Search The Scriptures – Study 11 – Luke 4:31-44

Study 11 of "SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES”IS: 

Luke 4:31-44

    1.     What two facts about Jesus particularly impressed the people in the Synagogue? Note also the even more discerning testimony of the demons (verses 34, 41). Why did Jesus silence this?

    2.     This passage illustrates the busy-ness and urgency of Jesus’s mission (see especially verse 43). Why then did He retire to a lonely place (verse 42)? Cf., in this Gospel, 5:16; 6:12; 9:18, 28; 11:1; etc. What may we learn from this example?

Notes

1.     On the nature of demon possession, see NBD, pp. 1010-1012.

2.     Verse 40. The Jewish day ended at sunset. The people waited until the Sabbath was over, and then brought their sick for healing.

 I have copied the Bible verses concerning this study, for your convenience.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon

31 And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32 and they were amazed at His teaching, for His[a]message was with authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man[b]possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Let us alone! [c]What business do we have with each other, Jesus[d]of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. 36 And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is [e]this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” 37 And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.

Many Are Healed

38 Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him[f]to help her. 39 And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and [g]waited on them.

40 While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. 41 Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be [h]the Christ.

42 When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. 43 But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

44 So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of [i]Judea.

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LESSON 10

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Search The Scriptures – Study 10 – Luke 4:14-30

Study 10 of "SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES" IS: 

Luke 4:14-30

     1.     Verses 16-21. Jesus speaks to the people of Nazareth, His own home town. What does His use of Is. 61:1, 2 teach them of His mission? Why is the claim of verse 21 so startling?

     2.     Verses 22-30.  The people were moved but not convinced (verse 22). How did Jesus interpret to them their unspoken thoughts (verse 23). How did Jesus interpret to them their unspoken thoughts (verse 23), and what did He go on to simply (verses 25-27)? What made them so angry? 

 I have copied the Bible verses concerning this study, for your convenience.

Luke 4:14-30

Jesus’ Public Ministry

14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. 15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.17 And the [a]book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the [b]book and found the place where it was written,

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

20 And He closed the [c]book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your [d]hearing.” 22 And all were [e]speaking well of Him, and wondering at the [f]gracious words which[g]were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”23 And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” 24 And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. 25 But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;26 and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to [h]Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, butonly Naaman the Syrian.” 28 And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; 29 and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, He went His way.

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LESSON 9

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Search The Scriptures - Study 9 - Luke 3:23 - 4:13

Study 9 of "SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES" IS: 
Luke 3:23 - 4:13

1.     Notice the time of the temptation, immediately after the revelation of 3:22, and at the opening of Jesus’ ministry. What light does this throw on the devil’s challenge, ‘if you are the Son of God’ (4:3 2.    , 9)?

2.     Consider the special subtlety of each temptation and the means by which Jesus in each case parried the thrust. Cf. Eph.6:17. What does this teach us for our own defence against temptation?

3.       What may be learn from this passage of the nature of temptation?                  Note, e.g., at what times temptation may come, what sort of circumstances the tempter may use (4:2; cf. Mk. 14:38), etc. How does the passage show that temptation is not sin?

Note. 3:23-38. The genealogy differs from that of Matthew in that (a) it goes back beyond Abraham, and the origin of the Jewish race, to Adam and the origin of the whole human race; (b) the list from David to Jesus is different except for two names. For the explanation of this last fact, and the significance of the genealogies, see NBD, pp. 458-459

 I have copied the Bible verses concerning this study, for your convenience.

Luke 3:23-38

Genealogy of Jesus

23 When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, [h]as was supposed, the son of Joseph, [i]the son of [j]Eli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of [k]Hesli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of [l]Shealtiel, the son of Neri,28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of [m]Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of [n]Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of [o]Salmon, the son of [p]Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of [q]Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of [r]Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of [s]Heber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Luke - 4:1-13

The Temptation of Jesus

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around[a]by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. 3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of [b]the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and [c]its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore if You [d]worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

9 And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; 10 for it is written,

‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You,’

11 and,

‘On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”

12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

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LESSON 8

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Search The Scriptures - Study 8 - Luke 3:1-22

Study 8 of "SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES IS: 

Luke 3:1-22

1.    What, according to the preaching of John, are the cause (verses 7-9, 16, 17), nature (verses 8, 10-14), and outcome (verses 3, 15-17) of repentance?

2.    What did Jesus’ baptism, and the voice from heaven, mean (a) to Jesus Himself, and (b) to the others present? Cf. Jn. 1:32-34.

3.    Consider the fearless honesty of John. Note also its result (verses 19, 20).

Notes

1.      Verse 1 The date is thus fixed probably as AD 28-29 See NDB p. 223.

2.       Verse 22.  The voice combines references to the Old Testament Messianic figures of the son of God (Ps. 2:7) and the suffering Servant of the Lord (Is. 42:1), thus, setting the tone of Jesus’ ministry. 

 I have copied the Bible verses concerning this study, for your convenience.

Luke 3:1-22

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,[a]
    make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled,
    and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall become straight,
    and the rough places shall become level ways,
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruitsin keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees.Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics[b] is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we,what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.

²¹ Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven,“You are my beloved Son;^[c] with you I am well pleased.”^[d]

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LESSON 7

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