Archive for January, 2010
January 31, 2010: Jesus Heals Many
The text for this lesson is Luke 4:31-44
Key Points
- Through many miracles, Jesus shows us His power over sin and the devil.
- Law: Because of sin, Satan has power and holds the world in bondage. Because of sin there is sickness in the world. I am lost in sin and death. God wants me and all others to know and believe in His Son.
- Gospel: Jesus is the Holy One of God who defeats Satan and frees me from his hold, granting me eternal life in paradise. Jesus has power over sin and sickness. Jesus was sent to preach and, through His own suffering and death, to save the lost. He speaks through His Word, and, in faith, grants me the opportunities to tell others this Good News about Jesus.
Discussion Points
1. In Luke 4:34, the unclean demon cried out to Jesus, “I know who You are—the Holy One of God.” Why does this demon cry out when he encounters Jesus? According to James 2:19, what does the knowledge of God cause demons to do? What do the demons in Luke 4:34 and 4:41 tell the reader of Luke’s Gospel about Jesus?
2. We see in Luke 4:35 and 4:41 that Jesus will not let the demons speak, “because they knew that He was the Christ.” Apparently, Jesus did not want to be revealed as the Christ from the lips of demons. What possible reasons would Jesus have not to be revealed to the world at that time as the Christ? Read Luke 9:18–22. To whom is Jesus revealed as the Christ here? What does Jesus tell them not to do? What event does Jesus predict but appears not yet ready to undergo? Read John 11:47–48 and Matthew 2:1–4. What do these passages reveal as possible reasons for Jesus to keep a low profile?
3. In Luke 4:43, Jesus says that He was sent to “preach the good news [Gospel] of the kingdom of God.” The kingdom of God is an important theme in Luke’s Gospel. As Jesus preaches and performs miracles, He is showing that the kingdom of God has arrived. God is bringing about a new creation in Christ Jesus, giving new life to sinners. It is a kingdom of grace, a kingdom of the Gospel. In short, the kingdom of God is found wherever Jesus is King. Read Luke 10:8–12. When Jesus sent out His seventy-two messengers, what signs would accompany their message that the kingdom of God had come? What happens when people rejected that message? Read Luke 18:15–17. How must the kingdom of God be received?
4. Jesus revealed the breaking in of the kingdom of God by showing His great authority. In Luke 4:32, the people were astounded that His Word possessed such authority. He spoke as if He were God Himself, because He is! Then in Luke 4:36, the people were amazed at the authority He exercised over demons. Read Luke 5:17–26. What other authority did Jesus have and why was that so offensive to the scribes and Pharisees? According to John 20:19–23, what authority does Jesus give to the apostles, which is also given to those in the Office of the Holy Ministry?
5. According to Luke 4:36–37, Jesus’ authoritative preaching and miracles amazed the people, and “reports about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.” But Jesus had not yet revealed Himself as the Christ. What kind of faith, if any, could have been present among the people who witnessed these miracles? What warning does Jesus give us about faith healers and miracle workers (Mark 13:21–22)? In contrast, according to Luke 5:24, what is one reason that Jesus did miracles? Would modern faith healers and miracle workers have the same agenda as Jesus did? In what way can Jesus’ healing ministry be continued in the Church today?
6. In Luke 4:38–39, Jesus healed Simon’s (Peter’s) mother-in-law of a high fever. After Jesus rebuked the fever and it left her, “immediately she rose and began to serve them.” How does Peter’s mother-in-law provide a wonderful example for Christian faith and life? How is this same attitude reflected in the Collect of Thanksgiving that is traditionally used after Holy Communion (LW p. 174)?
7. What is one reason so many people reject the Gospel? Why is it that many people do not go to church or go to churches that focus on things other than the Gospel? See 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Luke 8:12. What is the ultimate source of unbelief? Of what must Christians also be constantly aware?
8. According to Luke 4:40, Jesus would lay His hands on people who were sick and heal them. Jesus comes to us with His true body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar, forgiving our sins and giving us life and salvation. Martin Luther says of the Sacrament of the Altar in the Large Catechism, “We must never think of the Sacrament as something harmful from which we had better flee, but as a pure, wholesome, comforting remedy that grants salvation and comfort. It will cure you and give you life both in soul and body. For where the soul has recovered, the body also is relieved” (Large Catechism, Part 5, paragraph 68). According to Luther, what besides the soul can be helped by the Sacrament? How should we be careful in our understanding of this teaching? How does this teaching point to the final resurrection of our bodies?
