Key Points

• Jesus healed the blind man with mud and spit to show the work of God. Jesus shows the work of God in us as He heals us of sin with water and His Word.
• Law: All sickness is a result of sin in the world.
• Gospel: Jesus has power to heal all sickness. He opens my eyes to see who He really is and heals me of my sin with water and His Word.

Discussion Points

1. Who were upset that Jesus healed the man born blind on the Sabbath? Why?
2. What healed the man’s blindness? Why did Jesus tell him to go wash in the pool of Siloam?
3. What are the similarities between what Jesus did for the blind man and what God does for us in our Baptism?
4. How do you think the man changed after Jesus gave him sight?
5. How did the man’s physical blindness help him understand his spiritual blindness?
6. How did he come to see God at work in his life? What has Jesus done to bring us all into the light of God’s love?
7. How did Jesus’ use of dirt and saliva show who He was and work His plan of salvation?
8. How is Jesus the light of the world?

Key Points

• God poured His grace on Naaman, telling him to wash in the Jordan so that he would be cleansed of his disease. He pours His grace on us through water and His Word in Holy Baptism and cleanses us from our greatest sickness—sin. God cares for us and has power to heal our diseases according to His will.
• Law: As Naaman was sick with leprosy, so I am sick with sin.
• Gospel: Because of Jesus, God cares for me and has power to heal my sicknesses according to His will. He pours His grace on me through water and His Word in Holy Baptism and heals my sin-sickness.

Discussion Points

1. Why was an Israelite girl living in Naaman’s house in Syria?
2. Did the dirty Jordan River water wash away Naaman’s sickness? Who healed Naaman? Who heals us?
3. What sickness do all people suffer from?
4. How are we cleansed from sin and given saving faith?
5. How did God use the natural element water to bring about His plan of salvation for Naaman?
6. Did the river water cleanse or heal Naaman of his sickness? Was it the power of Elisha?
7. How does baptismal water work forgiveness of sins, rescue from death and the devil, and give eternal salvation?
8. How did Jesus’ blood cleanse us?

Key Points

• Jesus chose ordinary, sinful men to follow Him and be His disciples. In Baptism, Jesus chooses us to be His children.
• Law: In my sin, I want to hide from Jesus. Because of sin, I doubt that Jesus is who He says He is. Because of my sin, my work is hard and often unfruitful.
• Gospel: In Jesus’ forgiveness, I find peace and favor with God. Jesus shows His power over sin and makes my work productive, giving forgiveness, new life, and salvation through His Word and Sacraments. God’s Word testifies repeatedly and consistently that Jesus is God’s Son.

Discussion Points

1. Read Matthew 4:18–22. Does Matthew refer to the same event as Luke 5:1–11? What are the key differences between these stories? What is the difference between Jesus saying, “I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19) and “From now on you will be catching men” (Luke 5:10)?

2. The people had been astonished by the authority with which Jesus proclaimed the Word (Luke 4:32). Note that in Luke 5:1, the people are gathered around Him to “hear the word of God.” Luke is making it clear that, from Jesus’ time onward, hearing the Word of God is the same as hearing the Word of Jesus. Read Luke 8:21 and 11:28. What does Jesus say about those who receive His Word in faith? How does this message apply to us?

3. Read Isaiah 6:1–7. How was Isaiah’s experience similar to Peter’s? How were Isaiah and Peter both comforted? What do these stories tell us about God?

4. In Luke 5:10, Jesus tells Simon that he will begin catching men. In order to catch fish, you need a net and a boat. To catch men, Peter needed a means of catching people and a way to keep them alive. Read Acts 2:14, 36–42. What net does Peter use to catch people? Where were the people kept alive? How does this fishing expedition continue today?

5. Read Matthew 13:47–50. Though this parable is not a direct parallel to the story in Luke 5, it uses similar fishing imagery. What sobering fact does it teach us about the Church’s catch of men?

6. In today’s story, the fishermen fished with nets, not lines and hooks. Why is the image of a net bringing us into the Church more comforting than a hook?

7. Jesus brought about the miraculous catch of fish by His almighty power. In fact, the Greek does not say that the fishermen caught the fish but that the nets enclosed them. It was not an active accomplishment on the part of the fishermen. What comforting fact does this tell us about the mission of the Church?

8. Why would it not make much sense if every person was a professional fisherman? Why isn’t every Christian specifically called to be a fisher of men in the Office of the Holy Ministry?

