August 24, 2008

Bible Study, Chapter 4

Back

Every student of the Bible faces a difficult challenge when reading & studying the accounts of Jesus. Are these stories being told as a model for our living? Or, are these stories being told because they are about the unique Son of God? Clearly there’s no simple answer. When Jesus teaches, his words are meant to cause us to live a certain way. But when Jesus calls the name of a 4-day-dead man & causes him to walk from his grave, I don’t believe Jesus is modeling appropriate funeral-interrupting behavior for the rest of us. We’re about to begin studying the account of Jesus’ ministry; what he said and what he did. Some of what we read is intended to direct how you & I live. Some is intended to inspire awe & build our trust in Jesus. Knowing the difference isn’t always easy!

Read Chapter 4 of Luke. Then peruse each individual section as you study specific passages.

Verses 1-13

The ministry of Jesus begins with a confrontation, something that will characterize Jesus’ experience as a teacher. Sometimes we think that life goes down hill only when we drift away from God. Occasionally, we’re lead to believe that people who are committed to following God will experience God-blessed success in all our efforts. However, Luke is sure to tell us twice in verse 1 that Jesus was directed by God’s Spirit to a difficult 40-day period during which serious confrontation was the result. Obviously, being fully connected to God does not exempt us from struggle.

- Why would God direct Jesus to this experience? What benefit might there be to Jesus for God to allow him to be subjected to temptation for this period of time?

- What does this reveal about the character of God?

Jesus’ ‘wilderness experience’ takes place over a period of 40 days. There are many significant 40-day episodes (Moses, Noah, Elijah) in the history of God’s dealing with Israel. Perhaps the most significant event was the 40-year period the Jewish people spent wandering in the wilderness prior to entering the Promised Land. In his temptation experience, every time Jesus quotes from the bible he is using scripture associated with this Jewish experience. It was during this 40-year wilderness experience that God formed the Jews into a people willing to trust Him and follow his instructions. Clearly, this was the experience on Jesus’ mind during his own wilderness experience.

- Review each of the three temptations and, in your own words, describe how Jesus is being tempted & how he responds. It may give you great insight to search your bible’s footnotes and read the entire stories in Deuteronomy from which Jesus is drawing his responses to temptation.

Two of the three temptations begin with the devil saying, “If you are the son of God….” It’s important to understand that this “If” has more of a flavor of “Since.” The devil isn’t saying, “Are you sure?” He’s saying, “Look at who you are! Are you sure you want to do this the Father’s way? There are quicker, easier ways….”

- Think of areas in your life in which you are tempted to (or have already!) taken shortcuts from the Father’s way of living. Why do you/we do this?

- Clearly, Jesus understands that how he lives his life is just as important as what he accomplishes. Could Jesus have accomplished his mission had he taken shortcuts?

- What would Jesus have lost by surrendering to any of these temptations? What do you lose by doing so?

It’s important to understand that the temptations are not to ‘fall’ but to ‘rise!’ No self-respecting tempter would say, “Come, ruin your life! Let’s destroy your marriage. Let’s get buzzed and have an accident.”

That’s in the fine print at the bottom. Eve’s temptation was, “How would you like to be like God?” It wasn’t, “Why not destroy everything good you’re now enjoying?” (Genesis 3).

- Why does temptation look good but end up in loss & destruction?

- Note, too, that the nature of most temptation is simply the corruption of what is intended to be good. How is this true for Jesus & for you?

- What does Jesus know that helps him to overcome temptation?

- What can you know and/or do to avoid falling to temptation?

Verses 14-30

Verses 14-22 – Galilee is a region similar to a county. Although oversimplified, it’s possible to divide Jesus’ ministry according to what he did in 2 regions: Galilee & Judea. His Galilean ministry was devoted to making disciples. The Judean ministry focuses on the cross & resurrection. When his apostles later faced the task of replacing betrayer-Judas, they determined that a requirement was exposure to Jesus’ Galilean ministry (Acts 1:21,22). In Galilee, Jesus spent lots of time teaching in synagogues. What happened in synagogues was not significantly different from what goes on in churches today. On this occasion, Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1,2. This passage anticipates what will happen when God’s Kingdom invades. This Kingdom operates by a set of values different from, and in conflict with, the kingdoms of this world.

- According to verses 18 & 19, what are the values of God’s Kingdom? What is it God seems to care about?

- How are these values different from, or similar to, the values of our world? From the values of your life?

Verses 23-30 – From the beginning, one response to Jesus will be rejection. This isn’t an easy story to figure out, but here’s what we know: Although he grew up in Nazareth, he adopted the nearby city of Capernaum as his ‘home-base.’ This probably caused some lingering resentment & the Nazareth-people were wondering why Joe & Mary’s boy didn’t spend more time & energy at home. In Jesus’ speech (verses 25-27), he refers to one of the lowest, most ungodly periods of Jewish history. His point: During that period, while God did very little among the Jews, He did do business with the Gentiles (non-Jews). Jesus is comparing that period of time to his own hometown & saying, “You compare to those ungodly Jews.” Those are hard words to hear.

- What are hard words you have had to hear? How did you respond?

- What kind of ‘excuses’ do we humans use to avoid dealing with hard words?

- Would Jesus have any hard words for you now? What would they be? How will you respond?

Verses 31 – 40

On the shore of Lake Galilee, Capernaum was a fishing village & home to Simon Peter (You can visit the likely site of his house still today!). Jesus had a home somewhere in Capernaum in which he often stayed. These paragraphs provide a general picture of the kind of ministry in which Jesus is engaged.

- There is a typical reaction to the activity of Jesus. What is it? (See verses 32 & 36.) Specifically, at what were the people amazed? (Verse 36 is key.)

- With one exception (in verse 40), everything Jesus does in these episodes he does by speaking. Do you think there’s any importance to this idea? What does it mean that Jesus’ word has authority?

- Is this still, today, an important idea? What does it mean for you & I if his word has authority?

Summary

What are some of the big ideas you’ve learned in chapter 4?

In light of what you’ve learned, is there any God-business you need to take care of in the immediate future?