How to grow

Mustard-Seed Faith

Luke 17:1-18:14

Jan.18

As Jesus, his disciples and the crowds near Jerusalem, he knows disillusion will set in for them. No one understands his repeated predictions of death by the hands of the nation’s leaders. They all expect political glory. Their faith is in a nationalistic, political Messiah come to overthrow the Roman rulers.
They had to learn what we also have to learn: Faith is not a complete package one receives at conversion. Our trust is to not be in a set program but in a dynamic Person. Faith is a growing response to God and grows best in the adversities of life.

1. Since you first met Jesus, what disillusionments have you had about him and his way of life?

2. Read Luke 17:1-19. Consider the strong reaction of the disciples in verse 5. What has caused this reaction?

3. In the story of the lepers Jesus seems surprised that only one of the ten returned in gratitude for his healing. What relation can you see between faith and gratitude in his final words (vv. 17-19)?

4. Read 17:20-37, noting when the audience changes. For the Pharisees, what emphasis about the kingdom of God does Jesus make? Why?

5. To his disciples Jesus stresses the need to be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. He uses two examples of warning in the Old Testament. Why were those people unprepared for God’s judgment?

6. Read Luke 18:1-14. The first parable continues Jesus’ instruction on how to live in anticipation of the coming of the kingdom of God: keep praying, don’t give up. What are some reasons people give up praying?

7. To encourage us to persist in praying Jesus draws a certain portrait of a judge as a contrast to God. In what ways is God different from the judge (vv. 6-8)?

8. Persistence in praying is balanced by the caution in the second parable not to be presumptuous about God (vv. 9-14). Both men address “God.” But how do their prayers reveal different concepts of God and their relation to him?

9. What might your prayers reveal about your concept of God and how you relate to him?

10. Faith often seems abstract and elusive. How has Jesus in this study made it more concrete and attainable for your daily living?