Barton's Bible Study Notes

Life of Christ: Unit 13 - Sections 58-61

Read Matthew 11:2-6 and Luke 7:11-23. Jesus had been performing miracles, curing diseases, casting out demons, and He had just raised a widow’s son from the dead. The reports of what Jesus had done and what He had not done had filtered back to John the Baptizer, who is in prison. John had already identified Jesus publicly as the Messiah, but John, as with almost every Jewish believer of that day, expected the Messiah to bring in the Kingdom. They expected the Messiah to lead an army, throw out the Roman oppressors, and set up a righteous Jewish Kingdom. But Jesus has shown no sign of raising an army. He speaks of the Kingdom being ready to come but does not seem to be doing anything to start a military takeover. There are a lot of miracles but no army. This has caused John to wonder, is this the one we are looking for, or is there another yet to come? So he sent his followers to ask Jesus if this were the case.

1. What was Jesus’ answer to the messengers from John?

2. What do you think, He was telling John in this reply?

Read Matthew 11:7-30 and Luke 7:24-35. After the messengers left to report our Lord’s answer to John, Jesus addresses the crowds. He does this, no doubt, for several reasons. Many probably had overheard the conversation between John’s messengers and our Lord and might have been tempted to lower their estimation of John because of his questioning our Lord’s being the Messiah. Others certainly had the same questions John had but had not asked them. Our Lord wants to reassure the people about John’s status and encourage them about the coming kingdom. He begins by directing their attention back to John.

3. He asks the people three times what they went out to see when they went to see John when he was preaching. He answers three times. The first two times, the answer is what they did not go out to see; the last answer is what they did go out to see. What are the three things they could have gone out to see?

4. What do you think Jesus meant by the first answer he gave, by the second answer?

5. What do you think our Lord meant when He said that John was not just a prophet but something more?

6. What do you think Jesus meant when He said, “Among those born of women, there is no one greater than John, but he who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.”?

7. What does Jesus mean when He states, “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.”?

8. What does Jesus mean when He says, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.”?

9. In Matthew 11:25, Jesus states, “…You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.” To what is He referring by these things?

10. When Jesus said the religious leaders of that generation were like children who called out to other children, saying, “We played a flute, but you did not dance, so we sang a sad song, but you did not mourn.” what do you think He meant?

Read Luke 7:36-8:3. One of the Pharisees, who heard Jesus speak and who probably did believe, invited Him to dinner. At this dinner, an unexpected and uninvited guest appeared, a woman described as a sinner. This was a term used to refer to a prostitute or a woman of known loose moral character. A Pharisee would not have dreamed of associating with such a person.

11. What did this woman do?

12. What was Simon’s response to this?

13. What parable and question did Jesus give in response to Simon’s way of thinking?

14. What was the point of this parable and question?

15. What two statements did Jesus make to this woman?

The Applications:

What are the applications of these passages to our lives today? Identify as many as you are able.