Seeds of Faith Podcast

The text for this lesson is Luke 10:1–24

Key Points

• God chose the seventy-two to serve Him for a special task. God places us in various callings, giving us opportunities to serve Him and share our faith with others.
• Law: I sin when I think only church workers serve God in their calling. I sin when I despise anyone’s vocation.
• Gospel: God, in His mercy, provides all vocations to meet our needs and in His Son, Jesus, provides for our spiritual needs through pastors, Christian parents, and others. God forgives my sins of pride and arrogance for Jesus’ sake. God forgives my sin of feeling unworthy or inadequate because I am not in church work.

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Discussion Points

1. Today we study how Jesus sent out seventy-two men to heal the sick and proclaim the Gospel. We also will discuss the doctrine of Christian vocation, which comes from the Latin word vocatio, meaning “calling.” The seventy-two were called to do a specific task for the Lord. Likewise, each Christian has one or more callings to do specific tasks in service of the Lord, for example, in family, country, and workplace. But there is one major difference between the calling of the seventy-two and our own callings. What is this difference, and why is it important to make this distinction? What are some examples of ways that Christians sometimes fail to make this distinction today? How does the Lord call us into our various stations in life?
2. In today’s lesson, Jesus says that the judgment on any town that rejects the message of the seventy-two will be harsher than on Sodom. This town was proverbially corrupt. Its inhabitants participated in open sexual immorality, including homosexuality (Genesis 19:5; Jude 7) and also lived decadently with no regard for the poor and needy (Ezekiel 16:49). According to 1 Corinthians 6:9–11, what activities have Christians been called away from through Baptism? What does this passage suggest about the content of Christian preaching?
3. Much like Jesus had called the Twelve (Luke 9:1) and sent them out to preach and heal the sick, He now calls seventy-two men and sends them out ahead of Him (Luke 10:1). The word translated “sent” is the Greek word apostello, like apostle, which means “one who is sent.” In the ancient world, people in positions of authority often selected delegates and sent them out with the authority to speak and act on their behalf. This is even true today, such as when the president sends delegates to foreign lands to speak and act in his place. How does Luke 10:16 make it clear to the sent ones what kind of authority they had? According to John 20:21–23, what were the apostles eventually authorized to do? How does Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 20:25–28 prevent the ones He sends from abusing the authority they are given?
4. In Luke 10:3–4, Jesus sent the seventy-two out “as lambs in the midst of wolves” with no provisions for the journey. This sounds terrifying, but in what way was Jesus actually blessing them? What is the similar message that Jesus gives us in Matthew 6:31–34?
5. In Luke 10:9, Jesus tells the seventy-two to heal the sick and proclaim, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” Based on what Jesus says in Luke 7:18–23, why might He have had the seventy-two perform miraculous signs along with preaching? Why do we no longer need miraculous signs to accompany Christian preaching today?
6. But this teaching may also cause us to stumble. If God chose us to be saved, does that mean that He elected others to be damned? According to 2 Peter 3:9, does God desire that any people be condemned? According to 1 Timothy 2:3–6, for whom did Christ die? Whom does God desire to be saved? When we struggle to understand all of these things, what does Romans 11:33–36 teach us?
7. In Luke 10:5, Jesus told the seventy-two that whenever they entered a house they were to say, “Peace be to this house.” Since they were sent out with Jesus’ authority to proclaim the Gospel, their greeting of peace was not ineffectual but actually delivered peace and salvation to those who received it. As we come to God’s house each week for worship, what parts of the service proclaim peace to us?
8. God’s Word helps us understand how we are to live within our various vocations. Discuss the various vocations of Christians described in 1 Peter 2:9–17 and 3:14–16. What basic form of evangelism is every Christian called to do? According to 1 Peter 4:10, do all people have the same gifts and vocations? Why or why not?

The text for this lesson is John 10:22–30; Psalm 23

Key Points

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Discussion Points

1. The theme of shepherding is important throughout Holy Scripture. Joshua was appointed as Moses’ successor over Israel so that the people would not be “as sheep that have no shepherd” (Numbers 27:17). The great king David had been a shepherd (1 Samuel 17:15). The religious and political rulers of Israel were often referred to as shepherds, although more often than not, the Lord was angry with them for neglecting their duties. And, of course, the Lord is characterized as the Shepherd of Israel (Psalm 23). In John 10, Jesus, the Son of God, presents Himself as the Good Shepherd. There are passages in the Old Testament that had promised to Israel that the Messiah would be like a shepherd. According to Ezekiel 34:15–16 and Isaiah 40:10–11, who would be the shepherd of Israel? Who is the shepherd in Ezekiel 34:23–24? How do these three passages taken together point to Jesus? According to Matthew 2:1–6, who is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament predictions about shepherds of Israel 

2. An allegory is a rhetorical or literary device used to express certain truths through symbolic fictional figures. Jesus’ parables are examples of allegories. In John 10, Jesus uses an allegory to depict Himself as the Good Shepherd of Israel. According to John 10:10–18, what is the chief way that the Good Shepherd demonstrates His love for the sheep? How does this passage testify that Jesus is truly God? What is the ultimate goal of the Good Shepherd’s oversight of the flock?

3. Jesus was able to communicate important teachings using very few words. John 10:27 is an example of this, in which He said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Let us examine each of the three phrases of that verse in detail.

(a) “My sheep hear My voice.” This phrase underscores the importance of being within earshot of the Good Shepherd. If we are so far away from the Shepherd that we cannot hear Him, then we will be lost. According to John 6:68, why is the voice of the Good Shepherd so powerful? According to John 5:24, what is the result of hearing and believing the Word of the Good Shepherd? What does John 10:2–5 say is the way sheep recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd amidst the cries of strangers? What has Jesus done to ensure that His sheep can hear His voice, according to Romans 10:14–17?

(b) “I know My sheep.” Occasionally people ask, “Do you know Jesus?” It is important that we know and confess Him, but in Galatians 4:9, Paul explains what is even more important. How does Paul help us keep first things first? According to John 10:14–15, what is so profound about the Shepherd’s knowledge of the sheep and their knowledge of Him?

(c) “My sheep follow Me.” The result of hearing the Shepherd’s voice and being known by Him is that we follow Him. Following Him only comes about because the Holy Spirit moves us to do so through the Shepherd’s voice. We do not make a decision to follow Him; He knows and chooses us. Jesus promises incredible grace to those who follow Him: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). The light of eternal life is given to those who follow Him. But we also know that following Him is not easy: “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). According to Romans 8:35–36, what often happens to sheep who follow the Good Shepherd? Yet according to Romans 8:37–39, what is the glorious promise of comfort given to His sheep?

4. When Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), He was emphasizing His divine oneness with the Father. How does John 10:28–29 also emphasize Jesus’ divinity and provide us with a source of comfort? According to John 5:18 and 19:7, how did the Jews respond to Jesus’ teaching that He was the Son of God?

5. In John 10:28, Jesus identifies Himself as the eternal Shepherd, for He says, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” How does Revelation 7:13–17 reiterate the theme of Jesus as the eternal Shepherd?

6. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). We are sinful sheep in need of a Shepherd to save us. According to 1 Peter 2:21–25, how has the Good Shepherd saved us? Since the Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep, what kind of lives should we live?

7. According to 1 Peter 5:1–4, whom did the Good Shepherd give to His Church to be shepherds of God’s flock?

8. In what ways does Jesus, the Good Shepherd, use a rod and staff in caring for us? What instruments has He placed in the hands of His undershepherds, pastors, to use in their flocks?