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The Eyes Have It

August 7, 2022

Luke 11:33-54

33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy,[g] your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy,[h] your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal. 39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. 43 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces. 44 “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”

45 One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.” 46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. 47 “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49 Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ 50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all. 52 “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

53 When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54 waiting to catch him in something he might say.

Read Luke 11:33-36

  1. Describe what you think Jesus means when he talks about placing your lamp on a stand rather than hiding it under a bowl.
  2. Verses 34-36 present some complicated imagery regarding light, eyes, soul, darkness, etc. What do you make of all this? What do you think of the interpretation suggested by the article at www.fullofeyes.com/project/luke-1134/

Read Luke 11:37-41

  1. Summarize the meaning of this passage.
  2. It’s easy enough to condemn the Pharisee in this passage. But what are some of the good, customary, religious things that you do (the equivalent of washing prior to the meal in this passage) that can end up being totally disconnected from what Jesus really wants to be accomplishing on the inside? Where have some of your own practiced behaviors become hypocritical?
  3. Jesus identifies in this particular Pharisee’s heart a lack of generosity to the poor. If he was speaking to you, what might Jesus identify as the lack in your own heart?

Read Luke 11:42-44

  1. Describe the meaning of the imagery Jesus uses to pronounce each of the three woes on the Pharisees? How are you personally guilty of some of these (or all of them)?

Read Luke 11:45-52

  1. Jesus turns his attention from the Pharisees to the experts in the law. What three woes (condemnations) does Jesus have for them?
  2. What do you think Jesus meant by “this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets”?
  3. From this passage, why is excellence in knowledge about Jesus and about the Bible never adequate?

Read Luke 11:53-54

  1. Why do you think they waited for Jesus to leave the room before voicing their objections and their trap questions for Jesus?