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This Not That

March 6, 2022

Luke 5:33-6:11

33 They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.” 34 Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”

36 He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”

6
1One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. 2 Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” 3 Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” 5 Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

6 On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. 7 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. 8 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. 11 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Read Luke 5:33-35

  1. Who are ‘They’ in verse 33? How could you find out?
  2. In your own words, describe the accusation ‘They’ were making against Jesus’ disciples.
  3. In your own words, describe how Jesus responded to their accusation.
  4. What is your own experience (if any) with fasting? What does verse 35 suggest about the role of fasting in the life of Jesus followers?

Read Luke 5:36-38

  1. What point is Jesus making in the parables of the patches and the wineskins?
  2. Why do you think religiously oriented people tend to be so hesitant to embrace change?
  3. What is something new that Jesus has been doing in your life?
  4. What do you understand Jesus to be getting at in verse 39? If you get stuck, google “Luke 5:39 explained.”

Read Luke 6:1-5

  1. What are the implications of Jesus declaring himself Lord of the Sabbath?

Read Luke 6:5-11

  1. Why were the Pharisees there in the synagogue listening to Jesus? Discuss the variety of motives people might have for coming to one of our weekend worship services. How should we feel about people who come to church with mixed motives?
  2. Why do you think the Pharisees were furious in verse 11? (Hint: it may have something to do with the options He spoke about in verse 9.)
  3. How do you observe the sabbath in your own spiritual journey? What role does the Sabbath play in your spiritual life?