Theology Lesson 4

Theology Lesson 4

God's Everlasting Covenant

God never changes. Yet our understanding of God changes with each new revelation. As we study the Scriptures our understanding of who God is and what he requires of us grows. For example Heb 13:8 states "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" and Malachi states "I the Lord do not change".

Therefore His requirements (EverLasting Covenant) never changes, just our understanding of It. The Bible says that God is a covenant making God and keeps His covenant for a 1000 generations. How many generations from current generation back to Abragham, back to Adam? Most Bible scholars say that it is much less than 1000 generations.

God is the same. His truths do not change. God is always faithful to all His promises, good and bad, blessing or curse, life or death! Again it is not God or His word changing but our undersatanding through His revelation. God makes promises about Eve's, Abraham's and David's seed and we see clearly in the New Testament all these promises was the one SEED, Christ.

For example Gal 3:16 states "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Paul goes on in Romans to show that the true Jew is not a physical descendent of Abraham, but spiritual. Rom 2:28-29 states "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither [is that] circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he [is] a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision [is that] of the heart, in the spirit, [and] not in the letter; whose praise [is] not of men, but of God."

Just as God's Covenant requirements never change (everlasting), the solution never changes; "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant," Heb 13:20. What does the Lord God require of the Covenant keeper? Deut 10:12-13 states "And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?" This concept of a covenant keeper is defined by Christ in John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

John 14:23 ties in the terms of the everlasting covenant with the concept of a circumcised heart (born again of the Spirit) from Romans and then Revelation 14:12 identifies the saints as "they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Then the writer od Revelation in verse 22:14 states "Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."

Before the foundation of the World God put a plan (covenant) in place and kept it a mystery as stated in 1 Cor 2:7-8 which states "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." Then if you interperet Eph 1:4 to be speaking about the method of salvation (chosen us in him before the foundation of the world) through the blood of the everlasting covenant by putting the focus of the verse on Christ and not man.

For example Eph 1:4 states "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:", not only are the three pronouns (he, him, him) are refering to Christ, but in the first ten verses of Eph chapter 1 Jesus is referenced 21 times, therefore it makes more sense to me to interpret verse four with a focus on Christ as the method of salvation for all mankind (blood of everlasting covenant) and not that He (Christ) has chosen a specif person (election) before the foundation of the world.

Use the "Blue letter Bible) in the kjv mode and do a word search on the following two strings "mystery" and then "everlasting covenant". The word "mystery" should return 22 verses and "everlasting covenant" 16 verses. Read these verses, pray and meditate and then send me a few comments on what God reveals to You.

Bible Doctrine Lesson 4

Bible Doctrine Lesson 4

Restoration: By the "Seed of Eve" and the "Lamb of God"

In the previous Biblical doctrine lesson (lesson 3), we saw that God created man (Adam) and gave him dominion (freedom) over God's creation (the earth). In that lesson we also saw that Adam and Eve disobeyed God (sinned) and were separated from God (punished). Genesis chapter three not only tells about the first sin, but also God's plan of restoration.

After the fall (sin of Adam and eve) God makes a promise to Satan, Eve, and all mankind. That promise is about a "seed of Eve" who will crush the head of Satan. The Bible traces this "seed promise" through Eve, Abraham, and David.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

This "seed of Eve" later becomes the promise to Abraham when in Gen 12:3 God says "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

In Gal 3:16 the Bible states "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."

In 1Ch 17:11-12 we that the "seed" promise to Eve and Abraham becomes the "seed" promised to David, "And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go [to be] with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and I will establish his throne forever." (God speaking to David)

The seed of Abraham was not Isaac but Christ. The seed of David was not Solomon but Christ. Isaac and Solomon were the human seed bearers, Christ was the ultimate "Seed".

Also the Bible is full of "parallels", that is the concept where the same thing or concept is mentioned in multiple forms (illustrations). For example in Genesis chapter three the concept of the "Seed" and the "coat of skins" both represent Christ.

The concept of the "coat of skins" (death of an animal) quickly explodes into a "sacrificial system" that provides for a substitute for God's requirement of "eat of tree of knowledge" and die. Jesus later becomes that ultimate substitutional sacrifice. The exodus story of Israel from Egypt starting in the book Exodus and ending in the book Joshua is a picture (type) of the salvation story of how a Christian is delivered from bondage of sin by the "Passover Lamb", Jesus Christ.

1 Cor 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

In John1:29 John the Baptist says "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" referring to Jesus. In the book of Revelation God's Word says "Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing". (Rev 5:12) The whole Bible is a story about how Jesus becomes the "last Adam" and is both the "Seed" and the "Lamb". Sin enters mankind by the way of the first Adam and is purged from man by the blood of the last Adam who is Christ.

1 Cor 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit.

1 Cor 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Do some additional research on the concept of Christ as that promised "Seed" and the "Lamb of God". This research should increase your understanding how the Bible has a single thread from cover to cover, Genesis to Revelation with the message, "nothing but Jesus and Him crucified".
The promise to Abraham was also made by God to “the fathers” of Israel, Abraham, Issac and Jacob and constitutes the second of the three great promises that God has made.
Abraham’s faithful obedience was rewarded by further details being revealed to him.
Here is an outline of the promise and it’s different aspects:

• The initial promise given at UR – Genesis 12:2-3
• Abraham would become a great nation and a great name.
• God would bless those that blessed him and curse those that cursed him
• That in Abraham eventually ALL natians will be blessed.
• After entering the land God was to show him Abraham was then given the following promise at Sichem (Shechem) – Genesis 12:7
• Abraham would have children (seed) who would inherit the land
• After an example of Abraham’s unselfish attitude, where Abraham gave his nephew, Lot, first choice over which land he could go and graze his cattle on, these further revelations occur at Bethel- Genesis 13:14-17
• Abraham and his seed would inherit the land of Israel forever
• His seed would be multitudinous
• When Abraham showed that he believed in God (Genesis 15:6), further developments in the promise are made at Hebron – Genesis 15:1-12+17-20:
• God makes a covenant with Abraham by sacrifice.
• The boundaries of the land which God would give to Abraham and his seed are defined.
• After Abraham passed a great test of faith given to him by God, where he demonstrated that he was prepared to scarifice his only beloved son, Isaac, for God, the final installments of the promise are made on Mount Moriah – Genesis 2215-19:
• That Abraham’s seed would possess the gate of his enemies (this phrase means to be victorious over them – see Psalm 110:1)
• That in this seed all natians would be blessed.
• The promise was confirmed by an oath from God.

