Breaking Ground
What’s one of the silliest mistake you’ve ever made? Keep it light!
The Dig
This Sunday, we continued our series Jesus the Christ by exploring the story about Jesus launching his public ministry from the Gospel of Luke.
Begin by reading Luke 4:14-21 & Isaiah 61:1-2 (the passage Jesus cites). Notice that Jesus makes two changes to Isaiah’s message:
- First, Jesus adds “to set the oppressed free” from Isaiah 58.
- Second, Jesus omits “to proclaim… the day of vengeance of our God” from Isaiah 61:2.
Why do you think Jesus adds this statement & omits Isaiah’s warning of divine vengeance? What does it mean that Jesus only proclaims the Year of the LORD’s favor?
Why do you think Jesus makes this his first public proclamation concerning his ministry? What does this reveal about who he is & what he believes he’s come to do?
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus uses the language of releasing people from bondage & forgiving debts to describe what he’s come to do & who he’s inviting us to become. For example…
- When forgiving sins, Jesus uses the language of forgiving debts & releasing people from the bondage of their pasts.
- In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, he tells a story about a servant who is forgiven a large amount of debt – who then, in turn, does not forgive another servant. Jesus closes by calling the unforgiving servant farthest from the Kingdom of God.
- In the Lord’s prayer, he says, “Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors” to discuss our willingness to forgive other people when they sin & release our resentments towards others.
Why do you think Jesus relies upon this specific language when teaching about his Kingdom & what it means to enter into it? What does it reveal about the various ways Jesus believes we create debts & bondage?
What’s the connection between forgiving others & experiencing forgiveness ourselves? How about being released from bondage (spiritually, physically, emotionally, etc) & seeking to release others from bondage? What role do these play in the Kingdom Jesus believes he is building?
What from your past do you feel like you still carry around as a debt/bondage? What would it mean for you to hear that you are released from it? What do you need to do to allow yourself to actually believe that & release this weight?
Where are you currently holding onto someone else’s debt? What would it mean for you to release them from it? What do you need to do to actually release them from it?
Getting Out of the Hole
In this series, take time each week to reflect upon the story from the story & how you can find yourself within it during this season of your life.
- Read Matthew Luke 4:14-30. First, break this story down into pieces. What is Jesus doing in this story? How are people responding to him? What changes by the end of the story?
- Next, close your eyes & reflect upon the story. Imagine yourself in it. Put yourself into the space of the various characters & imagine what it would be like to encounter Jesus in the story.
- What images, teachings, or ideas speak to you the most in this story? What intrigues or confuses you? What feelings arose as you thought about being in the story? How can this story impact your life & your relationship with Jesus in this next season?
Journal, reflect, & pray on how God might be speaking to you through each week’s teaching. Share your experience with your growth group next week!
Additional Resources*
TheBibleProject.com
Simply Jesus by NT Wright
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
Coming Up This Week:*
Sunday, October 13th: Join us next Sunday as we continue our series Jesus the Christ!
* Please see mye3.org for details.