The Bible Study Thread!

[chimney55]

Luke 2:4-14

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

 

[chimney55]

.1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
.4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
.5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
.6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
.9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
.10 The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
.11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.


Even though in chapter 16, the disciples were beginning to understand who Jesus was, with at least Peter recognizing that Jesus was the messiah, even Peter argued with Him (John 16:22). There was still more that they had to know. There was more that they needed to understand. Jesus took Peter and two of the others with Him up on the mountain. They were most likely expecting Him to establish His kingdom soon on earth. The Transfiguration showed that what was going to happen had more far reaching consequences. There Jesus appeared with Moses and Elijah—two of the greatest men of the Old Testament. Moses was responsible for transmitting God's law to the people and Elijah was one of their greatest prophets. Then a voice came from the clouds that spoke to remind them of Deuteronomy 18:15. In other words, listen to Him and don't argue with Him. The disciples were understandably afraid, but Jesus told them that there was nothing to be afraid of. He then told them not to say anything to anyone else right away because there was still much that He had to teach them. At that point, they asked about Elijah and the belief that Elijah would come before Messiah came. Jesus said that Elijah had come and that they hadn't recognized him and that they had done “everything” to him. In the same way, the messiah was going to suffer at their hands. (He was again preparing them for His suffering and death.)

.14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
...17 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.
.19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
.20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” [21]


When they came off of the mountain, they found the other disciples. Jesus had already given them instructions in Matthew 10:8 about what they were supposed to do. However, they were unsuccessful in this case. It's sometimes difficult to understand what Jesus meant. He wasn't actually telling them that they didn't have faith, but without Him there, they possibly thought they needed “His power” to be able to drive out demons. Their “faith” was in their ability (or inability) to have the power to drive out demons when in reality it had nothing to do with their power but of their faith to do those things in Jesus' name.

.22 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.
This is another time that Jesus has predicted His death. They are starting to make their way to Jerusalem to Jesus' final Passover before the crucifixion.

.24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
.25 “Yes, he does,” he replied.
...When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
.26 “From others,” Peter answered.
...“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. 27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

Jews were required to pay a temple tax. This was primarily for the sacrifices. Some Jewish teachers and their disciples weren't required to pay so this was an honest question to Peter. When Peter went into the house, Jesus spoke first to make a few points to Peter. First, He knew everything that had happened. It was also to illustrate a point. Kings and their families don't pay the tax. He not only was the Son of God, but that Peter also was a son of God and therefore didn't need to pay the tax. However, Jesus wanted to show Peter that He was in control of all so He performed this small miracle in which the appropriate amount to pay the tax for both of them would be found in the mouth of a fish.

 

[chimney55]

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

7 “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

10 “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.


Even though some of them had witnessed the transfiguration, the apostles still thought that when Jesus came into His kingdom that it would be immediate and temporal. They were jockeying for positions of importance. They thought that surely the 12 would be chosen for positions of importance in the kingdom. Jesus called a child over to Himself. Children, at the time, were important but not as important as an adult. Jesus said that unless one became as a child humble, without jealousy) that they could not inherit the kingdom of God. And He reinforced the point that the least shall be greatest.

The next few verses are not advocating self-mutilation. They are saying that causes of sin should be avoided. If we know that certain activities cause us to sin, then we should avoid them. Not only because of our sin, but also because of the sin that others would be drawn into. If we think about it, our sins usually don't affect ourselves only but cause others to sin in reaction to them. We are warned against this.

What He says in verse 10 is interesting. The Jews believed that nations had angels over them, but Jesus was saying that each child had an angel over them. If you believe the Psalms (and other passages) that indicate that a human child is formed at conception, this would mean that all unborn children have their own angel.

Jesus then goes into the explanation that all of His sheep are important to Him. If one wanders off, He will do the necessary to make sure that those who are of His fold will come back. (Although, sometimes we lose patience while waiting for Him to bring one of our loved ones back to the flock. If they belong to the flock, He WILL go get them.)


15 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will bed bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

19 “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

In His next comments, He is talking about what should be done in society, not just by the religious leaders. When we feel that we have been sinned against, we should first attempt to speak to them about it privately. ( He is not talking about individual sins against God, but that could be treated in the same manner.) If the person is unwilling to listen, then we can present it to one or two others. This means discussing the "event" not all of the person's negative qualities (that is gossip, which is a sin in itself). If when discussing the sin with the person in question and one or two others, the person still refuses to listen, then the matter is established by the required number of witnesses. The next step would be to bring it before the church or the religious community in which they belong. If the person still refuses to see their error and they are unrepentant, then the time may have come to exclude them from the community. But this is a radical step after other steps have been exhausted.



