Read Luke 13:10-21. As happened on many occasions, Jesus was in a synagogue on the Sabbath where there was a person with a physical and spiritual need.
1. What was wrong with this woman in the synagogue?
She was crippled by a spirit, a demonic disease. While not all disease is caused by demonic forces, many instances of demonic possession result in some type of physical handicap, such as in the case of this woman, deafness, the inability to speak, seizures or some other malady.
2. When the leader of the synagogue became indignant and reprimanded Jesus, how did Jesus answer him?
You will show mercy to your animals on the Sabbath, but not this person!
3. What two parables about the Kingdom does Jesus tell in response to this incident?
a. The Kingdom is like a mustard seed.
b. The Kingdom is like leaven in dough.
4. What do you think the point of these two parables might be?
That sin will invade and fill the Kingdom. It had done so in the Jewish religious system, will do so in the Kingdom yet be established upon the earth and, by application, it will do so in the church as well. As long as sinful people make up those in the kingdom, sin will take hold and grow because we are fallen creatures. Until the old nature is completely and irrevocably done away with, this parable will apply.
Read John 10:22-42. In December, A.D. 32, when our Lord visits Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah), John records another conversation Jesus had with the religious leaders.
5. What was the question initially asked by these religious leaders? How does Jesus answer this question?
a. Tell us plainly, are you the Christ? The religious leaders, of course, knew that He had made this claim on more than one occasion prior to this point. It was not that they were confused about His claims; what they wanted was a statement that would incite the Roman authorities to arrest Him. He was now in Jerusalem, where Rome had troops and very tight control. The Romans did not tolerate any type of rebellion. On this feast celebrating the successful Maccabean revolt and the rededication of the purified temple in 165 B.C., Rome would be especially wary of anyone who claimed to be the Messiah. Without a doubt, if He had simply and plainly said, “I am Messiah.” He would have been apprehended by the Roman authorities as soon as they heard about this. And be assured the religious leaders would have seen that they would have soon heard of it.
This question then is a trap and not a legitimate question. It is not yet time for our Lord to die, and therefore He must answer this question in such a way that He does not run the risk of upsetting the Roman authorities, but at the same time assert the truth that He was indeed the Christ, the promised one, the Messiah.
b. He answers them by telling them, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do testify to that truth as well, but you do not believe.” This clearly answers the question they asked but in a way that avoids the threat of sedition against Rome.
6. Why did these Jews take up stones to kill Jesus?
They thought he claimed to be equal with God and thus was blaspheming.
7. What two statements did these Jews object to in particular?
a. I and the Father are one.
b. The Father is in Me and I in the Father.
8. What did Jesus do in response to this attempt to kill Him?
He left Jerusalem. It was not yet His time to die. He avoided the confrontation and any potential issues with the Roman authorities by leaving the area.
9. Why do you think many people believed in Jesus after he left Jerusalem and went to the area of Perea where John the Baptist had spent a lot of time?
The witness of John, the seed that had been sown, now caused many to believe.
The Applications:
What are the applications of these passages to our lives today? Identify as many as you are able.
1. People and their needs are at the heart of ministry. If a system, or a program, or procedures, or any other external factors prevent the ministry to people, then the system, program, procedures and so forth must be reevaluated! God had instituted the Sabbath Law for the benefit of His people. It was never intended to be something that harmed them or prevented good from being done. And yet, as so often occurs in human institutions and structures, the system or the regulations attached to the system become an end in themselves. We do things this way or obey these laws because that is the way it is declared that we are to do them even if it hurts the people for whom the system or institution was established.
A church or any other institution must have rules and regulations by which it functions effectively to be sure. But those rules, regulations, procedures, and such must never be so ironclad they hinder the ministry to individuals. People come first. They must not “fall through the cracks.” We must look at the person first, then the regulations, rather than looking at the person through the regulations.
2. The religious system of the church today is as bad if not worse than the Jewish religious system of our Lord’s day. Sin has grown and taken over by and large. While the early church was undoubtedly comprised mostly of true believers, in the visible church today, they are in a distinct minority. Well over half of the world’s visible church, Catholicism, holds that to be saved, one must belong to the church, be baptized and keep the sacraments, a works-based theology. Of the Protestant branch, much is liberal, sometimes denying even the existence of God Himself. Much is ritualistic in which the adherents are trusting their rituals rather than the finished work of Jesus Christ. Of those groups who do claim that salvation is by faith alone in the death and resurrection of our Lord, not all who attend have genuinely made that commitment of faith.
3. While we may not ever see the results of much of our ministry, it does not follow that there are no results. John’s ministry of laying a foundation and planting seeds had results well after his death. We must not judge our ministry only by what we see, but trust God to use it as He sees fit, in any way He chooses!
One may spend years witnessing to a person with no visible results. Later with another witness, they come to faith, not just because of that later witness but because of the seeds planted much earlier. I Peter 3:1 indicates the manner of life of a person can be used by the Spirit of God in bringing another to faith.