Sermon on the Mount Part 1 (Chuck Missler) Job Hangs up the Phone (Chuck Missler) Genesis 1:9-31 (1979-82 Audio) (Chuck Smith) Study Resources. Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding. Blue Letter Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. In Luke, this birth story follows the story of John’s birth, told in a similar fashion (1:57-80). These are joyous events, but also miraculous in so many ways. The birth story of Jesus comes in three parts: the birth (verses 1-7), the proclamation of the birth to the shepherds (verses 8-20), and the circumcision and naming (verse 21). If you're missing a lesson or audio link, or can't find something else, here is a comprehensive list of links to all the lessons and materials for Discipleship Training in Luke's Gospel. Jesus' Early and Galilean Ministries (part 1; Luke 3:1-6:49). Verse 1 demonstrates clearly that the unnamed author of Acts is the same person as the unnamed author of the third gospel (Luke 1:3 with Acts 1:1-2). The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts form a single, two-volume work. The author quite certainly was Luke for the following reason: First, the author was a companion of Paul. The Bible study you mentioned can easily be a forum where people agree to disagree on doctrinal matters. When you study the Bible with others who are united with you in faith, then what the apostle instructed can take place: “encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
- Luke Part 1 (1:14:13) Qaindepthonline Lutheran Bible Study Guide
- Luke Part 1 (1:14:13) Qaindepthonline Lutheran Bible Study Bible
- Luke Part 1 (1:14:13) Qaindepthonline Lutheran Bible Study Commentary
EXEGESIS:
LUKE 14:1-6. EATING BREAD WITH PHARISEES
1It happened, when he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat bread, that they were watching him….
Meals are important in Luke-Acts. Jesus’ critics accused Jesus of being a winebibber and a glutton (7:34). He has been the guest of a Pharisee at meals on other occasions (7:36; 11:37). The hunger of a great crowd gave rise to a great feeding miracle (9:12-17). At a Passover meal, Jesus will make a Eucharist of ordinary wine and bread (22:14-20). He will be revealed to disciples through the breaking of bread (24:35). The Jerusalem church will criticize Peter for eating with uncircumcised men (Acts 11:1-3). Meals in Luke-Acts are about feeding the soul as much as about feeding the body. Sharing bread creates relationships and prepares disciples for the day when “They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in the Kingdom of God” (13:29).
Jesus often has harsh words for Pharisees, so we wonder why a leader of the Pharisees would invite him to dinner. Jesus has a growing reputation as a prophet, and that might be the reason. Also, Luke tells us that “they were watching him closely,” so it is clear that they hope that Jesus will make a mistake that they can exploit.
We might also ask why Jesus would accept such an invitation. He is obviously not intimidated by those in power, and he extends his ministry to include them. While the pride of the elite might block them from receiving God’s grace, that grace is nevertheless available to them. It is not Jesus who withdraws from the sinner, but the sinner who withdraws from Jesus.
Every leader is subject to scrutiny, and Jesus is a leader. His followers look to him for direction, and his enemies probe him for weakness. As diligent as his enemies might be, they can find nothing other than the false charges that will lead to his crucifixion.
While verses 2-6 are not part of the lectionary reading, we need to be aware of them. Jesus sees a man with dropsy and asks, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” (v. 3). Note that he does not ask if it is lawful to do work on the Sabbath, but instead asks if it is lawful to cure people. They fail to answer, so he heals the man and sends him away. He then says, “Which of you, if your son or an ox fell into a well, wouldn’t immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” (v. 5). Again, they fail to answer.
This is Jesus’ fourth and final Sabbath controversy (and his third and final Sabbath healing) in this Gospel (see 6:1-5; 6:6-11; 13:10-17). Both this story and the healing of the woman in 13:10-17 show that he was less concerned with the letter of the law than about loving God and neighbor. In these instances, Jesus demonstrates his love by helping those in need.
