The Gospel of Luke 2

Study Guide Questions for ch. 3-4

If you are looking for the beginning of this study you can start HERE with the brief introduction. At the bottom of that introduction will be the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. For this study the English Standard Version is the translation that is being utilized and you can read it online HERE or pick up the copy of your choice from Amazon or your local book store. I find THIS EDITION to be useful for deeper study and annotation.

Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Wilderness vs. Civilization, Temptation

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. According to Luke and the Prophet Isaiah, what was John’s role as a prophet?

2. What was the essential message which John preached to the people and what did that look like in the case of “the crowds”, the “tax collectors”, and “the soldiers”?

3. What did John baptize the people with and what did he say the Messiah/Christ would baptize the people with?

4. What does John warn will be the result of not heeding his message?

5. Where did Jesus go after his baptism, how long was he there, and what occurred in that place?

6. List the three temptations the devil put before Jesus.

7. What did Jesus use the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah to proclaim concerning his own ministry?

8. What power did Jesus demonstrate in Capernaum that amazed the people there?

9. What did Jesus do for Simon’s mother-in-law?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. What is John’s point when he tells the people “God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham”?

2. Why is it important that at Jesus’ baptism he, the Holy Spirit, and the Father are all shown as distinct from one another and yet existing simultaneously?

3. In the Genealogy of Christ given in Luke 3:23-38 what is the significance of the phrase “As was supposed” in v. 23?

4. Which names in the given genealogy are familiar to you? What do you know about them?

5. Why is it important that Jesus’ family line has in it so many well known people in biblical history?

6. Why is it significant that Jesus used Scripture to refute the devil’s temptations?

7. Why is it significant that the devil himself used Scripture in his attempt to tempt Jesus?

8. What is implied by the statement that the devil “departed from him [Jesus] until an opportune time”?

9. Why did the people of Nazareth attempt to kill Jesus?

10. In Rhetoric “ethos” refers to the character and credibility of a person as part of their means to persuade others. In light of this idea, why might Jesus not want the demons speaking about who he is.

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. Which people in Jesus’ Genealogy would you say are the most important when it comes to demonstrating who Jesus really is? Explain why they are important to understanding who Jesus is.

2. Wilderness vs. Civilization is a very significant idea in the Bible. What are the essential differences between the wilderness and civilization and why are those differences important?

3. How would you define the idea of “temptation”? How could Jesus have been meaningfully tempted yet without sinning? Explain your answer with good reasoning.

4. What should Jesus’ use of the Old Testament tell us about its value and importance for us? Should we use the Scriptures in the same way Jesus does? Why or why not?

5. What is the “good news”? Use Scripture to defend your answer.

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. If you look at the genealogy in Matthew 1 and the one in Luke 3 you will notice significant differences. What might account for these differences without leaping to the conclusion of contradiction?

2. Read Hebrews 4:14-16. How does this relate to our current reading and what comfort should we draw from this as followers of Jesus?

3. Read John 5:30-47. What is the essential point of this passage and how does it relate to our present reading?