Luke

Studies from the gospel of Luke

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Are You a Mary, or a Martha? – Luke 10:38-42

In the gospel of Luke we find recorded a visit that Jesus paid to the home of a pair of sisters, Mary & Martha; the same sisters whose brother Lazarus dies and is restored to life by Jesus, recorded in the eleventh chapter of John. 38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to …

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Parable of the Persistent Widow – Luke 18:1-8

Some of Jesus parables are pretty straight forward and easy to understand.  But some are a bit more challenging.  The parable of the Persistent Widow is, at least for me, one of the latter. 1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. …

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The Parable of the Rich Fool – Luke 12:13-21

How important are things to you?  I would be the first to admit that I have lots of stuff.  Far more stuff than I need to survive, or even to live a comfortable life.  But how important is all that stuff to me?  Would it ruin my life if any of it went away?  Is there any of that stuff I would hold on to at all costs?  Is there any other stuff that I just have to have to make my life more complete? Jesus encounters someone who would answer yes to at least that last question.  And in …

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The Lost and Found Parables – Luke 15:3-32

Luke records 3 of Jesus’ parables in the 15th chapter of his account of Jesus ministry.  These three parables, typically identified as the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son, are given in response to criticism Jesus received from the religious leadership of his day.  Seems like Jesus was hanging out with people that his denominational leadership did not approve of; scandalous behavior for a ‘godly’ person, eating with sinful people. In the first of these parables, Luke 15:3-7, Jesus tells of a shepherd with 100 sheep.  One of his sheep becomes lost and he searches diligently for it until …

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Two Went To Pray – Luke 18:9-14

Nearly every town of any size has one; First Baptist Church of AnyTown USA.  And some of these churches have prayer chapels that are open during the day, inviting all who feel the need to come and pray. Into one of these prayer chapels one day came two people.  The first was a successful business man and deacon who was traveling on business from a distant city.  And the second was a streetwalker who was just finishing up after a long and degrading night. The deacon knelt at the altar and prayed to God, as was his custom when traveling. …

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