STUDY NOTES on previous study
Unsettling Teachings (Luke 12:35-59)
Most
of the teachings and actions of Jesus are an absolute joy to study! But I must admit, the last half of Luke 12
makes me squirm. While much of Jesus’
teaching is very challenging, most of it leads to a life that is truly more
peaceful and meaningful. Don’t
misunderstand what I am trying to say, but there is little joy or peace in this
week’s teachings. We are warned to be
ready, to be accountable (or we will get a severe beating!), to recognize the
divisive nature of the kingdom, and to settle all accounts with accusers before
we go before the judge. What is all this
about? Was Jesus having a bad day?
Well,
actually, yes. Not that He presented
something in this passage that is untrue or unnecessary, but the timbre of
Jesus’ teachings and actions have changed.
He has been repeatedly surrounded by unbelief – intentional
unbelief. Hard hearts. Closed ears.
Unseeing eyes. The opposition to
His clear teachings and to the well attested fact that He is the Messiah has
greatly increased. It is not out of
anger or frustration that Jesus changes direction of His teaching, it is out of
need. There is an obvious urgency in
Jesus’ words. It is time to
understand. In a short period of time,
Jesus will die. So He presses those
around Him to pay attention – there was much at stake. And we are in the same situation, brothers
and sisters. Many of us have been lulled
to sleep spiritually by our assumptions of security and long life. We need to heed the urgency of Jesus’
teachings in these verses and live accordingly.
The
overall theme of this passage is “be ready.”
But the idea is not so much our being ready at a specific time, for we
do not know when the Lord will return.
It will be like a thief, who clearly does not come when one
expects. Thus, the clear idea is to
always be about the Master’s work. In the
first little parable we are told to be ready for action, ready to run at the
Master’s bidding at every given moment.
Like servants waiting for their Master to return from a wedding banquet,
we are to be alert, with lamps lit, ready to serve. If we are always ready, Jesus will then host
us, and even serve us at His table when He comes. Great are the blessings for the servant who
understands his role and fulfills it to the glory of God!
Peter
then asks a question a bit similar to the scribe who said “Lord, do you know
that you are offending us as well?” In
other words, Peter wanted to know if Jesus was speaking to them (apostles) or
everyone? The answer was “Yes.” Jesus was speaking to everyone! Jesus then uses three short illustrations to
make His point. First, He speaks of
slaves who have been given the responsibility to disperse food provisions for
the Master. This was a great
responsibility. This is particularly
interesting in light of last week’s study – when Jesus told us that God would
provide our every need and we need not worry.
So, in a sense, we are all like the slave given the responsibility to distribute
God’s wondrous provisions. Woe to the
slave who uses his exalted position for self-glory or self fulfillment! The Master will return and cut him off
(literally “in half”) and place him with the unfaithful. The second story has to do with a slave who
was fully aware of his master’s desires and simply did not do them. He will be severely beaten for his
intentional disobedience. The slave who
did not know will receive less punishment.
The third illustration really summarizes the first two and directly
answers Peter’s question. Yes, Jesus was
talking to His disciples, as well as everyone else. Some will have more responsibility than
others. The apostles were put on notice
here, they were clearly given much, so from them, much was required. So, in a very special way, they were to be
constantly prepared for the Lord’s work.
What
does all this mean to us? Again, we have
the unambiguous call from Jesus to be about the kingdom – all the time. We must not see life as ours to use at our
discretion, with an eye to the heavens from time to time. We must be about our Lord’s work at all
times. And it is clear that Luke thinks
we are now even more responsible because of all we have been given. We know that Jesus is Messiah. We know that life is about pursuing God and
His purposes for our lives. Jesus calls
us to be His faithful servants in all we do, all the time. We are gratefully appropriating God’s
generous gifts to the world. We must
never think that life is about us, so that we, like the unfaithful servant,
would start using our privilege for self focused consumption. “From the one to whom much has been
entrusted, even more will be demanded” (Luke 12:48b).
What
about Jesus’ teaching on fire and division?
Likely, Jesus’ use of “fire” here refers to the refining fire of God’s
kingdom. It is painful, but its purpose
is to purify. Jesus wished His refining
fire had already been completed. In
order to light this fire, it would cost Him a painful and terrible death (the
“baptism” to which He referred is His crucifixion). The refining fire would not bring peace, but
division. While Jesus is indeed “the
prince of peace” it is not a peace without the painful and divisive nature of
His purifying fire. The closest
relationships will be broken over the uncompromising nature of the
kingdom. One must make an unequivocal
affirmation of allegiance to Jesus as Christ, no matter what the cost!
Jesus
then comments again on the peoples’ inability to understand what is going
on. With all that Jesus has done and
said, they should understand without difficulty who He is. They can look to the sky and predict rain, or
feel the desert wind and say, “The heat is coming”, but those signs are nothing
compared to what Jesus has done! How
could they be so blinded? The more
pertinent question is, “How can we be so blinded?” We know the story. We know what those who were walking with
Jesus did not know. We know about the
cross. We know about the
resurrection. We know about the
atonement. Yet we still avoid the
implications. This is the time for the
kingdom to be experienced. This is the
time for the kingdom to be expanded.
Will you be about the king’s work?
Do you know what time it is?
The
ending paragraph in chapter 12 has been largely ignored or misunderstood. This is not a commandment about “not going to
court.” This is a teaching about the
urgency of the times. God is the judge. Now is the time to settle with anyone who
might have a grievance with us. Now is
the time to be about God’s business! If
these people were even incapable of discerning the coming of God’s kingdom,
what business did they have taking a little grievance to court? This was serious business – this is God’s
purpose for our lives. The time has
come. Spend your life on the only thing
that ultimately matters – the
A New Perspective for Life (Luke 13:1-21)
1.
What is the overall lesson in last week’s reading? How should we respond to this?
2.
In what sense are we those “to whom much has been given?”
3.
How is it that the “prince of peace” said He did not come to bring peace
but division?
4. Is it possible for us to be
guilty of “not knowing how to interpret the present time”?
Read Luke 13:1-5
1.
How did Jesus respond to the question about the cause of seemingly
unlucky or unmerited deaths?
2.
What does “repentance” have to do with this? Do all of us really need to repent?
3.
In what sense will we perish if we do not repent? Of what is Jesus calling us to repent?
Read 13:6-9
1.
What was the purpose of planting the fig tree? How does this apply to us?
2.
Why did the owner want the fig tree cut down?
3.
Why did the gardener ask to give the tree another chance?
4.
How did the owner respond and how does this apply to us?
Read 13:10-17
1.
Why is it significant that the lady had been crippled for so long?
2.
What did the women do when healed and why?
3.
What does the leader of the synagogue’s response tell us about his
heart?
4.
Are we ever like that leader? If
so, how?
Read 13:18-21
1.
How is the
2.
How is the
3.
What should these two illustrations mean to us?