Watch the video above and talk about it with a group or mentor. Learn more.

The Gospel of Luke begins in chapters 1-2 by telling readers about the births of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth. The book then leaps forward in time.

Key Points:

  • The roots of Jesus’s ministry. Jesus goes to John to be baptized and God gives his stamp of approval to Jesus and to the baptism.
  • Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus replays Israel’s forty-year journey through the wilderness, and instead of failing to trust God like Israel did, Jesus succeeds by trusting God and overcoming temptation.
  • Jesus’s ministry begins. Jesus read about proclaiming freedom and the year of the Lord’s favor. Jesus freed people from their diseases and sicknesses, their shame, their pasts, and their sin.
  • Jesus’s apostles. Jesus appointed twelve men to be his closest disciples, or “Apostles.” These men came from vastly different backgrounds.
  • The Transfiguration. Jesus is “transfigured” into a heavenly, or glorious, version of himself, and the Old Testament (OT) prophets Moses and Elijah appear with him.

Quote This:

Luke 9:35 Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.”

See Also: Bible Interpretation, Jesus, New Testament, Theology

Talk About It
  1. What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Why do you think people in Jesus’s time felt they needed to “start over” with God? In what ways do people try to start over with God today?
  3. What is the significance of Jesus “replaying” or “redoing” some of the events the nation of Israel went through?
  4. Why does it matter that Jesus specifically came for the poor, the outcast, and downtrodden? What does this teach us about God? What does it teach us about how we are to treat such people?
  5. What does it mean that Jesus came to proclaim freedom for the captive? What does it mean to be a part of his “new kingdom?”
  6. What are some of Jesus’s hard teachings that are not always easy for you to follow or agree with? Why are they hard for you?
  7. Why is it important that Jesus not merely taught us, but demonstrated for us, how to live as citizens of God’s new kingdom?
  8. Think about the two times God spoke about Jesus to give his stamp of approval. What is significant about these two events?
  9. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
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