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Luke 13:10-14:24

Taught on | Topic: Jesus' Ministry | Keywords: image of God, tradition, religion, church, animals, kingdom of God, parable, prophecy, God's timing, personal relationship, eternal life, government, politics, America, judgment, humility

Jesus often searched out those who were overlooked by society. He wanted to heal them and love them so He could showcase His work in them to the world. Unfortunately, His acts of love weren't always accepted. In this study, we see the response of His religious adversaries who strictly adhered to the Law of the Old Testament. We also learn that tradition can cause us to miss the most important thing: a relationship with the Lord.

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Luke 13:10-14:24
Luke 13:10-14:24
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Jesus often searched out those who were overlooked by society. He wanted to heal them and love them so He could showcase His work in them to the world. Unfortunately, His acts of love weren't always accepted. In this study, we see the response of His religious adversaries who strictly adhered to the Law of the Old Testament. We also learn that tradition can cause us to miss the most important thing: a relationship with the Lord.
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42 Luke - 2014

42 Luke - 2014

As a physician, Luke focused on the humanity of Jesus and presented Him as the Son of Man. In our study of this gospel, Pastor Skip Heitzig takes us through Luke's methodical account of Jesus' life, death,and resurrection so that we may "know the certainty of those things in which [we] were instructed" (Luke 1:4).

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Study Guide

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Luke 13

Christ Teaches on Repentance—Read Luke 13:1-9

1. As Jesus taught His disciples, some of those present told Him about Pilate killing some Galileans (see v. 1). What was offensive about this act?


2. In ancient times, it was assumed that calamity would come upon the extremely wicked (see John 9:1-2; Job 4:7; 22:5). Jesus asked a question to get those who brought up Pilate’s wickedness to think about the cause of suffering and death. What question did Jesus ask (see v. 2)? What did He want them to consider?



3. Jesus immediately answered His own question (see v. 3). By doing so, Jesus implied bad things can happen to any person. Just because calamity befell those Pilate killed did not mean they were worse sinners than other. In fact, they may have been righteous (as indicated by the fact that they were offering sacrifices to God). Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people (trick question)? (See Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:10-18, 23; 1 John 1:8.)



4. The Tower of Siloam was built inside the southeast section of Jerusalem’s wall. Jesus mentioned an incident in which it fell on and killed eighteen people. Jesus used this accident to get the people to think about the reason those people died. What did Jesus want them to consider (see v. 4)? (See also Deuteronomy 32:29; Ecclesiastes 7:2; Hebrews 9:27.)



5. Jesus wanted the people to understand that death comes to all and calamity comes to some, even to the righteous. Because of this, what point did Jesus drive home twice in this short teaching (see vv. 3, 5)?



6. Death does indeed come to all, and only repentance can prepare people to enter their eternal destiny. What must you do to ensure you have eternal life? (See Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-10.)



7. It does not matter how you die but rather how you live. Since, we will all die, how then shall we live? (See 1 Corinthians 1:7-8; 1 Peter 1:15; 2 Peter 3:10-13; 1 Timothy 6:18.)



8. In Scripture, a tree often represents a man or a nation (see Psalm 1:3; Jeremiah 17:8; Matthew 7:15-20). What do you think a vineyard is a picture of? (See Psalm 80:8; Isaiah 5:7.)



9. Figs were valued in Israel for their fruit, so fig trees would be planted wherever they would grow. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard (see v. 6). Who do you think this man was? (See Exodus 15:17; Psalm 44:2; 80:8; Isaiah 5:2; Jeremiah 2:21; Matthew 21:19.)


10. What did the man seek from his fig tree (see v. 6)? What does that which the man sought represent? (See Matthew 7:20; John 15:2; Galatians 5:22.)


11. The man had a keeper for his vineyard. A keeper of a vineyard is also known as a vinedresser. Who does the keeper of the vineyard represent? (See John 15:1-2.)


12. The man did not find what he was seeking from his fig tree. Therefore, what did he instruct the keeper of the vineyard to do (see v. 7)?


13. How long had the man sought fruit from the fig tree (see v. 7)? Approximately how long was Jesus’ ministry to His own? (See Matthew 15:24; John 1:11.)


14. What did the vinedresser recommend to the man (see vv. 8-9)?



15. What does Jesus look for and expect from His own? (See Matthew 7:19-20; John 15:2-8; 1 Corinthians 4:2; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10.)


16. What will happen if Jesus doesn’t find good fruit on His trees (see v. 9)? (See Matthew 7:19; 21:19; 25:24-30; Luke 3:9; John 15:2, 6; 1 Corinthians 3:13-15.)


17. How do Christ’s followers bear good fruit? (See Matthew 5:16; John 15:1-10.)


Christ Heals the Crippled Woman—Read Luke 13:10-17

18. Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath (see v. 10) as was His custom. In what condition was one of the women in attendance (see v. 11)?


19. What was the root cause of the woman’s condition (see vv. 11, 16)?


20. What four things did Jesus do to or for the woman (see vv. 12-13)?


21. After Jesus did these things, what happened to the woman (see v. 13)?


22. How was the woman’s response (see v. 13) an appropriate response to God? (See Luke 2:20; 5:25–26; 7:16; 17:15; 18:43; 23:47.)


23. Despite the miraculous healing of the woman, what was the ruler of the synagogue’s attitude and response (see v. 14)? How did his response demonstrate his priorities?


24. Jesus answered the ruler of the synagogue harshly, calling him a hypocrite. Hupokrites is a Greek word that means mask-wearer. Hupokrites were actors in the Greek theater who wore masks that were exaggerated, with huge smiles and frowns, so that even people in the back row could see the emotion being portrayed. We get the phrase two-faced from this same idea. How is the ruler of the synagogue’s response hypocritical in Jesus’ estimation (see vv. 15-16)?


25. What effect did Jesus’ response have on His adversaries? How did the multitudes react (see v. 17)?


26. On the Sabbath, Jesus loosed a woman who had been bound physically by a satanic spirit of infirmity. But because of their rules and regulations regarding the Sabbath, the religious leaders remained bound in false piety and hypocrisy. How can we ensure we are not bound by religious traditions and regulations? (See Psalm 19:13; 119:133; Romans 6:12; 1 Corinthians 6:12; 10:23.)


Parable of the Mustard Seed—Read Luke 13:18-19

27. Jesus gave a picture of what the kingdom of God is like. What is that picture (see v. 19)?



28. Who sowed the mustard seed? Where was it sown (see v. 19)?



29. What became of the mustard seed (see v. 19)?



30. In the parable of the sower, Jesus gave us the key to knowing all parables (see Mark 4:13). Who specifically do the birds of the air represent? (See Matthew 13:19; Mark 4:15.)



31. Birds are a biblical symbol of evil. These birds of the air lodge in the branches of the mustard seed tree, which represents the kingdom of God. Because of this, how should we be careful, taking heed to what we hear? (See Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21–22.)


Parable of the Leaven—Read Luke 13:20-21

32. Jesus presented another picture of what the kingdom of God is like (see v. 20). What was it (see v. 21)?



33. In Hebrew life, leaven played an important part not only in bread making, but also in the Law, rituals, and religious teachings. What became of the three measures of meal that the woman took and hid leaven in (see v. 21)?



34. In the Bible, leaven is often linked to evil. Read 1 Corinthians 5:6 and Galatians 5:9. What does a little bit of leaven do?



35. In both the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the leaven, Jesus clearly taught that something undesirable would exist in the kingdom of God. Like yeast and flocking birds, evil would exist and be pervasive. How can we guard against the evil influence of the wicked one, Satan? (See Ephesians 4:27; 6:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21–22; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8.)



The Way into the Kingdom—Read Luke 13:22-30

36. On Jesus’ journey towards Jerusalem (see Luke 9:51), He taught in the cities and villages (see v. 22). Someone asked Him a very important question, and the answer is one we must understand. What was the question (see v. 23)?


37. What was Jesus’ answer (see v. 24)? (See also Matthew 7:13-14, 21; 20:16.)



38. Jesus exhorted the person to “strive to enter through the narrow gate” (v. 24). What gate was Jesus referring to? (See John 10:7-10.)



39. Jesus gave an illustration to clarify His answer. The illustration was the story of a Master of a house giving a feast—symbolic of the kingdom of God. What two things did the Master of the house do that caused the people to cry out to Him (see v. 25)?


40. Presently, what position is Jesus in—a position from which He must at some point rise? (See Psalm 110:1; Mark 16:19; Luke 22:69; 1 Peter 3:22.)



41. How did the Master of the house respond to the people’s two cries (see vv. 25, 27)?


42. The people claimed to know the Master of the house, but He denied knowing them (see vv. 25, 27). What had the people done and not done that resulted in the Master of the house not knowing them? (See Psalm 6:8; Matthew 7:23; 25:12, 41; Luke 6:46; Titus 1:16.)


