7.5.20 Huddle
INTRO
- What topic/trade are you closest to “expert status” in? In other words, if a friend was going to come ask your advice/help on something you know well, what would that “something” be?
SCRIPTURE ENGAGEMENT
The past few weeks we have been talking about Jesus’s authority. As a group, read Luke 4:31-37 and Luke 4:38-40. What is Luke trying to show Jesus has authority over in each of these stories?
- Luke 4:31-37
Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit
31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.
33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Luke’s Point: Jesus has authority over ________________?
Leader Note: Luke is showing that Jesus has authority over evil/demons.
- Luke 4:38-40
Jesus Heals Many
38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
40 At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.
Jesus has authority over ________________?
Leader Help: Luke is showing that Jesus has authority over sickness/disease/brokenness
THIS WEEK’S TEXT: LUKE 5:1-11
This week’s text comes from Luke 5. It is full of insights in a number of different aspects of Jesus’s life, ministry, and his process of discipleship. In addition, we find Luke once again revealing something new about Jesus’s authority. As you read, pay attention what Luke might be revealing about Jesus’s authority.
READ LUKE 5:1-11
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[a]the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
TEXT QUESTIONS
- What stands out to you from the text? What caught your attention? What questions did it raise?
- Back to the subject of authority—In chapter 4, Luke showed us that Jesus has authority over sickness/brokenness. He also showed us that Jesus has authority over evil. What is Luke showing us Jesus has authority over here?
- Look at verse 1. What insight about Jesus’s reputation among the crowds do we see in this verse?
- Look at verse2, what is significant about that fact that the fishermen were “washing their nets.”
Leader Note: It indicates that they were done fishing for the day.
- Jesus was well known as a master teacher and healer . . . Peter was the expert fisherman. To go back to our intro question . . . friends would ask Peter about fishing, not Jesus. They would ask Jesus about spiritual matters, but fishing was Peter’s realm of expertise. With that in mind, and realizing that they were done fishing for the day, re-read verse 3-5. If you were Peter or the other fishermen, how would you have reacted? What would you be thinking? And . . . do you think Peter and the rest of the fishermen were actually thinking that too?
- Do you think that the fact that Peter complied with Jesus’s crazy suggestions indicates that there was already a prior relationship between Peter and Jesus? Why or why not?
Leader Note: Although ancient biographies were not overly concerned about chronology when retelling stories, we do see that Jesus healed Simon’s (Peter’s) mother-in-law in chapter 4. In addition, the fact that they lived in a relatively small community and a tight-knit religious community would indicate that a prior relationship was very likely.
- In verses 6-9, we see Peter’s reaction to the miracle. What is beautiful about Peter’s reaction, and what about his reaction illustrates a misconception about God?
Leader Note: Peter’s humility is beautiful. However, his belief that he shouldn’t be around Jesus because he is a sinful man illustrates Peter’s wrong understanding of who God is.
- Look at the second half of verse 10-11: How does Jesus responding to Peter’s fear/shame? What does he replace it with?
APPLICATION
- What are a few examples of Peter’s response to Jesus (“Go away from me Lord, because I am a sinful man”) that people still say today? For instance, “If I walked into church, lightning would strike it.”
- Have you ever struggled with similar feelings of shame before God? How can Jesus and Peter’s interaction in this story help us understand God’s response to our own guilt and shame from sin and help us move on in freedom?
Peter thought that he was the expert in fishing—that was his domain while Jesus was simply about the spiritual. Then, Jesus showed him that he was present there too. He showed that he had authority over all areas of life. He wants the same for us.
- What areas of life are the most difficult to let Jesus have authority? What areas of life are you hesitant to hand over to Jesus?
- How can you allow Jesus to have authority over those areas? What would it take to do that?
CLOSE IN PRAYER