You can catch up on my study notes from Luke Chapters 1- 15 here and here, if you missed it.
Luke 16
Verse 1-8
GNT version describes this dishonest behavior of the servant as “shrewd”
And his master praised his shrewd behavior. Jesus went ahead to say that, that’s how the people of this world will do- praise people for shrewd behaviors.
And truly it is the reality in the world now. People hailing people for wealth they know was gotten through shrewd means
The Bible really is Ye and Amen!!! Something written centuries ago is still relevant in 2019 and will still be for years to come!
Well Jesus said children of Light, that is true Christians will not partake in this shrewd behavior(s)
Verse 9-13
When God blesses His children with wealth, He’d love for us to still see faithfulness in our service and relationship with Him.
The love of money really is the root of all evil. There may be tendencies for us to get carried away when we have small money.
Let’s be careful
God may bless us with small wealth and we think it’s the world, we get carried away and miss out on the even greater wealth (spiritual & physical that God had in stock for us)
May we not miss out on the greater blessings of God in Jesus name.
Verse 14-15
LOL! The Pharisees made fun of my Jesus! They don’ know!
Anyways Jesus tells us here that the things we consider of great value may mean absolutely nothing to God.
Let’s be careful to keep checking our motives, our actions, the things we consider to be of great value. Let’s always align these things with the things God will love us to do.
May God keep helping us in Jesus name.
Verse 16-18
The laws that Moses have were effective and practiced by people up until the time of John the Baptist; the era of the good news and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And it seemed like people started to try to force themselves to try to make heaven. I am thinking perhaps people started to twist the good news of Christ.
Nevertheless, heaven and earth will pass away but the law of the Lord will not pass away.
Verse 19-31 As I read, I tried to imagine hell and heaven. These places are real!!!
And judgement happens right after death.
Lazarus the poor man who had a not so good life on earth was carried by angels to heaven and the wealthy man had a great life here and ended up in hell.
The wealthy man had loads of regrets and He was in great pain.
Lord!!! May we have great lives here on earth and still make heaven in Jesus name.
And I pray that as many as are lost will hearken to the voice of God’s prophets here on earth and come back to Jesus in Jesus name.
Luke 17
Verse 1-4
Jesus tells us that there will be temptations and tempters. He goes ahead to say that people who cause people to fall into sin will be punished.
He said it would be better the person had a rope tied round his neck and thrown into the sea than getting the punishment for causing someone fall into sin.
We should correct our friends when we see them going astray. This can be hard sometimes, when you don’t want to look or sound “judgy”
Plus we should be ready to always forgive.
Let us be careful that we do,not cause our friends or neighbors fall into sin, may God give us wisdom and help us in Jesus name.
Verse 5-6 The disciples asked for great faith. Jesus goes ahead to tell them and us that all we need is faith as “great” as a mustard seed and put it to practice. The scripture tells us faith without works is dead. So the little faith we have put it into action.
Speak things as if they already exist!
E sweet to write but I pray this becomes our reality in Jesus name.
Let me add that faith comes by hearing the word of God. So let us invest our time in hearing the word of God, listening to testimonies of other children of God. This will help us to exercise the great “mustardy” faith we have inside of us.
Amen.
Verse 7-10
This one loud and e kinda enter my body. I feel pride raising it’s head inside of me somehow. “The word of God is truly sharper than any two edged sword”- rightly piercing through the bone marrows.
Jesus is telling us here that as servants of God, whatever He has committed into our hands to do, once we do them, we should not necessarily expect a thank you.
Gratitude is something that I practice and usually expect it too.
If I don’t get it, I may start to feel some kinda way
But then Jesus is saying we should not expect it. If it comes , fantastic. If not, keep serving!
I think a good example of what Jesus is telling us here will be like when we serve in the Church as a chorister or a Sunday school teacher, expect no thank you from anybody. It’s our duty to serve.
May God humble us and put the right spirit within us in Jesus name.
Verse 9-19
I think there is difference between wellness and wholeness.