43. The phrase the weeping and gnashing of teeth expresses extreme disappointment and loss because of unbelief and unfaithfulness. When will the unsaved experience weeping and gnashing of teeth (see v. 27)? (See also Matthew 7:23; 24:51; 25:41; Revelation 20:15.)



44. Who was at the Master’s feast (see v. 28)? (See also Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:5-9, 11; Hebrews 10:38.)



45. What do you think Jesus meant when He said, “And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last” (v. 30)? (See also Luke 13:24-30; 1 Corinthians 1:27.)



Christ Mourns Over Jerusalem—Read Luke 13:31-35

46. Though, the Pharisees were Jesus’ adversaries, they warned Him that Herod wanted to kill Him (see v. 31). Do you think they were doing this to help Him or to hinder Him?




47. How did Jesus respond to the Pharisees’ warning (see v. 32)?





48. What was Jesus referring to when He said, “And the third day I shall be perfected” (v. 32)? (See Luke 24:46; Acts 10:40; 1 Corinthians 15:4; Hebrews 2:10; 5:9; 7:28.)




49. When Jesus said, “Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following” (v. 33), He was not saying that He would arrive in Jerusalem in three days. His point was that He had a mission in mind and that He would continue on the schedule He had set for Himself. What was Jesus’ mission in Jerusalem (see v. 33)? (See also John 3:17; 1 John 2:2.)


50. Luke records Jesus’ rejection of the nation represented by Jerusalem. What did Jesus liken Himself to (see v. 34)?




51. Because the nation was not willing to receive Jesus as their Messiah (see v. 34), what would be the result (see v. 35)?




52. What house was Jesus referring to that would be left desolate? (See Psalm 92:13; 122:1; 135:2.) When did this happen?




53. Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’” (v. 35). When will that occur? (See Zechariah 12; 14; Psalm 118.)

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Luke 14

Instruction on the Sabbath—Read Luke 14:1-6

1. The Sabbath was a day of commanded rest; therefore, Sabbath meals were prepared the day before. On this particular Sabbath, where did Jesus go to eat and who specifically was in attendance at this meal (see vv. 1-3)?


2. What was the response of the lawyers and Pharisees to Jesus’ question (see v. 4)?


3. Why did Jesus’ question illicit such a response from the lawyers and Pharisees?


4. In response to the lawyers and Pharisees’ silence, what did Jesus do (see v. 4)?


5. Because of the lawyers and Pharisees’ response, Jesus shared a real-life scenario to help them see the answer to His question. What was that scenario (see v. 5)?


6. Was it lawful to perform the actions in Jesus’ scenario? (See Exodus 23:5; Deuteronomy 22:4; Luke 13:15.)


7. What is the answer to Jesus’ question? In your own words, answer the question “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” (See Exodus 20:8-11; Mark 2:27-28.)


8. What was the final response of the lawyers and Pharisees to Jesus’ questions and scenario (see v. 6)? (See also Psalm 63:11; Romans 3:19.)


Parable of the Ambitious Guest—Read Luke 14:7-14

9. While at the Sabbath feast in the ruler of the Pharisee’s house, Jesus noted what some of the attendees were doing. What were they doing (see v. 7)? Why were they doing this? (See also Matthew 23:6; Mark 12:38-39; Luke 11:43; 20:46.)


10. What did Jesus teach a person to not do when invited to a wedding feast (see v. 8)? Why should a person not do this (see vv. 8-9)?


11. What did Jesus teach a person to do when invited to a wedding feast (see v. 10)? Why should a person do this (see v. 10)?


12. The parable of the ambitious guest contains a very simple life principle; this principle applies to seating arrangements at wedding feasts and to all of life’s choices. What is that principle (see v. 11)?


13. The word exalt means to raise in rank, character, or status or to elevate, glorify, praise, or honor. What does God do to those who exalt themselves (see v. 11)? (See also Proverbs 29:23; Matthew 23:12; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5.)


14. To humble means to make lower in status, prestige, or esteem. As an adjective, it means lacking all signs of pride, aggressiveness, or self-assertiveness. What does God do for those who humble themselves (see v. 11)? (See also Job 22:29; Psalm 18:27; Proverbs 29:23; Matthew 23:12; Luke 18:14; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5.)


15. In the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees, Jesus first addressed the lawyers and Pharisees (see vv. 3-6), then those who were invited to the feast (see vv. 7-11), then the one who invited Him to the feast (see vv. 12-14). What did Jesus tell the one who invited Him not to do (see v. 12)? Why?


16. What did Jesus tell the one who invited Him to do (see vv. 13-14)? Why?


17. Jesus turned the attention of the one who invited Him and all who were listening to the eternal perspective of receiving rewards for their works—being repaid at the resurrection of the just (see v. 14). Why should this be a motivating factor when we give a feast and in all we do? (See Matthew 6:19–21; 10:42; Mark 9:41; 1 Corinthians 3:8-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10.)

Parable of the Great Supper—Read Luke 14:15-24

18. One of those who sat with Jesus at the table was stirred up by what Jesus was teaching and shouted out. What did he shout out (see v. 15)? Was this person correct? (See Revelation 19:9.)


19. Having been rejected by the Jews, Jesus continued telling parables to the religious leaders to make it clear that they had rejected God’s Messiah (see Matthew 21:45) and that God was going to invite the Gentiles into salvation. Who was giving this great supper (see v. 16)? Who was invited (see v. 17)? (See also Matthew 22:14.) Who alerted those invited that the supper was ready (see v. 17)? Who do each of these people represent?


20. When a feast was planned, the invitations were sent out in advance so that the invitees could respond and the host could adequately plan for the expected number of guests. In Jesus' parable, all those who had accepted the invitation were informed that the supper was ready (see v. 17). What did those who had previously accepted the invitation do when they heard this (see v. 18)?



21. The guests who had previously accepted the invitation each responded to the man’s servant with their own excuse for not attending the great supper. What was the first excuse (see v. 18)? Why is this a very poor excuse?



22. What was the second excuse (see v. 19)? Why is this a very poor excuse?


23. What was the third excuse (see v. 20)? Why is this a very poor excuse?


24. When the servant reported the invitees' responses to his master, how did the master respond (see v. 21)?


25. Once the master was aware that his invited guests refused to attend his great supper, whom did he instruct his servant to invite (see v. 21)? Who do these people represent? (See Matthew 28:19; Luke 24:47; Acts 13:47; Romans 11:11; Ephesians 3:8.)


26. The servant completed his task, yet there was still room for more people (see v. 22). Who else was the servant instructed to find and invite to the great supper (see v. 23)? Who do these people represent? (See Matthew 22:10; 1 Corinthians 6:11.)


27. Jesus ended the parable of the great supper by stating that none who were invited would taste “my supper” (v. 24), as a direct reference to the marriage supper of the Lamb (see Revelation 19:9). Those who were invited and accepted the invitation were the religious leaders of the nation of Israel. Why would they not taste His supper? (See John 1:11; Matthew 21:43; 22:8; Acts 13:46.)



28. Jesus came into the world as God's servant (see Acts 3:26) to invite all to the feast in His Father's kingdom (see John 3:17). In the parable of the great supper, Jesus spoke of heaven, salvation, and eternity—matters of the greatest possible significance. Yet people said, "Sorry, I just don’t have time," and made excuses for not prioritizing the kingdom of God. How can you be sure you prioritize the calling and invitation you have received from God? (See Matthew 6:19-21, 33; Colossians 3:1-3.)


Christ Teaches on Discipleship—Read Luke 2:25-35

29. In the parable of the great supper, Jesus emphasized that attendance at the supper is an utmost priority, though not everyone who is invited to His supper will attend. With that premise, Jesus began to emphasize the importance and cost of being a true disciple. What was the first point Jesus made about being a true disciple (see v. 26)?


30. Was Jesus instructing His disciples to literally hate their family members? (See Leviticus 19:18; James 2:8.)


31. What was Jesus instructing His disciples to do by “hating” their family members? (See Matthew 10:37.)


32. What was the second point Jesus made about the cost of being a true disciple (see v. 27)? What does this mean? (See Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; Galatians 2:20.)


33. Using two illustrations, Jesus then taught that true discipleship must include planning and sacrifice. The first illustration was of a person building a tower (see vv. 28–30). Before building a tower, what must a person do (see v. 28)? What must a true disciple do?


34. What would be the result if a disciple did not do this (see vv. 29-30)?


35. The second illustration was of a king going to war (see vv. 31–32). Before a king goes to war against another king, what must he first do (see v. 31)?


