Sunday
Morning Bible Study
January
22, 2017
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Regular: 2900
words Communion: 2500 words Video=75wpm
Today is Sanctity of Life Sunday
Daniel & Laura sharing about surrogacy.
Luke was a doctor and a travelling
companion of the apostle Paul.
He wrote this book while Paul was
in prison.
In writing this book about Jesus,
Luke made use of other older documents like the Gospel of Mark, as well as
extensive eyewitness accounts.
Jesus’ ministry is well under way,
and the people have been amazed not just at the things He’s been teaching, but
the things He’s been doing.
We are now on the homestretch of Jesus’ ministry.
Jesus is now in Jerusalem, on His way to be crucified.
Luke has reminded us of what Jesus’ main purpose was in life:
(Luke 19:10 NKJV) for the Son
of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
We saw Jesus arrive in Jerusalem on a Sunday, to the shouts of an adoring
crowd, crying “Hosanna”.
The next morning, on Monday, Jesus came into the Temple and cleared out
those who were ripping the people off through the selling of sacrificial
animals and money changers.
He then began to teach in the Temple, as He would every day until He would
be arrested.
20:1-8 Authority
:1 Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the
temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes,
together with the elders, confronted Him
:2 and spoke to Him, saying, “Tell us, by what authority are You doing
these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?”
:1 He taught … and preached the gospel
taught – didasko – to
teach; to hold discourse with others in order to instruct them
preached the gospel – euaggelizo
(“good” + “message”) – to bring good news, to announce glad tidings
In the NT used especially of the
glad tidings of the coming kingdom of God, and of the salvation to be obtained
in it through Christ, and of what relates to this salvation
We get our word “evangelize” from this word.
Lesson
Teaching and Preaching
Luke makes a point of using two words to describe the things that Jesus said
while He was in the Temple.
I think we should do the same in church.
He taught.
He explained things about God.
He explained the Scriptures.
We’re going to see an example in a minute.
He preached the gospel.
“Gospel” means “good news”.
Preaching the gospel is sharing good news with someone.
Some of us modern evangelicals will say that preaching the gospel requires
that you tell people these important facts:
1. We are sinners who are separated from God.
2. Jesus died on a cross to pay for our sin.
3. We must turn to
God to receive God’s forgiveness and eternal life.
Eternal life is “good news”
While I agree that this is the essence of what we call the “gospel”, and I
try to remind you of these things often, Jesus’ preaching of the gospel wasn’t
as specific as that.
(Mark 1:14–15 NKJV)
—14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching
the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
What was the “good news” Jesus was proclaiming? It was that the long-awaited kingdom of God
was at hand. Men ought to respond to
that good news by “repenting” or turning from their sins.
What we call the “gospel” isn’t really different from what Jesus was
saying.
We share with people that God’s kingdom has already come
because God has made it possible for people to know Him because of what Jesus
did on the cross.
We too want to encourage people to respond to this message
by turning to God (repenting) and opening their heart to Jesus.
:1 chief priests … scribes … elders
These are the leaders in the Temple.
It’s possible that this is a delegation from the Sanhedrin, the ruling body
of Jewish religious leaders.
The chief priests tended to be of
the Sadducee sect.
They were liberal in their
theology.
They only believed the first five
books of the Bible were Scripture.
They didn’t believe in miracles,
angels, or a resurrection.
That’s why they
were so sad-you-see.
The scribes tended to be Pharisees,
though some were also Sadducees.
The Pharisees believed in miracles,
angels, and a resurrection.
They believed the entire Old
Testament was Scripture.
They were outwardly very, very
strict and religious, though they only paid attention to what people see. They neglected the issues of the heart.
The elders may have been political
leaders.
:1 confronted Him
confronted – ephistemi
– to stand over one, place one’s self above
These leaders in the Temple are
“standing over” Jesus, letting everyone know that they’re in charge.
:1 by what authority are You doing these things?
what – poios
– of what sort or nature
authority – exousia
– power of choice; the power of authority (influence) and of right
(privilege); the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and
commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)
They want to know who gave Jesus the authority to come into their Temple
and teach their people.
The “things” probably have to do
with Jesus speaking in the Temple.
I can understand this concern.
As the pastor of this church, I’m
not real excited when a stranger visits our church and decides to take some of
you aside and rebuke you for things.
We’ve had this happen. In my eyes they have no “authority”.
Lesson
What’s your authority?
What’s your authority to believe what you believe?
Is it what culture tells you to believe?
Is it what you “feel” is right?
Is it because someone important in your life has told you what to believe?
(a parent, teacher, me…)
Abuse of authority
Sometimes people in positions of
authority will abuse their authority.
The chief priests
and scribes were those kinds of people – telling people what to believe.
Within the church, there are those
who will claim to be speaking for God, when what they desire is to exercise
authority over you to get you to do what they want you to do.