Jesus healed ten lepers without even touching them. God’s ways are very dynamic! Sometimes Jesus touches the person, prays for the person, mixes saliva with clay and so on. Jesus’ ways are dynamic!
Anyways Jesus healed 10 and only one came back to thank Jesus. This moved Jesus in a good way apparently and He prayed for the man some more, said he was made whole!!
Our praises and thanks to God for the things He does for us does move Him.
May our lives ooze gratitude to God now and forever in Jesus name.
Verse 20-37
Jesus describes to His disciples and to us that the coming of the Kingdom of God will not be “ghen ghen”
It will come when we least expect it. He made comparisons to the time of Noah while he built the ark. People were busy partying and eating clueless
So also with Lot in Sodom & Gomorrah. People were partying and being merry clueless that the Kingdom of God was near.
Hence, Jesus can come at any time, let us be ready.
The kingdom of God is also within us. I think this means there is a measure of the Kingdom of God within we Christians.
Luke 18
Verse 1- 8
Th chapter starts by telling us Jesus used a parable to teach His disciples how to pray. * thinking about it, I should probably learn how to tell relatable stories that would help teach the gospel and also propel people to engage with the Gospel.
May God help us and teach us His word and teach us how to share with the world.
This portion encourages us to keep praying and not wear out.
Let’s keep our faith strong and keep pressing on in the place of prayer, God is coming through in Jesus name!
Verse 9-14
Jesus tells another parable to teach the world of God again. The Pharisee was over there exalting himself in the presence of God while the tax collector went humbly before the Lord in prayer
When we go before the Lord, we should approach His throne humbly, baring ourselves just the way we are. Every righteousness that we think we have is all possible thanks to Jesus.
Verse 15-17
Just as children are cute, not causing trouble, genuinely curious about things,humble, have hopeless faith in their parents – we also should learn from children when it comes to things of the Kingdom of God.
Let’s be humble, let’s have so much faith in our father in heaven. Let’s keep thirsting for Him and asking Him questions, He can never get tired of us.
Verse 18-30
In serving God, there will be sacrifices we would have to make. No room for any idol in our lives, God has to be priority, His will should be sovereign in our lives.
May God give us the wisdom to know what to sacrifice on our altars of worship.
May we not idolize anything in our hearts in Jesus name
Verse 31-34
In fulfilling our destiny, location is very essential. Jesus had to leave where He was to go to Jerusalem where prophesies about Him will be fulfilled.
If Jesus had stayed back and not moved to Jerusalem, He probably wouldn’t have been able to go to the cross to save us.
Thank God , He was able to
Our current location, is it where God wants us to be?
May the good Lord order our steps to be at the right place at the right time.
Verse 35-43
Looool! The blind man though! Baba still continued calling on Jesus regardless of what everyone around him said. They tried to hush him up or probably mock him.
Baba presses on shouting Jesus and Jesus heard him and asked him what he wanted.
The blind man made his request and he received his sight!!
Praise God.
It’s beautiful how the chapter starts by encouraging us to press on in the place of prayer and it ends by showing us how pressing on in making our request to Jesus will bring answers.
May our faith keep growing in Jesus name. May we be able to tarry in the place of prayer in Jesus name!
May we live long to see and enjoy answers to our prayers in Jesus name.
Luke 19
Verse 1-9
Blessed are those who thirst and hunger for righteousness- for an encounter with Jesus, for they shall be filled
Mr Zacchaeus was the man eager to see Jesus and he would do anything to achieve his goal. He went ahead of the crowd, climbed on the sycamore tree and Jesus visited his house.
Jesus looked up, saw someone thirsty, eager for the taste of the kingdom of God and Zacchaeus was more than satisfied I am sure because went home with him.
How ecstatic and live changing that would have been for him. He received his salvation too.
The people were talking as usual that Jesus went to a sinner’s house.