LUKE 14:7-11. TAKE THE LOWEST PLACE
7He spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats, and said to them, 8“When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, don’t sit in the best seat, since perhaps someone more honorable than you might be invited by him, 9and he who invited both of you would come and tell you, ‘Make room for this person.’ Then you would begin, with shame, to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may tell you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
“when he noticed how they chose the best seats” (v. 7b – see also 11:43; 20:46). The best seats are those nearest the host. It is so even today. The boss sits at the head of the table, flanked by top lieutenants. Key staff members sit at the table, and others sit at the back of the room. A savvy person can walk into the room and determine rank simply by observing where people sit.
We see the same phenomenon at sporting events where the best seats are closest to the action—or, better yet, in comfortable boxes elevated above and separated from the crowd. A person with the right connections can always get a good ticket. A person without connections might not be able to purchase a ticket at any price.
We like the best seats. The view is better, of course, but the appeal goes beyond the view. Sitting in the best seats makes us feel superior, and our fine seats trumpet our superior status to ordinary folk.
“He spoke a parable” (v. 7a). Luke characterizes Jesus’ remarks as a parable, cueing us that Jesus is speaking of kingdom issues instead of offering advice about self-promotion.
“don’t sit in the best seat… but…go and sit down at the lowest place” (vv. 8, 10). Jesus’ advice not to sit uninvited in the place of honor restates the counsel of Proverbs 25:6-7. It makes practical sense, because assertiveness puts one at risk of embarrassment. However, we have seen assertive people grab honors and hang onto them through thick and thin, so aggressiveness has rewards as well as risks. But Jesus is not telling us how to advance in the kingdom of this world, but is revealing how things work in the kingdom of God.
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted”(v. 11). This is the rule for life in the kingdom of God—a polar reversal that turns our familiar world upside down to reveal a world with very different rules. Luke first introduced this reversal in Mary’s Song, where she sang, “He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down princes from their thrones. And has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty” (1:51-53).
By alerting us to this impending reversal, Jesus helps to prepare us for life in God’s kingdom, a place that seems at once strange and wonderful and threatening. Just as we would prepare for life in a foreign land by learning the language and customs, so we also need to prepare for the kingdom of God by learning and following Kingdom Rules now. Indeed, the kingdom of God becomes a present reality and not just a future hope when we acknowledge God as king and live by Kingdom Rules. Christians live with one foot in the kingdom of this world and the other foot in the kingdom of God.
The danger is that we might misinterpret Jesus’ words as a backdoor strategy for self-promotion instead of a call to humble service—that we might hear him calling us to humble ourselves as the pathway to exaltation.
LUKE 14:12-14. ASK THE POOR
12He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you make a dinner or a supper, don’t call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, or perhaps they might also return the favor, and pay you back. 13But when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind; 14and you will be blessed, because they don’t have the resources to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous.”
“He also said to the one who had invited him” (v. 12a). Jesus turns his attention to the host. People are inclined to invite those who can return the favor—those who have something to offer in return. Jesus warns the host (and us) not to invite the four groups of people (friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors) that he would enjoy the most, and tells him to invite the four groups of people (the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind) that he would enjoy the least. Note that the crippled, lame and blind constitute a group of outsiders who are forbidden to serve as priests because of their physical imperfections (Leviticus 21:17-23).
Jesus advises against inviting favored persons in case “they might also return the favor, and pay you back” (v. 12). If we instead invite non-favored persons, “you will be blessed, because they don’t have the resources to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous” (v. 14). Jesus calls us to trust God to repay what the disenfranchised cannot, and promises that God will repay us at the resurrection of the righteous.
This passage is reminiscent of other “rewards” passages:
• “…love your enemies, bless those who curse you… For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?” (Matthew 5:43-46).
• Jesus warns us against the danger of practicing piety or giving alms publicly, because we then receive our reward from our admirers. Rather, we should practice piety and give alms privately “and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:1-6).
• “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil” (Luke 6:35).