These promises were also repeated to Abraham’s son, Isaac and to Isaac’s son Jacob – see Genesis 26:2-24, 28:3-14, 46:3 and 24:4.

What does the promise to Abraham mean?

The seed of Abraham

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3:16
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Matthew 1:1
The above verses show the importance and meaning of the promise to Abraham. Jesus Christ is the promised seed! The land of Israel was promised to Abraham and to his seed, Jesus Christ. How can others share in this promise?
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”. Galatians 3:26-29
So a belief, or a faith, in Jesus Christ and an understanding of these promises enable us to be heirs of the promise to Abraham! As Peter puts it:
“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”. 2 Peter 1:4
The Bible teaches that by belief and baptism, a person is considered as being “IN CHRIST” who in turn is Abraham’s seed – the promise from God is that “IN THY SEED shall all nations be blessed”. Abraham’s seed then was firstly a singular aspect (Christ) but it also has a multitudinous aspect (believers in the promises through Christ), who are as the “sand and stars” for multitude.

The natural seed of Abraham

So what of the natural descendants of Abraham? How can we be sure the promise is not to them? Consider these verses:
“Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen (The non Jews) through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” Galatians 3:7-9
“And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” Matthew 3:9
“Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children.. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” Romans 9:5-8
“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” Romans 3:27-31
The above verses clearly show that to be a natural descendant of Abraham is not enough, a belief in the promises and that they have and will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ enables anybody to be associated with them. This is the gospel.
When Jesus is called the Lamb of God in John 1:29 and John 1:36, it is referring to Him as the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for sin. In order to understand who Christ was and what He did, we must begin with the Old Testament, which contains prophecies concerning the coming of Christ as a “guilt offering” (Isaiah 53:10). In fact, the whole sacrificial system established by God in the Old Testament set the stage for the coming of Jesus Christ, who is the perfect sacrifice God would provide as atonement for the sins of His people (Romans 8:3; Hebrews 10).

The sacrifice of lambs played a very important role in the Jewish religious life and sacrificial system. When John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), the Jews who heard him might have immediately thought of any one of several important sacrifices. With the time of the Passover feast being very near, the first thought might be the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. The Passover feast was one of the main Jewish holidays and a celebration in remembrance of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. In fact, the slaying of the Passover lamb and the applying of the blood to doorposts of the houses (Exodus 12:11-13) is a beautiful picture of Christ’s atoning work on the cross. Those for whom He died are covered by His blood, protecting us from the angel of (spiritual) death.

Another important sacrifice involving lambs was the daily sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem. Every morning and evening, a lamb was sacrificed in the temple for the sins of the people (Exodus 29:38-42). These daily sacrifices, like all others, were simply to point people towards the perfect sacrifice of Christ on the cross. In fact, the time of Jesus’ death on the cross corresponds to the time the evening sacrifice was being made in the temple. The Jews at that time would have also been familiar with the Old Testament prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah, who foretold the coming of One who would be brought “like a lamb led to the slaughter” (Jeremiah 11:19; Isaiah 53:7) and whose sufferings and sacrifice would provide redemption for Israel. Of course, that person was none other than Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God.”

While the idea of a sacrificial system might seem strange to us today, the concept of payment or restitution is still one we can easily understand. We know that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and that our sin separates us from God. We also know the Bible teaches we are all sinners and none of us is righteous before God (Romans 3:23). Because of our sin, we are separated from God, and we stand guilty before Him. Therefore, the only hope we can have is if He provides a way for us to be reconciled to Himself, and that is what He did in sending His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross. Christ died to make atonement for sin and to pay the penalty of the sins of all who believe in Him.

It is through His death on the cross as God’s perfect sacrifice for sin and His resurrection three days later that we can now have eternal life if we believe in Him. The fact that God Himself has provided the offering that atones for our sin is part of the glorious good news of the gospel that is so clearly declared in 1 Peter 1:18-21: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”

nothing but Jesus and Him crucified :1 Corinthians 2:2: Christ, in his person, and offices, and sufferings, is the sum and substance of the gospel, and ought to be the great subject of a gospel minister's preaching, but not so as to leave out other parts of God's revealed truth and will. Paul preached the whole counsel of God. Few know the fear and trembling of faithful ministers, from a deep sense of their own weakness They know how insufficient they are, and are fearful for themselves. When nothing but Christ crucified is plainly preached, the success must be entirely from Divine power accompanying the word, and thus men are brought to believe, to the salvation of their souls.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Synoptic Gospels Bible Study Lesson 6

Synoptic Gospels Bible Study Lesson 6Questions

1.Read Mt 5:3-12. These verses are called what? What is the central theme?

Mt5:3-12 Our Saviour here gives eight characters of blessed people, which represent to us the principal graces of a Christian. 1. The poor in spirit are happy. These bring their minds to their condition, when it is a low condition. They are humble and lowly in their own eyes. They see their want, bewail their guilt, and thirst after a Redeemer. The kingdom of grace is of such; the kingdom of glory is for them. 2. Those that mourn are happy. That godly sorrow which worketh true repentance, watchfulness, a humble mind, and continual dependence for acceptance on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, with constant seeking the Holy Spirit, to cleanse away the remaining evil, seems here to be intended. Heaven is the joy of our Lord; a mountain of joy, to which our way is through a vale of tears. Such mourners shall be comforted by their God. 3. The meek are happy. The meek are those who quietly submit to God; who can bear insult; are silent, or return a soft answer; who, in their patience, keep possession of their own souls, when they can scarcely keep possession of anything else. These meek ones are happy, even in this world. Meekness promotes wealth, comfort, and safety, even in this world. 4. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are happy. Righteousness is here put for all spiritual blessings. These are purchased for us by the righteousness of Christ, confirmed by the faithfulness of God. Our desires of spiritual blessings must be earnest. Though all desires for grace are not grace, yet such a desire as this, is a desire of God's own raising, and he will not forsake the work of his own hands. 5. The merciful are happy. We must not only bear our own afflictions patiently, but we must do all we can to help those who are in misery. We must have compassion on the souls of others, and help them; pity those who are in sin, and seek to snatch them as brands out of the burning. 6. The pure in heart are happy; for they shall see God. Here holiness and happiness are fully described and put together. The heart must be purified by faith, and kept for God. Create in me such a clean heart, O God. None but the pure are capable of seeing God, nor would heaven be happiness to the impure. As God cannot endure to look upon their iniquity, so they cannot look upon his purity. 7. The peace-makers are happy. They love, and desire, and delight in peace; and study to be quiet. They keep the peace that it be not broken, and recover it when it is broken. If the peace-makers are blessed, woe to the peace-breakers! 8. Those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake are happy. This saying is peculiar to Christianity; and it is more largely insisted upon than any of the rest. Yet there is nothing in our sufferings that can merit of God; but God will provide that those who lose for him, though life itself, shall not lose by him in the end. Blessed Jesus! how different are thy maxims from those of men of this world! They call the proud happy, and admire the gay, the rich, the powerful, and the victorious. May we find mercy from the Lord; may we be owned as his children, and inherit his kingdom. With these enjoyments and hopes, we may cheerfully welcome low or painful circumstances.