36. Jesus acutely emphasized the cost of becoming His true disciple. What is that cost (see v. 33)?


37. There is a difference between being a Christian and being a true disciple. Disciple means disciplined one—one who is committed to the cause of the kingdom. Thus, Jesus was effectively saying, “You can’t be My disciple if other affections have priority in your life.” What is the true cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ and following Him? (See Matthew 19:21; Luke 5:11; Philippians 3:7-8.)


38. Following Christ has serious eternal consequences and a great cost in this life. We ought to start every day with an eternal perspective. Offer yourself up as a living sacrifice (see Romans 12:1), and imagine yourself at the bema seat judgment, appearing before Christ. What will the followers of Christ be judged for? (See Job 34:11; Psalm 62:12; Proverbs 24:12; Jeremiah 17:10; Romans 2:2-11; 1 Corinthians 3:8, 13; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10.)


39. In Jesus' time, salt was a valuable commodity and was often used to pay soldiers. The word salary is from the Middle English word salaire, from the Latin word salarium, which is a payment made in salt (sal) or for salt and which comes from salarius, meaning pertaining to salt. In the absence of refrigeration, salt was used to preserve meat and is still used to season and flavor food. What happens if salt loses its saltiness (see vv. 34-35)?


40. What was Jesus using salt to refer to? (See Matthew 5:13; Mark 9:50.)

41. Jesus concluded His teaching on true discipleship by saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (v. 35). What happens to a Christian who hears what Jesus says but doesn’t do what He says? (See Matthew 7:26-27; Galatians 6:3, 7; James 1:22; 2:20.)


42. Do you consider yourself a true disciple of Christ? We too have been invited to eat at His great supper, but we must not make excuses. We must count the cost, because following Him will cost us everything. Are you honestly living your life for His kingdom and righteousness?

Detailed Notes

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  1. Introduction
    1. We are stamped in creation with the image of God
      1. The image gets obscured by sin, culture, upbringing
      2. When we are born again, the latent image—there but unrevealed—is developed and shown by Jesus Christ
      3. We become God's showcase, His poiéma (see Ephesians 2:10)
    2. People marveled at what was a latent image now developed and showcased
      1. But not everybody did
      2. Some people were so bound by their background, tradition, and spiritual upbringing that they couldn't stand what Jesus was doing
    3. So often, Jesus came unglued with religious people and was much more welcoming to sinners
  2. Luke 13:10-21
    1. This is the last time Jesus visited a synagogue
    2. This woman had a degenerative spinal condition, but the physical manifestation was secondary to a work Satan had done in her life
    3. How many of us would suffer chronically for eighteen years and therefore find an excuse not to be in fellowship?
    4. Why didn't Jesus go over to the woman? He was calling her to exercise her faith, to do something
    5. The ruler of the synagogue
      1. Rather than addressing Jesus Himself, he addressed the crowd; passive-aggressive
      2. Instead of rejoicing in her healing, he resented his hassle
      3. The rabbis had laws and strong feelings about abusing animals
        1. They would think nothing of leading an animal to water on the Sabbath
        2. They loved animals more than people
        3. This is happening in our country
    6. It would have been tempting to think the kingdom of God was going to happen then, but the kingdom of God developed differently than they thought it would
    7. These three parables have the same meaning
    8. Mustard bushes don't grow into trees; these verses speak of unusual growth
      1. Traditional, typical interpretation
        1. The church started very small, then grew and filled the earth
        2. Speaks of the successful growth of the church throughout time
      2. But Jesus didn't give us the interpretation
      3. Other instances Jesus used the same language
        1. Birds
          1. Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23; Mark 4:3-8, 13-20
          2. He equated birds with evil, Satan
          3. Revelation 18:2
        2. Trees
          1. Ezekiel 17; Daniel 4
          2. A worldwide, dominating power; the growth of worldly nations
      4. The church will grow, but evil people and forces will lodge in its branches
      5. Not all growth is good growth
    9. Leaven
      1. Galatians 5:9; 1 Corinthians 5:6
      2. Almost always seen in a negative way
        1. No leaven allowed at Passover or in sacrifices
        2. Matthew 16:6; Mark 8:15
      3. Typical, traditional interpretation
        1. The church will grow; it will permeate the earth like leaven
        2. Dominion theology
      4. Just because there is growth doesn't necessitate good growth
      5. There was a time where church growth was abnormally large and foul birds and leaven entered the church
        1. 328 AD: Constantine defeated Licinius after supposedly seeing a vision of a cross, then imposed Christianity on the nation
        2. "I will set Christianity upon the throne of the Caesars" —Constantine
        3. The Roman church became enormously powerful
        4. The church does much better when they are persecuted, not when they are endorsed
  3. Luke 13:22-35
    1. Jesus Christ was on a timetable
      1. Daniel 9:25
      2. From the day Artaxerxes Longimanus gave the dictate to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (March 14, 445 BC) to 173,880 days later (April 2, 32 AD): the day the lambs were collected for sacrifice and Jesus presented Himself as king of the nation
      3. God is always on time
    2. While all roads lead to the judgment seat of God, not all roads lead to heaven
    3. Jesus moved from the hypothetical to the personal
    4. Temporal proximity to Christ does not equal eternal security with Christ
    5. "Lord, Lord" (v. 25)
      1. They had the eternal language, but they didn't have eternal life
      2. It's one thing to say, "Jesus is Lord"; it's another thing to submit to Jesus as Lord
      3. They had the right language, but they were missing a relationship
    6. Why would the Pharisees care that Herod was looking for Jesus?
      1. They wanted Him to go to Jerusalem
      2. There was a plot afoot to get Him killed
    7. Foxes were known as sly, destructive animals
      1. Term used to describe a worthless person
      2. Jesus was submitted to the will of His Father, not the political rulers
      3. But He called a spade, a spade
    8. The fear of man brings a snare
      1. If you can kneel before God, you can stand before any man
      2. Hugh Latimer in the time of King Henry VIII
    9. Verses 34-35 show us:
      1. The patience of God
      2. The pleading of Christ; Jeremiah 29:11
      3. The power of choice; 70 AD: temple destroyed by the Romans
      4. Doesn't it fit to say, "America, America, how often I would have gathered you, but you were not willing"?
        1. Will God judge America? He has already done that
        2. One of the first steps: God gives the nation over to what they say they want
        3. Romans 1
        4. The only alternative: a massive revival beginning with us on our knees before God in prayer and repentance
  4. Luke 14:1-24
    1. Wherever Jesus went, people watched Him
      1. People are examining your life
      2. Daniel 6
    2. Dropsy is an old word for edema, the swelling of an extremity because of fluid
    3. Perhaps this man was planted there to bait Jesus
    4. They were allowed to help a helpless animal on the Sabbath, according to the oral interpretation of the Mosaic law
      1. Here Jesus was fixing a human life, and they were all bent out of shape
      2. Every church has these type of people
    5. Luke 14 could be called "Jesus' Table Talk"
      1. Six parables, five of which are particular to Luke
      2. Centered around the people gathered at this meal
    6. The way up is the way down; the way down is the way up
      1. Get down, go low, humble yourself
      2. Always the best attitude with anyone
      3. Yesterday's famous people are today's forgotten people
    7. The Jews had the idea that the kingdom would be like a feast with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets
    8. This was not what the guy thought he was going to hear when he said, "Blessed are those who are going to eat bread"

Figures referenced: Constantine, Licinius, Artaxerxes Longimanus, Hugh Latimer, King Henry VIII

Greek words: poiéma

Cross references: Jeremiah 29:11; Ezekiel 17; Daniel 4; 6; 9:25; Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23; 16:6; Mark 4:3-8, 13-20; 8:15; Luke 13:10-14:24; Romans 1; 1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9; Ephesians 2:10; Revelation 18:2


Transcript

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Introduction: Welcome to Expound our verse-by-verse study of God's Word. Our goal is to expand your knowledge of the truth of God by explaining the Word of God in a way that is interactive, enjoyable, and congregational.

Skip Heitzig: Father, thank you for the opportunity as a family to gather and to sit and to linger. Lord, we don't have to worry about another service after this one. And we're just so grateful that you've given us a little place of rest and refreshment with a part of the family that gathers midweek, the soldiers of the faith, the ones, Lord, who really want to invest in understanding what the Spirit of God says through the Word of God preserved. And what you have proclaimed to us, Lord, we want to put into practice. And we pray that you'd help us, not only to hear, to listen, and as we do, to apply, but then to put into practice once we leave here. That truly our behavior would be different, our way of looking at life and looking at the world.