Key Points

• Just as the Lord used an ordinary servant girl and ordinary water to heal Naaman, He cares for us through the ordinary people and ordinary means He chooses.
• Law:We may consider ourselves to be too young, too unimportant, or too poorly prepared to do anything valuable for God’s kingdom.
• Gospel: God constantly creates opportunities for us to share His love with others, and He brings miraculous results from our small efforts.
• Law: We may delude ourselves into thinking we are so important that God owes us special attention.
• Gospel: Though we do not deserve it, God cares for each one of us.
• Law: We too often want or even expect God to work in dramatic and exciting ways, such as pulsating worship, spectacular results to our witnessing, or giving us personal signs.
• Gospel: God gives forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation through ordinary water, through bread and wine, and through the voice of humble servants, all by the power of His simple Word.

Context

Elisha succeeded Elijah as Israel’s chief prophet. They both worked great wonders, but their main purpose was to exhort people to trust in and worship the Lord alone. Their miraculous signs were meant to turn people from false gods and lead people like Naaman to the conclusion, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel” (2 Kings 5:15).

In the Old Testament, leprosy describes various skin conditions that made a person ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 13–14). A common misunderstanding of the Old Testament ritual system is that “uncleanness” equates to sinfulness or condemnation. The book of Leviticus shows that this was not so; states of cleanness had to do with determining which people were eligible to enter God’s holy presence in the sanctuary.

Leprosy caused discomfort and had serious social consequences. People avoided lepers and considered them cursed by God for some particular sin. Elijah’s healing of Naaman previews Christ’s healing of lepers, which fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases” (Matthew 8:17). Jesus accomplished eternal healing for all people when He died for the sins of all (2 Corinthians 5:14).

Discussion Points and Questions

1. Read 2 Kings 5:2-6. How does God use the injustice of the enslaving of the young Israelite girl to accomplish His divine purpose?
2. Why do you suppose the king of Israel tore his clothes when the Syrian king’s letter asked him to cure Naaman of his leprosy?
3. Why was Naaman angry when he received Elisha’s words?
4. Read 2 Kings 5:15. What is the purpose of Elisha’s prescription for healing?
5. Who helped Naaman realize that God was able to heal him through Elisha?
6. How does God work through Christian neighbors to share His love?
7. Naaman was healed with simple water, directed by God’s Word. What does this remind us of today?
8. What do we receive through Baptism?
9. Read Ephesians 2:1-5, 10. Describe the change that takes place in us through Baptism. What effect does that change have on us? Read also 1 Peter 2:9-12. What examples can you give of Christians demonstrating these effects in their lives?
10. How does God demonstrate that His ways are beyond human thought and understanding?
11. God works through simple means to heal Naaman. How does God continue to work through simple means today to provide healing and strength to sinners?
12. According to Luther’s teaching, what does the Lord give to us by His grace?
13. How did God work through the humans in the Bible story to heal Naaman?

For next week, read about Joash repairing the temple in 2 Kings 12:1–16.

Key Points

• Just as God worked His miracle beside the river, clothing Lydia with Christ in Baptism, so God works His miracles in pulpits and fonts around the world today, destroying the work of Satan, ripping believers from the jaws of death, washing away sins in water tinged with Jesus’ blood, and clothing believers with His righteousness.
• Law: Full of pride and guided by my emotions and experiences, I look for God and His works where I think He is, instead of humbly following His Word.
• Gospel: Christ locates Himself and His saving gifts for me in specific places: His baptismal font, His pulpit, His altar—wherever His Word is spoken, sung, poured, eaten, or drunk.

Context

On his second missionary journey, while in Troas, Paul saw a vision of a man urging him to come over to Macedonia and help him (16:9). Heeding the call, Paul and his companions crossed the Aegean Sea, bringing the Gospel to modern-day Europe. He made his way to Philippi, an important city of the day. As we’ll learn next week, his initial welcome there by Lydia and others was short-lived, for soon he and Silas were arrested, beaten, and jailed (Acts 16:16–40).

