Luke Part 1 Week 29

Day 1 

RECEIVE 

Luke 7:13-15 

¹³ When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. ¹⁴ Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” ¹⁵ Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother. 

This passage reveals the heart of Jesus is touched with compassion when He sees others suffering. As the coffin was carried along He walked over to it and the bearers stopped. Jesus addressed the young man and told him to get up. Imagine the shock of the crowd and the boy’s mother when he sat up and began talking. 

REFLECT 

Have you experienced God moving in your life and causing something that surprised you? 

RESPOND  

The Samaritans were despised by the Jewish people. Jesus did not feel this way, however. John 4:8-10 reveals how the Samaritan woman was shocked that Jesus, a Jew, would talk with her. No one is frowned upon by Jesus. He loved and died for everyone when He went to the cross and paid for their sins. 

Day 2 

RECEIVE 

Luke 7:16-17 

¹⁶ Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.” ¹⁷ And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside. 

The crowd was frightened by what they had just witnessed. They had never seen such a thing occur before. They realized they had just seen a visitation of God. By word of mouth, the news spread far and wide about what Jesus had done.  

REFLECT 

When you have witnessed God working in your life or in the lives of others, did you spread the news? 

RESPOND 

All believers can do is tell the good news about Jesus to others. Only the Holy Spirit can cause a spiritual birth to occur. Read John 3:4-8 to see what Jesus told the questioning Nicodemus about how one is born again, or literally to be “born from above.”  

Day 3 

RECEIVE 

Luke 7:18-20 

¹⁸ The disciples of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was doing. So John called for two of his disciples, ¹⁹ and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” ²⁰ John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’” 

John the Baptist had been appointed by God as the forerunner of Jesus. He was now in prison and it is understandable that questions of doubt were creeping into his mind. John had been preaching that the Kingdom of God would be set up. Why wasn’t this being done? 

REFLECT 

Have you at times questioned why God wasn’t moving more quickly than He was? Many face these times of doubt.  

RESPOND 

Join with a friend in thanking the Lord for who He is as you wait for His return in glory. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 to see what will occur when He catches up believers at the rapture.  

Day 4 

RECEIVE 

Luke 7:21-23 

²¹ At that very time, Jesus cured many people of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits, and he restored sight to many who were blind. ²² Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” ²³ And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.” 

This is what Jesus told John’s two disciples who were seeking answers to John’s doubts. The miracles Jesus was performing were the true indication that He was the Messiah they had been expecting. John’s disciples were to go back to tell him what they had seen and heard. Not only were people being healed but “the dead are raised to life.”  

REFLECT 

Have you sometimes had doubts about Jesus? The apostles gave eyewitness reports of what they had seen and heard.  

RESPOND 

Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-9 that tells what the “gospel” or “Good News” is. There are four distinct items: 1) Jesus’ death; 2) His burial; 3) His resurrection; and 4) eyewitnesses after His resurrection. Paul was writing this around A.D. 55. Most of the 500 who saw the resurrected Jesus were still alive. It was as if Paul were saying, “If you don’t believe me, go ask them.” Today people need to believe these eyewitness reports. 

Day 5 

RECEIVE 

Luke 7:24-27 

²⁴ After John’s disciples left, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? ²⁵ Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people who wear beautiful clothes and live in luxury are found in palaces. ²⁶ Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. ²⁷ John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’” 

Jesus talked to the crowds about what they expected about John the Baptist. Jesus concluded His questions to them with the comment: “Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’” The prediction about John the Baptist was from Malachi 3:1.  

REFLECT 

Do the questions Jesus asked reveal that sometimes we have preconceived notions about what a Christian leader should look like?  

RESPOND 

Talk with a friend about how Old Testament references are often made in the New Testament. It is said that the book of Revelation quotes more from the Old Testament than any other New Testament book. One cannot change Revelation without changing the entire Bible (see Revelation 22:17-19).