Luke Reading (#18)

Take a few minutes to catch up and pray that God would bless you through the reading of His word.

Read Luke 6:37-49

[6:37] “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; [38] give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

[39] He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? [40] A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. [41] Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? [42] How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

[43] “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, [44] for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. [45] The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

[46] “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? [47] Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: [48] he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. [49] But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Observation

• Look at verses 37-38
  • What happens if you don’t judge or condemn?
  • What will happen if you forgive and give?
  • To what degree will these things happen?
• Look at verses 39-42
  • What happens when a blind person leads another blind person?
  • What happens when a disciple is fully trained? What won’t happen?
  • In Jesus’ illustration (v. 41-42):
    • What is in your brother’s eye?
    • What is in your eye?
    • Which do you perceive more clearly? What does that make you?
    • What should you do first?
• Look at verses 43-49
  • What is the relationship between the identity of a tree and the fruit that it bears (v. 43-44)? 
    • How is it the same way with human beings?
    • Where does the speech of the mouth originate?
  • What two things does Jesus pit against each other in v. 46?
    • What three things does the person in v. 47 do? 
      • What is that person like?
      • What happens to the house when the storm comes?
  • What does the person in v. 49 do? What does he not do? 
    • What is that person like?
    • What happens to the house when the storm comes?

Interpretation

• In verse 37, is Jesus saying that we should never judge anything to be wrong? If not, why not? If not, what is he saying? 
• Is Jesus teaching that we earn our forgiveness by being forgiving people? Is he saying that we earn God’s blessing with our generosity (v. 38)? If not, what is he saying?
• What is the point of Jesus’ teaching in v. 41-42? What, if anything, is the connection between that point and the blind leading the blind and the disciple/teacher relationship (v. 39-40)?
• What does Jesus mean by the “treasure of his heart”? 
  • What is Jesus telling us about the relationship between our actions and our hearts?
  • Why does Jesus mention our speech as a prime example of this principle?
• Which is easier, to say: “Lord, Lord” or to obey Jesus’ commands? 
  • Why might people want to call him Lord but not obey him?
  • What does the house represent? What does the storm represent? How would you summarize Jesus’ point in your own words?

Application

• Are you a judgmental person? How do you know? How can the gospel help you be less judgmental than you currently are?
• Look at your speech in the last week? What does it tell you about the treasure of your heart?
• Are there places in your life where you are paying lip service to obeying Jesus?

Share prayer requests and pray for each other.