Dig In:
Passage: Luke 10
Dig Deeper:
Chapter Summary
v1-24 - Jesus has many more followers than just the disciples who've been designated 'the twelve.' In this week's opening passage, Jesus sends out a large delegation; some of the ancient manuscripts say 70, others say 72. This number corresponds with the number of nations listed way back in Genesis 10. In other words, Jesus sent out missionaries to all the nations. These evangelists were to be totally mission focused. They weren't going out to transform cities or end systemic poverty, they were laser focused on telling people about the Kingdom of God. How laser focused on this are you? Another lesson from this passage is to not be discouraged by rejection of the gospel. When (not if) this happens, Jesus reminds you that you're not the one being rejected, He is.
v25-37 - The famous parable of the Good Samaritan is prefaced with a flawed question: What must I do to inherit eternal life (v25)? Jesus turns the table on the religious lawyer who asked it, and guess what? The lawyer answered perfectly: love God and your neighbor with all your heart and you will inherit eternal life. The parable of the Good Samaritan is given to further clarify who our neighbor is. This parable is not good news, however. The lawyer started this conversation by asking the wrong question. Inheriting eternal life is not a matter of you doing something. The lawyer already knew how to do it: love God, and love his neighbor. The problem is that you can't do this. You'll never be the 'Good-enough' Samaritan. The good news in this parable is that Jesus is our Good Samaritan. He came alongside you, paid for you to be healed and will return to bring you to full restoration.
v38-41 - The key lesson from the bickering sisters Mary & Martha comes in v40. The work Martha was doing was certainly important, but it was distracting her from something more important: spending quality time listening to and learning from Jesus. The work you do is important, but make sure that it's not distracting you from what's most important: listening to and learning from your Savior Jesus.
Old Testament Reference -
2 Kings 4:8-37 tells a fascinating story of the prophet Elisha promising a good friend that she'd have a son, and then raising that son from the dead after he suddenly died. See if you can find the paragraph in this short passage that corresponds to Luke 10.
Discuss:
Use the comment box below to discuss one or more of these questions.
Luke does not tell of how the lawyer reacted to Jesus' statement at the end of the Good Samaritan parable for him to "go and do likewise (v37)." Use your imagination and write a sentence describing how you think the lawyer would have reacted. Maybe one reaction in which the lawyer is hopeless, and another in which he clings to Christ as His Savior.
From what you see in the story about Mary & Martha, discuss how much you agree or disagree with this statement: Martha was doing her best to serve Jesus, but His compliment for Mary shows us that there are more important things than serving the Lord. (Question taken from The Complete Bible Discussion Guide: New Testament)
Follow the AAA Prayer Pattern:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul, and with all of your strength and with all of your mind (v27)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you don't get sucked in by life's insignificant distractions (v40), follow Christ with all your heart, soul, strength and mind (v27)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