You might not pay
attention to them unless they said, “Thus says the Lord…”
The best authority to base your faith on is the Scriptures.
The Dead Sea Scrolls
Before 1947, the oldest Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament in
existence dated back to about AD 1000.
People critical of Christianity would often say things
like, “Well those Old Testament prophecies you quote were probably written
after the time of Jesus”, and it was hard to debate that point.
The Palestinians today continue to claim that there is no
evidence that the Jews ever lived in the land of Israel prior to the 20th
century.
Yet in 1947, Bedouin goatherd tossed a stone into a cave, heard some
pottery break, and discovered an ancient manuscript.
Video Dead Sea Scrolls Discovery
pt2
Though some of the manuscripts are “young”, dating to
around AD 70, most of them date back to 300 BC.
Manuscript fragments of all the Old Testament books have
been found, except for the book of Esther.
Why is this a big deal?
When Isaiah predicts:
(Isaiah
53:5 NKJV) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for
our iniquities; The
chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
… Isaiah wrote this before
it happened.
When Zechariah wrote,
(Zechariah
9:9 NKJV) …O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having
salvation, Lowly and
riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
… he wrote it before
it happened.
There are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament that
speak of the first coming of Christ, and Jesus fulfilled them all.
You can trust God’s Word.
The “authority” of your “beliefs” should be God’s Word.
:3 But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, and
answer Me:
:4 The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?”
thing – logos
– word
:3 I also will ask you one thing
Jesus isn’t going to answer them directly.
Instead He answers with a question that will expose where they’re really
coming from.
:4 The baptism of John
A few years before Jesus’ public ministry, John was drawing crowds from
Jerusalem down at the Jordan River. (Luke 3)
John was telling people to get ready for the coming Messiah, and to get
ready by turning from their sins and being baptized to show their sins were being
washed away.
When Jesus is speaking these things in the Temple, John has already been
executed by Herod (Luke 9:9).
:5 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’
He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
:6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are
persuaded that John was a prophet.”
:5 they reasoned among themselves
reasoned – sullogizomai
(“with” + “calculate”) – to bring together accounts, compute; to reckon with
one’s self, to reason
These leaders are smart people. They
take time to think through their answer before they respond.
They’re not sure what the smartest answer is to Jesus’ question, let alone
what the right answer is.
believe – pisteuo
– to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in
will stone – katalithazo
– to overwhelm with stones, to stone
persuaded – peitho
– persuade; be persuaded; to trust, have confidence, be confident
prophet – prophetes
– one who, moved by the Spirit of God and hence his organ or spokesman,
solemnly declares to men what he has received by inspiration, especially
concerning future events, and in particular such as relate to the cause and
kingdom of God and to human salvation
:7 So they answered that they did not know where it was from.
:8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do
these things.”
Do you know the answer? Where did
John get his authority to baptize?
Was it from God, or from men? (it was from God)
20:9-18 The Vineyard Owner
:9 Then He began to tell the people this parable…
:9 He began to tell the people this parable
A parable is a story that teaches a lesson.
For example…
On Thursday night, I was teaching on the principle that Jesus has the power
to set us free from the slavery of sin.
We experience this freedom when we learn to yield or “present ourselves” to
God.
(Romans 6:13 NKJV) And do not
present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but
present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as
instruments of righteousness to God.
I said that “presenting yourselves” to God is like choosing who you’re
going to dance with in life. I used a
parable with a bride and a groom. Who
does the bride and groom represent?
You may not know the steps, but when you dance with Jesus, He’ll show you.
Parables are like movie clips that tell a story.
:9 …“A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went
into a far country for a long time.
:9 A certain man planted a vineyard
Jesus is going to take this exchange with the Jewish leaders and make it a
teaching opportunity.
He starts by telling a story.
A parable have a certain amount of symbolism, to teach a lesson.
Put your thinking caps on.
See if you can identify some of the characters in Jesus’ story.
Try to identify the owner, the vineyard, the vinedressers, the servants,
and the son.
planted – phuteuo
– to plant
a vineyard – ampelon
– a vineyard
leased – ekdidomi
– to give out of one’s house, power, hand, stores; to let out for hire; to
farm out
vinedressers – georgos
– a husbandman, tiller of the soil, a vine dresser
went into a far country – apodemeo
– to go away into foreign parts, go abroad
time – chronos
– time either long or short
long – hikanos
– sufficient; many enough, enough
:10 Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they
might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him
and sent him away empty-handed.
vintage-time – kairos
– due measure; a measure of time, a larger or smaller portion of time,
hence: opportune or seasonable time; the
right time
beat – dero
– to flay, skin; to beat, thrash, smite
empty-handed – kenos
– empty, vain, devoid of truth
:11 Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him
shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.
again – prostithemi
– to put to; to add
treated him shamefully –
atimazo – to dishonor, insult, treat
with contempt
:12 And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him
out.
wounded – traumatizo
– to wound
:13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my
beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.’
owner – kurios
– he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has; power of
deciding; master, lord
beloved – agapetos
– beloved, esteemed, dear, favorite, worthy of love
respect – entrepo
– to shame one; to reverence a person
:14 But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves,
saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be
ours.’
