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Luke 14
Jun 1, 2008 13:49:29 GMT -8
Post by Josh on Jun 1, 2008 13:49:29 GMT -8
Post your comments/ questions/ discussion starters on Luke chapter 14 as replies here.
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Luke 14
Jun 4, 2008 20:29:34 GMT -8
Post by Josh on Jun 4, 2008 20:29:34 GMT -8
This has always been one of my favorite images of God's love- even in one way more than the Prodigal Son story. In the Prodigal Son story the Father is pretty passive, at least until the end. But here, in this passage, Jesus highlights the active love of God for the prodigal.
At times in my life I have felt God pursuing me like this very keenly. To be honest, there were other times (particularly at times when I was caught up in doubt years ago) when I didn't feel God's active pursuit at all and I actually flung this passage in his face. But God has honored that accusation in His own time, proving to me since then over and over again how He is indeed a God who pursues us on the rocky heights.
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Luke 14
Jun 7, 2008 14:19:29 GMT -8
Post by Josh on Jun 7, 2008 14:19:29 GMT -8
Luke 16:8-9 "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
One of my all-time favorite sayings of Jesus. It's pretty cagey with it's ends-justify-the-means approach and praise of worldly craftiness.
I love that Jesus is in effect telling us to be "street smart". Man, that blows a lot of religious stereotypes right there.
But besides that, it effectively denigrates wealth from worship status to a mere tool for Kingdom use, prepping us for the reality in verse 13 that we cannot ultimately serve both God and Money.
I think the use of the word detestable in verse 15 is telling. God seems to reserve his greatest anger for those who misuse his blessings- especially knowledge and wealth in the case of the Pharisees. And seeing as how those are the blessings that most of us Americans have been endowed with, we'd better take note as well.
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Luke 14
Jun 9, 2008 15:31:20 GMT -8
Post by christopher on Jun 9, 2008 15:31:20 GMT -8
Per Josh's request, I'm posting my notes from yesterday's lesson (by the way, thanks for inviting me to lead the discussion, I thoroughly enjoyed it as usual ). Passage:Luke 14:15-35 15 Now 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!" 16 Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.' 18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. 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.' 19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.' 20 Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' 21 So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.' 22 And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.' 23 Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.' " 25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26 If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it-- 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
34 "Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" NKJV
Context:Where: Journeying toward Jerusalem for His death. (Luke 13:33) Who: Jews He meets along the way (Synagogues, crowds, etc) When: Just before his crucifixion (Luke 13:33) What: Prioritizing kingdom of God over all other things. Accompanying parables and analogies: •Take lowest seat in banquet so you are not shamed (humility). •Invite to feast those who cannot repay (true charity). •A certain man who gave a feast (the uninvited). The parallel in Matt 22 is of a king. •Building a tower and counting the costs of it •King goes to war outnumbered 2:1 •Salt is good, but is useless if it loses it’s flavor. •Gentiles receiving kingdom in place of nation of Israel (13:24-30) •Parables of lost things (Ch. 15) •Prodigal son (Ch. 15) •Unjust steward (Ch. 16) •Lazarus and rich man (Ch. 16) •Everybody pressing into kingdom •Divorcing and remarrying. Discussion questions:1. What are your honest initial reactions to these statements? a. Does this seem statement seem to be in-line with the Jesus you know? 2. How do we reconcile with other scriptures that talk about loving everyone and honoring your mother and father and loving others as yourself? (Ex 20, Eph 6) a. Read Matt 10:34-39, "hate" is Hebrew idiom for loving one thing less than another. b. Other hate passages Mal 1:2-4, Rom 9:13, Gen 29:30-31, Matt 6:24, Matt 5:43 c. NT:3404 miseo (mis-eh'-o); from a primary misos (hatred); to detest (especially to persecute); by extension, to love less: (The latter is in view in this passage) 3. Jesus had a habit of thinning crowds by saying difficult and shocking things: (Read John 6:66-69) a. Why didn’t the disciples leave when everyone else did? (He alone had words of life) b. Why would Jesus want to thin the crowds by saying difficult, unpopular things? c. Only Jesus has words of life. Without this knowledge deep in the soul, following Jesus can be difficult and some might fall away because of it. d. Jesus often made a big deal of knowing Him (and conversely not knowing Him), why? e. What did the disciples do to demonstrate their commitment? (Matt 19:27, Luke18:28) 4. What are the implications of Jesus stating the opposite? (You can be my disciple even if you love mother, father, child, self, etc. more than me) a. People, things, etc. end up being gods over God in that case. (Parable of the sower). 5. So what then is the likely meaning and application of this phrase about favoring Jesus above all? a. More of a statement of fact than a condition (but kind of both). Jesus did not come to start a popular movement, but in one sense to start a war and take back the world that is rightfully His. Fierce resistance is a certainty. Jesus is a king that commands loyalty.
i. People won’t persevere if they aren’t committed. Can’t be committed if you are not totally convinced of Jesus’ claims of Lordship. (compare to Iraqi soldiers who easily surrendered in the war.) iii. True faith means a trust that perseveres through all kinds of adversity. He’s saying that there are situations where you cannot be loyal to both Jesus and other things you love. It’s about CROWNING HIM LORD OF ALL !!!!
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Post by Josh on Jul 29, 2013 21:09:58 GMT -8
Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.
Some thoughts on our investments in relationships from Oswald Chamber's My Utmost For His Highest that I think help us understand why Jesus is so insistent in this verse:
Disillusionment means having no more misconceptions, false impressions, and false judgments in life; it means being free from these deceptions. However, though no longer deceived, our experience of disillusionment may actually leave us cynical and overly critical in our judgment of others. But the disillusionment that comes from God brings us to the point where we see people as they really are, yet without any cynicism or any stinging and bitter criticism. Many of the things in life that inflict the greatest injury, grief, or pain, stem from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts, seeing each other as we really are; we are only true to our misconceived ideas of one another. According to our thinking, everything is either delightful and good, or it is evil, malicious, and cowardly.
Refusing to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering of human life. And this is how that suffering happens— if we love someone, but do not love God, we demand total perfection and righteousness from that person, and when we do not get it we become cruel and vindictive; yet we are demanding of a human being something which he or she cannot possibly give. There is only one Being who can completely satisfy to the absolute depth of the hurting human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is so obviously uncompromising with regard to every human relationship because He knows that every relationship that is not based on faithfulness to Himself will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God, and in what God’s grace could do for anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person. If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of everyone.
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