Bible Resources
Bible Resources
Notes on Luke 17.1-10 October 6
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Notes on Luke 17.1-10 October 6
The first two parts of this story make very great demands on disciples.
17.1-2: Don’t act in a way that causes other people to sin. Jesus thinks each disciple has a responsibility for the others. Our thoughts and actions affect other people. “These little ones” does not only mean children. It means all of the disciples, especially those who are learning from you. Jesus thinks it is a very bad thing if we cause others to sin. The consequences are very bad.
17.3-4: What should a disciple do if someone does sin? Jesus is probably talking about sins done against each other. First of all rebuke them. Challenge their behaviour and the thinking that goes with it. Urge them to return to the way of the Lord. Second, when they repent, forgive them. How many times? Seven times. This means every time. There is no limit to forgiveness.
Both these instructions are extreme. Jesus sets very high standards for disciples.
17.5-6: It is not surprising that the apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith. Jesus’ answer tells them how to increase their faith: it is by exercising it. Just do what he says and their faith will get stronger. The more they live in a way that doesn’t cause people to sin, the stronger will be their faith. The more they forgive the better they will be at forgiving.
17.7-10: This story is also about faith. Faith means doing what you are told to do. It is about being faithful. The person who keeps on doing what the Master has told them to do will become strong in faith. The disciple who is strong in faith is the disciple who obeys and is faithful to the Lord. They know they are servants, and they serve faithfully.
Dale
Notes on Luke 16.19-31 September 29
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- Category: Notes on the Gospel readings from Luke
Notes on Luke 16.19-31 September 29
The story of the shrewd manager ended with a comment that the Pharisees loved money (v14). Jesus then said that the Law of Moses was still in operation (v17). This meant that some of the practices of the Pharisees regarding divorce were wrong (v18). And so was their attitude to money (v13).
The passage for this week returns to the subject of wealth. The rich man was someone the Pharisees approved of. But in the story Jesus tells, the rich man ends up in Hades, the place of torment, and the poor man Lazarus is in heaven with Abraham. This is a very shocking story. Jesus describes Lazarus in very shocking ways. The fact that the rich man is in Hades is also shocking. The fact that there is a great gulf between Hades and heaven is also meant to shock. It means that the rich man has no hope.
The rich man is still talking like a rich man. He wants Lazarus to be sent as a servant to bring him water (24). He wants messengers sent to his brothers (v27). But he is no longer rich.
How will his brothers avoid ending up in the place of torment (v28)?
Notes on Luke 16.1-13 September 22
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- Category: Notes on the Gospel readings from Luke
Notes on Luke 16.1-13 September 22
After the story of the son who wasted his father’s wealth Jesus tells a story about a manager who was accused of wasting his employer’s possessions. We were told twice in the previous story (15.13, 30) that the younger son had wasted or squandered the wealth of his father.
In this story the manager, who has wasted his employer’s possessions, acts in a clever way. Before he loses his job he changes the accounts. He hopes that when he loses his job, he will have “friends” who will “owe” him and who might give him a job. Some people think that he alters their bills because he is corrupt. Others think he alters their bills because his employer was exploiting them and charging too much. In either case the people who owe the money are grateful.
The reason the manager is commended is because he acted shrewdly (in a wise and clever way).
Jesus is still speaking to the Pharisees and teachers of the law (15.1) as well as his disciples. He says they should be just as wise and clever as the manager was in the way they use the wealth they have.
Notes on Luke 15.1-10 September 15
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Notes on Luke 15.1-10 September 15
Luke 15 has three parables on the same subject. All of them are told in response to the complaints of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (v2).
The first two parables are similar to each other. In both stories something is lost. In both stories the owner searches with much effort for what was lost. In both stories there is celebration and rejoicing with friends and neighbours when it is found. In both stories there is also joy in heaven. In both stories the joy in heaven is because a sinner has repented.
So the two parables are about what Jesus is doing: he is searching for tax collectors and sinners so that they will repent.
The two parables are also about what the Pharisees and teachers of the law are not doing: they are not rejoicing that sinners are being welcomed.
The two parables are also about what God is doing: heaven is rejoicing when sinners repent.
So these two parables are meant to encourage the people who complain to change their mind – to repent and join Jesus in his search for the lost.
Luke 14.25-35 8 September 13
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Notes on Luke 14.25-35 8 September 13
This is a parable spoken to the crowds. Many people were travelling with Jesus. Jesus is interested in whether they will be his disciples. Being a disciple is not the same as travelling with Jesus.
Three times Jesus uses the phrase, “...cannot be my disciple”: verse 26, 27, 33.
A person must work out in advance whether they are willing to do what is required to be a disciple, v28-32. Two examples are given: a builder and a king.
If a person decides to be a disciple and then finds they do not want to continue, it is like salt that has lost its saltiness – it is no good and has to be thrown out v34-35.
What is involved in a person being a disciple of Jesus?
1. Hating near relatives, and one’s own life v26.
2. Taking up one’s cross v27
3. Giving up everything one has v33
Taking up one’s cross means dying. It is a similar idea to giving up everything one has. One has nothing left. This helps us understand the first idea. Jesus doesn’t mean we should have feelings of hatred to our relatives, any more than that we should have feelings of hatred towards our own life. He means we must not hang on to them, try to keep hold of them, possess them and depend on them. He wants us to be completely free to learn from him. Only then will we be able to love our relatives, and only then will we be able to live our own life in the best way.
Being a disciple of Jesus means he must have complete and total control of our lives. He is not looking for fans or spectators, he is looking for 24/7 apprentices.
Dale
These notes are provided for the benefit of the preachers in our Dinka speaking congregation.