LUKE 10:38 - 11:12

Tonight we will be taking a look at the Lord's Prayer in its context in the book of Luke. Open your Bibles to Luke 11. Have someone read Lk. 11:1-4.

FACTS

•	What do Jesus' disciples request of Him in verse 1?

◦	To teach us to pray

-	How?

▪	Just as John taught his disciples.

NOTE	I just learned recently that it was customary for a Rabbi to summarize his teaching in a prayer. So when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray as John taught his disciples, it was not because they did not know how to pray, but because they wanted to learn the Jesus prayer–how to pray as a disciple of Jesus. This is a significant teaching moment for Jesus. So when we look at this prayer, we want to keep in mind that it is not Jesus' instruction on "How to Pray" but His teaching summed up in a prayer. This is a model prayer for how to pray as a disciple of Jesus. Thus, if we consider ourselves disciples of Jesus, this prayer applies to us as well.

•	Who are the parties mentioned in this prayer?

◦	The Father

◦	Us

◦	Others–everyone who sins against us

INTERPRETATION

•	Organize this prayer into sections according to who benefits from each thought (don't get technical–just the most simple direct beneficiary).

◦	The Father (what we want for the Father)

-	His name to be hallowed

-	His kingdom to come

◦	Us (what we ask for ourselves)

-	Give us each day our daily bread

-	Forgive us our sins

-	Lead us not into temptation

◦	Others (what we commit to do for others)

-	To forgive everyone who sins against us

•	My first question for you as we begin unpacking this prayer is–What does it look like for God's kingdom to come? or How does God's kingdom come? I don't think that Luke put this prayer where he did in his book willynilly. I believe that Luke, inspired by the Spirit of God, crafted this book intentionally and that it is located where it is for a reason. So, with that in mind, I want you to look in the context and note any time Luke mentioned someone/something arriving/coming. Tell people to think simply. Give words of text that describe the arrival. (Divide into four groups: Group 1–Luke 10:30-37; Group 2–Luke 10:38-42; Group 3–Luke 11:5-13; Group 4:14-20. Fill in column–How the kingdom came)

The arrival	Response

of person	Reason for response	Request of person	Response to request (upshot)	Explanation/reason for response to request	Final result
Mute man	Jesus cast out the demon	Spoke	___________	_______	_________	________________	________
Friend	Friend came	Went to another friend	It is midnight.

He has nothing to set before him.	Loan me three loaves	Don't bother me	The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed.	Gives man as much as he needs.
Martha	Jesus came	Welcomed Him. Distracted by preparations. Upset and worried.

Goes to Jesus.	Questions Jesus' love. Thinks Jesus is being an enabler for a lazybutt. Thinks she needs to serve Jesus.	Tell Mary to help	No. It will not be taken away from her.	–You are worried and upset about many things

–but only one thing is needed.

–Mary has chosen what is better,

–and it will not be taken away from her.	Gets a lesson on priorities–

what is needed
Mary	Jesus came	Sat at Jesus' feet and listened to Him	___________	_______	_________	________________	________
Man beside road	Samaritan came to where the man was	Let the Samaritan help him	___________	_______	_________	________________	________

Let's look at what happened after the kingdom came to each person above.

•	Mute man

◦	What was the response of the mute man to the kingdom?

-	He spoke.

◦	Note–rest of row is blank.

•	Friend–have work in groups to fill in this row of the chart; then come together to get answers and write on board

◦	According to the context, who might this friend who arrives at midnight be?

-	Jesus

◦	How did this man respond to the friends/Jesus' arrival?

-	He left Jesus to go for help

▪	Why?

*	Because it is midnight

*	Because he has nothing to set before him

◦	Who does the man go to for help?

-	Another friend

▪	Who in the context is represented as this friend? (Scripture)

*	Your Father in heaven (vs. 13)

◦	What is the man's relationship with the Father?

-	That of a friend

◦	How does the Father view His relationship with the man?

-	That of a friend

◦	What does the man ask of the Father?

-	A loan of three loaves of bread

◦	What is the initial response of the Father

-	Don't bother me

▪	Why?

*	The door is already locked

*	My children are with me in bed

◦	How well has the man in this story grasped the principles Jesus is teaching in His model prayer? (He is giving them this story to illustrate his teaching and this example immediately follows.) Discuss in groups and give evidence.

