Luke Part 1 Week 24

Day 1 

RECEIVE 

Luke 6:3-5 

³ Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” ⁵ And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.” 

The Pharisees claimed the disciples of Jesus were harvesting on the Sabbath as they rubbed the grain in their hands on the Sabbath. Jesus reminded them about David for whom the law was excused because of his and his men’s hunger. Jesus referred to Himself as the “Son of Man” and said He was Lord “even over the Sabbath.”  

REFLECT 

Even in Old Testament times, good could be done on the Sabbath if there was a critical need. 

RESPOND 

Remind a friend of something important about the expression of Jesus being the “Son of Man.” In the Bible, “son” is used in the sense of “descendant.” Jesus was born, according to the flesh, in the line of David, so He could be said to be a physical descendant of David.  

Day 2 

RECEIVE 

Luke 6:6-7 

⁶ On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. ⁷ The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. 

This is another incident when the religious leaders wanted to trap Jesus of doing something wrong. They knew Jesus claimed to be God and the Messiah of Israel. They wanted to charge Him with blasphemy and have Him put to death. They seemed to always be around just watching for Him to do something they would consider to be wrong. 

REFLECT 

Believers now live in a different age, but people are watching them to hear what they say and see how they live. Unbelievers are quick to point out when a believer in Jesus says one thing and lives differently.  

RESPOND 

Talk with a friend about the consistency of living what your testimony declares. Some say they are believers in Jesus but don’t live like it. Read Ephesians 5:15-20 and think about how this applies to you today. 

Day 3 

RECEIVE 

Luke 6:8-9 

⁸ But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. ⁹ Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” 

Notice that even though Jesus gave up expressing most of His attributes of God while He was on earth, He seemed to always know what people were thinking. Because Jesus knew what the religious leaders were thinking, He asked them a question that they did not dare answer. 

REFLECT 

Consider that Jesus knows even now what you are thinking.  

RESPOND 

Visit with a friend about what Hebrews 4:12 says about the Word of God. Read also Philippians 4:8 that tells what kind of thoughts believers should have.  

Day 4 

RECEIVE 

Luke 6:10-11 

¹⁰ He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! ¹¹ At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him. 

Without waiting for the Pharisees to answer a question they did not want to answer, Jesus took action. He had the man with the deformed hand hold it out to Him. The hand was restored and the religious leaders went into a rage. They talked about what they could do to Jesus because He did something good on the Sabbath, but they considered it a sacrilege. 

REFLECT 

Remember that Sunday should not be treated like the Old Testament Sabbath. 

RESPOND 

Some refer to Sunday as the “Christian Sabbath.” That is an expression the Bible never uses. In the Old Testament, the previous days were not as holy (set apart) as the last day, Saturday. In the New Testament every day is lifted to a new high. Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week, and that is likely what began the custom of worshiping on Sunday. 

Day 5 

RECEIVE 

Luke 6:12-16 

¹² One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. ¹³ At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names: ¹⁴ Simon (whom he named Peter), 

Andrew (Peter’s brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, 

James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the zealot), ¹⁶ Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him). 

After spending all night in prayer, Jesus called together His disciples and from that group He chose 12 to be apostles. A “disciple” was a “learner” whereas an “apostle” was a “sent one” as a direct representative of Jesus. Peter is named first in this and other lists by the gospel writers. Judas Iscariot is mentioned last and was the only one not from Galilee. Because of common names it was necessary to add a descriptive phrase about Judas Iscariot. 

REFLECT 

Is it your desire to be a learner of all that Jesus said and did? The four gospels tell you. 

RESPOND 

Before the Lord Jesus left the earth, He gave a command recorded in Matthew 28:19-20 about what He wanted His followers to do: 1) disciple (make learners) of all ethnic groups; 2) baptize them in the name (singular) of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; 3) teach the learners to obey all the commands Jesus had given.