Luke Part 3 Week 10

Day 1 

RECEIVE 

Luke 19:39-40 

³⁹ But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!” ⁴⁰ He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!” 

The unbelieving Pharisees did not like the crowd shouting, singing, and praising Jesus. They wanted Jesus to stop them from doing that. Notice what the Messiah replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!” The Savior was the creator of the world and even the elements of the universe could burst out in praise if He chose for them to do so.  

REFLECT 

Does this help you to see that even what Jesus created could call out in praise to Him?  

RESPOND 

Join with a friend to read and discuss John 1:10-13 about Jesus. It is interesting to see how the genders in the Greek text help in understanding John 1:11 in the NKJV, “He came to His own [neuter, own things], and His own [masculine, own people] did not receive Him.” The Jewish people, to whom He came as their Messiah, did not receive Him. All who would receive Him, however, would become children of God.  

Day 2 

RECEIVE 

Luke 19:41-42 

⁴¹ But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. ⁴² “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes.” 

As Jesus came closer to the city where He would eventually be crucified, His heart was broken over its refusal to receive Him. The people there had been given opportunity to receive Him as its Messiah but they had rejected Him. Now He was rejecting them. Satan had been successful in blinding their eyes to receive Him as Lord and Savior. 

REFLECT 

Have you witnessed to a person who was willing to listen to you but didn’t respond or refused to trust in Jesus as Savior? 

RESPOND 

To learn the reason why some listen but do not seem to understand what is being said in a Christian witness, read 2 Corinthians 4:3-4. Talk with a friend about experiences each of you has had in sharing your faith with others and the response you received.  

Day 3 

RECEIVE 

Luke 19:43-44 

⁴³ “Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. ⁴⁴ They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.” 

Jesus here predicted what would occur in A.D. 70. The Romans overtook the city of Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. The Jewish religious leaders were so comfortable in their faith of being safe because they were descendants of Abraham they thought such a thing could never happen to them and their city. 

REFLECT 

Even though people know of some prophecies about future events, this does not seem to change the way they live.  

RESPOND 

See 2 Peter 3:8-13 to read what the apostle Peter said about future events. Notice how he mentioned that just knowing about these events should affect the way believers should live. This does not mean it must be completely understood how these things occur, but that there should be confidence they will happen because God’s Word says they will.  

Day 4 

RECEIVE 

Luke 19:45-46 

⁴⁵ Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. ⁴⁶ He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” 

The problem with the money changers in the Temple was not that they were there. They had to be there to exchange the money for those paying for sacrifices without the correct currency. The money changers were apparently cheating others by not giving them correct exchange amounts and this is what offended Jesus.  

REFLECT 

Have you ever had to change your currency to another? Were you sure you received the correct amount? That shows how much trust is involved, does it not? 

RESPOND 

Talk with someone who has traveled internationally to get an idea of the difficulties that person faced in exchanging money. That will give you more sympathy with what was going on in the Temple during Jesus’ life on earth.  

Day 5 

RECEIVE 

Luke 19:47-48 

⁴⁷ After that, he taught daily in the Temple, but the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill him. ⁴⁸ But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on every word he said. 

This passage is a reminder of what needs to be understood when reading in some passages the word “Jews” in the Bible. Often the word refers to the religious leaders who were rejecting Jesus. This was the case in Luke 19:47. At other times, the word “Jews” refers to the common people. Many of the common people believed in Jesus as their Messiah, as the people who are mentioned in Luke 19:48.  

REFLECT 

Read the Bible at least as carefully as you would a newspaper. Seek to understand by careful consideration to whom an article is referring.  

RESPOND 

The major difference in understanding a newspaper article and the Word of God is the spiritual truth involved in the Bible. Those who don’t know Jesus as Savior sometimes do not understand the Bible, then they are surprised with its clear meaning after they know Him personally. In other words, “It helps to know the author.”