 2.Read Mt 5:13-16. What does the reference of being salt and light mean? What is your opinion of Mt 5:13?

Ye are the salt of the earth - Our Lord shows here what the preachers of the Gospel, and what all who profess to follow him, should be; the salt of the earth, to preserve the world from putrefaction and destruction.

Jesus wanted to make it abundantly clear that every believer is a representative of the kingdom. Jesus emphatically declared that His followers are to be (1) salt and (2) light to the world. Believers have a duty to the world.

“Salt” creates thirst when it comes to eating. Its saline quality seasons and makes food tasty.

No believer can live in separation from the world. We are not of the world, but we are in it. The purpose of a salty Christian is to make an effect on others. Many individuals and churches have lost their appeal to non-Christians. The church has lost its pungency to the non-Christian world, for God designed them to touch society. Christians cannot live in isolation, cocooned from society. God designed them to reach out and touch.

3.What is your opinion of Mt 5:14-16?

Mt5:13-16 Ye are the salt of the earth. Mankind, lying in ignorance and wickedness, were as a vast heap, ready to putrify; but Christ sent forth his disciples, by their lives and doctrines to season it with knowledge and grace. If they are not such as they should be, they are as salt that has lost its savour. If a man can take up the profession of Christ, and yet remain graceless, no other doctrine, no other means, can make him profitable. Our light must shine, by doing such good works as men may see. What is between God and our souls, must be kept to ourselves; but that which is of itself open to the sight of men, we must study to make suitable to our profession, and praiseworthy. We must aim at the glory of God.

4.Read Mt 5:17-18. What do these verses mean? Are they still in effect?

Mt 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. The preceding verses were so opposed to the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees that some might assert that he was a destroyer of the law. He replies that he has not come to destroy it, but to fulfill. He does not say that he has come to perpetuate it.

Mt 5:18 the law never would be destroyed until it should be all fulfilled. It is the same as saying everything else may change; the very earth and heaven may pass away, but the law of God shall not be destroyed until its whole design has been accomplished.

5.Explain Mt 5:20. Mt 5:20 Your righteousness shall exceed. The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees has just been referred to. (Mt 3:7). They claimed to be the teachers and examples of righteousness, but they lacked the humble spirit of true obedience.

6.Read 5:21-48. This contrast is the improper interpretations of the Pharisees (they say) with the proper interpretation of Christ (but I say). What were some of the misinterpretations of the Pharisees?

The reinterpretation by Jesus then illustrates what it means for him to fulfill the Law and what it means for our righteousness to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. The general pattern of Jesus’ teaching in the great antitheses is to move beyond the letter of the Law to the spirit. He drives to the original intention of the Law in the mind of God. In this sense Christ restores the Law to its God-intended purpose. For this reason we need to give careful attention to the way Jesus works with the Law in these verses.

The first subject that Jesus addresses is anger. The portion of Old Testament Law that he quotes is the prohibition of murder. However, Jesus proclaims the same punishment for a person who is angry with his brother or sister. The King James Version spoke of being angry with one’s brother "without a cause." However, the oldest and best manuscripts of the New Testament do not contain these words. It is fairly clear that they were added by a scribe who wished to justify his own anger with certain people.

Jesus’ point is difficult for most of us to understand let alone accept. The heart issue in murder is much more than just the death of another individual. It begins with an attitude that disregards the value of that other person, making his or her life of no importance. Likewise anger disregards the value of another person. It is important for us to recognize that Jesus was not speaking of natural angry reactions that we all have when our sense of space and worth is violated. What Jesus was dealing with was the accepting, nurturing, and continuing of anger against another person after our momentary reaction. When we value others as much as we value ourselves we will find explanations for their invasions of our space and dignity in the same way we find explanations for our own behavior that inadvertently hurts other people.

Verses 23-24 show how important this issue is. Jesus places the resolution of our human conflicts above our worship of God. That is, worship of God is meaningless as long as we live with broken human relationships. Persons matter so much to God that he requires that we mend our relationships with other people before bringing our gifts to him.

Verses 27-30 deal with the issue of adultery. Here we find the clearest example of the way Jesus moves to the heart purpose of the Old Testament commandment. The Old Testament quotation was of the seventh commandment prohibiting adultery. Jesus extended the application of the commandment past bed-hopping. To look at another person in order to lust after them is to commit adultery in one’s heart. Even in the Old Testament adultery was understood to be much more than the violation of another man’s property rights over his wife. Idolatry and the worship of Baal was often described as adultery by the Old Testament prophets. The underlying assumption is that marriage was to be a covenant relationship like that between God and Israel. Such covenanting calls for mutual love, fidelity, and valuing.

Adultery is the violation of covenant love, covenant faithfulness, and covenant valuing. So is lust and so are any of the variety of pornographic entertainments available now (and then). To desire (sexually or otherwise) someone other than your covenant partner violates the mutual valuing implied by the covenant itself. Pornography undermines covenant mutuality. Our culture has so perverted human sexuality into the self-indulgent pursuit of orgasm that hardly a trace of the biblical view remains. Biblical sexuality is intensely personal. Genesis 2 portrays sexuality as the means by which our humanity in the image of God is created. Sexual union creates a mutual valuing of the two partners that is violated by every sexual perversion or sin. Though research and human experience deny it our popular culture still promotes the delusion that sexuality is a genital activity rather than the heart of personal relationship. We cannot have it both ways and the sooner the church declares that reality, the better off we will be.

The third issue Jesus addressed in the great antitheses was divorce. The Old Testament quotation is from Deuteronomy 24:1, which was part of the Old Testament divorce regulations. The scenario described in Deuteronomy 24:1 is that of a wife who does not find favor from her husband because of something objectionable about her. The rabbis of Jesus’ time discussed intensely what "objectionable" things might be sufficient cause for a divorce. Some of the suggestions included such trivial matters as being a poor cook or not being as physically attractive as another woman the husband might meet.

