts

This is the study page for the Thursday Night Small Group meeting on November 1.  We will pick up at the end of Acts 9 and continue through 10 (or as far as we get). 

Last week we left off at verse 32 of Acts 9, where the narrative switches from Saul to Peter.  The remainder of 9 sets up Peter for the events of chapter 10, so they go well together.  Read from 9:32 through the end of 10:48 all together a few times.  Jot down thoughts and insights.  Note any peculiarities you find (try looking at a couple of different translations, and note differences).  Once you've taken down some notes yourself, having read the passage a few times, go back over it using the questions below:

Acts 9:32-43:

• What is known about Aeneas?
• What does Peter tell him to do (look it up in as many translations as you can)?
• Why does that seem odd? Why tell him to do that?
• What is the name of the lady in Joppa? (G5000) (G1393)
• What do the widows call her?
• What does Peter call her?
• What is the effect of all these healings?

Acts 10

• What are the stark contrasts in Cornelius?
• Read this article on Cornelius.  What might motivate him to worship God?
• Where is Cornelius from?
• What does God think of Cornelius?
• After the vision, who does Cornelius tell?
• Why send a servant and a soldier?
• What is Peter doing on the roof?
• What is his distraction while praying?
• Being hungry, what does the vision suggest?
• What is Peter's response to the vision?
• What is God's command? (Read it in several translations!)
• How much does Peter understand about his vision before he goes to Caesarea?
• Peter travels with the men from Cornelius, but who goes with him?
• When he arrives, what does Cornelius do?  Why would he do that?
• What is Peter's response when Cornelius tells him about his own vision?
• What quality of God does Peter discover here?
• What is Peter's assumption as he relates what he knows of Jesus?  Why assume that?
• How long does Peter have to wait during the invitation for people to respond?
• How are Peter's companions described here?
• Why are they "beside themselves"?
• What does Peter suggest (or command) they do?

That is probably more than enough for discussion this Thursday.  I look forward to seeing you on Thursday!