Who are we to call anyone a sinner? Anyways Jesus came to save the lost souls and He can visit anyone as It pleases Him
May we continually be visited by Jesus in Jesus name. Amen.
Verse 11-27
Jesus tells another parable to illustrate what will happen when He returns again.
He will judge those who did not want Him to be king, people who hated Him and He will ask for an account of the gifts He gave to us all.
The parable shows how the servants who utilized, invested their gifts(coins) were rewarded with more and the one who kept his hidden was punished and had his ( coins) collected.
Jesus will be mad at anyone who did not use his/her gifts here on earth for the increase/multiplication of the Kingdom of God.
May God help us to identify our gifts and use them for the glory of God in Jesus name.
Verse 28-40
There are probably many things to pick out from this portion but what I see is a God, Jesus who knows the end from the beginning, He can see the future, He can see ahead of the road. This is why it’s so important to have Him at the front of the wheels of our lives.
He was in between Bethany & Bethpage on His way to Jerusalem and He could see that there was a donkey tied down in Jerusalem unused.
When He got to Jerusalem, He wept He wept because He knew the fate of Jerusalem. He said the city will be destroyed by their enemies because they chose not to choose the right path, the way of the Lord. I used the (Easy-version )on you-version app) Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in the year AD 70 , 40 years after Jesus said it.
The ability, will to allow Jesus take the front will of our lives I pray for in Jesus name.
Verse 45-48
Jesus on arrival at Jerusalem went about His father’s business, preaching the gospel in the temple.
Many people were happy to listen to Him but the Pharisees were busy loathing and thinking of ways to kill Jesus.
Very sad! But this had to happen for our salvation to happen so praise Jesus.
Hence, glory in whatever tribulations that you may be going through now for Christ’s sake, for the glory that’s about to be revealed through you and in you is way greater and beautiful than you can ever imagine.
Amen!!
Luke 20
Verse 1 – 8
Sometimes ask good questions, not every time argue or try to proof a point.
When the Pharisees and some of the Jews came to ask Jesus about His authority, of course to rope Him. He simply asked them a good question so that they can answer for themselves. “Who gave John, the Baptist authority”
LOOl! And out of fear of what could happen to them if they gave different answers, they said they don’t know.
Jesus “ kuku” did the same. You can’t tell me , so I too will not talk.
Jesus’ Parables!
Verse 9-18
Jesus used this parable to describe the situation back then and it is still the situation in the world right now. See how valid the Bible is!!!!
The man here is God, He planted a vine, us! He went away, He is in heaven.
He put some farmers in Charge of the farm- leaders, influential people.
While God is in heaven, He sent, He still sends His servants- which could be prophets, men & women of God to
But these leaders rejected His servants, they still do
And then God sent His own son in the hopes that they would accept Him but nope!
They even killed Him out of fear and greed that He will inherit His Dad’s farm.
Well the judgement for them is destruction.
Anyone who doesn’t use the stone- which is Jesus to build will be destroyed.
Jesus is the cornerstone and every foundation should be laid on Him or rather He should be the foundation of every building. Amen!
May the good Lord help us to stay humble to build our career, relationships, marriages,ministry, our entire lives on the form foundation- Jesus!!
Amen!
Verse 19-26
Verse 21! Jesus was a very honest man, He never sugarcoated the gospel to please anybody!
May God help us to tell and share the gospel as it is, no water down, no sugar coating in Jesus name.
The ability to ask the right questions yet again!! Jesus could tell that they wanted to rope Him when they asked Him about paying taxes or not.
He answered them with a great question, and the case was settled.
Plus, we should pay our taxes and our tithes. Give unto Ceaser what belongs to Him and Give unto God what belongs to Him.
May the good Lord help us to be faithful with our taxes and tithes and offerings in Jesus name.
Verse 27- 40
Jesus always had great answers to the questions they asked Him.
God is the one who gives the power to live forever with Him in heaven after our death.
I pray we are amongst the people that love forever with God in His kingdom in Jesus name.