Here in Matthew 5 Jesus clearly states that adultery is the only thing sufficiently objectionable so that a divorce might be permitted. Matthew 19 will contain a fuller treatment of the question of marriage and divorce. However, we should note here that Jesus does not command divorce in the case of adultery. He also states that a man who divorces his wife for any reason other than adultery is responsible for placing his wife in a position where adultery may be her only recourse. In an astounding move beyond the Old Testament Jesus made adultery an issue for which both men and women are responsible rather than it simply being a woman’s problem.

The fourth main subject in this section is that of oaths. This is difficult for most modern believers to understand for two reasons. First, we tend to take Scriptural teaching on oaths as a prohibition of any profane use of God’s name. In the biblical context oaths referred to the use of God’s name to affirm the truthfulness of what one had said. It did not include other profanity or vulgar language. The second issue we fail to understand is the pattern of deceitfulness prevalent in Jewish society at Jesus’ time. At least in some circles habits had developed in which people felt free not to tell the truth unless they swore by God’s name that they were telling the truth. Judaism had several mechanisms by which they could refer to God without actually mentioning his name. Use of the passive voice was one of those mechanisms. Mention of heaven or God’s throne was another. Jesus’ point here in Matthew 5:33-37 is that kingdom people’s word is reliable. Yes means yes, no means no, and no oaths should be necessary to convince others of the integrity of our words. Though our culture has different ways of justifying lying the principle is still true for believers today. There should never be a question of the integrity of our words.

Verses 38-42 deal with the subject of retaliation. Jesus quotes a common Old Testament dictum, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This saying can be found in Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; and Deuteronomy 19:21. Though Christian history has normally taken these words to speak of the right for revenge, in their original context they had a very different thrust. In a world in which the death of one demanded vengeance killing of several in response the eye for eye teaching was a restriction of retaliation. Jesus extends that limitation of retaliation by urging our generous and gracious response to everyone who hurts us or places some demand upon us. This leads very naturally to the final antithesis. Instead of loving our family and friends and hating our enemies Christ calls on us to also love our enemies. Our example in this is God himself who demonstrates equal love to saints and sinners alike. Both receive the blessings of sunshine and rain indiscriminately. Kingdom people likewise will love indiscriminately. That love without expecting a return is the meaning of being perfect like our heavenly Father is perfect.

Mt5:45 That ye may be the children - That is, that ye may continue and appear such before men and angels. For he maketh his sun to rise - He gives them such blessings as they will receive at his hands. Spiritual blessings they will not receive.

Mt5:43

Now we come to the final model of the higher standards of Christ’s kingdom (5:43-48).

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

The word “neighbor” conveys the idea of one near. It is a person in proximity to us. The neighbor could be an adversary.

The Mosaic Law contains the first phrase “love your neighbor” (Le 19:18), but the scribes and Pharisees added the second phrase “hate your enemy.” This was a limited form of love.

Mt5:44

But I say to you,

Jesus operated on a higher standard than the Law, and rejected the “hate your enemy” mentality. This is love without limits.

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Love in Jesus’ kingdom extends to one’s enemies. Loving one’s enemy was not commanded in the Old Testament. “Love” in the Greek is in continuous action. We set up a precedence of love for our enemies.

PRINCIPLE: The Christian loves on the principle of grace and not on the merit of the person loved.

Jesus’ love here is more than romantic love; it is agape love—love that sacrifices for others. Love for an enemy is love for someone who does not deserve our love. People do not have to merit love from us. We love enemies on the principle of grace. This love does not depend on the nature of the enemy. This love depends on us, not them! We do not treat people on the basis of what they are.

Mt5:46

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?

It is no big deal if we love those who love us. Non-Christians do that. There is no distinction of love here. Love is more than sentiment.

Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

Tax collectors had a very bad reputation in Israel. If a low-life like a tax collector can love, what distinction is there in reciprocal love? That is tit-for-tat love. If people have a low view of tax collectors today, it was worse in Jesus’ time. Loving like tax collectors is not saying much.

Mt5:47

And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?

Friendship with one’s personal friends is nothing exceptional. Everyone does that.

Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

This is the standard of non-Christians or non-believers. The believer should do more than those who do not know God.

Mt5:48

You therefore

The words “therefore” with the emphatic “you” embrace one final, over-arching principle.

must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The standard of Christ’s kingdom is perfection. The word “perfect” means mature, complete, whole. Retaliation does not characterize God, for He does not lower who He is to accommodate how humans act. Perfection here does not convey the idea of sinlessness but rather full maturity according to the character of God. The context of this is mature love, as God’s love is mature.

PRINCIPLE: Believers should love with the distinctive love of God.

Our lives should wholly commit to God’s character. God’s love is complete, so the child of God should have complete love. God’s love is indiscriminate, so our love should not discriminate towards the objects of our love.

7.Explain Mt 6 :1-18.

Mt 6:1-18. Further Illustration of the Righteousness of the Kingdom-Its Unostentatiousness.

General Caution against Ostentation in Religious Duties (Mt 6:1).

1. Take heed that ye do not your alms-But the true reading seems clearly to be "your righteousness." The external authority for both readings is pretty nearly equal; but internal evidence is decidedly in favor of "righteousness." The subject of the second verse being "almsgiving" that word-so like the other in Greek-might easily be substituted for it by the copyist: whereas the opposite would not be so likely. But it is still more in favor of "righteousness," that if we so read the first verse, it then becomes a general heading for this whole section of the discourse, inculcating unostentatiousness in all deeds of righteousness-Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting being, in that case, but selected examples of this righteousness; whereas, if we read, "Do not your alms," &c., this first verse will have no reference but to that one point. By "righteousness," in this case, we are to understand that same righteousness of the kingdom of heaven, whose leading features-in opposition to traditional perversions of it-it is the great object of this discourse to open up: that righteousness of which the Lord says, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 5:20). To "do" this righteousness, was an old and well-understood expression. Thus, "Blessed is he that doeth righteousness at all times" (Ps 106:3). It refers to the actings of righteousness in the life-the outgoings of the gracious nature-of which our Lord afterwards said to His disciples, "Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples" (Joh 15:8).

before men, to be seen of them-with the view or intention of being beheld of them. See the same expression in Mt 5:28. True, He had required them to let their light so shine before men that they might see their good works, and glorify their Father which is in heaven (Mt 5:16). But this is quite consistent with not making a display of our righteousness for self-glorification. In fact, the doing of the former necessarily implies our not doing the latter.

otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven-When all duty is done to God-as primarily enjoining and finally judging of it-He will take care that it be duly recognized; but when done purely for ostentation, God cannot own it, nor is His judgment of it even thought of-God accepts only what is done to Himself. So much for the general principle. Now follow three illustrations of it.