January 24, 2010: Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
The text for this lesson is Luke 4:16–30
Key Points
- In Nazareth, throughout His ministry, and even today, Jesus is rejected by people who do not have faith in Him. God’s Word clearly shows that Jesus is God’s Son, and in faith, we believe.
- Law: Sin blinds my eyes to the Savior. Because of my sinful weakness, I want God to show me His power with a miracle.
- Gospel: Through God’s Word and Sacraments, I can see and believe in Jesus. God, through water and His Word, has performed the greatest miracle for me, granting me forgiveness and eternal life with Him.
Discussion Points
1. In the synagogue, Jesus would read Scripture from a scroll and then preach on the text He read. In Romans 10:17, Paul says that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” What was the primary means of teaching in Jesus’ time? Were Bibles available to the people? Would many people have been able to read Hebrew? What does this tell us about the importance of preaching in Jesus’ ministry and in the New Testament?
2. In Luke 4:24, Jesus literally says, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown” (author’s translation). What does the word amen mean? Why is it attached to prayers?
3. Describe the experience of spending time with people who remember what you were like when you were growing up. How does familiarity with a person’s background color your image of him or her? What would the people of Nazareth recall about Jesus’ childhood? How could this give insight into Jesus’ statement, “No prophet is acceptable in his hometown” (Luke 4:24)?
4a. What phrases in Luke 4:18–19 indicate that Jesus will be a teacher and work miracles? Read Luke 4:31–37. How does this account in Capernaum revisit the two primary themes from His previous sermon?
4b. According to Luke 4:23, Jesus anticipated that the people of Nazareth would expect Him to perform signs and wonders such as He had done in Capernaum. “Physician, heal yourself” might be a reference to the idea that one should not forget to help his own family and friends while he assists complete strangers. Yet as a prophet, Jesus would fare no better than the prophets of Israel, such as Elijah and Elisha, who were often rejected by the people. There-fore, God sent Elijah to the Gentile (non-Israelite) widow in Zarapheth, and Elisha was given the task of cleansing the pagan Naaman. How does the account in Luke 4:28–29 suggest what will eventually happen to the prophet Jesus? Read Luke 13:31–34.
5. In Luke 4:18, Jesus says that He will “set at liberty those who are oppressed.” As has been noted, the Greek word translated as “set at liberty” is often used to describe the forgiveness of sins, so this passage announces one of the major themes of Jesus’ preaching. Read Isaiah 53:6, our Bible verse for today. In what way does sin still oppress us? In what sense are we liberated from the oppression of sin? See Luke 1:77 and 24:47.
6. Jesus quotes the messianic prophecy of Isaiah 61 in Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor.” Who else besides Jesus is mentioned in that verse? What event was a key revelation that Jesus is the promised Anointed One or Messiah? See Luke 3:21–22 and Acts 10:38.
7. The language of Luke 4:18–19 indicates that God has come to restore the fallen creation, to release it from bondage to decay and death. Read Colossians 1:15–20. Whom does Paul describe as the Creator of all things? How does the Creator reconcile creation to Himself? How does Luke 4:18–19 support the theme of the restored creation?
8. Luke 4:19 says that Jesus came to “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” The background for this statement is found in Leviticus 25, in which the Year of Jubilee is prescribed to the Israelites. Read Leviticus 25:8–10. How often was the Year of Jubilee? What occurred during this year? What themes are found in both Leviticus 25:8–10 and Luke 4:18–19?
9. What did Jesus mean in Luke 4:21 that “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”? To which passage does this refer? What does this say about the power of His preaching? What does preaching accomplish in the Church today? See 1 Corinthians 1:21–25.
10. In Luke 4:15–16, we learn that Jesus customarily taught in the Jewish synagogue. He would read the Old Testament and interpret it, revealing Himself as the Messiah. How did Paul and the apostles use the synagogue to expand the Church? See Acts 9:20; 13:5; 14:1 as examples. How does the preaching that Paul did in the synagogues compare with the preaching we hear at church today?
11. In light of Jesus’ preaching in Luke 4:18–19, why do we still see the consequences of sin in creation? What does God really desire from us? Read Hebrews 11:1.
January 17, 2010: Jesus Changes Water into Wine
The text for this lesson is John 2:1–11.
Key Points
- Through His first miracle, Jesus revealed Himself to be true God. God uses His Word and physical means—water, bread, and wine—to reveal to me that Jesus is my Savior.
- Law: Like the disciples, I am unsure who Jesus is.
- Gospel: In His Word and Sacraments, Jesus shows me that He is the Savior, as He showed the disciples through His Word and miracles.