And note, marriages or weddings do not happen in heaven. It’s something happens only here on earth. When we die and make heaven, we’d live like angels
Amen.!
Verse 41- 44
Even King David calls his son, Jesus Lord in one of his psalms. So Jesus is not just David’s son, He is the Messiah.
Verse 45-47
Sadly, this probably was and it’s still the reality of many “teachers” of God’s word.
God wants us to be modest in appearance but they go all out to be flashy and seek praises from people. They over do it, praying for long hours in public.
All na show, but they will be punished for this says the Lord.
May God keep helping us that we don’t fall out of faith in Him in Jesus name.
Luke 21
Verse 1-4
Jesus uses the example of the widow who have sacrificially to God in God’s temple.Jesus would love us to learn to give sacrificially. The beauty of this kind of giving is that the giver is blessed tremendously.
We had seen in Luke 6:38 that when we give , we shall receive abundance in return.
But this should not be the motivation sha. Let us give out of our love for God. You know how you can give your arm and leg for the ones you love?
That’s how our giving should be, stemmed out of love for God.
May Jesus help us to give sacrificially in Jesus name.
Verse 5 -33
Like I said before , Jesus has such an insight into the future and It is beautiful when He shares it with His friends.Just as He did with His disciples
Jesus told His disciples about the destruction of the church- I don’t think He meant the physical destruction though. He probably was referring to the corruption we see in the house of the Lord now. Many fake pastors around and so on.
He also told His disciples not to be afraid for the persecution that they would face.Told them that even their parents, family members will persecute them but they shouldn’t be afraid.
Told them not to be afraid when Kings would ask them questions in the future, He said He will give them the right words to say.He went ahead to elaborate on the things that will happen , the things that will serve as signs of His second coming.
Verse 33 which I absolutely love- Heaven and earth will pass away but God’s word? Never!!!!!
Jesus revealing the future to His friends is such an amazing thing. He does that today through our dreams, His still small voice, His word , trance, prophets and so on.
I pray we would be able to decipher when Jesus is speaking to us about our future, past or present in Jesus name.
Verse 34-37 Jesus admonishes His disciples/us not to worry about the future. It’s in His hands anyways.He tells us not to drink too much or eat too much. He tells to be careful how we live our lives, like be on the guard ‘cause He can come back anytime.
At the end of it all, may we all make heaven in Jesus name.
Verse 37 Jesus spent His whole day preaching in the temple but by evening He retreated to mount Olive .I am sure this was the time He spent communing with God, praying, seeking God’s face, rejuvenating , recharging, refilling.
How beautiful it would be for us, if we could always retire to our own mount Olive every evening after our day. Our Mount Olive could be our bed, a corner in our room, a quiet place to just be with God after the day’s stress.
May God help us to find our Mount Olive and to keep visiting it daily in Jesus name.
Luke 22
Verse 1-6
The Bible tells us about the behind the scenes plot to kill Jesus. The Passover feast was fast approaching and the priests n co were busy plotting secretly to kill our Jesus.
The Bible also tells us that Satan entered into Judas. I have mentioned before that we function based on the kinds of spirit living inside of our bodies. Satan must of entered Judas’ in form of a spirit being. And for Satan to be able to enter one’s life, there must be a loophole.
Judas gave the devil a chance to enter into his life.
Anyways, by this reason Judas was able to confidently connive with the priests to kill Jesus. He was not in control of his body nomore.
That’s why sometimes, you just see people acting funny, doing unimaginable things. They are being controlled by some spirit which isn’t the Holy Spirit.
My our lives be unfit for the devil to possess in Jesus name!
Verse 7-23
Jesus as usual could see ahead of everyone. He told His disciples what to do in preparation of the Passover feast.
At the table, during the feast it is noteworthy that Jesus gave thanks to God before breaking the bread, before taking the wine and sharing it with His disciples.
Let us endeavor to always give thanks for every meal that we get to eat.
More so, Jesus mentioned that was the last Passover or bread He was going to eat on earth till the Kingdom of God comes.