8.Explain Mt 6:19-21.

Mt6:19

Jesus next spoke about our attitude towards wealth as a gauge of our spirituality.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,

The idea behind “laying up” is to store up; it puts emphasis on hording for oneself. If our essential scale of values is based on things of earth, we will miss eternal orientation. Jesus was not making an absolute prohibition against gathering wealth to oneself, but rather teaching that money is to be used for eternity rather than time. This is an issue of personal policy.

where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;

Treasures on earth are subject to decomposition. Moths eat through clothes, a value of considerable importance in the ancient world. “Rust” comes from the word eats. The idea is to corrode. Rust consumes and causes items to disappear. Earthly treasures ultimately disappear.

To “break in” is literally to dig through. Walls in Palestine were often made of dried mud. A burglar could dig through a wall to steal one’s possessions. Again this emphasizes the transient nature of earthly possessions.

Mt6:20

but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

When we use all our possessions for God, we lay up treasures in heaven. Jesus says in effect, “Focus on things of eternal consequence.”

where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Treasures on earth are temporal. They only last in time, not eternity.

Mt6:21

For where your treasure is,

Our treasure is what we value most.

there your heart will be also.

What we love is where we place our priorities. What we love most is our god. Our hearts are right when we devote time and possessions to eternal things.

PRINCIPLE: Our best investment is in eternal things.

We cannot divide life into spiritual and material, because Jesus made no such division. A proper attitude towards wealth is to use all that we have for eternity.

It is not wrong to possess things, but it is wrong for things to possess us. When things possess us, it is spiritual slavery. Temporal possessions will enslave our hearts. Putting all our efforts into earthly pursuits will distort eternal values.

And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Ti 6:8-10

9.Explain Mt 7:21. Mt7:21

Jesus continues his thought on false teaching of the previous verses by showing that religious profession does not mean biblical reality or authenticity.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven,

The repetition of the word “Lord” indicates robust religious zeal. Religious profession is not equivalent to biblical authenticity. There are many religious fakers out there. Religious zealots will not enter the kingdom simply because of religion.

but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

The Greek word for “but” denotes sharp contrast. The central thesis rests on doing “the will of My Father.” All true belief revolves around the will of God’s thinking and purpose represented in Scripture.

10.Explain Mt 7:24-27.

Mt7:24

Jesus now turned to the last contrast, a contrast of foundations of what we believe. Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount with the parable of two foundations.

“Therefore

The “therefore” connects this parable to His preceding thought. Not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom.

whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them,

There are two elements in this statement: (1) positive volition about hearing Jesus’ teaching and (2) application of what is heard. Faith is the root and application is the fruit of faith.

When Jesus referred to “the “sayings of Mine,” He was drawing emphatic attention to the teaching on the Mount.

I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:

The words “I will liken him” set up an illustration of a contrast between a haphazard foundation and a firm foundation. The “house” here is the solidity of belief in Christ’s teaching and willingness to apply that belief to experience.

Mt7:25

and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

A solid foundation stands in the face of adversity.

Mt7:26

“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:

“Sand” is a shifty, unstable foundation. This foundation cannot stand against adversity because it is vacuous of rock-solid material on which to rest.

Mt7:27

and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

The Sermon on the Mount concludes with a warning about building on the strong foundation of Jesus’ teachings. Those with weak conviction about Christ’s teaching will have a terrible fall.

PRINCIPLE: Test of faith will reveal the reality of our faith.

Jesus closed the Sermon on the Mount with the idea of principle and application. If we do not form solid biblical principles, we cannot apply them to experience. If we form solid principles but do not apply them, then we are left with a weak faith.

There are only two courses that we can take in living for Christ—either know and apply what He teaches, or treat His teaching lightly, with disregard.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. Jas 1:22-25

When the test comes, those with a solid foundation move forward. There is no doubt that the test will come.

Synoptic Gospels Bible Study Lesson 3

Synoptic Gospels Bible Study Lesson 3 Questions

1.      Who is considered the author of Luke? What relationship did the author have to Christ and/or the apostles?

The Gospel of Luke does not identify its author. From Luke 1:1-4 and Acts 1:1-3, it is clear that the same author wrote both Luke and Acts, addressing both to “most excellent Theophilus,” possibly a Roman dignitary. The tradition from the earliest days of the church has been that Luke, a physician and a close companion of the Apostle Paul, wrote both Luke and Acts (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11). This would make Luke the only Gentile to pen any books of Scripture.

Date of Writing: The Gospel of Luke was likely written between A.D. 58 and 65.

As with the other two synoptic gospels—Matthew and Mark—this book’s purpose is to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ and all He “began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven” (Acts 1:1-2). Luke’s gospel is unique in that is a meticulous history—an “orderly account” (Luke 1:3) consistent with the Luke’s medical mind—often giving details the other accounts omit. Luke’s history of the life of the Great Physician emphasizes His ministry to—and compassion for—Gentiles, Samaritans, women, children, tax collectors, sinners, and others regarded as outcasts in Israel.

Since Luke was a Gentile, his references to the Old Testament are relatively few compared to those in Matthew's gospel, and most of the OT references are in the words spoken by Jesus rather than in Luke’s narration. Jesus used the Old Testament to defend against Satan’s attacks, answering him with “It is written” (Luke 4:1-13); to identify Himself as the promised Messiah (Luke 4:17-21); to remind the Pharisees of their inability to keep the Law and their need of a Savior (Luke 10:25-28, 18:18-27); and to confound their learning when they tried to trap and trick Him (Luke 20).

Luke gives us a beautiful portrait of our compassionate Savior. Jesus was not “turned off” by the poor and the needy; in fact, they were a primary focus of His ministry. Israel at the time of Jesus was a very class-conscious society. The weak and downtrodden were literally powerless to improve their lot in life and were especially open to the message that “the kingdom of God is near you” (Luke 10:9). This is a message we must carry to those around us who desperately need to hear it. Even in comparatively wealthy countries—perhaps especially so—the spiritual need is dire. Christians must follow the example of Jesus and bring the good news of salvation to the spiritually poor and needy. The kingdom of God is near and the time grows shorter every day.

