10.02.2011 How to Live Like Jesus - Inductive Bible Study

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Prayer for Dave Brenner’s dad…
We are going to look at Luke today, last week we looked at Mark – and we’ll give a brief overview – how to look at this. I will take one passage and go through this Inductive Bible Study book mark that Eric Chen gave us. It will be helpful.
This is the theme of Luke – Jesus – the Savior of all mankind. The word salvation and savior is repeated over and over again. The topic comes up all through Luke.
First, Luke 3
6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
Luke 19: 10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
This is the key verse – Luke paints a portrait of a savior.
This theme is throughout the book:
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior
10 And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord
Luke ushers in – every character brings in this message – Simeon
29 "Now Lord, Thou dost let Thy bond-servant depart In peace, according to Thy word; 30 For my eyes have seen Thy salvation, 31 Which Thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 A light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Thy people Israel."
Luke 15 – that which is lost is found – all the parables.
Luke is the only gospel that records the salvation of the sinner on the cross.
This is what Luke is attempting to do – Show that Jesus is the Savior – of all mankind – but specifically
The poor, lost, sinner, outcast, Samaritan, Gentile, criminal – and even women.
There are 22 stories in 24 chapters that demonstrate this (Jesus reaching the outcast, margins of society – the poor…) –
That is a quick overview – there is a lot more there – and if you read it in that light – you will see this.
This week, in Christianity Today – it came on Thursday – the front cover – How to Read the Bible.
You may not know this – but if you read the Christian theological blogs, this is a big issue. Let me say – I am going to give you one way – it is not THE WAY. Many scholars have put together good ways of interpreting scripture. But let me say this – we need to go to the Bible with this in mind – that God may speak into our hearts. Whatever method you use – you need to be open and allow God to speak into your life. We are not just reading to see what it says, but what God might say to us personally. That God might be able to communicate into our hearts as we read it.
Most of us do this – I’ve practiced this throughout my Christian life – Devotional reading. This is reading in such a way that it is speaking to our need. I do this at night before bed. With everything that is going on in my life – I read a passage – and allow it to speak to that need. You know those times where those words lift off the page and communicate to your need.
This should be a daily practice and habit.
What we will talk about today – is another way – and that is more of a study of the Bible. Not academically speaking, but allowing God, through the study of the Bible, to speak into our hearts. We need to balance a devotional reading with a study of scripture. Both are important – if you are only doing one – you are missing stuff from God.
We need to have the balance.
When we talk about studying – what you are trying to do – first, try to understand what the passage meant to the author and the original audience. That is REALLY REALLY REALLY important. Which means what? It is really important. What did Luke mean, and what did his readers understand? And from there – what does it mean to me?
You will do a better job of applying things to your current circumstance if you understand what it really means. If we are to live like Jesus lived, we must do our best to understand the way He lived in this context. You may think this is hard – and yes, it is work, but it is do-able. You don’t need a degree from a Bible school to do this – and it doesn’t take a lot of tools to do this – mainly a Bible – and I would recommend a good study bible. They give you some insight – for instance – Luke talks about ministry to the poor. You will see it is about the savior – seeking the lost. With a little background – it helps you as you study it.
Study Bibles are often written from one perspective and one person’s opinion. So and so may have a really good opinion, but even so and so is wrong on some things. To go a little deeper – you can get an Introduction to the New Testament or Old Testament (30-40$) –They are study Bibles – but they have more information. They will give a number of opinions – and often offsetting - what one person believes and what another camp believes.
Get out your Intervarsity Bookmark – You will get a blue notebook if you are in a small group. I have the first two weeks done – you will get a sheet to help you study each passage – and you can bring it to small group and you have it all written out. You can make copies of these – I made them myself, so there is no copyright!
Each small group will divide up the passage among themselves so extra study can be done.
Luke 19:1 And He entered and was passing through Jericho. 2 And behold, there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; and he was a chief tax-gatherer, and he was rich. 3 And he was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. 4 And he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." 6 And he hurried and came down, and received Him gladly. 7 And when they saw it, they all [began] to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." 8 And Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much." 9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Inductive Bible Study –
Observation - start with general – move to more specific.
Observation – Interpretation – Application
Observation – Who? Who is in the passage – who are the characters? Especially in the gospel stories.
Who? Zaccheus. That is pretty easy – there are some specific things about Zaccheus in the passage.
Chief Tax Collector – that is an important thing. Not only is he a tax collector, but a CHIEF tax collector. That is something to note.
Something else to note – He is rich. Really really rich. Why is that important? Luke always connects rich and poor.
What else do we see? He is crooked! “if I have defrauded anyone…” – he wouldn’t say that if he hadn’t.
Who is the next character? It is not a squirrel. Yes, it is Jesus.
Third – there is a crowd there – large, curious, opinionated.
Fourth – the poor and oppressed are implied. “I’ll give half of what I own to the poor…”
Questions you need to ask – He entered Jericho and was passing through. WHY? Luke 9 on – it is obvious that Jesus has resolutely set his face to go to Jerusalem – to go to the cross as the Savior of all mankind. He is trying to fulfill what He has been called to fulfill.
Why does Luke connect Zaccheus’s salvation with his giving half of his money to the poor? Why is that so important to Luke? To connect those?
In Luke 18 – you would have read of the rich young ruler – what must I do to inherit eternal life? Lacking one thing – sell all your possessions and give to the poor and you will have life! What does the rich man do? He can’t do it. “Oh how hard it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.” And the disciples replied “Who can be saved?” Jesus says, With God, all things are possible.
And what does He do? The next chapter we have a rich man entering the kingdom of God. You have to ask these questions – they help us.
We have to ask about salvation and the Lost.
He passes through – but then he stays. I MUST stay at your home. It is interesting – it starts out with Zaccheus seeking Jesus and ends with Jesus seeking Zaccheus. I hope this opens your mind. These re the things we can do.
Luke 9: 51 And it came about, when the days were approaching for His ascension, that He resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem;
From 9-the end, Jesus has one thing in mind – going to Jerusalem – going to the cross. He has something else He wants to do. He stops. Why? To reach and to seek the lost – to bring them in.
Application – What do we see – an example in Jesus – although He has a mission – and has an ultimate purpose of dying on the cross for our sins, he is able to meet the need of the individual.
What happens in our lives, we get so caught up in the work of God, church stuff, ministry stuff – that we don’t have time – maybe it is work, family, and life – and Zaccheuses walk through our lives – and we miss them and we don’t stop to seek and to save – to reach that which was lost – those that God is seeking and drawing. Jesus had this ultimate goal, and yet He stopped.
Look at the crowd – it is a negative reaction – for Jesus to eat with a tax collector or sinner was significant – it wasn’t about hospitality – but about accepting those who are not accepted.
Luke has 13-19 passages about eating meals, depending on how you count it.
The application is this – Jesus has a significant relationship with people others would reject. We all have people in our lives that people don’t want to have anything to do with. I challenge you to make significant relationships with outsiders – that is what Jesus is doing.
In closing – we have Zaccheus – an example of the lost coin, sheep, son – and all these things Jesus has been saying – Zaccheus is an example – a crooked, hated tax collector – but when he finds Jesus, it transforms his life.
Can you imagine seeing someone come to Jesus – and immediately saying – I am giving half of my money to the poor – what a radical change that would be! And a willingness to make restitution 4x as much.
Priority of Mission
Extent of Mission – the poor and outcast
Fruit of the Mission – when Zaccheus is found – his life changes
First – Make it real – not just what it means, but how do I put it into practice. Jesus is passing through and comes across a guy in a tree – it endears us, and helps us to not forget the story – as you go on your life – with all that you need to accomplish – do you notice the guy in the tree? And do you stop and make a difference? There are a lot of Zaccheuses out there – in your neighborhood and at work and in your family. I challenge you to notice.
The crowd offers a negative example to follow. The issue is – he was welcoming this person into this community – while the rest of the world rejected.
And lastly, we see the conversion of Zaccheus - and it radically transforms his life. Almost immediately, Half of what I own, I give to the poor. Can you imagine that – if someone comes to Christ today in this service – and says, half of what I own I give to the poor! ?!
We’ve been converted, transformed, saved – has it transformed your life? Does your Christianity go beyond simply knowing? It should change you for good and forever. Through this story – that is what God is calling us to. Though it starts with a foundation of belief, our lives should be altered forever.
Our conversion must be accompanied by transformation – our Christianity must transform our lives.