Verse 24 – 30
The disciples were over there arguing about leadership and who is the greatest. Sadly it still happens in churches today.
But in the kingdom of God, to be counted or identified as the greatest- you should not even bother about such.
When we humble ourselves as servants of the Lord, He Himself will uplift us and make us the the greatest.
Verse 28-30 I wonder if the promises of Jesus about seating on the throne with Him and ruling over the 12 tribes of Israel applies to all the children of God.
But I know definitely that we can tap into the promise of having authority just as Jesus did while on earth.
Verse 31-34
Jesus told Simon that the devil had received permission to test Simon to see if he is really good. This reminds me of Job, the devil went before God to ask to test him as well. The devil must have seen how zealous Simon was for and about Jesus for him to go as far as getting permission to test him.
This tells me two things: if you are really all out for Jesus, Satan will have to take permission from God to test you
But if the case is otherwise, the devil has free access to a soul that is lukewarm or cold for God.
Jesus went ahead to tell Simon that He had prayed for Him that His faith hold Him steadfast when he turns back to Jesus.
May our faith be solid strong whenever the devil tries to test us in Jesus name.
May Jesus open our understanding in Jesus name.
Verse 39-46
Jesus as usual went to mount Olive for His prayer. It was a habit for Him already but this time , He took His disciples along with Him. Told them to pray along with Him and pray for themselves that they don’t fall into temptation.
As Jesus prayed in His own corner a littler farther from them, an angel of the Lord came and strengthened Him. I believe this still happens to us when we pray too.
Ever went to the parlance of prayer so tired, agitated, frustrated or depressed but then you come out of the place of prayer filled with Hope, peace, joy and assurance?
The angel of the Lord or the Lord Himself has come to strengthen you
Let’s not take our eyes Jesus’ prayer. Jesus was human after all and He was probably scared or filled with anguish about the future that awaited Him- carrying the sin of the world on His shoulders . It was not a good feeling though, hence He prayed to God to perhaps allow the cup to pass over.
In other words, asking God if He could save the world another way but then He said, not His will but the will of God. He prayed hard fam! He prayed so hard, His sweat was as thick as blood.
My Jesus!
But His disciples, He met them sleeping, worn out in their grief.
This perhaps happens to us too, instead of us to pray. We are just too tired, too sad to even open our mouths to pray.
Well, it happens to me sometimes.
I pray that the Holy Spirit keeps helping us in the place of prayer, I pray He keeps helping us to prevail in the place of prayer in Jesus name.
Verse 47-53
Judas Iscariot, who by this time was being controlled by the devil. Led the priests and co to arrest Jesus.
Out of anger the other disciples went ahead to cut off the smear of one of the men that came to arrest Jesus.
But Jesus is so kind, patient, full of mercy- He healed the man’s ear that was cut off.
One would think that these soldiers and priests will think twice. Like! This man just healed my ear even when we want to arrest Him.
But it is noteworthy , Jesus cites that the power of darkness was at work/ was ruling at that time. Hence, those people had no human feelings. They were being driven by the power of darkness.
Sigh! May our lives be continually controlled and led by the Holy Spirit in Jesus name.
Verse 54-60
Our dear Peter followed Jesus from a distance. To see what will become his beloved. As he followed closely, three people pointed out that He was friends with Jesus but he denied Jesus 3 times.
By the third time, the Bible tells us that the Lord looked looked around and looked straight at Peter. I was confused initially, like did the Lord from look straight to Peter and Peter was able to feel or see the Lord.
But then It was Jesus our Lord, who looked at Peter straight in the eye. Jesus must have seen His prophecy come true and Peter remembered immediately.
Thank God He was remorseful and repentant.
May we have the strength to stand for Jesus all the days of our lives in Jesus name.
Verse 63-71
Our Lord Jesus Christ was blindfolded, beaten and brought to face trial before the elders, priests and other teachers of the law.
This is very sad! But it all happened so that we can all have salvation today.
Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice.