Read Luke 13:22-35 and John 11:1-16. Jesus Has started back to Jerusalem. This visit will end with the resurrection of Lazarus. He then will leave and not return until the Passover and His death on the cross. On the way, someone asked a question, and someone else made a statement.
1. What question was Jesus asked?
Are there only a few being saved?
2. What was our Lord’s overall answer?
Yes
3. Jesus said, “strive to enter by the narrow door...” What did He mean?
There is one specific way to enter the Kingdom, and most people will refuse to use that door, choosing to go their own way.
4. What is Jesus telling the crowd in verses 13:24-29?
He is saying that there will be many religious people who are left out. Being religious is not the answer. Not even knowing who Jesus is will avail. Note: there will be those who say, “We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.” These knew who He was: they may have even acknowledged Him as the Messiah, but they did not know Him in the way that counts.
5. What do you think Jesus means when He says some who are first will be last, and some who are last will be first?
Entrance into the Kingdom is by grace, not on the basis of merit! If it were on the basis of merit, then those who were first should indeed be first. We do not get in because of some merit we have; we get in only because of God’s grace to us. Either we accept that grace and inherit the Kingdom, or we reject His grace, trying instead to earn entrance by some merit of our own. And in rejecting His grace in favor of our own merit, we condemn ourselves to judgment.
6. What statement was made to Jesus on His way to Jerusalem?
The statement was, “Run away; Herod wants to kill you.”
7. Why do you think the Pharisees told Jesus this?
They probably wanted to scare Him away. They were very afraid He would incite the crowds to try to revolt against Rome in an attempt to set Himself up as the King. If they did this, the Roman response would be very harsh, and they themselves would lose the good thing they had going. While they hated and detested Roman occupation, they were kept in power by Rome. They did not want to lose this power and control. While they denounced the Roman authorities publicly, privately, they enjoyed the position it gave them. Therefore they did not want Jesus upsetting their applecart. As long as He remained out in Galilee and showed no signs of raising an army, He was not much of a threat to them. While they did not like Him and were trying to find ways to discredit Him, they could deal with Him in Galilee. They did not like it all when He appeared in Jerusalem, for there He was more under the direct observation of Rome, and there was a much greater chance that things could get out of hand.
8. Summarize our Lord’s answer about Herod.
He said, “Tell that Fox I will be there in due time.” Jesus was not at all afraid of Herod. He had avoided Judah and Jerusalem for most of His ministry, not because of fear of the Romans, but because He did not want to waste precious time in arguments with those who would not believe. The time He had He wished to invest in training the Twelve and in proclaiming the message of the coming Kingdom to those who would be more apt to accept it. When it was the time (for His death), He would be there.
Read Luke 14:1-24. Jesus is invited to dinner at the home of a leader of the Pharisees. We are not told the exact purpose for this invitation, but we are told that these Pharisees closely observed our Lord. Certainly, they were trying to find some reason to accuse Him of a crime in order to discredit Him. They probably brought this man who was ill in to see if He would heal him. Jesus asks two questions of these leaders.
9. What are the two questions?
a. Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?
b. Which of you would rescue your son or ox from a well on the Sabbath?
10. What parable did Jesus give when He saw how the dinner guests were choosing the places of honor for themselves?
Choose the last places and let others move you up.
11. What was the point of this parable? (See verse 11)
Humble yourselves, and you will be exalted. In their pride, they felt that they were undoubtedly righteous in themselves and deserving of the Kingdom. They had claimed the best seats. But God’s grace is given to those who humble themselves and accept what He gives, not claiming anything for themselves. They needed to humble themselves before the Master of the Feast (God) and accept the seats He offered. If they claimed one for themselves (stood in their own righteousness), God would remove them.
12. What instruction or advice did Jesus give to the leader who had given this dinner?
When you give a dinner, don’t invite your friends, invite the poor, blind, lame, and you’ll have reward at the resurrection.
13. What parable did Jesus tell in verses 15-24?
The parable of the man who gave a dinner and the guests he invited did not choose to come. So he invited the poor, crippled, blind and lame.
14. What do you think is the point of this parable?
Those who were initially invited (Jews) will be left out because they chose not to come. Others (Gentiles) will be given their places.
The Applications:
What are the applications of these passages to our lives today? Identify as many as you are able.
1. By far, the biggest application is to realize that God does things His way. He does not consult with us; He does not ask us. He does not compromise; He does not accept anything less than His way. When it comes to the forgiveness of sin, His way is the only way. Either you come to Him through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, or you do not come to Him at all. We live in an age where it is fashionable to accept all lifestyles, all beliefs, and not judge anyone for what they have chosen to believe. This philosophy follows from the belief that man is sovereign, that man is the standard by which things must be measured. If a person is simply the evolutionary product of time and chance, not the creation of a sovereign God, indeed, this philosophy would be valid. However, if there is a God who created all things, then we are not the final authority; He is. And if He is the final authority, then His way is the only way!
Although it is the doctrinal position of many branches of the Christian Church that salvation comes by grace, through faith based on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, practically speaking, a great majority of people still trust their own efforts. They have eaten and drunk in His presence, so to speak, He has walked among them, but they still are trusting in their own righteousness. They believe and are trusting that because they have done ______________, they are saved and deserve a good seat in the Kingdom. For the (BLANK), you can insert a multitude of things, i.e., joined the church, undergone baptism, had last rites, lived a good life, accepted the right doctrine, or abstained from the filthy five, the sordid six, the nasty nine, the dirty dozen or whatever list of no-no’s you might have. Even though they know the truth and accept it as true, they are deep down trusting in something they have done or not done.
To believe in Jesus Christ, as the Word of God uses the phrase, means more than to accept that Jesus Christ was born, God incarnate, lived a perfect life, died on the cross as our substitute and rose again bodily from the dead. This, of course, is part of faith, of believing in Jesus Christ. But to believe or trust in Jesus Christ Biblically means to trust in or to rely upon what He has done in His life, death and resurrection as the only thing that will allow me to enter the Kingdom. Nothing I have done or not done, nothing I am doing or will not do, nothing I will ever do or not do, as the case may be, will ever be a factor in gaining entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Biblical belief is trusting in or relying upon Him alone and nothing else. Pride indeed will keep many out of the Kingdom.