Bible Discussion — Luke 7

February 6, 2008, 12:00 pm; posted by
Filed under Bible, Chloe, David, Erin, Josh J, Steve  | 1 Comment

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter of Luke, Luke 7.

Genesis: 1-4 | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-18 | 19-22 | 23-26
27-29 | 30-32 | 33-36 | 37-39 | 40-43 | 44-46 | 47-50
Exodus: 1-4 | 5-8 | 9-11 | 12-14 | 15-18
19-22 | 23-26 | 27-30 | 31-34 | 35-40
Romans: Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 (I)
Ch. 8 (II) | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 | Ch. 13 | Ch. 14 | Ch. 15-16
Luke: 1:1-38 | 1:39-2:40 | 2:41-3:38 | 4 | 5 | 6

 
INTRODUCTION:
Steve:
Who does Jesus touch in this chapter? A servant. The only son of a widow. Tax collectors. A harlot. It is a perversion of Christ’s example and the Gospel when we do not extend His love to them, and when we preach that material success is the singular sign of his blessing.

David:
In chapter 4, Jesus pointed out that God performed miracles for a Gentile widow and Naaman during the time of Elijah and Elisha. Here, Jesus does something similar in healing the servant of a Gentile who exhibited a faith unseen in any of the Jews Jesus had encountered. Luke, a Gentile himself, captures many such touches in Jesus’ ministry.

 
SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Erin:
Jesus doesn’t answer the questions that John’s messengers bring to him: he just tells them to go back and tell John of the evidence of Jesus’ ministry, and let the Spirit of God that inspires John to prophesy reveal to him who Jesus really is.

Josh:
I’d never before noticed the timeline presented in this book, and it’s a little confusing. John the Baptist essentially asks Jesus in this chapter if He is the One (7:19), but four chapters ago, JB baptized Jesus. The whole dove and voice from heaven thing would have seemed to have established that (3:21,22). Perhaps John was unable to see these signs or recognize Jesus for who He was, but considering he recognized Him when they were both still in the womb (1:39-45), that seems a bit odd.

Chloe:
The elders tell Jesus that the centurion deserves to have Jesus heal his servant for what he’s done for Israel. And yet the centurion says the exact opposite — “I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.”

Steve:
All the times I have read this passage, I never before noticed that the centurion, by Jewish testimony, loved the nation of Israel. I suppose it makes sense that he would have heard of Jesus then. I wonder what that meant in his life and his religious devotion.

 
BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Steve: Dirge
Erin, Chloe: Marketplace Children
David: Go in Peace
Josh: Dead Man Speaks

 
STORY IT REMINDS YOU OF::
Steve:
Jesus’ parable to Simon is perfect in its simplicity and its point. It reminds me of Nathan’s trip before King David, and the story of the man who had many sheep, yet killed his neighbor’s one beloved lamb. Simon’s reaction is not recorded; I hope he was as penitent as his ancestor.

David:
I’ve always felt a connection to the widow in Nain. Jesus saw her with her son lying dead and had compassion on her, raising her son from the dead, “delivering him back to her.” I like to believe that’s how it happened in my life for my mom.

 
DEEP THEOLOGICAL MEANING:
Erin:
I love how when Jesus sees the widow’s son being carried out, and the widow walking the funeral procession, ‘His heart went out to her.’ Even though Jesus is fully God, and therefore knows what the depths of grief mean, in this instance, the sheer human compassion that we are told He feels clearly demonstrates how He is fully man as well.

David:
Jesus is establishing the Kingdom of God, while John sits in prison, wavering. In citing proof of his arrival Jesus ended with, “the poor have the gospel preached to them.” I heard one preacher say that if his child drove a 10-year-old car with an “I LOVE JESUS” bumper sticker on it, he would make them take it off. Anyone who preaches a gospel that castigates the poor as lacking faith and displeasing God has some things to answer for in heaven, in my opinion.

Chloe:
I love the story of Nain. It seemed like a little blurb at first glance, but then when I thought about it, I realized that Jesus raised the son for a very unusual reason. Usually He performs miracles because of someone’s faith, and these people either end up following Him, or telling everybody what Jesus did for them.

This story is nothing like that. Jesus raises the man because he was “the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.” Jesus raised the man so he could go back to taking care of his mother, who had no one else, just as we are supposed to take care of the widows and the orphans.

Josh:
One thing I think it’s easy to forget when looking at this passage is that ultimately, we all owe a great debt. There is no small forgiveness from God, except in our own self-righteous perception. Those that love little are merely those who fail to understand and appreciate the magnitude of the forgiveness offered.

Steve:
As if we needed any more evidence that doubt and uncertainty can exist within the mind of true devotees of God, here it is in the person of John the Baptist, cousin of Christ and locust-eating desert prophet. Jesus gives John the evidence and lets him exercise his own faith, rather than giving him a certain answer. Does that ever happen to you?

 
RANDOM THOUGHT:
Chloe:
How did the woman get into the house, let alone where they were eating dinner?

Steve:
It’s true — if someone doesn’t like or trust you, they can and will find anything they can to criticize about you, and consistency and hypocrisy rarely matter to them. Nowhere has this been more clear to me than in the presidential race, with no candidate excepted.

Erin:
How did the sinful woman get into the high-and-mighty Pharisee’s house?

 
VERSE TO REMEMBER:
Erin:
7:49 — “And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’ ”

Josh:
7:47 — “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

David, Steve:
7:50 — “Then He said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.’ ”

Chloe:
7:22 — “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.’ ”

 
PORTION YOU WOULD MOST LIKE EXPLAINED IN HEAVEN:
Steve:
Jesus commended the centurion for his faith, without ever meeting him, without giving him the “ye must be born again” speech he gives Nicodemus in John 3, without telling him to repent. What implications does this have for salvation?

Erin:
Why does Jesus say that among those born of women, no one is greater than John? What does that mean?

David:
How much did John actually waver?

 
LESSON TO TAKE AWAY:
Steve:
Faith in Jesus is the unifying attribute of all those who please Him. This does not preclude the occasional doubt, as we see from his praise of John the Baptist. And it certainly does not depend on any external standard or law, as we see from his words to the woman at Simon’s house.

Erin:
Absolute faith (like that of the centurion) doesn’t necessarily come from a long ‘heritage of faith,’ it doesn’t stand on ceremony, and it certainly doesn’t require a person not to doubt or to have all the answers. It just requires humility and true belief.

David:
A stiff, self-possessed Simon could not offer Jesus water for his feet, a kiss, or oil for his head — all common courtesies within their climate and culture. Meanwhile, a whore could only weep at his feet and show unbridled devotion. Which one am I today?

 
GENERAL RESPONSE TO THE PASSAGE:
David:
John is the last prophet under the Old Testament dispensation, and we, being children and heirs of the Kingdom of God, are greater than he. We play a greater role, with greater power at our disposal.

 
CONCLUSION:
Steve:
The people who followed Jesus to Nain had it right. “A great prophet has appeared among us. God has come to help His people.” But just like always, their ideas of how He should help were different from His plan. And before too long, they would turn against even the One whom they watched raise a man back to life.


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1 Comment to “Bible Discussion — Luke 7”

  1. Bible Discussion — Jonah 3-4 : Bweinh! on February 3rd, 2009 11:05 pm

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