2. Read Luke 1:67-79. What is the significance of these verses?

The Gospel is the great hymn Benedictus (meaning ‘Blessed’ from its opening word in Latin) which is sung or said every day in the Divine Office at the end of Morning Prayer or Lauds. Luke puts it into the mouth of Zechariah, the husband of Elizabeth and father of the newly born John the Baptist. For doubting the word of the angel, Zechariah had been struck dumb but when, at the circumcision of his son, he confirmed that the boy’s name would be John, he recovered his speech and broke out into this song of praise. God is praised and blessed because “he has raised up a horn for our salvation within the house of David his servant”, a clear reference to Jesus.
Zechariah thanks God for having – in the person of Jesus – “visited his people” and “come to their rescue” just has he had promised through the mouths of the prophets down the ages.
He remembers his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to our father Abraham
that he would grant us, free from fear,
to be delivered from the hands of our enemies.
Our ‘enemies’ are not those to whom we are hostile for there should be no such people. Rather they are those who wish us harm, simply because of our adherence to the vision of life that Jesus has given us.
What was the purpose of this deliverance? So that we could gloat over the defeat of those who wishes us harm? No, it was that we could “serve him in holiness and virtue in his presence, all our days”. There is enough there already for us to reflect on with deep gratitude.
But Zechariah goes on to speak of his newly-born son. “You will be called a Prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way for him.” That will be John’s special role, to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus our Saviour. He will do that by giving “his people knowledge of salvation through forgiveness of their sins”, a salvation that will come through Jesus giving them the experience of being reconciled and reunited with their God. It is clear that what is said by Zechariah of his son John applies very much to us also. For it is our calling to “to go before the Lord to prepare his ways” for others. All this will happen “by the tender mercy of our God who from on high will bring the rising Sun to visit us”. That Rising Sun, of course, is our Lord and Saviour, Jesus. He will “give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death”. That surely includes all of us in some way. In the brightness of that light he will “guide our feet into the way of peace”. The realisation of that peace and harmony in each one, in every community and throughout every society is a sign that the Kingdom has come.
We all realise how much that peace is needed in our world, in our own society, in our own communities, in our homes and in our own selves.

3. Read the account of Jesus' birth in Luke chapter 2? Meditate upon these verses and write a paragraph on what God shows you.

Jesus now takes the stage through His birth in Bethlehem. On that night, an angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds out in the fields nearby and declared to them the birth of the Messiah; they immediately sought out the child who was lying in a manger. On the eighth day, Mary and Joseph went to the temple to have the child circumcised, and in the temple, Simeon and Anna both beheld the child, rejoicing and prophesying over Him. When the boy had reached twelve, after the Feast of the Passover He stayed behind in the temple courts for three days, asking and answering questions.
4. What do most bib le scholars consider the theme and theme verse of Luke and why?

Theme VERSE: Luke 19:10 reads, "The Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost." Jesus met a tax collector named Zachaeus. Jesus spent time with him in his house, and Zachaeous was changed after meeting with Jesus. Jesus declared Zachaeus’ salvation. He also declared that He came to seek and to save what was lost.

First. Zachaeus and the sycamore-fig tree (1-5) Jesus entered Jericho. City Jericho was the entry city for Israelites go to Jerusalem. In the time of Jesus, Jericho was a rich city producing Balsam and exporting them. It was lucrative city for tax collectors.

A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus. Zaccaeus was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. The name Zacchaeus means “pure and righteous one”. His parents who gave that name hoped that he would become a pure and righteous man among all the people of Israel. When he was young he had a dream to be a great man with noble heart. But in the course of living in hard world he learned that money seem to be everything. So he decided to make money. He struggled hard and became a tax collector in a rich city Jericho. Even though taxes were collected by Jewish tax collectors, chiefs were always Romans. But Zacchaeus even became a chief tax collector. We can imagine how hard he was. People treated them as roman dogs and traitors and quislings. Zacchaeus became rich as he wanted. But for his wealth he had squeezed people so hard to take money out of their pockets. Some times he threatened his old hometown friends because of taxes. He was hated. He was expelled from community, from synagogues. He was rich but lonely, very lonely man. In the end, he knew that he was not pure or righteous. He knew that he was a terrible sinner toward God, toward his parents and toward his own people.

Look at verse 3. He wanted to see who Jesus was. Why did he want to see Jesus? He used to be alone. His dealings with people were just for taxes. People hated him. It gave him all the more reason to be indifferent toward other people. He did not care to know anybody. He did not care even when a famous and renowned teacher was passing by. He did not care even when a famous singer came to town. And people thought that he would never care to associate with others. But what happened to him that he cared to see Jesus? How would you answer this question?

It is mysterious but timeless truth that God formed man in his image, breathed in him the breath of life, a soul. God made man a spiritual being that seeks God and longs to be with God. Even the most unlikely person Zacchaeus was not an exception. He was also created in the image of God. Deep down in his heart his soul was seeking God and God’s truth. In his heart he knew that he was lost in sin. “He wanted to see who Jesus was.” Many people followed Jesus surrounding him as crowd of people. But most of them were interested on what Jesus would do. They wanted to see Jesus healing or performing miracles. They wanted Jesus do great miracle in Jerusalem. But Zacchaeus wanted know who Jesus was. In other word, he wanted to meet Jesus personally. He heard many stories about Jesus. But he was most interested in Jesus being friend to sinners and tax collectors. Surely he heard about Levi a fellow tax collector who turned to be one of Jesus’ disciples. He heard that Jesus understood Levi, forgave his sins and called him to be his disciple. He heard that Jesus accepted all sinners who sincerely repented. Zacchaeus wanted such salvation, forgiveness of sin. He wanted to leave sinful life and start a new life. And he believed that it was possible if he only meets Jesus. He began to see the light of God in Jesus.

           

There are numerous people who seem to be ok by being themselves. They seem to be indifferent toward God. But we must never forget that they are also created in the image of God with God’s spirit that seeks God and God’s truth.

           

When Jesus came to pass Jericho it was Zacchaeus’ chance to see Jesus. But he was short and people blocked him. What did he do? He already had in mind what to do. Look at verse 4. “so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.” We are reminded of the four friends who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus. Since they could not get near to Jesus, they went up on the roof and made an opening on the top of Jesus and lowered the paralyzed man. They did not give up bringing their friend to Jesus. Zacchaeus was also determined to see Jesus. He looked around and noticed that Jesus would pass by the sycamore-fig tree that was there by the road side. They say that the fig fruit from sycamore-fig tree used to be for feeding pigs. Pigs were considered unclean animals. Naturally people would not climb up the sycamore-fig tree. But Zacchaeus did not mind anything as long as he could see Jesus. So he ran ahead to the tree and climbed up. We can imagine a chubby old man struggling to climb a tree. When he made up on the tree he looked like a mischievous child playing a monkey. To people’s eyes, he might have looked ridiculous and disgusting, a public sinner hanging on a pig feeding tree. But Zacchaeus did not mind as long as he had a good spot to meet Jesus.