-	That God is our father

-	That when the kingdom comes at midnight one ought to have something to set out

-	That we are to ask for a gift rather than a loan

◦	Even though the man has apparently misunderstood Jesus' teaching, ultimately how does the Father respond to his request.

-	He gets up and gives him as much as he needs.

▪	Did you notice the word the text does not use? What does he not do?

*	Loan him three loaves of bread

•	Martha–have work in groups to fill in this row of the chart; then come together to get answers and write on board

◦	How did Martha respond to Jesus' arrival?

-	Welcomed Jesus into her home

-	Distracted by all the preparations

-	Upset and worried about many things

-	Came to Jesus with a question and a request

◦	Why did Martha respond the way she did? (I am focusing on the basic issue.)

-	She is questioning Jesus' character of love. She doesn't recognize who Jesus is/who she is in the presence of.

▪	She thinks she needs to serve Jesus and do work for Jesus

▪	She thinks that Jesus is enabling her sister

◦	So what was Martha's request

-	Tell her to help me

◦	What is the upshot of Jesus' response to Martha

-	No

▪	Why? How does Jesus justify/explain his response? Let's write the facts up on the board

*	He zeros in on priorities.

+	You worried about MANY

+	Only ONE thing needed

•	Mary is getting the one thing that is needed, and that will not be taken away from her

◦	So, ultimately what does Martha get?

-	A lesson on priorities

•	The man beside the road

◦	Who might the Samaritan be in light of the rest of the context? (Those who have studied this parable in detail should find this question easy.)

-	Jesus

◦	How did the man respond to the Samaritan

-	Received help

◦	Note–rest of row is blank

•	In your groups, look at column 2 and decide what characters have similar responses to the kingdom coming upon them. Then tell me what is the basic difference between the two groups.

◦	Group 1–those who just received from Jesus, those who had nothing to offer

-	The mute man

-	Mary

-	The man beside the road

◦	Group 2–those who felt compelled to serve Jesus

-	The friend

-	Martha

-	(Can you imagine the man bleeding beside the road doing what the friend and Martha did–"Oh wait! I am supposed to serve you! Can't you just see him struggling to get up in order to wait on Jesus.)

Note–it is interesting that for group 1 the rest of the chart is blank. They had the one thing that was needed, and so they did not need to ask for anything else.

•	Tell me what is ironic about what the friend and Martha request of God? (Groups)

◦	The friend

-	Asks for a loan instead of a gift

-	Asks for a loan from the Father in order to be able to serve Jesus

-	When the kingdom comes, it comes with bread

-	When we ask for our daily bread, it is not so we can give it back to God but we are to ask in order to receive from God

-	Asks from the Father as a friend to a friend, rather than a child unable to offer anything, asking for a gift from a gracious Father

◦	Martha

-	Tells Jesus to tell Mary to help her prepare to serve Jesus

-	Does not recognize Jesus as one who can multiply food

-	Thinks Jesus is interested in the work she is doing for Him

•	What interesting similarity is there between the response to the request and the reason for the response in rows three and four? (Noting that this is a picture of how God operates.)

◦	I will not answer affirmatively because my children/Mary are/is with me. I will not take away from them/her the one thing that is needed–being with me.

◦	Note–Aren't you glad that God has His priorities in order; He has boundaries.

•	What is ultimately given the friend and Martha?

◦	What they need

-	What does this tell you about God?

▪	That He is generous and gracious, even when we don't understand what we are asking for

NOTE–Both of these stories (friend and Martha) leave open the possibility that either character might have understood or misunderstood what they received. We hope they did understand and receive gladly. Maybe they asked forgiveness for their error. Maybe Martha let Jesus and Mary off the hook, forgiving them as she experienced Jesus' forgiveness. I hope so. Ultimately, however, the lesson is for us.

ILLUSTRATIONS

How has the kingdom of God come to you? Before receiving answers, give some practical examples/illustrations.

•	Working on the study and getting discouraged because of comments by Bruce. Going to bed and realizing that I am totally inadequate to be able to share God's Word with people in an understandable way. At that moment, realizing that I cannot serve because I am in need of mercy. I needed to receive the kingdom. When Bruce came to bed, he told me that he had noticed that I hadn't spoken a word to him in a while and wondered if I might be feeling discouraged. I told him yes. Then I told him that I needed to receive the kingdom. He asked me if he could give me a hug. When I received his hug, I realized that I was receiving the kingdom.