:14 they reasoned among themselves
reasoned – dialogizomai
(“dialog”) – to bring together different reasons, deliberate
Jesus uses a word that’s very similar to how the Jewish leaders “reasoned
among themselves” (vs. 5) in how they would answer Jesus’ question about John
the Baptist.
heir – kleronomos
– one who receives by lot, an heir
:15 So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
:15 So they cast him out of the vineyard
I want to stop here for a minute and make sure you haven’t missed the
subtleties of what Jesus has been talking about.
Who is the owner of the vineyard?
God.
What is the vineyard?
It’s the nation of Israel.
Who are the vinedressers that the owner leased the vineyard to?
The leaders of the nation, the people who have just confronted Jesus.
Who are the various servants that the owner has sent to the vinedressers?
The various Old Testament prophets.
Who is the beloved Son that the owner finally sends?
It’s Jesus.
Bonus: What is Jesus saying that the Jewish leaders will eventually do to
Him, the “son”?
They will reject Him and have him killed.
:15 …Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
:16 He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to
others.” And when they heard it they said, “Certainly not!”
destroy – apollumi
– to destroy; to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin;
render useless; to kill
certainly not – ginomai
– to become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being. Literally, “may it not come to be”.
:16 He will come and destroy those vinedressers
The Romans would destroy and scatter the nation in AD 70.
Jesus is predicting the end of the nation.
He predicts this several times over the next few days.
:16 “Certainly not!”
It could be the people are saying
that there’s no way they would reject the “son”.
It’s probably more likely that they
are saying that they can’t even begin to think that the nation would be
destroyed.
:17 Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone’?
He looked – emblepo
– to turn one’s eyes on
rejected – apodokimazo
– to disapprove, reject, repudiate
builders – oikodomeo
– to build a house, erect a building
chief – kephale
– the head
cornerstone – gonia
– corner
:17 What then is this that is written
Jesus is going to wrap up His story with a Scriptural principle.
Sometimes a teacher will explain the nuances of a Bible verse, and then
illustrate the point with a story.
Jesus started with the story (parable), and then tied it to a Scripture.
:17 The stone which the builders rejected
It was just
a few weeks ago when we studied Jesus’ entry into
Jerusalem on Palm Sunday that we looked at the significance of Psalm 118.
It prophesied of the very day that Jesus would
enter Jerusalem.
It even gave the words the people would shout on
that day, “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”.
In our passage, Jesus is quoting from:
(Psalm 118:22 NKJV)
The
stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.
There is an old Jewish tradition about the building
of the temple by Solomon.
The stone used to build Solomon’s temple was not
cut at the temple site, but at the stone quarry. There was to be no sound of
cutting tools on the temple sight. After a stone was cut to specifications, it
would be sent to the temple, where it would be placed into the building
according to the plans.
Everything worked well until one particular stone
arrived, and the builders couldn’t figure out where it went so they tossed it
aside.
Much later, the builders began to wonder when the
quarry was going to send the most important stone, the corner stone. All the other stones were in place except for
it.
The quarry answered that they had already sent it
a long time ago. That’s when they realized that the stone they had tossed aside
was in fact the most important of them all, the corner stone.
Jesus is identifying Himself as the corner stone,
and He too will be rejected and thrown away.
:18 Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls,
it will grind him to powder.”
will be broken – sunthlao
– to break to pieces, shatter
:18 it will grind him to powder
grind … to powder – likmao –
to winnow, cleanse away the chaff from the grain by winnowing; to crush to
pieces, grind to powder
In the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar had a strange dream (Daniel 2)
about a giant statue with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and
thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet made of clay mixed with iron.
God told Daniel that the dream was about various world empires through
history.
At the end of the dream, there was a special stone that would destroy the
entire statue.
(Daniel 2:34–35
NKJV) —34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck
the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the
iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and
became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away
so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became
a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Daniel said the other kingdoms became like “chaff”, which
is the same imagery Jesus uses (“grind him to powder”).
Daniel went on to explain that this stone that destroyed
the kingdoms was God’s own kingdom (Dan. 2:44)
You don’t want to be God’s enemy when Jesus returns.
(Daniel 2:44 NKJV) —44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a
kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to
other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall
stand forever.
:18 Whoever falls on that stone will be broken
Lesson
What will you do with Jesus?
You have two choices of what to do with Jesus, the chief cornerstone.
You can do nothing and just wait until He falls on you and grinds you to
powder.
Or you can choose to fall on Jesus and be broken.
God is looking for hearts that are broken by sin.
David wrote,
(Psalm
34:18 NKJV) The Lord is
near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.