Bible Study Questions and Notes

Small group Bible studies meet each week to discuss topics relating to the weekend service.  These study notes act as a guide for the Bible study participants.  Note that on weeks where there is a guest speaker or the Bible studies are not in session, there may not be a set of study notes posted.

Scripture passage: Luke 20:9-18
Speaker: Pastor Lee Francois

“I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory…”  So begins the words of an old Gospel chorus.  The Easter story is in fact an old, old story in the sense that it took place nearly two thousand years ago, but there is another sense in which the story should never grow old to us.  The reality is that the story does grow old for some in that they can recount the details of the events that took place but fail to be moved by the significance of what happened.  What’s needed today is not a new and improved story, but a rediscovery of this old, old story.

1. The story is longer than you think

·        It’s a story about God’s patience

2. The story is better than you remember

·        It’s a story about God’s love

3. The story centers around a surprising plot twist

·        It’s a story about God’s Son

4. The story has a tragic but happy ending

·        It’s a story about God’s providence

5. The story demands a response

·        It’s a story about God’s grace

SMALL GROUPS BIBLE STUDY QUESTIONS

Luke 20:9-18 – By Greg Vanderleeuw, pastoral intern

1.   What is your favorite book? What is it about? What is it about the book that you love?

Thinking – developing a biblical approach to all areas of life

2.   Read Luke 20:9-18.

a.       What is the similarity between the prophets in Jeremiah 7:22-26 and the servants sent to the garden in Jesus’ parable? What role do the servants play?

b.      Why do you think the owner continues to send his servants to the tenants if they don’t return with fruit from the vineyard?

c.       Who does the owner represent? Read Genesis 1:28-30. How was God’s challenge to Adam similar to the owner’s challenge?

3.   Read Matthew 21:42-46. What does Jesus mean when he says that the kingdom of God will be “given to a people producing its fruits?”

a.       In Luke 20:10-12, what does the servant expect to bring back to the owner?

b.      Why don’t the tenants listen to the servants when they come?

c.       Why does the owner hope the tenants would respect his son? (v.13)

4.   What is the point Jesus is making in the following passages? (Matt. 7:28-29; 9:6-8; 28:18-20; Mk. 2:10; Lk. 4:31-32; Jn. 5:26-27)

a.       Why was it hard for others to believe that what Jesus was claiming was true?

b.      How was Jesus’ teaching different from that of the Pharisees? (Matt. 7:29)

5.   Read Luke 19:28-40. What is the significance of Jesus telling the parable of “The Wicked Tenants” after “The Triumphal Entry”? (ch. 20:13-15)

a.       How would the parable feel if Jesus stopped teaching after verse 16?

b.      What is so amazing about the last two verses of this parable? How is the Son’s rejection actually a good thing? (v. 17)

c.       Read Psalm 118:22, 26. How do the verses in Psalm 118 attribute to what is happening in Luke 19:38 and 20:17?

Acting – putting faith into action

6.   How should the end of this parable affect the way we live? How does it affect us as Easter draws near?

a.       Read Acts 4:5-12. What hope does Peter refer to through the rejection of the Son? (vv. 11-12)

b.      Knowing Christ has become the cornerstone, how should it affect the way we live, pray and share the Gospel?  

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