We wouldn't think that this applies to other people; it applies to us in many of these cases. So I pray, Lord, that we, your disciples presently, as we look at the life and times of Jesus with his disciples in antiquity, Lord, we would be able to take those lessons that transcend time and culture and make them ours. Lord, thank you for this family, for brothers and sisters. I know that many have come through a week that's been difficult. Some have had a week where it's been nothing but rejoicing. But, Father, when one member suffers, we all suffer. When one member rejoices, we all rejoice. So use this time as we are woven together by your love, in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

I was reading a photographic magazine. I have a little bit of background in photography. I've always dabbled in it and loved it. And something caught my eye. It was an article by a group that calls themselves The Rescued Film Project. And what they do is they look for old film that is still in cameras in somebody's home, garage, estate that has been forgotten about. And they develop it and they put it on their website, because they believe these are pieces of history that no one has seen yet. They were taken. They were captured. It meant something to the photographer at the time, but they have been lost, and so they're now developed. And this guy, just a few weeks back, came across like thirty-one rolls of film from World War II, a soldier who had been in World War II.

And it was medium format film, and he developed it in black and white developer with developer and fix and everything else, and revealed elements in time over seventy years ago that no one has ever seen. And it just struck me what a cool idea. And I did study and went through the images just to see these soldiers lining up, going to war, some coming back, some in battle---fascinating find. And so then I got to thinking about the process of photography. And let me just be brief on this, but there is in photography what is called the latent image, the latent image. Now let me explain this to you. When a piece of photographic film---that's what they used a long time ago, kids, film, [laughter] before iPhones and digital cameras.

And so when light exposes a piece of film---the film is essentially hardened gelatin with a thin chemical layer of silver bromide on it. And the light excites the silver bromide, so that it clumps together in areas that are exposed by the light, and does nothing in areas unexposed by the light, so that when you put it through a chemical process, the latent image is seen. "Latent" means it's there, but it's unseen. So, essentially, in all of these photographic rolls that were found by this modern photographer of a seventy-year-old photographer---or seventy years ago that it was taken, you had roll after roll of latent images. They were there, but undeveloped, and therefore unseen. He is in the process of discovering them, developing them, and showing them.

And so what got my attention, and the reason I'm explaining this is, essentially, that's what Jesus does. We are stamped in creation with the image of God. The image gets obscured over time, or hidden by sin, by culture, by upbringing, until we are born again. When we are born again, the latent image---it's there, but unrevealed---is developed and shown by Jesus Christ. We become a showcase. We become his poiéma, as Paul said in Ephesians. And so Jesus was in the business of finding people---we see it throughout the New Testament---stamped with the image of God. The image has been obscured. He sets them free, he heals them, he develops them, and then he showcases them.

And every time he does it, people oohed and aahed and glorified God in a much greater way than I did when I saw those images this last week on my computer screen. I went, "Ooh, wow! That's awesome. Check that out---Coca-Cola truck, soldiers." You know, I'm looking at all these things from seventy years past. People marveled at what was a latent image, now developed and showcased---but not everybody did. Some people, you would think, would just go crazy when they saw a healing or a restoration take place. But there were some people who were so bound by their background, by their tradition, by their spiritual upbringing that they just couldn't stand what Jesus was doing in the lives of people.

I've long marveled that so often in the New Testament Jesus comes unglued with religious people, and is much more welcoming to the harlot, to the thief, to the tax collector, to the sinners, to the people that nobody touched. He embraced them. He loved them. He developed them. He showcased them. Watch this in chapter 13 of Luke, verse 10. "Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath"---for you notetakers, this is the last time recorded when Jesus in his ministry visits a synagogue. He's marching toward Jerusalem. He often would go into the synagogues. This is the last time he will visit a synagogue as he is on his way to Jerusalem. "And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, who was bent over and in no way could raise herself up."

This woman had some sort of degenerative spinal condition like a spinal stenosis or a scoliosis that caused her to be bent over. However, whatever the physiological reasons were for her bent condition, those were secondary, because we're told by Jesus in verse 16 that she has been bound by the Devil for those years. So the physical manifestation evidently then was secondary to a work that Satan had done in her life. He brings that out. But I find it fascinating that in the synagogue on the Sabbath day was the woman who had suffered for eighteen years, and she's in church, so to speak, the synagogue. And I just wonder how many of us would suffer chronically for eighteen years and therefore find an excuse not to be in fellowship on the Lord's Day.

"Oh, this is---I'm having a bad day. I'm suffering. I'm really bent over. I can't make it." Now, keep in mind, they didn't have cars back then. They didn't have public transportation. They had to walk places. So, evidently, here's a woman in the synagogue who has not found it in her heart to be resentful for her condition before God. She's not saying, "How could a God of love allow this to happen to me? I'm not going to go to synagogue anymore." She's in synagogue on the Sabbath worshiping with the rest of crowd. "When Jesus saw her, he called her to him." Now there's just the little---it's the little things that get my attention anymore. Why didn't Jesus, seeing her bent condition, go over to her? He saw her and called her to come to him.

I think he is beginning to get her to exercise her faith, calling her to do something. He calls her. He summons her to him. "And he said to her, 'Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.' And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God." You could just picture it. You know, if you have ever seen a real healing, not a fake---I know there's lots of, you know, illegitimate stuff. But I've seen legitimate physical healing. And when I see it, it brings nothing but this kind of an emotion. It's often accompanied by tears. It's almost uncontained when you see somebody who's been unable to move a limb, suddenly have free motion of it. Nothing like it. She glorified God, and I'm sure everybody else did---as you will see, but not everybody.

"But the ruler of the synagogue"---I have to say it that way, because there's that negative contraction "but." So, you know, everything's good, "But there's this ruler of the synagogue who answered with indignation"---that means extreme anger. He was offended, the word indicates---"because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd"---notice this---"he said to the crowd, 'There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.' " I really don't know where to begin in making comment on this. But I'll start where I think is the beginning. Number one, rather than addressing Jesus himself, he addresses the crowd. Now, it's not their fault. They've come to worship. Jesus did the healing.

He has a message he wants to send to Jesus, but he doesn't address Jesus. He addresses the crowd who have come and watch Jesus heal. There is a personality type called passive-aggressive. This is an extremely passive-aggressive move. "I want to give a message to you, but I won't say it to you, because then I have to make myself accountable to you. So, I'll say it to somebody else, hoping that you will hear it." It's really the worst way to communicate. I don't handle those people very well. So rather than addressing Jesus, he addresses the crowd, first of all. The second thing to notice is this: instead of rejoicing in her healing, he's resenting his hassle. He has been upset. He has been offended. This is a hassle for him, because he doesn't know what to do with something that happens like this.

"On the Sabbath day? This just doesn't fit into my understanding of oral tradition and the laws of Moses." So you would think, "Hey, when was the last time, dude, you saw at a physical healing like this? Unless you've been hanging out with Jesus, you ain't ever seen one probably. So you should be rejoicing in her healing." But, no, he's so resenting his hassle that he can't rejoice in her healing. The third thing to notice is---well, I'll go on and then I'll show it to you. "The Lord answered him and said, 'Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound---think of it---for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?'

"And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him." Now, Jesus here points something out that is the third thing that I want you to notice about this little setting. The rabbis had laws and strong feelings about abusing animals. That's a good thing, isn't it? See the commercials on television about those poor little dogs and those poor little creatures, and we ought to take care of them and adopt them? And our heart goes out when we see those little puppy faces, do they not? However, do you get the irony here? Here's a woman bound. They would think nothing---on the Sabbath---of untying an animal from the stall, walking it out of the stall down to road to where there was water. That was permissible.

But they're worried about a woman being healed on the Sabbath. It shows me they love animals more than people. And I find that a terribly compelling argument out of Scripture, and deals with a modern problem we have in our country. In our country four out of every ten pregnancies end in abortion. Those are human lives. In New York City it's more like one to one correspondents, one to one, live birth to abortion. And I've been in New York City where there are protests against animal fur, people who would dare wear leather and fur. And I've engaged some of them in conversation only to hear that they're proabortion, pro-choice, you know, but really anti-mistreatment of animals. And I think, "How stinking ironic that they would value animals more than humans," and they do, and this country does.

In this country if you mess with the egg of an eagle, you can be put in jail for three to five years and be fined $500 to $250,000, depending on what species of eagle, if you tamper with the egg, a potential eagle. But you can kill a potential human, and that's "your choice." So when I look at this, I think of our country, and then I even think of some relationships that I know. I've been in places where I've seen husbands and wives argue and say the nastiest things [grumbling and mumbling], and then the little puppy comes in the house, "Oh!" [dotingly making affectionate expressions] [laughter] Whaat!? No. You ought to be doing that to her. Hypocrite! [laughter]

Now after this dramatic healing, it would be tempting for those watching this to think, "This is it. This is the synagogue service. It has culminated in the healing. This Jesus does a lot of this. We've heard about him." It would be tempting to think the kingdom of God is now. It's going to happen now. He's going to set up his messianic kingdom now. These are the signs and wonders predicted by the prophet Isaiah. This is it. But, no, it's not it. We know. It's been 2,000 years, it hasn't happened yet. It will happen, but what we have seen is a lapse of time where the King has come to rescue sinners. He has gone into heaven and at the right time he will come back again. We're waiting for the second coming.

