Hypocrisy Condemned -
Luke 11:37-44
#Generosity
#Generosity
Lawyers Condemned
Luke 11:45-52
Leaders Try To Trap Jesus
Luke 11:53, 54
When you were a child, who insisted that you wash up before meals? Who insisted that you wear clean clothes? How did you react to this fussing?
- God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
- We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
- What is the natural and the surprising thing Jesus does to open this scene in Luke 11:38?
- How does the Lord turn the tables on his host? What is the basic point about the Pharisees (Luke 11:39-41)?
- In your own words, what is the meaning of the 3 woes directed at the Pharisees view of tombs and the dead (see Numbers 19:16), what is the significance of the unmarked graves in Luke 11:44?
- What is the point of these criticisms?
- In your own words, what is the meaning of the next 3 woes in Luke 11:46-52? In the 6th woe (v. 52), what does Jesus mean by the key of knowledge?
- How does this Pharisee dinner compare with the one in Luke 7:36-50? Why the difference?
- I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
- Typically, Jesus is thought of as "meek and mild." What is the significance of this passage's presentation of Jesus for you?
- Of the 3 woes directed to the Pharisees, which one would apply to you? Why?
- Of the 3 woes directed to the lawyers, which one has your name on it? Why?
- How would you like your life to change this week in light of what you've read here?
- You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
Generous giving honors God (Ezra 2:68–69)
God will reward us for giving to others (Mark 9:41)
Giving helps others live (Acts 2:44–45)
Wealthy people should give generously (1 Timothy 6:17–19)
Illustrations: Generosity; Giving; Scriptural Rules for Learning to Fly
In Run with the Horses, Eugene Peterson writes about seeing a family of birds teaching the young to fly. Three young swallows were perched on a dead branch that stretched out over a lake.
"One adult swallow got alongside the chicks and started shoving them out toward the end of the branch--pushing, pushing, pushing. The end one fell off. Somewhere between the branch and the water four feet below, the wings started working, and the fledgling was off on his own. Then the second one.
"The third was not to be bullied. At the last possible moment his grip on the branch loosened just enough so that he swung downward, then tightened again, bulldog tenacious. The parent was without sentiment. He pecked at the desperately clinging talons until it was more painful for the poor chick to hang on than risk the insecurities of flying. The grip was released, and the inexperienced wings began pumping. The mature swallow knew what the chick did not--that it would fly--that there was no danger in making it do what it was perfectly designed to do.
"Birds have feet and can walk. Birds have talons and can grasp a branch securely. They can walk; they can cling. But flying is their characteristic action, and not until they fly are they living at their best, gracefully and beautifully.
"Giving is what we do best. It is the air into which we were born. It is the action that was designed into us before our birth. ... Some of us try desperately to hold on to ourselves, to live for ourselves. We look so bedraggled and pathetic doing it, hanging on to the dead branch of a bank account for dear life, afraid to risk ourselves on the untried wings of giving. We don't think we can live generously because we have never tried. But the sooner we start, the better, for we are going to have to give up our lives finally, and the longer we wait, the less time we have for the soaring and swooping life of grace."
-- David B. Jackson in Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Baker), from the editors of Leadership.
See: Matthew 10:8; 19:21; Luke 11:41; Romans 12:8.
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