Are there any times where you’ve found Cambridge to be a particularly humbling experience?
The Roman occupation of Judea in Jesus’ time affected everyone’s lives. The Pharisees, a leading Jewish religious group known for their strict purity laws, hoped that God would reward them with liberation from Roman rule. Tax collectors worked on behalf of the Roman authorities, earning disdain from Jewish neighbours for collaborating with the oppressive regime. At the time, children had very low social status and limited legal rights.
1
How would you describe this Pharisee (v.10-12), based on his prayer? What would you make of him if you met him in college?
2
Why does he think he should be accepted by God?
3
The historian A.N. Wilson once described Jesus’ parable (v.9-14) as a ‘shocking, morally anarchic story’. Why do you think he saw it this way?
4
When Jesus explains how someone actually might be accepted by God (v.14), how might this connect to his readiness to welcome children?
The concept of the ‘kingdom of God’ was deeply rooted in Jewish religious tradition and would have been poignant in the time of Roman occupation. The Jewish Scriptures (known to us as the Old Testament) promised a righteous, peaceful, everlasting kingdom, ruled by God. Under Roman occupation, many Jewish people yearned for a promised ‘anointed’ figure (Hebrew: Messiah; Greek: Christ) to lead them in liberation and restore Jewish sovereignty, under God’s rule. To many at the time, it seemed that power, status, wealth, a mighty military, and moral excellence would be essential to bring about this political and spiritual revolution.
5
How would you describe the ‘certain ruler’ that we’re introduced to in v.18-24? What would you make of him if you met him in college?
6
How is the ruler like or unlike others that Jesus has just spoken about (the Pharisee, the tax collector and the little children)?
7
In v.22-23, why does the man find it hard to respond to Jesus’ command? What might that show about how he understood what it means to honour God?
8
How might you summarise Jesus’ teaching on who can enter the kingdom of God (v.24-30, and v.14-17)?
9
How does Jesus understanding of being saved by God and living in the pattern of the kingdom of God differ to the understanding of others (the Pharisee or the ruler)?
10
As Jesus’ tells the twelve disciples what will happen to him in Jerusalem, how does the direction of his life compare with the pattern of the kingdom of God?
11
11. How can Jesus’ example of humility reorient your understanding of what it means to live a successful life in Cambridge?
What is the kingdom of God? How did Jesus understand it? Where even is it? In another time that Jerusalem was invaded, around 600 years before the Romans and before Jesus taught, a prophet, Isaiah, said that the kingdom of God was coming. This video (5 minutes, with beautiful graphics) explains how Isaiah’s prophecy relates to Jesus’ understanding of the kingdom of God: How Jesus became king of the world.
The next study will start at Luke 23:13, so you could continue reading through Luke’s account ahead of that.
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