1. The luminaries. What important personalities seemed to create a circle of history around the death and resurrection of Jesus? Why was it important for Luke to include the names or these people such as Tiberius Caesar, Annas and Caiaphas in his introduction (first verses of Luke 3) at the start of his account of the ministry of Jesus and John? What role did these dignitaries play in the unfolding of history?

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[Thought questions for Baptism and Temptations April 4, 2015]

2. My beloved Son. How do you think you would have felt to see a dove from heaven alight on Jesus to bestow a blessing on Him? Do you agree with your lesson’s authors that the coming to earth of Jesus as the world’s Redeemer was the “most significant event in all human history” to that date? How many people today would agree with that assessment? Why do you and I believe so strongly in the value of Jesus’ coming to earth? How do we show that is our belief?

3. Prepare the way of the Lord. Why was the message of repentance the key doctrine that John the Baptist was teaching? Or was it? Explain how water is an apt description to explain repentance. Can you remember your own baptism? What did you experience as you were laid into the waters of the baptism? What was symbolized by that act? Should you continue to rely on the promise to be redeemed after participating in baptism?

4. You are my beloved Son. Any parent would have been upset to lose sight of a pre-teen son in a busy crowd. When they finally found Him, how did Jesus’ mother Mary and his father Joseph interpret the Child’s words that He had other business He needed to take care of? Did Jesus’ parents immediately understand what Jesus meant? If they didn’t understand, why didn’t they punish him for wandering away? Even after His resurrection, did His parents fully understand Jesus’ role on earth? Why not? What about you and me? How important is it to bring to mind the importance of Christ’s coming and His offer of redemption?

5. Not by “Bread Alone.” Very few days went by before Jesus was led into the wilderness where His tender heart was confronted by Satan, who had lost all of his love for Jesus. What single word in Satan’s first temptation is the key to understanding the entire temptation? How might a sin-scarred sinner appearing today express his self-exaltation by that word as eloquently as did Satan? (Hint: The word is “If.”) What should that temptation show us about the wiles of Satan as well as the ability of Jesus Christ to drive him away?

6. “Worship me.” Can you imagine a more defiant and puffed up request for Satan to make? How do you think Satan summoned the gall to ask Jesus to worship Him? Was it his only chance to be proclaimed Lord supreme? Did he think it was even a remote possibility that he would get his way? How did Jesus show the devil His contempt for such reckless self-promotion? Do you think any of us are ever tempted to worship the evil one?

7. Christ the victor. Satan takes Jesus for a walk and they end up in the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem. What is Satan’s offer to Jesus this time? Was Satan right that Jesus would be caught up without injury if he leaped from the temple? What is wrong about testing God to be sure we understand what He said?

8. Temptations. Are you ever tempted by Satan? Is our goal as Christians to be free from all temptations or does God allow temptations to come to us? What does God provide us to that we can resist every temptation? Does Satan keep using the same temptations with us time after time? Why? or why not? Since Satan is so powerful and strong, can he at times overwhelm us with his deceitful methods of temptation? If not, what then?

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