November 9, 2008
Bible Study, Chapter 11
Luke 11 is a very full
chapter & will likely take you more than one study to complete. Although the chapter begins with some very
practical advice about prayer, much of the chapter contains warnings from Jesus
directed to people who were living religious but not Godly
lives.
Read
through chapter 11 and then peruse the appropriate verses as you study each
section.
Verses 1 – 13
Praying is probably the most
common religious activity on the planet.
People of all religious persuasions and degrees of commitment pray. This praying may be very formal (like during
a worship service) or informal (like when your kids are late getting home &
you’re a little worried so you pray).
Praying may be part of a regular discipline or just
spur-of-the-moment. And yet, although
praying is very common, most of us find it to be quite difficult to do with
regularity and with conviction. So, one
time when the disciples saw Jesus finishing some prayer time, they asked for
some lessons on how to pray.
-
Verses 2-4 contain Luke’s version of what we call, “The Lord’s Prayer.” Probably, Jesus meant this to be a kind of
model prayer. I’d suggest taking some
time to simply read through this prayer and take some notes on what ideas are
contained in this prayer. Then, think about your own praying. What elements in Jesus’ model prayer most
often appear in your praying? What
elements in Jesus’ model prayer most often are missing from your praying?
- Verses
5-10 contain a short parable about being persistent in praying. In the parable, what motivates the sleeping
“friend” to finally give in and get the bread that is being requested? Jesus sometimes tells what we call, “How much
more…” parables. The point he makes in
these stories is usually something like this: “If a human friend behaves this
way, ‘how much more’ will your Father
in heaven behave this way?” This is one
of those stories. It probably isn’t true
that God will answer our requests just to stop us from bothering him! So, what lesson is he making about God’s
motive for answering your prayers?
- In
verses 9 & 10, Jesus emphasizes the lesson of the parable: “Keep
asking!” Why do you think God would want
us to persist in praying? Why not just
give us what we want the first time we ask?
-
Verses 11-13 contain a second “How much more…” story. This one compares earthly fathers to our
Father in heaven. What’s the lesson you
learn from this “How much more” parable?
- What lessons have you learned that you can apply to
your praying?
Verses 14 – 28
This section is unusual in
that the miracle (verse 14) is told very briefly and most of the time is spent
on the response to this miracle and Jesus’ explanation. Although this section is somewhat difficult,
there are some great lessons in this section.
- What’s the miracle Jesus performs? (Verse 14)
- As
usual, the crowd is amazed. However,
there are two other responses to this miracle.
The first is in verse 15. How do
some people explain the power that Jesus has?
What motive do you think someone would have for saying that Jesus gets
his power from Satan? (Some bibles have the name, “Beelzeboul” or something
like that in verse 15. They’re all names
for Satan.)
-
The second response is in verse 16. It’s
a bit more difficult to understand, but there are some who just are not willing
to make a decision. So, how do these
people delay decision-making?
- In
verses 17-22, Jesus answers those who say he gets his power from Satan. What is Jesus’ answer?
- In
verse 23, Jesus addresses those who don’t want to make a decision. What is Jesus’ warning to those who don’t
want to decide?
-
The unusual statements in verses 24-26 might be applied to those who suggest
that Christianity is merely about being forgiven. (Ever seen the
bumper-sticker, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven?”) Apparently, it isn’t enough to just get our
sinfulness out of us. We also need to be
filled with something in its place…otherwise, we’re
merely an empty house waiting to be reoccupied!
Jesus doesn’t spell it out here, but what is it we need to be re-filled
with? Think of it this way: If an evil
spirit has left, what spirit needs to fill the empty void?
Verses 29 – 32
Jesus is again addressing
those “fence-sitters” who just delay making a decision about him and keeping
asking for more & more signs. Do you
remember the story of Jonah? Do you
recall how many days Jonah was in the belly of the great fish? If a man is swallowed by a great fish, what
typically happens to that man? Jonah,
however, emerged alive from the belly of the great fish after 3 days! This is the “sign of Jonah:” One who was
thought to be dead for 3 days emerges very much alive. (If the Jonah story
isn’t familiar to you, it might be fun to find this short book in the Old
Testament and read it.)
-
Once you understand the “sign of Jonah,” what is the comparable “sign” that
Jesus is going to give to the people of his generation?
-
Jesus knows that even after this “sign,” people will still reject him. However, when Jonah emerged alive from the
belly of the great fish and then preached in Ninevah,
the people of that city repented & believed his message! Therefore, Jesus is suggesting that the
people of Ninevah are a kind of message of
condemnation on the unbelievers of Jesus’ generation. Why is this so?
Verses 33 – 36
In English, there are some
mixed images in these verses. The eye is
called a lamp because it lets light into the brain. An “eye” can be good or bad depending on the
kind of light it lets in. We have an
expression that says, “You are what you eat.”
In essence, Jesus is saying, “You are what you look at.”
-
Think about this expression: You are what you look at. Do you think this is true? How have
you experienced this in your life?
- This
is both bad news and good news for us.
The bad news is that a focus on what is sinful will have an overall
damaging impact on us. It’s not possible
to focus on sinful stuff and still live a Godly life. Do you believe that to be the case?
-
The good news is that the practice of merely focusing on the good will have a
positive and Godly impact! Find and read
Philippians 4:8 & 9. How do these
verses reinforce what Jesus is teaching here about our “eyes?”
- What are some practical steps you can take to redirect
the focus of your eyes?
Verses 37 – 54
The practice of ceremonial
washing mentioned in verse 38 is an example of the man-made laws we learned
about in chapter 10 & the story of the Good Samaritan. This conflict causes Jesus to launch into a
long series of condemnations of the Jewish religious leaders. The best way to understand these verses is
simply to carefully read through these verses and take note of every criticism
Jesus has against the religious leaders of his day.
-
Having made your list of Jesus’ criticisms, which ones do you still think apply
to religious leaders today?
-
The warnings in these verses are not just reserved for religious leaders. Anyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus
might be guilty of some of these criticisms.
Are there any that you need to be on guard against?
Summary
What are some of the big ideas
you’ve learned in chapter 11?
In light of what you’ve learned, is there any God-business you need to take care of in the immediate future?