Discussion Questions

Week of: February 16, 2025 // Sermon Text: Luke 5:12-32

Sermon Overview

Trust in Jesus, who is willing and able to forgive all who respond to his call.

Digging Deeper

Read Luke 5:12-32

1. The man with leprosy believed that Jesus had the power and authority to make him clean, but wasn't sure if Jesus would be willing to cleanse him. How does Jesus respond to the man in verse 13? What do Jesus' words and actions communicate to the man and to us?

2. The paralyzed man's friends bring him to be physically healed and Jesus instead first addresses the bigger problem, his unforgiven sins (vs. 20). Why is unforgiven sin a greater need than anything else, including physical healing?

3. Do you see your sins as the greatest need in your life? Why or why not?

4. Why can only God forgive sins (vs. 22)?

5. When Jesus forgives the paralyzed man's sins he's claiming to be God himself. Some would say that this means that either Jesus is truly God or a lunatic. Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?

6. We've seen in Luke 4:31-37 and now in Luke 5:17-26 that Christ's priority is "to restore people to life and to God." Why do you think Jesus wants this truth about him known?

7. Is "restoring people to life and to God" your priority too? If not, how can you grow in being a part of Christ's mission to bring people back into right relationship with God?

8. How did the Pharisees and scribes react when they saw Jesus eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners (v.30)? What was Jesus' response (v.31-32)?

9. To the Jewish people in Jesus' time, tax collectors were traitors because they were ethnically Jewish but worked for the Roman government. Further, they were known to cheat people out of more money than they owed, making themselves wealthy by pocketing the difference. Consider your own heart towards "the tax collectors and sinners" of our society. Do you view them with contempt and actively try to avoid them or are you eager to welcome them into your life and introduce them to the One who can make their souls well?

10. Who are the "well" people Jesus refers to in verse 31? Who are the "sick"?

11. Why, if you think of yourself as spiritually "healthy," will you not only misunderstand Jesus, but be angered or upset by Jesus?^[1]

12. In Luke 5:27-32, we see that "Jesus seeks sinners to follow him." Who in your life needs to hear this message (perhaps from you)?

Prayer

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