What are you doing?

(82) What are you doing?

We left last week with Jesus at the house of Zacchaeus, restoring physical sight to a blind man and moral sight to a tax-collector. So now everyone’s sure he’ll restore spiritual sight to Jerusalem. Which sort of sight are we most lacking in our modern society? And how do they relate to each other? How do they relate to the old adage—out of sight, out of mind?

1.       Read Luke 19:11-14. If Jesus’ listeners are Passover pilgrims, thinking the kingdom of God is about to appear, who do they think the nobleman is, and what “far country” has he just been visiting?

a.       Who were the servants, what was the money, and what were they meant to do with it?

b.      What citizens hated the king, and who were in the delegations? (What delegations came to Jesus?)

2.       Read Matthew 25:14-15. What’s the most important difference at this point? Could it be a different story?

3.       Read Luke 19:15. What were the servants in the story supposed to have gained, and for whom?

a.       What were the religious leaders in Jerusalem supposed to have gained, and for whom?

b.      What are we supposed to “gain” and for whom?

4.       Read Matthew 25:16-19. Jesus is probably just speaking to his disciples here. Try to remember which servant you related to best, and why, the first time you ever heard this story.

5.       Read Luke 19:16-19, Matthew 25:20-23 We’re all familiar with phrase, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Who is called to be good and faithful in the story?

a.       Who receives authority from God today? And how do churches decide who should be given authority?

b.      Are we called to be good and faithful too?

c.       What authority have you been given from God? What authority do you want?

6.       Read Luke 19:20-23, Matthew 25:24-27. In the story, leaving the “money” with the bankers makes sense for a rich person, but where did poor people usually leave their money?

a.       What’s the difference between a poor person’s money and the servant’s minas or talent?

b.      How can we tell which “gifts” we’re meant to “take to the bank”?

c.       What “gifts” have been entrusted to you by your “king,” and what are you doing with them?

7.       Read Luke 19:24-26, Matthew 25:28-29. The listeners complain in Luke 19:25. How is it fair? How is it not fair?

a.       Does the money belong to the servant?

b.      What is lost or gained?

8.       Read Luke 19:27, Matthew 25:30 What’s the most important difference at the end of the story?

a.       As Jesus tells this story in Luke, to pilgrims approaching Jerusalem, what does it teach them about:

                                                                                       i.      How God might view the religious leaders?

                                                                                     ii.      How God might view people who are too easily swayed by the crowd?

                                                                                    iii.      How God might view them? (Will they be swayed by the crowd—soon?)

b.      Matthew includes this story in Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God, probably speaking just to his disciples, and maybe even repeating a story they’ve heard him tell quite recently. Would they learn anything different from it?

c.       God includes this story for us. What do we learn from it?