Discussion Points and Questions

1. What does the “we” in Acts 16:11 mean? What do Luke 1:1–4 and Acts 1:1–2 tell us about these two books of the New Testament?
2. At Philippi, the true faith of Old Testament Israel—with its hope for the Messiah’s coming—was being carried on primarily or exclusively by women who gathered regularly for prayer, Lydia being the most prominent (Acts 16:13–15). What similar theme is present in 2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14–15?
3. Often, a preacher uses the physical elements of his liturgical setting to illustrate themes (e.g., the font, altar, or crucifix). Paul delivered his sermon to the women at “the riverside” (Acts 16:13). How might Paul have connected their location at the riverside to draw out biblical themes in his message? See Genesis 2:9–10; Joshua 3:17; Mark 1:4–5, 9–11; John 7:37–39; 19:33–34; Revelation 22:1–2.
4. As Paul preached the Gospel, “The Lord opened [Lydia’s] heart to pay attention to what was said” (Acts 16:14). After coming to faith, she was baptized (v. 15). How was Lydia converted? Did her human will play any role in her conversion? Why or why not? See John 3:5–6; 6:44, 63; Romans 10:17.
5. The Lord opened Lydia’s heart so that she would believe the Gospel (Acts 16:14). According to Genesis 3:7, after the fall into sin, what have we opened by our own efforts? What are some things we must totally depend on God to open? See Luke 3:21–22; 24:44–49.
6. Lydia was baptized after hearing the Word (Acts 16:15). Similarly, the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized after Philip “told him the good news about Jesus” (8:35). Based on these apostolic examples, Christians have customarily baptized adults only after they have received proper instruction in God’s Word and have professed their faith in the Gospel. What are some benefits given to those who are baptized? See Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3–4; Titus 3:4–7. Should rebaptism ever be performed?
7. Lydia’s household was baptized (Acts 16:15). Were there infants or toddlers among those baptized? Why should Christians baptize infants? See Matthew 28:18–20; Acts 2:38–39; Luke 18:15–16; Matthew 18:1–6.
8. One friend says to another, “I know that I am saved because I believe in Jesus.” The other friend replies, “I know that I am saved because I am baptized into Christ.” Which of these statements best articulates our Christian hope?
9. In Acts 16:13, “on the Sabbath day,” Paul and his companions sought “a place of prayer” because they knew those faithful to the Old Testament would observe the Third Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). According to Colossians 2:16–17, were Paul and his companions still required to observe the literal requirement of that commandment? What does the Third Commandment mean for us? See Acts 2:42 and Hebrews 10:24–25.
10. How would you characterize Lydia’s response to the Gospel in Acts 16:15? What are ways that we can follow her example? Also see Romans 12:13; 3 John 5–8; 1 Corinthians 9:14.

For Next Week

Read Acts 16:16–40. Though Paul and Silas are arrested for their preaching of the Gospel, the Lord makes a difficult situation for them an occasion to bring salvation to the home of the Philippian jailer.

Key Points

• Jesus takes on our sin at His Baptism, facing our temptations that we, in turn, might be baptized into His goodness, His holiness, and His purity. In exchange for our sewer of sin, He gives us the fountain of life.
• Law: Repentance is not an emotion but a motion, a constant moving away from sin and into Christ, from death to life. To repent is not to “feel bad” but to confess that one is “bad”—a lawbreaker, one who fears, loves, and trusts things above God. It is to see in the lifeless wilderness around John an emblem of one’s soul, divorced from faith.
• Gospel: Jesus is baptized for us. All our transgressions cascade into Him. He also baptizes the water, as it were. He puts Himself into the water so the water, joined to Him, might join us to Him in Baptism. Once baptized, He takes down the devil for us by fearing, loving, and trusting His father above all things.

Context

Mark skips the infancy story. He leaps right into the ministry of John, then Jesus. Both have been foretold. Isaiah prophesied the voice-man John, whose pulpit is the wilderness, whose theme is repentance, whose font is the Jordan. He is so Elijah-like that he even dresses the part (2 Kings 1:8)! Mark’s version of the Baptism of Jesus, and especially His tempation, are short compared to Matthew’s and Luke’s, but the essentials remain the same.

Discussion Points and Questions

1. We are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins. But Jesus is “without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Why is Jesus baptized?
2. Although Mark mentions Isaiah, only the quote in Mark 1:3 comes from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 40:3). The part in Mark 1:2 comes from Malachi 3:1. The prophet Malachi is known for his proclamation of the messenger who will prepare the way of the Lord. Based on that knowledge, why does Mark begin his Gospel this way, omitting the infancy narrative of Jesus and going straight to John the Baptist?
3. What was the purpose of John’s Baptism? What were the people doing who came out to be baptized by him? What does it mean to repent and confess?
4. Read 2 Kings 1:8. What is John wearing and why does Mark describe it? What is the significance of this garb and diet? See Malachi 4:5–6 and Matthew 17:10–14 for more.
5. What is the significance of Mark 1:7?
6. What does it mean that Jesus was driven into the wilderness immediately after His Baptism and tempted? What benefit and comfort does this provide us?
7. Read Luke 12:50 and 2 Corinthians 5:21. Does this give you more insight into why Jesus was baptized? What happens to us when we are baptized?
8. What does it mean to “remember” our Baptism? How do sponsors help us with that, and how do we as sponsors help those who are baptized to remember their Baptisms?

For next week, read John 1:34–51, Jesus’ call of Philip and Nathanel. Compare and contrast Philip’s and Nathanael’s responses to their initial encounter with Jesus. Notice the reason for Nathanael’s change of heart and Jesus’ response to this.