Discussion Questions: Luke 5:12-26

For the message, The Paradox of Jesus, given by Pastor John at New City Church on June 2, 2013

These discussion questions are designed to help you reflect upon and apply the message from the Scriptures. You can use these by yourself for reflection, or you could use these with your family or small group for discussion.

Introduction: Pastor John opened up with the tagline from the film, The Green Mile: Paul Edgecomb didnt believe in miracles. Until the day he met one. How is that a perfect way of describing the snapshots of the two miracles that make up the text for our lesson? Imagine what it would have been like to be the man who was full of leprosy all those years, or the man who had been paralyzed. What would it have been like to have been in their shoes for all those years with all the unanswered prayers? Questions: 1. Leprosy is often seen as a metaphor for the problem of sin. In what ways are the two similar?

2. The man with leprosy in our text defied social customs and even the OT law which mandated that he stay isolated in quarantine and outside the city when he came running for Jesus. What do you think he might have heard about Jesus that made him risk everything to get to him? Think about what it would have been like to have been isolated and humiliated all those lonely years and then a ray of desperate hope!

3. What is the significance of Jesus directing the healed leper to go show himself to the priests as proof that he had been healed? What statement is Jesus making here? Imagine the buzz that must have begun with the temple authorities

4. Something similar is going on when Jesus heals the paralytic. Do you think it might have been strategic for Jesus to declare to the paralytic in front of the religious leaders, Your sins are forgiven? If so, how so? Beyond just the words that Jesus spoke, what is he claiming here? How did the Pharisees assess the situation rightly AND wrongly?

5. By healing the paralytic spiritually before actually healing him physically, Jesus was placing priority on his spiritual healing. Jesus seems to be saying, as Pastor John summarized, Your biggest problem is not your suffering. It is your sin. Reflect & discuss why this is so hard to believe? Why do we want God to fix our lives more than we want him to deal with our sin?

6. Finally, how did Jesus identify with our spiritual leprosy? With our spiritual paralysis? Look up 2 Corinthians 5:21 & 1 Peter 2:24 for insight. How does this help us to understand the paradox of Jesus (in the sense of what wasnt expected)? Conclusion: What is the one thing you want to take away from this study to remember or to make a change in your life? How does this text challenge you to follow Jesus?

Renewing your mind: Luke 24:45, Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and he said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.