21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.h He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

The parable given by Jesus is a difficult one (in a way). Peter asked how often he should forgive "his brother" for sins. He used the number 7 thinking that that would be enough (the number 7 signified perfection or completion for the Jews). Jesus took it further by saying that he should forgive 70 times 7 (an infinite number of times or 7 times perfection). Although forgiveness should be something that all people extend to each other, this is especially important for believers. We, as believers, are the unmerciful servant. We SHOULD recognize the debt that has been forgiven for us by Christ's death. To withhold forgiveness forever from someone else because of their sins toward us is to say that we are worthy of God's forgiveness but they are not! As an adult survivor of childhood physical and sexual abuse, I struggled with this one for some time! I finally realized that our sins are not put upon a scale to "weigh" the severity. Sin is sin. I had been forgiven a number of horrible sins, but I was unwilling to extend that forgiveness to others for their sins. (Sometimes, as in my case, forgiveness doesn't mean that we have to forgive them in person, or at their request. Forgiveness comes from within us and is our choice. Some of my abusers will never ask forgiveness or aren't even alive to ask for it. But I've given the rage and anger over to God and no longer seek revenge of any sort. (BTW, neither will I try to reestablish contact with them either. That's not part of forgiveness just as "forgetting" is not part of forgiveness. Forgiveness is not wanting them to experience the worst possible fate. God will judge them, not I.

People quote the last verse in the chapter to show that we can be saved but lose that salvation because of unforgiveness. I personally don't believe that we can lose our salvation, but we can lose our sense of togetherness or fellowship with the Father through our refusing to forgive someone---and that's an uncomfortable place to be.

 

[chimney55]

1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

Up until now, the majority of the Lord's ministry had been among Jews in the Galilee. (Although He would go into Jerusalem for the required feasts.) Now, He is leaving the Galilee for the last time before His death and resurrection. He entered into Judea. The other gospels (Mark & Luke) give more details about His work in that area, however, Matthew's gospel was written primarily to the Jews and he continued to record the ministry where it concerned the Jews.

The Pharisees could see the large crowd following Jesus and saw His popularity. They wanted to turn the people against them. This is why they asked the question about divorce. At that time, many allowed divorce for many reasons. (Even King Herod had divorced his wife to marry his brother's wife. John the Baptist had said that this was sin and was eventually beheaded for it.) Moses had said that a man could divorce his wife in case of adultery but many were divorcing their wives for many reasons other than adultery. If Jesus spoke out against divorce, it would surely anger men who had gotten such a divorce. Jesus saw the trick (or test) so He answered with what God had intended with marriage--that once a couple got married that they would become "one" and nothing should separate them. The Pharisees then asked about Moses saying that divorce was okay. They knew that if Jesus said that Moses was wrong then the people would turn against Jesus since Moses had "given the law". Jesus answered that Moses had only made a concession because of the peoples' hard hearts. And that divorce should only allowed in case of adultery.

The disciples asked if then it would be better if a man would not marry (if he could not divorce his wife for reasons other than adultery). Jesus answered that not every man would be able to "accept this word" (that it's better not to marry). He gave examples of where man would not be married either because of physical impairment or because they were dedicating their lives to God.

13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

In Jesus' time, children were considered insignificant. They were often neglected. Even the disciples tried to keep the children from "wasting" our Lord's time. Jesus, on the other hand, showed that He considered children to be very important. He even went so far as to say that the kingdom of heaven belongs to them and people who like them. Children are accepting and will believe almost anything. They trust--have faith--in what is taught to them. It's only later that they develop skepticism. The death, resurrection, and payment for sins is difficult to understand. Although we don't have to "leave our brains at the door when we become Christians" (as some people believe) there is a point where we realize that we can't understand everything exactly, we have to trust (have faith) in the word of our Father.

16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

18 “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[c] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]”

20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”

28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[e] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

The next passage is about the rich young man. He says that he follows all of the laws of Moses (but who actually does?) so he wants to know that he's done enough good to inherit eternal life. Jesus knows that it's not what we do but the "state" of our hearts that determine that. And the rich man's "state of heart" is on making money and having possessions. (It's not money that is evil, but the love of money. So, Jesus told him to sell everything that he had and give it to the poor. The man didn't continue to discuss it, he just turned away and went away sad. (I think that it was possibly because he realized the "hold" that money had on him but was unwilling to give it up.)

Jesus went on to say the famous verse, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God". I won't expound on this--on what the "eye of a needle" actually is. I'll just say that it's either difficult or impossible. But as Jesus pointed out, what's impossible with man, is possible for God. There were a number of people in the early church who were quite wealthy, but they had their priorities straight and used much of it for the ministry. (If anyone is interested in the "eye of the needle" explanation that I hold to, you can ask in the Bible Q & A thread.)

The disciples then asked about themselves seeing as they had left home, family, and livelihoods to follow Jesus. He promised them that when He was on His throne ruling that they would each have their own thrones over the tribes of Israel. He again repeated that the first would be last and the last would be first.