“But when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind” (v. 13). Jesus does not encourage remote charity that only sends a check, but instead calls us to invite the poor and disenfranchised to sit at our table, one of the most intimate places in our home. By doing so, we provide food for both body and soul.
The lesson is clear. God calls us to kingdom values, and blesses us when we seek to please God rather than other people. “True godliness is a reckless investment in the parts of the world that beg for attention in real need but that show no potential of paying back dividends. Yet, Jesus promises that God sees and that God will pay the interest on an investment in the vulnerable elements of humankind” (Soard).
SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS are from the World English Bible (WEB), a public domain (no copyright) modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version (ASV) of the Bible, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament. The ASV, which is also in the public domain due to expired copyrights, was a very good translation, but included many archaic words (hast, shineth, etc.), which the WEB has updated.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Bailey, Raymond, in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday’s Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001)
Bock, Darrell L., The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: Luke, Vol. 3 (Downers Grove, Illinois, Intervarsity Press, 1994)
Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; McCann, J. Clinton; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV–Year C (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994)
Craddock, Fred B., Interpretation: Luke (Louisville: John Knox Press,(1990)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holliday, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, C (Valley Forge: Trinity Press, 1994)
Culpepper, R. Alan, The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IX. (Nashville: Abingdon , 1995)
Evans, Craig A., New International Biblical Commentary: Luke (Peabody, MA, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1990)
Gilmour, S. MacLean & Buttrick, George A., The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 8. (Nashville: Abingdon , 1952)
Green, Joel B., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Johnson, Luke Timothy, Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Luke (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1991)
Nickle, Keith F., Preaching the Gospel of Luke (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000)
Nolland, John, Word : Luke 9:21—18:34, Vol. 35B (Dallas: Word Books, 1993)
Soards, Marion; Dozeman, Thomas; and McCabe, Kendall, Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C: After Pentecost (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994)
Stein, Robert H., The New American Commentary: Luke (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1992)
Tannehill, Robert C., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: Luke (Nashville: Abingdon, 1996)
Copyright 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, Richard Niell Donovan
Book of Acts Explained
The Acts of the Apostles is a unique and therefore crucial book of the New Testament. It alone presents an extensive picture of early church life and history. The title as we know it comes from the second century and only partially discloses the theme of the document. The book focuses primarily on the acts of two apostles, Peter and Paul. And it proposes to show the continuation “of all that Jesus began both to do and teach” (1:1).
It contains the acts Jesus carried out after His ascension, through the Holy Spirit, in establishing the church. The author evidently follows the Great Commission in developing this theme, showing the beginning in Jerusalem, the outreach to Judea and Samaria, and the expansion to the distant city of Rome (1:8).
Verse 1 demonstrates clearly that the unnamed author of Acts is the same person as the unnamed author of the third gospel (Luke 1:3 with Acts 1:1-2). The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts form a single, two-volume work. The author quite certainly was Luke for the following reason: First, the author was a companion of Paul. (16:10-17; 20:5 – 21:18; 27:1 – 28:16). The author distinguishes himself from Paul’s other companions in Acts by naming them. Of Paul’s unnamed companions only Titus and Luke could have been with Paul during each of the three “we” passages.
As the Book of Acts closes, the author places himself beside Paul at the Roman imprisonment. Paul in his epistle states that Luke, not Titus, was with him at that time (Philemon 24). Second, the author gives some evidence of being a physician by the attention he gives to medical detail (Luke 8:43), and the technical Greek terms he uses (3:7). Luke was called “the beloved physician” (Col. 4:14). Third, the early church writers attribute the third gospel and the Book of Acts to Luke. Since Luke is an otherwise little-known figure, there is no logical reason to attribute the authorship to him, unless he is in fact the author.
