Text Study for Sunday, February 16, 2025

Series Theme: Unexpected

Reading: Luke 7:18-23

Connecting Question

Who is the last person who brought some good news to you? What was the news?
What was the last thing you had to go and tell someone else about?

Prayer for Illumination

Holy and Unexpected God, meet us as we open your word. Help us gather your promises so we can love you and our neighbor. Thank you for the gift of faith and for this next breath. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

CONTEXT

We continue the sermon series leading to Ash Wednesday. Along the way, we’ll learn the ways Jesus and his followers did the UNEXPECTED: they often didn’t do the lawful or typical thing. Jesus’ followers often went the wrong direction, yet they were never lost; it took them multiple tries to get it right! How can we learn from their missteps? Continue to follow even when we mess up! Remember Jesus doesn’t always follow rules, He is always working in service of God’s promises fulfilled.

From Dr Matt Skinner at EntertheBible.org:

Although Luke’s Gospel describes Jesus encountering opposition from a wide array of people, it offers more clarity about which people are involved in Jesus’ arrest and prosecution. When Jesus predicts his death in Luke 9:21-22, he names members of the Jerusalem elite–specifically, the elders, chief priests, and scribes–as the ones who will reject him. Also, Herod Antipas’s violent intentions become clear in Luke 13:31. Once Jesus reaches Jerusalem, Luke consistently names the chief priests, scribes, and sometimes the elders as those who oppose Jesus most vehemently. Pharisees are not named as part of the opposition in Jerusalem. Indeed, the last time Luke mentions any Pharisees is in Luke 19:39, just before Jesus enters Jerusalem. All of these observations reveal that Jesus was hardly rebelling against or condemning Judaism. Rather, Luke presents Jesus as obedient to Jewish law and seen as an irritant only by some religious leaders, most notably those who held significant political power centered in Jerusalem and in league with the interests of their Roman occupiers.

Look at the Book

Luke continues to share snapshots of Jesus’s early ministries. What group is now asking him a question?
Who is John? What other stories do we remember him being apart?
What does John do? And what is his question?
What was the timeframe that Jesus gave examples of his healing power?
Why such a short time period? What might Luke be underlining for us?
Make of the list of all the things Jesus heals. Anything in common or unique in that list?
Jesus then makes his own list. What is in Jesus’s list? How might this show the heart and character of God?
What does Jesus add?
What is the last thing on Jesus’s list (before him saying, don’t be offended?)
Why is good news to the poor often overlooked in the ministry of the church?
How does Easter live into this list that Jesus explains?
Jesus tags a curious statement onto the edge of the passage. What does he mean?
What makes Jesus offensive?
What makes Jesus good news for you?
What do think John thought when his two disciples came back with their “report?”
What would you like to talk about that we have not yet?

Taking it Home

Write Jesus’s list on a post it and put it in spot you’ll see it frequently for a week. Each time you pass it, which item on this list grabs your attention? Keep a tally and pray about a next step.

God of the promise, you call your people together into your one mission in Christ’s name. Make us brave, grant us peace, challenge our expectations, and empower us to truly follow your Spirit’s lead. You are our one God who calls us together as one people, and we thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Grow Guide | Feb 16, 2025