So the kingdom of God has developed differently than they thought it would. Jesus speaks to that. "And he said, 'What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.' And again he said, 'To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until it was all leavened.' " Now these parables spoken together are essentially one. They have one and the same meaning. Let me give you what is the typical and traditional meaning before I give you what I believe is the correct meaning. First of all, mustard bushes don't grow into trees.

There is a species of mustard called the Khardal mustard, which is still a shrub. It's still a bush, and it can grow pretty tall for a bush, like fifteen feet tall. It's still pretty flimsy. So the idea of a mustard shrub or bush growing into a tree that is strong enough to support birds that would lodge in its branches is unusual, and therefore speaks of unusual growth. Now let me give you a traditional, typical interpretation. It goes like this: the church started very small. There were 12 disciples, then 120 in the upper room, then 3,000 on the day of Pentecost. Then the book of Acts shows us another 5,000, and then pretty soon twenty and 25,000. Then it spread throughout the Roman Empire. So it grew and has filled the earth, and it's big enough to house all of humanity to lodge in its branch.

It speaks of the success and the successful growth of the church throughout time. I disagree and here's why: first of all, Jesus doesn't give us the interpretation. There are no literary rules that he inserts in here so we can understand exactly what he says. So we are left with other instances---that Jesus using the same language---to interpret this one. So, for example, in another parable, which Jesus, incidentally, called the key to all of the other parables, the parable of the sower and the seed---remember that one? "A sower went out to sow some seed . . . some fell by the wayside," etcetera. Here's what he said, "Some of the seed fell by the wayside . . . and the birds of the air came and snatched it away."

When Jesus explained the meaning of the birds of the air, he said, "Whenever the truth is sown in people's hearts, Satan comes and snatches it away." So in that parable he equates birds with evil, Satan. In the book of Revelation, chapter 18, we have Babylon the great, the great harlot. And it says, "Babylon, Babylon has fallen, the dwelling place of demons, the prison of every foul spirit, and the cage of every foul and hated bird." You see, every time they're use in prophetic literature like this or symbolic literature, it's always evil. When it comes to trees growing in unusually large ways, we have only to look at Ezekiel 17, Daniel, chapter 4, where those visions were given, and the trees there represented this enormous, worldwide, dominating power, the growth of worldly nations.

So what I believe it means, and I think it's proved by the second parable here, is that the church will grow, certainly, the kingdom of God won't happen immediately in its glory, that it will when he comes the second time. We're waiting for that. In the meantime, this thing is going to grow. But it's going to be an unusual growth. And it's going to grow, certainly, and it's going to be large, which means that even evil people and evil forces, because of it growth, can lodge in its branches. It's like a warning. If you look at much Christian television, which typically I dissuade people from, often times, not all of it's bad, but there's enough of it that isn't good.

And when I see Jesus misrepresented by certain programs that I have seen, I think, "Boy, there are some strange birds that have landed in our tree [laughter] that pass themselves off as spokespeople for the kingdom." So, yes, it will grow, but not all growth is good growth. And that brings us to the second parable, which without a doubt shows you that it's evil entering the church, because it's the parable of leaven. And leaven or yeast was kept by women, whenever they would bake their bread, they would put in leaven saved from the previous loaf. They'd put it in the loaf of bread. It would permeate throughout the entire loaf and it would rise up. Because, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump."

And leaven is often---in fact, almost always---seen in a negative way. They were to purge their houses of leaven at Passover. No sacrifice was to be offered with leaven. Jesus said, "Beware of the leaven of the scribes and the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." So, leaven is almost always typical of something evil. But the typical traditional interpretation of that leaven parable is that the church will grow. And like leaven permeating the loaf, the church of Jesus Christ will permeate the earth. This is the favorite way of interpreting this passage by dominion theologians. Have you ever heard of that term, dominion theology? I won't explain it to you now. We'll move on, because I don't want to have a theology course here. I really want to teach through the text.

But dominion theology that teaches basically "we're taking over the world, and we'll have all the Christian politicians and a Christian community, and we'll bring in the kingdom ourselves." They like to see this as them. But, again, just because there is growth, doesn't necessitate good growth. And I think that there really was a time in church history when the growth that the church took on was this weird, abnormally large, powerful growth that wasn't good at all, but foul birds and leaven entered the church. I could go back to 328 AD, a very significant year. It's when Constantine, the almost emperor, fought Licinius at the Milvian Bridge. And in that battle, supposedly before the battle, Constantine saw a vision in the sky of a cross and the words "In this sign, conquer."

And so he took that as a sign that he was going to win the battle. He did win the battle. And he took that as a sign that he should impose Christianity on the empire. He wasn't a Christian, but his mother was, Helena. So he had a supposed---some kind of conversion. And this is what he said, and this is what sends chills up my spine: "I will set Christianity"---and I'm quoting him now. "I will set Christianity upon the throne of the Caesars." "I'm going to make it the official state religion. Everybody has to become a Christian." It was imposed. It became very powerful. The Roman church became enormously powerful from that time on. And the growth was not good growth, not good at all. And here's why: because up to that time there were pagan priests in the empire.

And the pagan priests worshiped in pagan temples and were funded by pagans. Now paganism was banned. Everybody had to be a Christian. The priests were thinking, "I don't want to lose my job. I will convert." And they became Christian priests of a Christian system. And it became, again, enormously---they were invested with enormous wealth and enormous power, because it became the official religion. The church does much better when they're persecuted, not when they are endorsed. That's just the facts of history. So, yes, the kingdom of God, it's going to grow. This tree is going to be enormous. But birds are going to lodge in its branches. Leaven will come into this loaf, and that will happen, until Jesus comes back for his church and takes us all away, and then eventually establishes the kingdom.

I think I maybe spent entirely too much time on that, so I want to go through. "And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying"---notice---"toward Jerusalem." We've seen this phrase before: "He set his face toward Jerusalem." "He's on his way to Jerusalem." Here it's mentioning it again. Jesus Christ is on a timetable. He is marching toward Jerusalem to be there at a very specific time predicted by Daniel the prophet. Do you remember the date? The prophet said, "That from the going forth of the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah the Prince, shall be 173,880 days." The wildest, craziest prophecy I know of.

So, if you were to count from the day that Artaxerxes Longimanus gave the dictate to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, March 14, 445 BC, and you were to count 173,880 days, you would get to April---you would get to---I--my head---my mind---I didn't study this in advance, so it's all by memory. I think it's April 2, 32 AD. I think that's it. And it was the day that the lambs were collected for sacrifice. And it was the day Jesus stood on the Mount of Olives and presented himself as the king to the nation. So he is going toward Jerusalem, and he knows he's going for a specific reason, and he's right on time. God is always on time.

And I love studying this stuff, because afterwards I go, "I can relax. God has my life in his hands. God has my next breath in his hands. I don't need to worry about this thing that has occupied my time those few hours earlier. He's in control." "And then one said to him, 'Lord, are there few who are saved?' " Think of that question; it's really a good question. It's a question that most people have the wrong answer to. I was, a couple weeks ago, in Florida doing a wedding. And after I performed the wedding this man was talking to me and said, "So you're the preacher?" And I said, "Yeah." And so, anyway, we got into a wonderful conversation. I had a chance to share the gospel with him.

He goes, "But, you know, we're all going to the same place. And, you know, we're all going to end up before God." I said, "Well, I agree with you---all roads lead to God. Everybody will have to face God one day. But that's where the dividing line is. Then there is heaven and then there is hell. There is eternal life and there is eternal damnation. And so while all roads will eventually lead you to the judgment seat of God in some capacity, not all roads lead to heaven." I don't think he knew what to say to me. I think he had another drink. [laughter] "Lord, are there few who are saved?" Now look how Jesus answered him. He moves from the hypothetical to the personal. This guy's hypothetical: "Listen, I have a theological question. You think there's few or many who are saved?"

Jesus cuts right to the personal. "He said, 'Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, "Lord, Lord, open for us," and he will answer and say, "I do not know you, where are you from," then you will begin to say, "We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets." '" Did you get that?"You were there with us. We were next to you. You were in our town. Man, you hung out at our Starbucks." [laughter] Here's the principle, and I don't want you to miss it: temporal proximity to Christ does not equal eternal security with Christ.

I know people who are so close---they hang out with God's people, they come to church---who aren't saved. Judas was as close as you get. He is not in heaven today by the choices he made. Continuing on, Jesus said, " 'But he will say, "I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from me, all you are workers of iniquity." There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. They will come from east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.' "

Notice what they say. Notice the words they use. Jesus said they're going to say this, "Lord, Lord." They have the eternal language, but they don't have eternal life. Anybody can go, "Praise the Lord!" It's one thing to say, "Jesus is Lord," it's another thing to submit to Jesus as Lord. "You say"---so they have the right language, but they're missing, they're missing a relationship. "I don't know you. I don't know you. You're missing a lifestyle. You're workers of iniquity. You're missing a relationship. I don't know you intimately, personally as a disciple." You know, when we say we know someone, it's a very interesting word. It's a slippery word now in our vocabulary.

