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Feast Your Eyes On This! (Luke 5:27-32)

Ready for Impact (10 minutes)

Take time to introduce yourselves to one another (over drinks or snacks if possible). Then split into groups (of no more than 3-4 people). Set a timer and then:

  • Over five minutes, find as many things that your group have in common with each other. (Prizes might go to the group who finds the highest number of things in common, and the group with the most unusual thing in common!)

Explain that, over the course of the coming term, we’re exploring some of the meals Jesus shared. Not only will this help us get to know Jesus better, we’ll see how the way he shared meals has loads of implications for how we experience student life today.

Ask for a volunteer to read Luke 5:27-32 to the group, praying a short prayer that, however much they’ve come to know Jesus, they’d know him better as a result of your time together.

Watch

If you’re not gathered in person, the leader should project the video for the group through sharing their screen. If you’re using Zoom, make sure you have optimized your screen share for video. You can download the video to use offline.

Impacted by the Word (15 minutes)

Suggested questions to help your discussion.

  • Ask group members if they can tell a story of a time that eating a meal with others made them feel welcome or accepted.
  • Given Levi’s back story, how might eating with Jesus have made him feel?
  • The Pharisees are shocked by Jesus’ actions (verse 30). According to them, what’s wrong with what Jesus is doing?
  • What strikes you about the way in which Jesus explains his actions? (verses 31-32)
  • With whom do you most identify in this story? Why?
  • What does Jesus’ willingness to eat with people rejected by society say to you personally?

We need to be clear about what Jesus is saying in verse 32.

Jesus can’t be saying that anyone is so good that they have nothing to repent of – this would cut against Jesus’ teaching elsewhere (e.g. Luke 11:13) as well as the Bible’s broader teaching (e.g. Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:10-16).

Remember: Jesus’ words in verse 32 follow his claim to be a doctor. His point is that, so long as you think you’re well, you’ll never see a doctor. So, in effect Jesus is saying to the religious leaders, “If you think you’re good enough for God without me, then you don’t see yourself as spiritually sick. And so you won’t see any need for a doctor.”

If the religious leaders had seen themselves as sick, then not only would they have willingly come to Jesus themselves, they’d also have been delighted to see him eating with people like Levi.

Impacting Our Hearts (10 minutes)

Read Acts 2:46. When the early Christians met, it was often over meals. Today, Christians tend to meet outside the warmth of a home and a meal.

  • What does this show about how the earliest Christians viewed church?
  • To what extent do Christians lose something important if they don’t eat together regularly?
  • What place could meals have in Impact Group / CU life? (especially as you seek to make an impact for good together in your university)
  • What would need to change in you if you were to value meals in this way?

Ask someone to pray in the light of your discussions for the group.

Impacting the University (15 minutes)

Watch Jess’ story (5 minutes).

  • How does Jess’ story inspire you?

Each week, there are three categories of activities by which your Impact Group can make an impact in your university. In the light of Jess’ story, commit as a group to one of these in the week ahead:

Get nourished: for group bonding

Next week, meet together for your Impact Group session in a public place (e.g. a café), reminding yourselves that Jesus’ mission is bigger than just your group.

Offer a taste: to do together

Host an Impact Group party where you provide lots of options of the same food (pizza, dessert, cheese, food from home… you choose!). Use it as a means of getting to know one other’s friends and flatmates.

Add spice: a personal challenge

Could each of you pledge to buy lunch or coffee for a friend in the coming week, with the sole aim of getting to know them better?

  • Commit to at least one of these activities in the week ahead, and pray for what you have planned. Make the necessary plans, then keep each other updated with progress during the week in your group chat!
  • Also take specific prayer requests from group members. Prayer points can be wide-ranging, but you might especially pray you’d relate well to those you’re all living with.

Wrap-up – think TACOS 🌮

  • Thank You – Thank everyone for coming, and ask someone to thank God for your time together in prayer.
  • Ask – Ask those who are new to reading the Bible if they’d like to explore Uncover, a set of sessions in Mark’s Gospel, allowing them to investigate Jesus for themselves alongside one of you.
  • Church and CU – What does the CU have planned ahead? And what help would group members value in finding a local church?
  • Others – Who else could you invite to join your CU Impact Group next week? These friends don’t need to be followers of Jesus and may really appreciate being invited.
  • See You Soon – Tell the group where and when you’ll meet next week, and arrange who will bring snacks. (You might like to alternate healthy and less healthy weeks!). See if anyone would be up for sharing a meal or hanging out socially in the meantime!