Queen's Road Cell

 In vv. 12-16 Jesus calls His apostle from among His disciples - the men who will carry on His mission "to preach the good news of the kingdom of God" (4:43). They are ordinary people. He spends the night with prayer and comes up with Judas' name - the one who 'became' a traitor. Judas was not always a traitor. Did Jesus err in His choice?   Simon Peter is always the first named in the list of the apostles (the 'sent ones', messengers') cf. Mk 3:16, Mt 10:2. "Judas son of James" ias also called Thaddaeus.   The "Sermon on the Plain" follows. The Greek word means 'level place' and may refer to part of a mountainside. The material here overlaps with that of Mt 5:1-7:29 ("The Sermon on the Mount"). This may be because Luke and Matthew emphasize different parts of the same sermon, or that Jesus as an itinerant preacher repeated his material on different occasions. It is less likely that the evangelists compiled materia...

 17. Old garments tear when patched, and old wineskins break when refilled. Why do you think people sometimes prefer to patch their old coats or keep their old wineskins?   "The old is good/better" (likely an ironic observation on the attitude of the Pharisees).  We tend to resist change because it requires adjustment on our parts: the familiar is comfortable. We face discomfort with any change and growth. The parable of the garments/wine and wineskins is the first parable in Luke: the point is that the newness of  the Kingdom inaugurated by Jesus cannot co-exist within the old structures of Judaism. There will be a need for true repentance (5:32), regeneration (Jn 3:3) and worship (Jn 4:ŷ 18. What one truth from 4:14 - 5:39 would you like to apply? Write it down, with a verse reference. For Thought and Discussion Why was fasting inappropriate when Jesus was present?  "the bridegroom is with them".  Fasting is the voluntary self-denial of a legitimate need ...

10. Simon knew that Jesus was no fisherman, but he had enough respect for the teacher not to scoff when Jesus suggested fishing at an absurd time (see 5:4-5). How did Jesus prove to Simon that He had authority over more than religious things? (see 5:6-10)   What might Simon have felt? There was respect "Master" and a willingness to obey ("at your word I will"). There was some doubt (" we toiled all night and took nothing")   Jesus through the miracle of the catch showed His right to call others to follow. "The catch is the reward of obedience, not of competence".   This is likely not the first time Jesus has met Simon Peter (Jn 1:42) and may be the same event described in Mark 1:16-20.   Only Luke calls Gennesaret a 'lake'. The rest of the gospel writers call it the 'sea'. To be a ' fisher of men ' is to bring people into the kingdom of God and into relationship with Jesus.   For thought and discussion: a. Why do you t...