I get probably, at least every other week, somebody who will say, "Do you---so-and-so says hi." And I go, "Who?" And they'll tell me his name and they say, "Well, he says he knows you very well." I said, "You know, he might, but I've---I don't think I've ever---I don't---I can't--- I'm trying to place---I'm trying---" So do any of you know the president of the United States? No. I don't. I've never met the man. I've met other presidents, but even those that I've met I could never say I, like, "I know him." I know who he is. I know what he looks like. I might know how he talks, or what his policies are, but I don't know him personally. There are people who know that about Jesus.

They know that he said this and he said that, and he's that, he's this, and he was born there and . . . ." But do you know him? "I never knew you as a follower. I never knew you as a disciple. Oh, I saw you as those who were fascinating with me, but I never knew you as one who followed me. You have the eternal language, but you do not have eternal life." What a shock this must have been. What a shocking answer. It's not what the guy expected when he asked a theological question: "Are there few who are saved?" Bam! "On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to him, 'Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill you.' " Now, again, it's the little things that get me in the text.

I read this and I thought, just recently as I read it again, I thought, "That's interesting that the Pharisees are warning Jesus to depart because 'Herod's looking for you.' " Why would they care? They hate Jesus. You would think they would say, "Let's not tell him. Let's just try and get him in trouble with Herod." Why would they even care to warn Jesus? Now here's the answer, I believe: they want him to go to Jerusalem. First of all, they want him out of there. "Get him out of our town. And if he goes to Jerusalem, we know that there's a plot afoot to get him killed. Let's get him toward Jerusalem, the center of Judaism, the center of our religious culture." And so they warn him, " 'Herod wants to kill you.'

And he said to them, 'Go, tell that fox, "Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected." Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.' " If you didn't catch that, that's heavy sarcasm. [laughter] He says, "Go tell that fox . . . ." Foxes were known as sly. Foxes were also known as being very, very destructive animals. And, also, the term "fox" was used to describe in that day a worthless person. So it's quite a thing for Jesus, knowing that Herod the tetrarch of that area, the king of that area is looking for him to kill him. "Go tell that fox, that sly, destructive, worthless king that I'm on a mission."

Now Jesus, of course, did this because he is submitted to the will of his Father, not the political rulers. Obviously, this is not politically correct, what Jesus just said, right? But he's pleasing his Father in heaven. And he's making a statement to the people by way of example, and how he is treating someone under authority, certainly respecting that person, but calling a spade a spade. And this is who that guy is: he is sly, he is deceptive, and destructive. And it's true, history does show he was a pretty worthless people, a worthless person, in terms of governing that area. "The fear of man brings a snare." I've said before that if you can kneel before God, you can stand before any man. If he is your Lord, you've got nothing to fear.

There's a great story of Hugh Latimer. Now, some of you will remember who he is in church history. But Hugh Latimer was a preacher who preached during the days in Britain of Henry VIII, the king. And King Henry was not fond of Hugh Latimer's bold gospel-centered, Christ-centered preaching on repentance. And he was offended by it so often. Well, the king came to hear him preach one day, and Latimer knew that he was in the audience, so in his preaching he performed a little soliloquy. Do you know what a soliloquy is? It's a little conversation, imaginary conversation with yourself. So he said in his sermon: "O Latimer! Latimer! Latimer! The great Henry is here in your service listening to you, be careful what you say, because he can take your life."

"But O Latimer! Latimer! Latimer! The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is also in this service today, be careful that you do not offend him." And he went on to preach and offend King Henry. [laughter] He didn't care who was in there. He wanted to please the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and I see that here with Jesus. "Go tell that fox what I'm doing, what I'm about." "'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent unto her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see me here again---or see me until the time comes when you say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" ' "

Notice in that little statement that Jesus instructs us on the patience of God: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent unto her." In other words, for generations, for years God had sent to Jerusalem prophet after prophet, messenger after messenger, the Old Testament shows that history, and so many of them were mistreated and killed by Jerusalem. So that shows the patience of God. The second, notice the pleading of Christ: "How often I wanted to gather you." And the metaphor is of a protective hen gathering her young. What an insight into the heart of Jesus, the patience of God, the pleading of Jesus Christ that he often wanted. That was his intention. He had the best intended for them, not the worst.

You know Jeremiah 29, "The thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of good and peace, to give you a future and a hope." That's the heart of Jesus. So we see the patience of God, we see the pleading of Christ, but we also see the power of choice. Jesus says, "But you were not willing!" And because they were not willing, because they said no to the invitation of Jesus Christ, he says, "Your house [the temple] is left to you desolate." Seventy AD it was completely destroyed by the Romans as Jesus predicted here and other places in more detail. "Assuredly, I say to you, you will not see me [your Messiah] until the time comes when you say," and they will, " 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' "

It's like a doctor holding a cure for a patient. The doctor knows this cure will absolutely take care of the illness, and the patient goes, "Nah, nah." It used to frustrate me as a kid, my dad was---I mean, he was a man's man. But my mom was a nurse, so he had access to good medical care in our house, as well as the doctors we knew in the area. But when something happened, he got hurt, he'd go, "Oh, I'm fine." I'm going, "Fine? You just cut your finger out off." He did one time cut the tip of his finger---all the way to the joint, the knuckle---off in a fan of a motor working on a car. And he took a handkerchief and he bundled it up and he kept working. I said, "Dude, I mean, Dad, [laughter] let's go to the doctor."

"Oh, I'll be fine." Why would you even say that? And the blood got so thick and started dripping, so he goes, "Yeah, I better do something." So he went into the house and instead of just, like, rushing to the hospital, he wrapped it up again and he took his razor out and needed a shave and, you know, look good, you know, as he went into the hospital. [laughter] Now, before we close off the chapter, there's something that is brought up quite often. Because here is the patience of God, the pleading of Christ, and the power of choice, a nation saying no to God, and I wonder about our nation.

I mean, doesn't it fit to say, "America, America, how often I would have gathered you, but you were not willing! You push me out of schools. You push me out of public institutions. You push me out of language. You even push me out of churches. "And your house will be left to you desolate." You know, sometimes people will ask me a question, and I take it seriously. They say, "Do you think God will judge America?" You know, Billy Graham used to say, "If he doesn't judge America, he owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology." And they said, "Do you think America will be judged?"

And the reason they ask that, students of prophecy realize that the Bible has detailed information regarding the future of Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Germany, Libya, and many other nations, Iran, etcetera, but it's completely silent, it would seem, on America. Now I know people who find the weirdest, most obscure text and say, "That means America." And I say, "Dude, on LSD that means America, but any normal thinking person, it does not mean that." [laughter] So, anyway, they ask, "Will God judge America?" And my answer is, "I believe he has already done that." One of the first steps in judging a nation is when God gives the nation over to what they say they want.

When it says, "We want that." "Because when they knew God, they didn't glorify him as God, therefore God gave them over," Romans, chapter 1, says. That's the first step. "You want it? You got it." And the preservation is removed and the judgment begins. Now, that's what I see happening. That is my opinion. And the only other alternative to that I see to correct that would be a massive revival. And if you want to see a massive revival, it doesn't begin with unbelievers, it begins with us on our knees before God in prayer and repentance and getting serious with God about the Christian walk. [applause] And that will spring out in meaningful outreach into this world. That's the only future alternative I see to this nation.

"Now it happened, as he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath," here it is again, another Sabbath day, "that they watched him closely." That's a lot of pressure. Wherever Jesus would go, people were watching him. Now, I am---I'm not Jesus. I don't even compare myself to him, except in this case. I know what it's like to be watched closely. My mother-in-law, who's visiting us for a month [laughter]---why are you laughing about that? [laughter] She actually is. She's visiting us from Michigan for a month. [laughter] She spends a month with us every year. Well, she travels around when we go to restaurants and stuff.

And years ago, one of the first times she came here, she looked at me and said, "You couldn't get away with anything in this town. Everybody sees you, knows you, watches you. When you walk in, people are looking at you to see how you're going to say hi to that person, if you're going to smile or not. And you have to through all that kind of scrutiny." So wherever Jesus went, they watched him closely. And you may not know this or not, but people are watching you closely, even if it's just the family that is close to you or the people that you work with. If you name the name of Christ, you're on their radar screen. They're examining your life. Daniel the prophet knew what that was about in chapter 6 when the law was passed that nobody could pray to any other god except the king.

And he got on his knees publicly and three times a day faced Jerusalem and worshiped. And they came to the king, his enemies, and said, "That Daniel," that was their word, "That Daniel." It's like my mom used to say to my dad, "That son of yours." [laughter] "That Daniel, one of the captives of Judah, he's been praying to somebody else." They've been watching him closely. They watched Jesus closely. They're watching us carefully, closely. And they watched him on the Sabbath day. "And behold, there was a certain man before him who had dropsy." What is dropsy? Some of you think, "That's when your arm drops down." No. Dropsy is an old word for edema.

Edema is the modern medical term for swelling of an extremity, because of inflammation due to fluid in that area. So when fluid builds up, doctors call it edema, and that's the dropsy. We don't know what caused it, but this man had dropsy. Because it was in a Pharisee's house on the Sabbath, I can't help but wonder---I can't prove it---but I can't help but wonder if he wasn't planted there on purpose. Because they knew something about Jesus. They knew he was a man of compassion. They knew that he couldn't stand still in the face of human suffering. He had to do something. "Here's a guy with the dropsy and it's the Sabbath day. Let's bring him to dinner."

Now, if that is the case, this is especially cruel, to exploit somebody's condition like that and to use him as bait. But I believe that is what is happening---they're using him to bait him. So, "Jesus answering"---what is he answering? Well, he's answering their thoughts---"spoke to the lawyers and the Pharisees, saying, 'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?' But they kept silent. And he took and he healed him"---that's his answer, like, yup---"and let him go. And he answered them, saying, 'Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?' And they could not answer him regarding these things."

If an animal, again, got stuck, not only could they lead it to water, but if an animal got stuck in a pit, to pull it out would be considered labor, it's work. But it's an animal who's helpless and so they were allowed to do that, according to the oral interpretation of the Mosaic Law. It is similar to saying, "If you had a flat tire on the Sabbath, is it lawful to fix it?" If you were to go to Jerusalem, and let's say I could take you there tomorrow. We were all on a bus. And tomorrow is Thursday, and we're touring the city and having a good time. But the next day, on Friday, Friday evening, I decide to take you on our bus through a neighborhood called Mea Shearim. It's the ultra-Orthodox portion of the city of Jerusalem. If you drive a car or a bus through their city, their portion of town, they will stone you.

They will stone the bus, because the law says, "You shall not kindle a fire on the Sabbath." And when you put the key in the ignition, and turn it to the right, and the gas from your carburetor---I'm thinking old school now. Your---what is it?---fuel injection, and the pistons start firing, you've kindled, like, if you have a V-8, eight of them. [laughter] You've kindled eight fires on the Sabbath. You're down, dude. [laughter] So that's how---that's how legalistic they are. Yet, for an animal it's okay. So it's like, "Dude, your donkey had a flat tire, and you'll fix it on the Sabbath day. This guy had a flat tire in his life, I am fixing him. He's had dropsy. He's had disease. You guys will fix your flat donkey's tire, and here I am fixing a human life, and you're all bent out of shape 'cause it's the Sabbath." [laughter]

By the way, they're still with us today. Every church has these nincompoops, loving, sweet nincompoops, [laughter] and they should be answered. "And they could not answer him regarding these things. So he told a parable to those who were invited." By the way, you could take all of this chapter and call it "Jesus Table Talk." That's what it's about. There are six parables, five of which are particular to only the gospel of Luke, and it's all stories, parables that are centered around the people that are gathered in this meal: the host, the person who has a disease, the people jocking for position at the table for the best seats, and the rest of crowd in the courtyard.

"So he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noted how they chose the best places, saying to them"---it was pretty customary to come to a meal, if you were kind of a local celebrity, and expect to be seated, like, in a place of honor. And that's okay, except when it's embarrassing when the host comes and says, "Um, I've reserved your place for somebody really important. Would you go sit outside or go down to the other side of the table?" That would be embarrassing. And that is essentially what Jesus tells them. " 'When you are invited,' " or " 'When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, "Give place to this man," And then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.

" 'But when you are invited, go sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, "Friend, go up higher." And you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.' " The way up is the way down; the way down is the way up. Get down, go low, humble yourself---always the best attitude with anyone. "Do you know who I am?" There are two different kinds of people. One will enter the room and say, kind of like, "Do you know who I am?" or, "Look who I am. I'm here." [laughter] The other person will enter the room and go, "Ah, there you are." That's the idea of humility---"There you are. There you are. Let me honor and esteem you. It's not about me."

Now what's interesting about being a celebrity is it doesn't last long. Yesterday's famous people are today's forgotten people. Go get an old magazine. Have you ever done this, gone to, like, a secondhand store and found old magazines? I've done it, and recently I flipped through and look at all these pictures of these people. And I went, "Who? Who? Who's that? Who?" You know, so many I've never even heard of, but back then they were, like, wow. "And then he also said to those---or to him who invited him, 'When you give a dinner or supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, lest they invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.' "

So far it's a pretty tense meal, wouldn't you say? It's like, "Uh, could you pass the olives?" [laughter] And notice the tension in the room. When one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, 'Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!' " There's always one of these guys around at a meal. It's like it's so tense and it's silent, you could cut it with a knife, and somebody goes, "Uh, how about those Patriots?" [laughter] Or, or if it's a Christian meal, it's like, "Uh, praise the Lord!" When, you know, I mean, it's like this is getting so heavy and so tense that somebody just blurts this out. Now certainly, "Blessed is he who eats bread in the kingdom!" The Jews did have the idea that the kingdom will be like a feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, even Jesus indicated that, and all of the prophets gathered together for a great feast.

And the fellow who said what he just said in this tense moment certainly thought he'd be there, he's going to be part of this great feast, he's one the invited guests, until "Jesus said to him, 'Well, a certain man had a great supper and invited many, and sent his servants at supper time to say to those who were invited, "Come, for all these things are now ready." But they all with one accord began to make excuses' "---an excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie. " 'The first said to him, "I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused." Another said, "I bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm going to test them. I ask you to have me excused." Still another said, "I just got married, man. I've married a wife, therefore I cannot come."

" 'So the servants came and reported these things to his master. And the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, "Go quickly out into the streets and the lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind." And the servant said, "Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room." Then the master said to the servant, "Go out into the highways and the hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. I say to you none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper." ' " It's not what the guy thought he was going to hear when he said, "Blessed are those who are going the eat bread!" "They're not going to my supper." [laughter] Now what does this mean? That will be next week's study.

Father, thank you that we are saved by grace. You did a work and you finished the work. And we don't add anything to it. We don't subtract from it. Lord, even with our sin, your sacrifice was enough to cover every one of them. Thank you, Lord, for the love of a God who would compel as many as possible to come into his feast to enjoy his delicacies and his dinner. But not all who think they will be there will be there. Lord, I pray that you would give us a measure of grace and wisdom and love, that we would know how to answer every man, every one, like we spoke about Sunday that our love for people would be mature and responsible, discerning and knowledgeable.

We see that in the life of Jesus. What a compelling piece of Scripture this is. And how we thank you for our lovely Savior who is never taken off guard, and who knew how to answer every single person in every single situation. Now help us, Lord, to emulate him, and to with one another be humble, that you might exalt us in due time, in Jesus' name, amen.

Closing: If you've missed any of our Expound studies, all of our services and resources are available at expoundabq.org.

Additional Messages in this Series

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6/25/2014
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Luke 1:1-25
Luke 1:1-25
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Luke gave a methodical account of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection that painted just one perspective of the full portrait of Christ. In this study, we recount the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments and see how God closed the Old Testament with both a promise and a curse. In a natural segue, Luke picked up on that promise with the story of Zacharias and Elizabeth, and we see how God turned the curse into grace when Jesus entered the picture.
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7/9/2014
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Luke 1:26-80
Luke 1:26-80
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Two thousand years ago, an angel announced to the young virgin Mary that she would give birth to the Son of God. Her response of faith and song of praise demonstrated a deep love for the Lord. As we close out the first chapter of Luke, we are also introduced to the man who would announce Jesus the Messiah, and we are exhorted to reevaluate our own concept of greatness in light of God's view.
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7/16/2014
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Luke 2
Luke 2
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As we study the birth of Jesus in Luke 2, we learn about the events surrounding this special occasion, including the days leading up to Jesus' birth, Joseph and Mary's journey to Bethlehem, the angel's proclamation to the shepherds, and blessings from two people present at Jesus' dedication in the temple. Through these events recorded in Luke's gospel, we are reminded about God's sovereignty, Jesus' humility, and our salvation.
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7/30/2014
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Luke 3
Luke 3
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In Luke 3, we are introduced to John, the forerunner of Jesus. Although John seemed to be an unusual man and shocked many people by what he said and did, his dedication to follow the Lord is what made his life count. Jesus even said that there hasn't been anyone greater than John. As we get a glimpse into his life and character, we are directed to the message he wished to proclaim: Jesus Christ the Messiah.
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8/6/2014
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The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
Luke 3:23-38
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When studying the Scriptures, genealogies can often be overlooked, mistakenly seen as an unimportant list of names. But as we consider the genealogy of Christ found in Luke 3, we find that the lineage of Mary, Jesus' mother, shows us four important things about Christ and solves one of the biggest problems of the Old Testament.
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8/13/2014
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Luke 4:1-29
Luke 4:1-29
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After Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River and filled with the Holy Spirit, He was led into the wilderness, where He experienced a season of oppression and conflict. In this study, we see the tempting offers the Devil extended to Jesus and how Jesus handled them, and we learn how to overcome our own temptations.
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9/3/2014
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Luke 4:16-5:26
Luke 4:16-5:26
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As we wrap up Luke 4 and begin our study in Luke 5, we continue to explore the public ministry of Jesus, examining aspects of His character as the promised Messiah, our compassionate healer, our great teacher, and the Son of Man who forgives sins. In this passage of Scripture, we learn what it means to serve the Lord and follow Him with uncompromised obedience.
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9/10/2014
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Luke 5:27-6:19
Luke 5:27-6:19
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God uses a variety of people to build His kingdom; in fact, the men Jesus chose as His disciples might even go on a list of "Most Unlikely to Succeed." In this study, we see how Jesus' interactions with His disciples, the Pharisees, and the multitudes were infused with a deep compassion. We are also reminded that God chooses to use the foolish things of the world, and we can take comfort knowing that He sees us for who we will become.
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9/17/2014
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Luke 6:17-7:23
Luke 6:17-7:23
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Jesus' public ministry of preaching to the multitudes and performing miracles went against the flow of the world—especially since He reached out to the downtrodden with love and grace. As we continue our study through Luke 6-7, we examine a different take on the Beatitudes, observe an extraordinary encounter with a Roman centurion that even left Jesus amazed, and learn what it means to live with Jesus as our Lord.
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9/24/2014
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Luke 7:19-8:3
Luke 7:19-8:3
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As we finish our study of Luke 7, John the Baptist comes back into the picture, this time imprisoned and doubting who Jesus is. But Jesus comforted John through the message He sent, and we consider why Jesus called this final Old Testament prophet great. Then, in a passage of Scripture found only in Luke's gospel, we observe the great mercy Jesus extended to the outcasts of society He often spent time with—in this case, women.
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10/1/2014
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Luke 8:1-39
Luke 8:1-39
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Jesus displayed a great measure of compassion throughout His ministry on earth, whether He was performing miraculous works or revealing deep spiritual truths. In this study of Luke 8, we consider Jesus' power to save and heal us, and we learn from His actions and parables about what it means to grow spiritually and place our faith in Him.
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10/8/2014
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Luke 8:40-9:17
Luke 8:40-9:17
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The miracles Jesus performed show that He is sovereign, compassionate, and powerful. Throughout His ministry on earth, a number of people approached Him by faith to ask for healing. As we study Luke 8-9, we see how Jesus met these people where they were and how He challenged His own disciples to trust in God's provision. We are reminded that God cares deeply for us and that He will use us in big ways if we offer Him what we have.
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10/29/2014
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Luke 9:18-62
Luke 9:18-62
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Over the centuries, countless groups and individuals have made claims about the person of Jesus Christ, but that's not enough to know who He really is. Luke presents an accurate picture as he records both Jesus' claims about Himself and what those nearest said about Him. As we continue our study in Luke 9, we consider two different ways to approach life, how to navigate mountaintop and valley experiences, and how worship and evangelism should naturally weave together in our lives.
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11/5/2014
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Luke 10
Luke 10
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The service we give to the Lord is important, but it's equally important to sit before Him in adoration. In Luke 10, we read that Jesus sent out a group of His followers to share His message of peace, told the parable of the good Samaritan, and encountered sisters Mary and Martha. As we study these stories, we are reminded to keep our focus on Christ.
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11/19/2014
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Luke 11:1-28
Luke 11:1-28
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As the disciples listened to Jesus' teachings and watched Him perform miraculous works, they also saw His dynamic prayer life with God the Father. In this study of Luke 11, we learn that praising and pouting are difficult to do at the same time, see Jesus' great power as he encountered an unclean spirit, and break down the prayer that He gave to the disciples.
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1/7/2015
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Luke 11:29-12:21
Luke 11:29-12:21
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As the antagonism toward Jesus began to grow, the focus of Luke's gospel transitions from the works of Jesus to the words of Jesus. In this study, we see that the Pharisees were unwilling to accept Jesus, focusing only on outward acts. We are cautioned to watch out for hypocrisy in our lives and focus on our relationship with God rather than material satisfaction.
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1/14/2015
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Luke 12:22-13:9
Luke 12:22-13:9
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As Jesus began His private ministry to His disciples, He explained what the attitude of His followers should be. In this study, we are reminded that we can rest in God's care because of our new relationship with Him, even when we're tempted to worry. We are also challenged to let our faith become action by living differently than the world and working to bring others into God's kingdom while we still can.
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2/4/2015
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Luke 14:15-15:32
Luke 14:15-15:32
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Jesus was a master storyteller, and He shared stories that shed light on some important truths. In this study, we examine five different parables of Jesus about things that had been lost. We learn what our highest priority should be, what it really means to be a disciple, and what the Lord is all about—rescuing those who were once lost and redeeming them for His glory.
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2/11/2015
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Luke 16:1-18
Luke 16:1-18
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After Jesus addressed several religious leaders in Luke 15, He turned His attention to the disciples to teach about stewardship. Jesus essentially asked them what they were investing their lives in—the temporal or the eternal? In this study, we learn that we must answer this same question and that our response will reveal who we truly serve.
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2/18/2015
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Luke 16:19-17:37
Luke 16:19-17:37
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As Jesus continued to talk to His disciples and the nearby Pharisees, He told them stories about the kingdom of heaven and warned those listening about their eternal fate. He also shared four basic things expected of those who follow Him. In this message, we're challenged to forgive freely, serve faithfully, live thankfully, and be prepared for Jesus' second coming.
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3/11/2015
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Luke 18
Luke 18
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In Luke 18, Jesus continued to share parables with those He encountered, explaining that humility and persistence in prayer are pleasing to the Lord. We also see Him tenderly bless children and call out a rich young ruler's obsession with wealth before we wrap up the chapter by looking at the faith of a blind man Jesus healed.
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3/25/2015
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Luke 19
Luke 19
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In Luke 19, Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem as the Messiah and the Passover Lamb, beginning the grand finale of His life: death on the cross. As we look at the story of Zacchaeus, we learn that all of us are short in stature, spiritually speaking. We're also challenged to faithfully serve the Lord, and we study one of the Bible's most intricate prophecies about the end times.
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4/1/2015
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Luke 20
Luke 20
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Luke 20 is all about confrontation: in the middle of the crowded temple court, Jesus addressed the Pharisees and Sadducees' pointed questions with sharp wisdom and divine discernment. Mere days before His crucifixion, we also see Jesus expose the sin of His chosen people and discuss the topics of baptism, taxes, and the resurrection of the dead.
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4/8/2015
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Luke 21
Luke 21
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As Jesus continued to teach in the temple just days before His death, He noted the generosity of a poor widow and then launched into the Olivet Discourse, in which He gave an overview of what the end times will look like. This chapter of Luke is extremely relevant for believers today as we watch and wait for Jesus to come back and establish His kingdom on earth.
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4/15/2015
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Luke 22:1-46
Luke 22:1-46
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In Luke 22, Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover, which was—and is—of monumental importance to the Jewish nation. As we get into the details of the Passover meal itself, we examine how Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross would soon transform the meal's meaning, and we are reminded of the coming kingdom and Jesus' love for all people.
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4/22/2015
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Luke 22:39-23:1
Luke 22:39-23:1
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Human life—including human failure—began in the garden of Eden, but new life began in the garden of Gethsemane. In the second half of Luke 22, we see how Jesus fought the battle for our eternal fate, and we learn about Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial, both of which demonstrate God's sovereignty and control.
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4/29/2015
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Luke 23
Luke 23
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Luke 23 details the sentencing, beating, crucifixion, and death of Jesus Christ, the Anointed One. In our study of this chapter, we explore the significance of where Jesus was crucified and ponder the great truth that the cross had to come before the empty tomb.
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5/6/2015
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Luke 24
Luke 24
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As we wrap up our study in the book of Luke, we zero in on the event that sets Christianity apart from every other religion: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this message, we dive into the details surrounding the resurrection, including the women's visit to the tomb, the disciples' conversation on the road to Emmaus, and Jesus' ascension.
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There are 28 additional messages in this series.
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