Second, Jesus called Zacchaeus come down (5-6) Look at verse 5 ‘When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”’ As Zacchaeus calculated, Jesus came under the tree. Zacchaeus must’ve wished earnestly in his heart, “Jesus, please look up.” Indeed, Jesus looked up and saw Zacchaeus as if he knew everything about him like a dear son. He called him by his own name, “Zacchaeus”. What did Jesus see in him? Other people saw him as a disgusting sinner playing a comedy. But Jesus saw him as a child of God who was earning to be with God. Jesus knew his name. Name represents a person’s whole being. Jesus knew everything about Zacchaeus. Jesus knew his inner desire to be forgiven and to be with God. Then he called him, “Zacchaeus” just as a father would call his loving son. Jesus saw that Zacchaeus really wanted to know God and Jesus, the Son. “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

We wonder how Jesus knew his name. Once Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, you know all things.” (Jn 21:17a) Jesus is All-knowing, Omniscient God. Therefore, it is not surprising that Jesus knew Zacchaeous’ name. Still, Jesus could have called him, “Hey you, chief tax collector,” as others would have done to him. Instead, Jesus called him, “Zacchaeus,” which means “pure and righteous one.” Though Zacchaeus did not live up to the meaning of his name, Jesus neither despised nor condemned him. Jesus accepted him as he was. Jesus saw the hope that he would be changed and restored in Jesus to be a man of purity and righteousness. Likewise, Jesus knows our names. Jn 10:3b says, “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” Jn 10:14 says, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” David said in Ps 139:1-6, “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” The world population reached 6.5 billion. Since there are too many people in the world, sometimes we wonder how Jesus would know our names personally. But Jesus knows us and call us by name as he knew King David and Zacchaeus by name. Though we corrupt ourselves by living a life of sin, Jesus neither looks down on us nor condemns us. Instead, he calls us to himself one by one so that he may purify us from our sinful past and failures and restore us into the original image of the glorious children of God and even into the likeness of Jesus!

Jesus also said to him, “I must stay at your house today.” (5b) There was no obvious reason for Jesus to stay in Jericho. But Jesus used a strong imperative, “must,” when he invited himself to Zacchaeus’ house, meaning that Jesus came to Jericho in order to be with Zacchaeus. Here the invited was the real Inviter and the guest, the true Host. When Jesus invited himself to Zac­chaeus' house, he was inviting Zacchaeus to the heavenly banquet to celebrate Zacchaeus’ homecoming. (Rev 3:20) Jesus knew Zacchaeus desire to know Jesus. So Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus home. How did Zacchaeus respond to Jesus' invitation?

Look at verse 6. So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. Zacchaeus was really happy to have Jesus in his home. Probably his house was big. No one has ever visited him before. We do not know how long Jesus stayed there with Zacchaeus. Jesus became a friend to the lonely man. He forgave all the sins. Apostle John said of Jesus in John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The creator God came down to be with sinners, to be with us. This Jesus, the God incarnate want to be with us. He wants to be our friend and eat with us and talk with us.

Third, Today salvation has come to this house. (7-10) What was people's response? People there began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'" (7) In the previous passage, we learned that Jesus is the Son of Man. Though he is the Holy Son of God, he came down to this world to be with sinners like us. Though people knew and appreciated this beautiful humanity of Jesus, they felt that Jesus was going overboard to an extreme when he invited himself to the chief tax collector’s house. As they looked down on Zacchaeus, they began to look down on Jesus.

Look at verse 8. "But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’" We remember what Jesus said in Lk 18:24, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.” The rich young ruler went away sad because of his love of money. But Zacchaeus was different. Immediately Zacchaeus made a public declaration of sincere repentance. Specifically he repented his blind selfishness. In the past, because of his blind selfishness he did not mind extracting tax money from his poor countrymen as long as he could accumulate wealth. But now since he met Jesus and experienced his great grace, his spiritual eyes were open to see who he was and who Jesus was. He realized that Jesus came to redeem him from his past sinful life and make him new. Jesus freed him from the love of money. Now he was free to give away even half of his possessions to the poor. He was willing to pay back whatever he had cheated four times the amount according to the law of God written in Ex 22:1. Zacchaeus’ repentance was not elegant in words, but it was a very practical, direct, sincere and heart-moving repentance before God and men.

Look at verse 9. “Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.’" Here we learn that salvation comes to us when we repent of our sins and believe in Jesus. Once Peter, being filled with the Holy Spirit, preached at the Pentecost to the people of Jerusalem. He reminded them that they were the ones who crucified Jesus and that God raised him from the dead and made him both Lord and Christ. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and asked Peter, “What shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Ac 2:38,39) Zacchaeus was a public sinner. But when he repented of all his sins and accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, Jesus proclaimed that salvation had come to his house and he became a son of Abraham, which means, one of God’s covenant people.

Jesus continued in verse 10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.” Here the lost are those who are lost in sin. Zacchaeus was one of them. Jesus was not just passing through Jericho. In fact, Jesus came to Jericho with a specific, divine mission to seek and save Zacchaeus. Jesus’ seeking and saving Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector and chief public sinner, shows clearly the purpose of Jesus’ coming to this world. Jesus came down to this world to seek us out and save us from our sins. Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Today, we learned through Zacchaeus that Jesus sees our sincere heart. May we have sincere heart desire to know Jesus, and know him batter. We also learned that Jesus came to seek and to save what was lost. May we have Jesus’ compassion and hope toward lost people. 

5. Read Luke chapter 15? What is common in these three parables and what is different? What do you consider the main points of each parable?Jesus told three parables to illustrate the joy in heaven of recovering the lost ones of Israel. The first was about a sheep that had gone astray, which the shepherd leaves the flock to find. The second tells of a woman who had lost a silver coin, and she swept the house until she found it. The final story relates the splurging of a young son’s wealth on wild living, his humiliation of trying to survive during an ensuing famine, and his return to his father, who was filled with joy to see him.
6. Read Luke 16 the parable of the "Rich man and Lazarus." What do you consider as the key  teaching from this parable?