Luke nowhere mentions the date for the writing of this document, yet the manner in which he closed the book suggests a date. Luke stops abruptly after mentioning the duration of Paul’sRoman imprisonment. He mentions neither the progress of the church nor the plans of Paul. Therefore, it seems as if Luke stops where the history ends; he describes the events up to the current time. If so, the date is about (A.D. 62).
Luke wrote to convince Theophilus of the “certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed” (Luke 1:4). Theophilus was probably a Gentile official who had been won to Christ, and Luke desires that he may understand more clearly the historical events that underlie his Christian faith and practice.
Second, Luke’s purpose is not to write the history of the early church. Nothing is recorded for large segments of time (e.g., A.D. 35-44). Luke is not a chronicler seeking to record every event. But he does write a history that shows the beginning and spread of the church. He focuses on the important initial events and those that give meaning to the epistles of Paul by tracing Paul’s ministry. Chronologically, the book divides into three periods:
Luke Part 1 (1:14:13) Qaindepthonline Lutheran Bible Study Guide
(1) Luke concentrates on the several years involved in the beginnings of the church among the Jews (chapter 2), the Samaritans (chapter 8), and the Gentiles at Caesarea (chapter 10), from (1:1 to 11:18).
Luke Part 1 (1:14:13) Qaindepthonline Lutheran Bible Study Bible
(2) A period of virtual silence covering about 10 years follows. Glimpses of these times can be caught (in 9:3 and 11:19-21).
(3) The period (A.D. 44-62), focuses around the ministry of Paul, and so might be designated the Pauline period.
Third, Luke wrote to provide a unity between Christ’s works in the gospels and the apostles’ labors after His ascension. That which Theophilus experienced in his church in A.D. 60 was vastly different from all he had read in Luke’s gospel. Acts explains those changes. It shows the transition from Christ’s message of a coming kingdom to the apostles’ message of one new body of Jew and Gentile in Christ, called the church (Eph. 2:11 – 3:12). Often the experiences of Acts reveal a transitional event rather than advocate a doctrinal truth. The apostles in their epistles explain the doctrinal truths that are intended to be normative for God’s people today. Thus, Luke’s purpose in Acts is more to provide a bridge for understanding these changes than to provide a basis for universal doctrinal truth.
Finally, Luke wrote to show to the Roman world that Christianity is not a subversive political movement. Unlike some of the Jews of Judea, Christians were not seeking to overthrow Rome. Though they spoke of another King and rejected the emperor as “lord,” they submitted to political authority. Though the apostles were often imprisoned, they were always exonerated. Sometimes God Himself intervened (5:18-20; 9:1-5; 12:5-10; 16:24-26; 28:3-6); other times the governmental authority did (16:35-39; 18:12-17; 19:37-41; 23:29; 26:32). But each time they were vindicated.
Few biblical books are as misused as the Book of Acts. Some denominations have collected their distinctive and divisive teachings from their interpretation of them, of what to do but also what not to do. We cannot properly interpret the Book of Acts by merely teaching the experiences the apostles had. We must experience the things they taught. The apostles taught out of their experiences, and we ought to do the same thing.
When the apostles experienced something early in the church age, yet later taught contrary principles, we must realize God does not desire us to practice that today. For example, the apostles cast lots in Acts 1; we should not, for we possess the inner leading of God’s Spirit (Rom. 8:14, 26-27; Gal. 5:18). The early church shared all things communally (chapters 2 and 4). We are instructed to be faithful stewards who freely and cheerfully share (2 Cor. 9:6-8). Some regard the absence of musical instruments in Acts as a mandate to exclude them from church services today. The apostles do not so instruct us. Some teach us to receive the Holy Spirit as (in Acts 2); others, as (in Acts 10). The apostles teach, however, that everyone who receives Christ also receives the Spirit (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13; 1 John 3:24; 4:13).
“We must not make the tragic spiritual mistake of ‘teaching the experiences of the apostles,’ but rather ‘experience the teachings of the apostles’ ”
Luke Part 1 (1:14:13) Qaindepthonline Lutheran Bible Study Commentary
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