•	The next morning as I was praying, God gave me insight into how to approach the study. I was excited about working on it. I thanked God for coming to me and for loving me. I asked Him to come into my heart and that His love would overflow to those around me. I realized that if His love was to overflow that I needed more of a capacity to love–a bigger cup. I asked him to cleanse me and give me the capacity to receive the abundant love you have to share with me. At that moment, Marah jumped up on me and sat down. I love it when Marah sits on me, but I was a little disturbed because I wanted to get busy on the study. The in our home is that when a beast sits on you, you are not to disturb it. I was stuck. I decided to enjoy Marah. I petted her, and she purred and snuggled down more permanently on me. I was in for it now. When Marah settles down, it usually is for a half hour or so. I realized at that moment, that God was trying to teach me through Marah what it means to receive the kingdom. He wanted me to realize that he loves to love me as much as I love to love Marah. He wants me to be like Marah, to offer Him nothing but the joy of loving me. Like Marah seems to say, "I have arrived! You can love me now." I think God would love to hear the same words from us. And I realized that if someone were to come banging on my door, I would not be too happy about disturbing Marah to go get the door. But if they kept persisting, then I would probably go to the door because my time with Marah was disturbed anyway.

•	When we come into the house and the other one is busy and doesn't seem to notice, we go back out and come back in or say, "I have arrived now! You can love me!" Bruce loves it when I say this to him because he loves to love me.

•	When the Sabbath comes, it is tempting to put off being with the Lord of the Sabbath in order to prepare for the Sabbath. The same principle applies.

APPLICATION

Ask the following three questions all together; write on board; give quiet time to write responses.

•	How has the kingdom come into your life, perhaps this very week?

•	Did you recognize it as the kingdom when it came?

•	What was your response?

•	If you cannot think of a time when the kingdom came into your life, perhaps you are like Martha and the friend who are distracted with work and preparation. God is giving you an opportunity to ask for what you need tonight. What will you ask for?

Give opportunity to share in small groups and then in the larger group.

•	What does Jesus say does not motivate the Father to get up?

◦	The friendship

•	For what reason does the Father ultimately get up?

◦	Because of the man's boldness

•	In conclusion, what does Jesus instruct us to do in light of this story?

◦	To ask

-	What does Jesus say to ask for?

▪	The text doesn't say

*	In the story what kind of request did the man make?

+	A request for a loan

*	And what does Jesus say we should ask for in prayer instead?

+	A gift

•	And when we ask, what will be the result?

◦	It will be given to us

-	The pronoun leaves what possibility open?

▪	That we will receive a gift or a loan

READ LUKE 10:38-42

INTERPRETATION

•	Between whom is the main conflict in verses 38 to 42? (Read carefully. Support with facts.)

◦	The conflict is between Martha and Jesus.

•	Why? What is the issue in Martha's conflict with Jesus?

◦	Jesus seems to have failed Martha's expectations. She is questioning His character of love. She thinks Jesus is being an enabler for a lazybutt.

FACTS

•	What is Martha's solution to the problem?

◦	Tell her to help me.

•	What are the four parts of Jesus' response?

◦	"Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;

◦	but only one thing is necessary,

◦	for Mary has chosen the good part,

◦	which shall not be taken away from her."

INTERPRETATION

•	What is the upshot of Jesus' response? (Speechifying) If you could sum it up in one word, what would that word be?

◦	No.

•	How does Jesus justify/explain his response?

◦	He zeros in on priorities.

-	You worried about MANY

-	Only ONE thing needed

▪	Mary had her priorities right

FACTS

•	Now that we have noticed some of the important details of the conflict between Martha and Jesus, I want you to, in your groups, make a list of four factors that precipitated the conflict between Martha and Jesus.

◦	Jesus came to Bethany.

◦	Martha opened her home to Him.

◦	Mary sat at Jesus feet, listening to Him.

◦	Martha was distracted by all the preparations.

•	Now, keeping in mind what we have just noticed in this story, we are going to look at the context and see how it sheds light on the story. In your groups read chapter 11, verses 1-
13.