Jesus told His disciples a parable about a rich man’s shrewd steward to show that worldly wealth should be used to gain friends. Good stewardship of worldly things makes one trustworthy for receiving heavenly riches. Jesus then rebuked the Pharisees nearby because they loved money, and He proclaimed that the Law would not pass away and that divorce was like adultery. Next He told of a certain rich man who enjoyed the good life but suffered for eternity and of a poor man, who lived at the rich man’s gates, who suffered during his life but was comforted in the afterlife.

7. Read Luke 19:1-10 Meditate upon this story and write a paragraph about what God shows you.

Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said, ‘Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.’ So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, ‘He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.’ Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord, I giver half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.’” And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost’” (Luke 19:1-10).

Jesus was the hero of this crowd from Galilee as they were on their way to the Passover. But here He had shocked the disciple’s sensibilities and those of the people of Jericho by inviting Himself to be the guest of Zacchaeus: a chief publican who didn’t have the best reputation. This Zacchaeus desired to see Jesus, and although that’s commendable, the idea of it is surpassed by the fact that Jesus wanted to see him!

Not only did Jesus want to see Zacchaeus, he would stay with him as well; for He said, “I must stay at your house today” (v. 5). Why was Jesus looking for Zacchaeus? because “the Son of Man had come to seek and to save that which was lost” (v.10). The crowd all murmured just moments before; they complained that Jesus was going to be a guest with a man who is a sinner! But who else needs salvation other than a sinner?

“Just who is a good prospect for the gospel of Christ?” I have to admit, I find myself culling some prospects out, thinking, “They won't respond.” Perhaps there is a tendency for all of us to exclude those who don't have the same lifestyle as us, or the same moral standards, but who did Jesus consider to be a good prospect? Perhaps in Zacchaeus, we see that He appealed to those whom we wouldn’t consider as “religious minded people.”

Jesus taught this lesson before, as is recorded in Luke 14:12-14: At that time He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” This passage shows that we should reach beyond those we might usually think of as "good prospects."

Zacchaeus was a tax collector who was hated by his own people for reportedly being a thief and for being allied with the Romans. Yet, Jesus saw potential in this man. "And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must stay at your house" (Luke 19:5). Don’t you think that Jesus’ concern paid off? Zacchaeus repented and followed Jesus!

What do we see when we meet people? Do we look first to see whether they are "like us" before we try to teach them the gospel or invite them to the services of the church? Or do we see a soul that needs salvation? Do we simply see them as they are, with sin and immorality, or do we see what they can become? Do we really have faith in the power of the gospel? It is God’s power unto salvation (Romans 1:16).

What do you see when you meet someone who is not a Christian? Maybe this is the greater lesson of what is recorded in Luke 19. The interesting thing is that the scriptures don’t reveal much about Zacchaeus’ intentions on that day. It simply says that, “he sought to see who Jesus was” (v.3), not necessarily to listen to His teaching, or obtain anything from Him, but merely to see who he was. "What sort of person was this Jesus, about whom there was so much speculation, and after whom such crowds were following?" Curiosity may have been Zacchaeus’ only motive.

Maybe there is one that is just curious to find out more about Jesus, will you hinder their chances to do so? Let us always be people who are diligently seeking God, and let us never be guilty of standing in the way of others who wish to do the same, but instead; let’s help them to come to know Jesus: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Titus 2:22).

8. Luke 19:10 says that Jesus came to "seek and save" the lost. If all are lost why are not all saved? Write a paragraph explaining your answer.As Jesus and His disciples passed through Jericho, they met Zacchaeus and went to stay at his house. While there Jesus told a parable to illustrate the need for good stewardship until the kingdom of God comes. After this He went up to Jerusalem and entered riding on a colt. While those around Him rejoiced at His coming, He wept over Jerusalem because of its coming destruction. Then He went into the temple and drove out those who were selling there. In this passage, Jesus saved one sinful man, Zacchaeus. And then he revealed the very purpose of his coming to this world. Jesus came to seek and to save God’s lost children. This purpose has never changed. Through the Holy Spirit in us, Jesus seeks and saves God’s lost children today. Jesus was going through the city of Jericho. In Jericho there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a wealthy, very important tax collector. He wanted to see who Jesus was. There were many other people that wanted to see Jesus too. Zacchaeus was too short to see above the people. So he ran to a place where he knew Jesus would come. Then Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus. When Jesus came to that place, Jesus looked up and saw Zacchaeus in the tree. Jesus said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry! Come down! I must stay at your house today." Then Zacchaeus came down quickly. He was happy to have Jesus in his house. All the people saw this. They began to complain, "Look at the kind of man Jesus stays with. Zacchaeus is a sinner!" Zacchaeus said to the Lord (Jesus), "I want to do good. I will give half of my money to the poor. If I have cheated any person, I will pay that person back four times more!" Jesus said, "Today is the day for this family to be saved from sin. Yes, even this tax collector is one of God's chosen people ! The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them."

9. Read 2 Peter 3:9-10. How would you relate that to question 8 and also how to you relate these verses to the freedom God grants to man?

God bears long and is slow to anger. Longsuffering is proof of God's goodness, faithfulness, and His desire to grant us salvation. Romans 2:4 describes God as forbearing and longsuffering. Forbearance is refraining from the enforcement of something that is due like a debt, right, or obligation. Longsuffering differs slightly in that its emphasis is on temperament.

The simple explanation of II Peter 3:10, then, is that the surface of the earth and everything physical on it, including the incorrigible wicked, will be destroyed by an all-consuming fire. God will then renew the earth's surface (Psalm 104:30) and make it a pure, glorious habitation for Himself and the rest of the God Kingdom (Revelation 21-22).

Jesus didn't come to please the religious crowd. Jesus didn't come to pander to the social crowd. Jesus didn't come to hang out with the wild bunch. Instead, Jesus entered the world to save sinners. When we look back over the Gospel of Luke, we see Jesus reach out to men and women, young and old, powerful and forgotten, demon possessed, and the politically connected. He came to save sinners of all shapes, sizes, and stripes. He came to save you and me.

10. Read Luke 24:13-35. Meditate on this story and write a paragraph about what you consider the important points.

The women found the tomb empty on the first day of the week, and two angels proclaimed that He had risen! The apostles did not believe the women, but Peter ran to see the tomb. The same day Jesus appeared to two disciples traveling to Emmaus, but they did not recognize Him until He broke bread with them. They raced back to Jerusalem to tell the others, and while they were still speaking, Jesus appeared among them. He taught them what the Scriptures said about Him and instructed them to stay in Jerusalem until they were clothed with power from on high. Finally, He ascended into heaven.